Kay Thorpe

An avid reader from the time when words on paper began to make sense, Kay developed a lively imagination of her own, making up stories for the entertainment of her young friends. After leaving school, she tried a variety of jobs, including dental nursing, and a spell in the Women's Royal Airforce, from which she emerged knowing a whole lot more about life-if only as an observer. She married in 1960, but didn't begin thinking about trying her hand at writing for a living until she gave up work some four years later to have a baby. Having read Harlequin Mills & Boon novels herself, and having done some market research in the local library asking readers what it was they particularly liked about the books, she decided to aim for a particular market. She was fortunate to have her very first completed manuscript accepted-The Last of the Mallorys, published in 1968. Since then she has written over 70 books, which doesn't begin to compare with the output of some Harlequin Mills & Boon authors, but still leaves her wondering where all those words came from. She now lives on the outskirts of Chesterfield in Derbyshire along with husband, Tony, and a huge tabby cat called Mad Max-her one son having flown the coop. Some day she'll think about retiring, but not yet.