Dorothy Garlock Books

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Dorothy Garlock was a bestselling American author that wrote romance. Born in 1919 in Grand Saline, Texas, Garlock worked as a bookkeeper for over a decade. She also wrote articles for a local newspaper.

But at 49, she retired and became a full-time writer. Although, it should be noted that publishing had nothing to do with the author’s retirement. Garlock started telling stories because she had nothing to do.

Her husband would take the family to a small town in Texas during the winter. Having quit her job to follow him, the author was incredibly bored. With little else to occupy her time besides shuffleboard and potlucks, Garlock acquired a typewriter.

Initially, the author wrote for herself. She kept pursuing the habit even after they returned home in the spring. After finishing the fourth book, she entered a contest targeting unpublished writers and submitted the manuscript.

Garlock did not win. Fortunately, one of the judges was an agent. So impressed was he by Garlock’s work that the agent reached out and asked if he could sell the manuscript. Garlock acquiesced and sent all four books.

To his credit, the agent sold them all within weeks, paving the way for Garlock’s storied career. By the time she died in 2018, the author had more than twenty million novels in print, many of which had received translations and publication in dozens of countries.

The publishing arena classifies Garlock as a romance writer. However, she did not set out to write stories in that particular genre. The author came up in an era where readers and publishers categorized books as fiction and nonfiction. Genres did not matter as much.

That changed in subsequent years. Garlock did not mind the romance classification. From what she had seen, every story was a romance. Some writers emphasized the romance of the road, and others, the romance of the forest.

She rejected the idea that ‘Romance’ could only refer to love affairs. The author proved as much by using her books to delve into serious themes such as the Depression. Ideas came easily to her. She never questioned her role as a storyteller, even though the author admitted that her writing wasn’t necessarily the best.

She took one writing class, but it fell short of her expectations. Nonetheless, Garlock was always confident in her classification as a storyteller.

The author was 98 when she died. She was survived by a husband, son, daughter, and grandchildren.

Dorothy Garlock Awards

Garlock has won RT Reviewers Choice Awards.

Best Dorothy Garlock Books

The author has been commended for writing stories with down-to-earth characters struggling to overcome relatable problems. Garlock’s best books include:

The Edge Of Town: Julie Jones was as plain as they come. The girl, who worked on her father’s farm, was living an ordinary life when the Jazz Age came along and changed everything. Before she knew it, Evan Johnson had swept into her town and wormed his way into Julie’s heart.

The war veteran was determined to woo Julie. But life had other plans. First came a wave of terrifying crimes that wreaked havoc on the Missouri town. Then Birdie Stuart, another newcomer, took that opportunity to act, sewing schemes designed to tear Julie’s family apart. Now, everything Julie knows sits on a knife’s age.

Mother Road: The first novel in the Route 66 series introduces readers to Andy’s Gas Station and Garage, which houses Andy and his sister-in-law. Andy’s life took a turn for the worst when he lost his wife two years ago.

Andy couldn’t have raised his two daughters alone. Fortunately, Leona abandoned everything that mattered to her to help Andy. Life hasn’t been easy for the pair. Leona’s brother, a religious fanatic, is determined to make her existence a living hell.

Virgil wants to take Andy’s daughters away from what he perceives as a den of sin. But Andy and Leona won’t let Virgil have his way. Neither party expects Yates to become an integral part of the situation.

Yates meets the pair when a rabid skunk attacks Andy. Yates, a seemingly random passerby, witnesses the encounter and intervenes. Besides taking Andy to the hospital, Yates takes things a step further and does what he can to help Leona and Andy’s daughters. Along the way, the stranger falls for Leona.

When Does The Next Dorothy Garlock book come out?

Dorothy Garlock doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is The Nearness of You and was released on July, 11th 2017.

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