Devon gave me the idea over on Sybil’s blog, where they’re discussing Lisa Valdez’s release, or lack thereof, of Patience.
I suggested the possibility of Valdez being just a one-book-wonder author, similar to one-hit wonder singers like Tiffany (although I’m reliably informed by Meljean that she had more than one hit. *g*)
The only author that comes to my mind is Marley Morgan. She wrote a book for Harlequin back in the eighties called Just Joe. I think it was a Silhouette Desire, and it was about a woman who had been sexually abused by her step-father. She meets a football player called Joe, who was just the most fantastic hero. I loved, loved, loved that book.
I’ve looked for other stuff from her since, but haven’t come across any more of her books. She may have written one other book, but I never found it. I should probably look for it again.
Can you guys think of any more one-book wonder authors?
loonigrrl
February 17
9:30 am
One of my favorite books is called The Heldan by Deborah Talmadge Bickmore. It’s not technically a romance, although the romance is a pretty big part of the story. I think the author is technically a two hit wonder, having written another book called The Apprentice, but I haven’t heard anything else about her. I’ll occasionally google her, but never come up with anything. I’m always hoping she’ll write another book because the Heldan is soo good. I’ve read my copy so many times, pages are falling out.
LesleyW
February 17
10:30 am
A Crack in Forever by Jeannie Brewer.
For a long time this would have been THE book if I could only rescue one from a burning building. 🙂
For anyone who hasn’t read it, it tells the story of Eric and Alexandra, how they meet and how they cope after Eric is diagnosed with HIV. I’ve seen it accused of being over-sentimental and it does have me in tears at several points in the story. But at the end you are happy sad.
It was Jeannine Brewer’s first novel and I haven’t seen anything from her since.
LesleyW
February 17
10:31 am
Arrrrggghh. That should be Jeannie Brewer. I keep typing Jeannine.
Teddypig
February 17
11:25 am
Oh man, HIV that has been on my mind big time today.
I have been HIV+ since 1990 but I usually don’t even think about it.
Till I read this.
Barbara B.
February 17
1:34 pm
My all-time favorite one hit wonder is The Painted Lady by Lucia Grahame, released in 1993. I was really looking forward to more books by Grahame, but she said something about life being too short and that she’d rather be gardening. Awesome.
Kristie(J)
February 17
2:57 pm
Joanne McGaurin wrote a wonderful medieval back in 1996. I’ve never seen anything else by her.
Jackie L.
February 17
3:08 pm
Habitual debauchery makes it sound kinda fun. If I wasn’t married, I could get into a little habitual debauchery myself.
Karen Scott
February 17
3:11 pm
Probably best thing, dwelling on it, would probably drive you crazy.
Love Ann
February 17
3:40 pm
It is cheating a bit, because she wrote 4 books (not just 1), but I discovered Lee Damon in the 80s. She wrote a book titled “Again the Magic” that I’ve worn thru re-reading every couple of months since then. It is AMAZING.
Same type of theme….battered woman, meets a love from her past who won’t give up on trying to help her love again (with some AWSOME secondary characters to boot).
I’ve been trying to track down Ms. Damon since then, but the only thing I’ve gotten is that she suffers (or suffered) from severe depression. If even after all these years, she would still be a definite AUTO BUY!
On your recommendation, I just went out to Amazon and ordered a used copy of “Just Joe”…which I should get by the end of the week…looking forward to it.
Eve Vaughn
February 17
3:57 pm
You know what I wonder what happened to Lisa Valdez too. I was waiting for Patience to come out because Passion was sooooo hot. Loved that books. It’s sad we haven’t heard from her since. She was definitely a talented writer. I remember one year she was supposed to be at RT and I had Passion all ready to be signed but she couldn’t make it for family issues I believe. That may be what happened to her. Hope she eventually comes back to writing.
