[4] She graduated in 1962 from Jefferson High School in nearby Independence, Iowa and worked for a construction firm owned by her future husband, Bill Dailey,[2] who was 15 years her senior.

[citation needed] In 1974, after asserting that she could write a better romance novel than those she had read, Dailey's husband challenged her to prove it.

She was informed that because Harlequin only reprinted Mills & Boon novels at that point, so she would need to reach out to them in London.

[6] In 1976, having already published multiple titles for Mills & Boon, No Quarter Asked was released by Harlequin as part of its Presents line.

"[7] Dailey "provide[d] ... [the] first look at heroines, heroes and courtships that take place in America, with American sensibilities, assumptions, history, and most of all, settings.

The Guinness Book of World Records recognized her for this achievement of setting a novel in every state.

[10] Her first mass market romance novel, Touch the Wind, reached the New York Times Best Seller List.

In 1982, Dailey adapted her novel Foxfire Light into a film, starring Leslie Nielsen, Tippi Hedren, Faye Grant and Barry Van Dyke.

The practice came to light after a reader read Roberts' Sweet Revenge and Dailey's Notorious back-to-back; she noticed several similarities and posted the comparable passages on the internet.

She admitted that both Aspen Gold and Notorious lifted heavily from Roberts' work; both novels were subsequently pulled from print.

Although terms were not released, Roberts had previously indicated that any settlement funds should be donated to the Literacy Volunteers of America.