Earlier we mentioned that it's the birthday of romance writer Cathie Linz (1954-2015). Linz wrote her first novel, Remembrance of Love, while a law librarian at Northern Illinois University. It was published by Dell in 1982. Our collection includes this manuscript: 
That first book was released around the world as well- here we see the first US and Dutch editions, both dated 1982:
Linz had wanted to be a writer from a young age. Our collection includes this copy of "The 52nd Court News", which she wrote in 1965 as a 12 year old:
In addition to the English language versions of her more than 50 books, Cathie Linz's books were translated into a dizzying array of languages, from French to Greek to Japanese:
Beyond being a writer, Cathie Linz had a huge impact on romance and libraries. Drawing on her previous career in libraries, she served as @romancewriters first Library Liaison, and this Chicago Tribune article from 1995 highlights her work in the Chicago area:
And that, dear friends is where our story entwined with that of Cathie Linz. In July of 1995, she wrote this letter to our then-Head Librarian, Allison Scott, proposing a partnership between us and @romancewriters to serve as a permanent depository for romance materials.
After the initial @romancewriters donation of their organizational history, Cathie Linz was one of our first manuscript donors in 1997, along with fellow Chicagoan @SEPauthor. A finding aid for the Linz collection can be found here: lib.bgsu.edu/finding_aids/i…
Can we just take a second to appreciate the wonderfully ridiculous pose by the hero of Too Stubborn to Marry?
So what we're trying to say is that we are forever and always grateful for the life and work of Cathie Linz Baumgardner. We quite literally would not be the library we are today without her.
Oh, one more thing! In addition to her own books and manuscripts, Cathie donated hundreds of other authors' books and promotional materials as well as magazines and postcard. She also worked tirelessly to recruit other authors to donate their work.