There’s another author named Stephanie Stevens who wrote a book back in the early 90’s I think called Defiant Angel. I loved that book. Now mind you, I hadn’t read Judith McNaught’s Whitney my Love at the time, but on a friend’s recommendation I purchased Whitney My Love. Exact same plot but Judith McNaught wrote her book way before Defiant Angel. I think Stephanie Stevens may have gotten some flack for that which is why she never wrote again, but you know what? I still liked the book a lot. I like both books actually and still have them in my keeper pile, especially since the Duke in Stephanie Steven’s book had five brothers. I was looking forward to reading about the brothers in subsequent books, didn’t happen though. Wherever Stephanie Steven’s is, I hope she writes again too one day.
🙁
Michelle
February 17
4:35 pm
Thanks for the info on the Heldan, sounds really good.
Here is a link to the Romantic Times board where there is an update about Valdez http://www.romantictimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13270
vanessa jaye
February 17
5:35 pm
I’m with Barbara B, The Painted Lady by Lucia Grahame is the only one on my list. Although, I’m not sure if she was a ‘hit’ per se with this single release–it seems only a handful of readers have read this book, but almost all of them love it.
I guess if Lisa Valdez dosen’t release another book, then she’s on the list too. But for the record, I don’t care how long it takes her to write Patience, when it comes out, I’ll be there.
Same thing happened with the hold up over Robin Schone’s last release for me, and I’m sure there are plenty of Dara Joy fans that will still ante up when (if) she has her next NY Pubbed book on the shelves.
In the meantime, until Valdez’s next release, there’s plenty of other books to keep me occupied. And if the book never comes, ::shrug:: I still have the enjoyment of the first one. I really don’t understand the ire directed towards her. srsly.
Oh! Forgot one other author on my 1-hit-wonder list, Nicole Camden, she of the novella “Nekkid Truth” in the “Big Guns Out of Uniform” anthology (released in 2003). I loved her story with the crime scene photographer who couldn’t remember faces. It’s been 5 yrs, but google her a couple of times per year to see if she has anythong on go.
Fun post.
Karen Scott
February 17
5:44 pm
Somebody I don’t hear so much about these days is Elise Title. She used to write good category romances. Not a one-book wonder, I know.
Emma
February 17
5:47 pm
Cami Dalton. I loved her Temptation debut Her Private Dancer. I wonder if she writes under another name?
sallahdog
February 17
5:50 pm
I think the most famous “one book wonder” is probably Harper Lee, with her ” To Kill a Mockingbird”….
Karen Scott
February 17
6:01 pm
Gosh, yes!
Capo
February 17
6:14 pm
I know J.D. Salinger was published more than once but most people only know him for Catcher In The Rye.
Jen
February 17
6:26 pm
Wasn’t Gone with the Wind was the only book Margaret Mitchell wrote, too?
Jen
February 17
6:27 pm
Sorry- I’m not sure why my comment turned into a block quote!
Katie
February 17
7:21 pm
Vanessa, I second Nicole Camden. That story seriously rocks, and it’s a shame she hasn’t published anything else. And Kristie(J), do you mean Joanna McGauran? Because I discovered that she also writes under the following pen names:
JOANNA MCGAURAN
– JOANNA GILPIN
– JAN MCGOWAN
– CHRISTA MERLIN
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/g/joanna-gilpin/
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/christa-merlin/
(sorry, too lazy to properly link)
azteclady
February 17
7:47 pm
Fond memories: Anna Sewell wrote Black Beauty, dying a few months after its publication. Johanna Syri wrote several children’s books, but she’s best known for Heidi.
Wendy
February 17
8:21 pm
Mine is Betsy Eliot, who wrote one book for Silhouette Romance back in 2002, The Brain and the Beauty. I seriously loved that story, and I periodically check her web site hoping she’ll post some sort of update. If anyone reading this knows Betsy, I’d love to know if she’s still writing. Seriously, I loved that book….
azteclady
February 17
8:32 pm
Oh and I just remember another one! E.M.Hull’s The Sheik (1919), which apparently is considered by some the first modern romance novel.
