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  1. Thanks so much for hunting Glenna Finley down, everyone! I’d love to know more about her now. I began to love her books in the 1970’s, when my roommate brought her books to college. Without doubt my favorite is A Promising Affair. Have parts of it memorized, I’d bet. I’m trying to remember which one had a veterinarian who shyly accuses the girl that he had no idea she cared for him because she spent more time with the animals than with him. I think (but am not sure if) it this was one of the cruise ship books.

  2. Glenna Finley Witte was an inspiration for my own books, Tangled Hearts: An LDS Novel and Hidden in the Heart: An LDS Novel. I loved her writing style. I hunted down Mrs. Witte using the internet and was able to talk to her a couple of years ago. She is an awe-inspiring person, but wasn’t interested in writing an autobiography. Given her wonderful novels, I would dearly love to add her autobiography to my collection of her books. She was just as delightful to talk to on the phone as you would imagine she would be. I have a letter from her I’ve filed away as well. I didn’t get a lot of information from her and didn’t hear from her last year when I sent out a card. I’m hoping she’s in good health, but it’s very hard to find any information on her.

  3. I found a book of her’s at a library book sale and decided to research her. Just thought you would like to know that I traced her to her current location in Charlotte, NC. She does appear to still be living…and is 87 years old.

  4. Found this topic when I typed a search: “What happened to Glenna Finley?” I, too, miss her books, for it seems she just stopped writing. Of her 47 books, I have 41, and can tell you with certainty that The Marrying Kind and Island Rendezvous (from your list) are indeed hers. I, too, thought Young Lions seemed out of place and I have not been able to locate it. The 4 earliest titles (Death Strikes Out through A Tycoon for Ann) are available from sources ranging from Amazon to eBay but are a bit pricey. I’m hoping to find them at a thrift store or estate sale some day. The last two titles (Stowaway for Love and The Temporary Bride) frequently appear on eBay.

    By the way, Love’s Hidden Fire (my all-time favorite Finley) also takes place in London.

  5. I miss Glenna’s books. They are among my favorites & I have almost all them as well. I remember the joy of wandering into Pickwicks & finding a new Glenna Finley on the shelves. My favorite is the one set in Helsinki, Dare To Love. If you find out she has written those last 4, I’ll have to start looking for them.

  6. I am currently reading my second Glenna Finley novel and decided to do a little research on the author, curious as to why so little is online regarding Glenna Finley (Witte). I did find the following information on a library database. I have not compared it with the information you have posted on your blog.

    Glenna Finley Witte travelled throughout the world researching settings and plots for her novels.

    PERSONAL INFORMATION
    Family: Born June 12, 1925, in Puyallup, WA; daughter of John Ford (a biologist) and Gladys de F. (Winters) Finley; married Donald Macleod Witte (a corporation official), May 19, 1951 (died March 19, 1987); children: Duncan. Education: Stanford University, B.A. (cum laude), 1945. Religion: Episcopalian. Memberships: Romance Writers of America, Free-lancers Association, Women’s University Club, Stanford Club. Addresses: Home: P.O. Box 866182, Plano, TX 75086. Agent: Ann Elmo Agency, Inc., 52 Vanderbilt Ave., New York, NY 10017.

    CAREER
    National Broadcasting Co., New York City, producer in International Division, 1945-47; Time, Inc., New York City, member of Staff, Life (magazine), news bureau, 1947, film librarian for “March of Time,” 1948-50; publicity and copywriter in Seattle, WA, 1950-51; free-lance writer, currently under contract with New American Library, Signet Books Division.

    WRITINGS BY THE AUTHOR:
    Under name Glenna Finley:
    Death Strikes Out, Arcadia House, 1957.
    Career Wife, Arcadia House, 1964.
    Nurse Pro Tem, Arcadia House, 1967.
    A Tycoon for Ann, Lancer, 1968.

    PUBLISHED BY SIGNET
    Journey to Love, 1970.
    Love’s Hidden Fire, 1971.
    Treasure of the Heart, 1971.
    Love Lies North, 1972.
    Bridal Affair, 1972.
    Kiss a Stranger, 1972.
    Love in Danger, 1973.
    When Love Speaks, 1973.
    The Romantic Spirit, 1973.
    Surrender My Love, 1974.
    A Promising Affair, 1974.
    Love’s Magic Spell, 1974.
    The Reluctant Maiden, 1975.
    The Captured Heart, 1975.
    Holiday for Love, 1976.
    Love for a Rogue, 1976.
    Storm of Desire, 1977.
    Dare to Love, 1977.
    To Catch a Bride, 1977.
    Master of Love, 1978.
    Beware My Heart, 1978.
    The Marriage Merger, 1978.
    Wildfire of Love, 1979.
    Timed for Love, 1979.
    Love’s Temptation, 1979.
    Stateroom for Two, 1980.
    Affairs of Love, 1980.
    Midnight Encounter, 1981.
    Return Engagement, 1981.
    Taken by Storm, 1982.
    One Way to Love, 1982.
    A Business Affair, 1983.
    Wanted for Love, 1983.
    A Weekend for Love, 1984.
    Love’s Waiting Game, 1985.
    A Touch of Love, 1985.
    Diamonds for My Love, 1986.
    Secret of Love, 1987.

    FURTHER READINGS ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
    BOOKS
    Authors in the News, Volume 1, Gale, 1976.

    PERIODICALS
    Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 17, 1974.

    SOURCE CITATION
    Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2010. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC


  7. Most if not all of the works of Australian romance writers are written with an international readership in mind and show many of the characteristics of the travelogue. The short category romance is,of course, limited in how much description it can give of the environment, but many vividly evoke a landscape and customs unfamiliar to readers outside Australia.

    Other writers, among them many successful British Mills & Boon authors, have travelled to Australia and their novels provide a different insight into the sights and sounds of the country.

    Isobel Chace, Jessica Hart, Gladys Fullbrook and Anne Hampson have all written books set in Australia. Australians such as Lucy Walker, Marion Lennox, Lilian Darcy, Meredith Webber and Ann Charlton have all provided vivid descriptions of their homeland.

    At the risk of being overly self-referential, my book “From Australia with Love: a History of Modern Australian Popular Romance Novels” (Fremantle: Curtin University Books, 2004) covers much of this in the chapter entitled The Beetroot in the Burger.

    1. Author

      I’ve read a smattering of romances set in Austrailia over the years. Most of them categories. Probably all of them, come to think of it. And, yeah, they did a great job on the travelogue aspect now that you mention it, Juliet. 😉

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