Former Mirror-Reporter columnist turned famous author Dorothy Garlock dies

One of Clear Lake’s best kept secrets—popular western romance novel author Dorothy Garlock, passed away Friday, April 6, 2018 at Oakwood Care Center.  Garlock was not a native of Clear Lake, but loved the community deeply and even occasionally wove pieces of local lore into her stories.

You might say Garlock got her start in writing as an employee of the Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter.  She was employed at the newspaper for 14 years, starting as a book keeper in the mid-1950s and filling in to write-up weddings, Cook of the Week columns and obituaries. She taught herself to take and develop photos for the newspaper.  Her other contribution to the Mirror-Reporter was a column called “My 2 Cents Worth.”

“The column didn’t please everyone,” she said in an interview with the newspaper once.  “But as long as they were complaining about it, I knew they were reading it.  I’d rather write about something the public disagreed with than something

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they ignored.”

Her writing talents eventually turned toward romance novels and she became one of the country’s most popular authors.    She quit her newspaper job when her first book was picked up.   She continued to write until her final days, with assistance from her grandson, Adam Lemon.

She penned more than 60 books; over 20 million copies of her books are in print in 18 languages and 36 countries.  She is one of Amazon’s most popular-selling artists.

Surprisingly, Garlock didn’t start to write books until she was past 50-years of age.  In 1978 her husband, Herb, retired and she quit her job to travel around the country with him.  After several years of traveling she began to write novels as a new form of enjoyment.  On a second-hand typewriter Herb bought for her, romance novels were produced.  Her early works were not picked up, however, her membership in the National Romance Writers Association eventually exposed her talents to an agent who successfully sold her manuscripts.

Early in her career Garlock told the Mirror-Reporter, “I’m not looking to write the great American novel, or win a Pulitzer Prize.  I write what the people like to read for entertainment and also what sells.”

Although she did write some contemporary fiction, she especially enjoyed writing historical novels about pioneer women and pioneer times.

“The places I write about are places that I have actually visited, so I know the general area.  It helps to make the stories more authentic,” said the Texas native, who also lived in Oklahoma before coming to Clear Lake.

Her novels were consistently on the bestseller lists of Ingrams, B. Dalton, Waldenbooks, Barnes and Noble, USA Today, Borders and more.  Among her many honors was inclusion of her book, “With Hope,” on Amazon’s list of the 25 best Romance Novels of the 20th Century.

Clear Lake became Dorothy’s home in 1955 when she and Herb moved back to his home town after his time in the service.  They raised their family here and although she traveled the world over for pleasure and book promotions, she relished her time here.

In 2015, Dorothy was pleased to donate 92 glass negatives to the Clear Lake Historical Society to preserve and share with the community.  She vividly recalled when she was ordered by the former Mirror-Reporter editor to pack up remaining  contents of the office after it moved operations from what today is the Senior Center on South 4th Street to a new office on Main Avenue.

“The building had been sold and what was left was supposed to go to the dump,” said Dorothy.  “In one room there was a box and when I unwrapped what was inside I found slides of old Clear Lake.  I knew those couldn’t be destroyed.”

She called the newspaper’s owner and asked if she could have the box.  She was told she could keep whatever she wanted.  With the help of her husband, Dorothy gathered up the negatives and several old papers and took them to her house in rural Clear Lake.  They were tucked away there for 20 years before they eventually were re-packed and stored with her daughter Lindy’s help.

Dorothy also contributed to the University of Iowa libraries.  Many of her original manuscripts and unpublished writings were donated to the libraries.

Dorothy Garlock’s obituary appears on page 3.

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