Though technically she wrote three (or is it four?) more books, she’s best known for her first one. (And of course, for the film adaptation made legendary by Valentino.)
Anne
February 17
9:55 pm
I can’t think of any one-hit wonder authors, really. But I can think of a few under-noticed authors, ones who don’t receive the recognition they deserve as they write fantastic books. If you ever have that topic, I’ll list them. 🙂
Leslie Kelly
February 17
10:14 pm
Emma–
Cami Dalton has a Harlequin Blaze coming out in August. Life kind of intruded on her, but she’s back and working hard!
Angelia Sparrow
February 17
10:25 pm
Tom Reamy only wrote one novel, the brilliant Blind Voices. He wrote several short stories, and died of a heart attack at age 42 before Blind Voices was published
seton
February 17
10:46 pm
Thirding the love for The Painted Lady.
To Eve Vaughn , regarding Stephanie Stevens’s Defiant Angel, I read Judith McNaught’s account of what happened on her board. Basically, since Stevens was a fan of Witless, My Love and saw nothing wrong with rewriting the story (in her own voice, it’s not like she copied McNaught’s style) and freely admitted this to McNaught, she was dropped by her publisher and agreed to never write again. This is all according to McNaught.
Eve Vaughn
February 17
11:30 pm
Thanks Seton, I wondered what happened to that author. It’s so wierd because I read Defiant Angel before I read Whitney my Love, and at first when I’d read WML it was like deja vu because it was like I’d read that book before and apparently I had. Witless my love? LOL I love those kind of stories, they are my guilty pleasure. I also like the ones where the heroine disguises herself as a boy and the hero starts believing he’s gay until breasts are magically revealed somewhere in the middle. Lol. *ducking for cover*
Devon
February 18
12:20 am
Ooh great idea. (hee)
I’ve got one. My favorite Silhouette Special Edition, Summer Light by Jude O’Neill. It was about a bohemian artist and uptight museum curator who decide to have a fling one hot NYC summer. It had a great NY art scene setting, interesting characters, and lovely romance. I read it when I was in HS, but I still think it’s great.
Oh wait I’m a liar. She wrote four books, though covers are unavailable. I wonder if I could track them down.
Emma
February 18
12:25 am
Emma–
Life has a way of doing that. Le sigh, but I’m glad she’s back. Do you know if she’ll be putting an excerpt up on her website?
(Her website is gorgeous. It’s http://www.camidalton.com if anyone is interested)
Thanks for the information Leslie. 😀
Em
CindyS
February 18
1:27 am
Lauren Bach’s first book was a keeper for me. Lone Rider I think it was called. I bought her next book and it was so horrible – an F. I haven’t bought anything by her since so I don’t know if she counts but she’s definitely my one hit wonder.
Cindys
Mad
February 18
2:10 am
PASSIONATE SURRENDER by Sheryl Sage. This book came out in 1993 and there was a secondary character that I had hoped would get his own book but it never happened. The authors who wrote PS never published anything else after that…either together or alone, that I can find out. Total bummer since Alex deserved his own story! 🙂
Mad
February 18
2:13 am
Another one…Jennifer Wagner wrote an SIM back in 2001 titled TWICE UPON A TIME. Was soo good and I keep looking to see if she has anything else coming out with no luck. She’s still around though and popped into chat recently and said she was still plugging away and keeps hoping one will sell.
Mad
February 18
2:15 am
seton — You crack me up….Whitless, My Love…ROFL
Bev(QB)
February 18
2:35 am
Irene Maillol – ACROSS THE SEA originally released through eXtasy in 2003, here’s the Fictionwise link-
http://fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook26814.htm
This erotic, multi-sexual (is that a term?), EPIC is one of my all time favorite books. Yes, it has some flaws, but considering it was the FIRST and ONLY thing she ever wrote, it’s astounding. Hard to believe that her talented muse hasn’t compelled her to write more.
willaful
February 18
4:32 am
Chloe Cheshire wrote a much admired traditional Regency, A Gypsy at Almacks and nothing else that I’ve ever been able to dig up.
