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Judith Michael Books In Order

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Publication Order of Deceptions Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Judith Michael is the pseudonym of the co-author team of Michael Fain and Judith Barnard, a husband and wife that collaborate to write a series of popular contemporary romance novels. Judith has worked as an editor, biographer, educational film writer, and journalist. For her education she went to Ohio University for her Bachelor of Arts, and then to Northwestern University for her Masters. As Judith Barnard, she has written “The Past and Present of Solomon Sorge” that was published in 1967. The novel won the Friends of American Literature Award of Excellence. Over the years, Fain has been the president of a Canadian electronics company, worked as a NASA engineer, and published numerous articles in several scientific journals. Jointly the husband and wife team has published numerous articles in several publications such as the “Ladies Home Journal”, “Readers Digest”, and “Redbook” among others. As Judith Michael, they have more than ten contemporary romance novels to their name.

Judith Michael spends days and sometimes weeks in their four-bedroom apartment writing their plots and dialogue and refining chapters. Judith who is the more compulsive and intense of the two, will typically draft the first version of the novel, while Michael goes through it and makes notes on how it can be improved. They will then have a back and forth until Judith is partially satisfied and Michael is completely satisfied. Judith is never fully satisfied and thus Michael often has to put his foot down to get their drafts to the publisher. The two have been working together since 1979 when they got married. Back then, Michael was an optical engineer writing technical articles for several institutions he worked for. Meanwhile, Barnard was writing magazine articles, educational films, and school textbooks. Barnard suggested that they combine forces and write articles in travel, family, and marriage in several magazines. Figuring that they stood to make more money from books they co-wrote the first three chapters of their debut novel to a publisher and a year later they were published. Their collaboration resulted in “Deceptions” their first novel that won critical acclaim and introduced Judith Michael as a voice to watch in the contemporary romance genre. In 1986, the novel “Deceptions” was adapted into a movie by the same name. The movie, which starred Stefanie Powers as Stephanie Roberts/Sabrina Longworth, was directed by Robert Chenault and Melville Shavelson.

“Deceptions” the first novel by Judith Michael is a novel about identical twins named Stephanie and Sabrina who are resident on different continents. Sabrina had been the wife of a prominent antique dealer in London with noble ancestry. Her sister Sabrina is an old-fashioned homemaker that lives in Evanston Illinois with her family. In a flash of inspiration, the two sisters decide to exchange places just to get a little excitement into their boring lives. Stephanie jets to London where she gets to apply her old-fashioned American logic on the British elite. Sabrina brings her elegant British manners to the rural suburbs of American Evanston. The exchange is thrilling for the twins until Stephanie wants to switch back and finds that Sabrina is enjoying her homemaker life too much and is not ready to give it up. “Deceptions” is a shrewd and ingenious package that thrilled audiences across the US and in Europe and established Judith Michael as one of the best novelists to emerge in the 1980s. In 1984, Judith Michael followed their first novel with “Possessions” a novel set in British Columbia’s Vancouver. Taking a similar path to their previous title, the novel is about Katherine, a homemaker that finds out that her husband is a member of an elite California family from San Francisco. The man has gone missing leaving her to take care of her children by finding an entry job in San Francisco. It is not long before she is in contact with her husband’s relatives who have not heard from him in years. The family will do anything to help their daughter in law but things get complicated when two of her husband’s dashing cousins start courting the beautiful Katherine. She is now in a dilemma of whether she should give in to the temptation of new love and romance that promises a new life or remain faithful to a faithless husband that has abandoned her. “Possessions” is a novel full of undue gimmickry and without any melodrama, which makes it one of the most interesting contemporary reads you could find.

“Deceptions” the first novel of Judith Michael is an excellent novel that asks the question that many people ask – what if you could have a twin and get to switch their places. It begins as a joke for the two sisters and becomes quite an interesting read that asks people to be grateful for what they have in life, as the other side is not as green as it may look from this side of the fence. Stephanie has a stifling life in suburbia especially when she compares herself to Lady Sabrina Longsworth, she that is married to a lord and lives in high society London. They quickly exchange places and soon Sabrina is having the backyard barbecues rather than cocktail parties while Stephanie gets the high life. In their usual style, Judith Michael spins a fanciful and frothy novel that stirs the imagination on just what could happen if people were not so conventional. “Deceptions” presents one of the best what if scenario on a theme that plays around with sibling rivalry and contentment that many people deal with from time to time.

“Possessions” is a novel that questions whether one needs to take a second chance or stay loyal to her ethical/moral standards. Katherine was married to a builder and thought she knew everything she needed to know about him. It turns out that she is wrong and that her husband is from one of the richest families of San Francisco. Everything comes out when the man vanishes and she heads to San Francisco where his estranged family lives in opulence. She had always been a conservative woman but now that her new family has swept her into their world of luxury and power, she transforms into a glamorous and vibrant woman. She is now a frequent traveler to the likes of Cote d’Azur, Paris, and London as she lives the elegant life that her husband’s cousins throw at her. Then her husband suddenly reappears and she is now forced to choose between passionate, deep love and the past that she still holds dear despite the disappointment it had brought her.

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2 Responses to “Judith Michael”

  1. Sandi: 2 years ago

    I love all Judith Michael books, but I cannot find anything on The House on Webster Street. Can you tell me where it can be found or if it was ever published? Thank you

    Reply
    • Graeme: 2 years ago

      Looking into it, I don’t believe that one was ever released.

      Reply

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