Sarah McCarty
February 18
12:17 pm
Bev(QB) I bought that book. I remember thinking this woman has a phenom voice and a real knack for creating prose that flows like music. At least I now know why I couldn’t find anymore of her books.
Leslee
February 18
3:45 pm
Oh my gosh! I remember Just Joe! IT was fantastic. Another one was Again the Magic by oh I can’t remember her name but the woman was tall with red hair and she was horribly abused by her husband and doesn’t want anything to do with men and then runs into her first love and he is now divorced with a son. Oh and the woman had a twin brother the size of a bear and he falls for a little tiny woman that works for his sister. It was an awesome book and I never saw anything from her again.
Mad
February 18
7:17 pm
Who’s the author of JUST JOE? I hope you all are happy…I just ordered 3 or 4 of the books mentioned above from PBS. Thanks for helping me add to the TBR! 😉
Barbara B.
February 18
7:20 pm
Bev(QB) said-
“This erotic, multi-sexual (is that a term?), EPIC is one of my all time favorite books. Yes, it has some flaws, but considering it was the FIRST and ONLY thing she ever wrote, it’s astounding. Hard to believe that her talented muse hasn’t compelled her to write more.”
I totally agree with Bev, astounding is a good word I think of when I think of Irene Maillol’s ACROSS THE SEA. It’s one of the two most incredible books I’ve ever read. I can’t even begin to express how moved I was by the story. Thank heavens for epublishers because this excellent book would probably never have gotten published otherwise. Just last week I googled Maillol (as I often do) to check for any new releases. I’m pretty sure she’s done but I keep hoping.
My other one hit wonder is A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES by John Kennedy Toole. It actually won the author a posthumous Pulitzer Prize. It’s the funniest book ever.
Leslie Kelly
February 18
9:29 pm
>Life has a way of doing that. Le sigh, but I’m glad she’s back. Do you know if she’ll be putting an excerpt up on her website?<
Emma, I am sure she will. It’s a fabulous, fun, wildly sexy story and I am sure everyone who loved Her Private Dancer will adore it.
GrowlyCub
February 19
1:00 am
Definitely not a one-book wonder, but if anybody knows what happened to Paula Detmer Riggs I’d be eternally grateful. I’ve emailed her past publishers and not gotten a single reply on whether she’s still alive, still writing, or else?
I love her stuff and I want more!
Sarah Frantz
February 21
11:59 am
I still OWN “Just Joe,” that’s how much I loved it! Great great hero. And Paula Detmer Riggs–that brings back memories. Very angsty heroes, including one who was himself raped in jail.
Ginger Taylor
February 24
5:31 pm
Emma,
FYI… Cami’s website has been updated this weekend and I just set up a my space page for her at http://www.myspace.com/camidalton in anticipation of her book coming out. (She has not yet signed on to it)
FYI she just signed a three book deal, so there won’t be a gap like the last one between her books.
Happy Reading!
Ginger – Cami’s web designer
Mickey Rayfield
March 11
12:56 pm
Paula Detmer Riggs is one of my favorite authors, as far as I can tell there were only two books outside of the Harl/Silh field; Taming The Night (Fawcett Bks) and Never Walk Alone (Onyx Bks and believe that was in 02 or 03). I ran across an article which stated she lived in Oregon (in what had been “the states oldest (plant) nursery.” And in Jan 07 there was a newspaper article (Oregon)Obit on her mother. The only other piece of info I found was that her agent (Never Walk Alone) was Nancy Yost. If anyone else has any more infomation that would be great. PDR is the best!
Mickey Rayfield
May 21
11:29 pm
@GrowlyCub: Paula Detmer Riggs is alive and in Oregon, you can try and touch base with her on FB. I left a message with her on her books and she responded that due to family illness had gotten pulled away from writing.