Carole Mortimer was born in a village in England that she claims was so small that "if you blinked as you drove through it you could miss seeing itcompletely!" She adds that her parents still live in the house where she first came into the world, and her two brothers live very close by.

Carole's early ambition to become a nurse came to an abrupt end after onlyone year of training due to a weakness in her back, suffered in theaftermath of a fall. Instead, she went on to work in the computer departmentof a well-known stationery company. During her time there, Carole made herfirst attempt at writing a novel for Mills and Boon. "The manuscript was fartoo short and the plotline not up to standard, so I naturally received arejection slip," she says. "Not taking rejection well, I went off in a sulkfor two years before deciding to 'have another go.'" Her second manuscriptwas accepted, beginning a long and fruitful career. Her strong, traditionalromances, with their distinct style, brilliantly developed characters andromantic plot twists, have earned her an enthusiastic audienceworldwide. Since the publication of her first novel in 1978, this Britishwriter has shown no signs of slowing her pace. In fact, when over 20 yearslater she celebrated the publication of her 100th book She says: "I haveenjoyed every moment of my career! I really do enjoy my writing, and haveevery intention of continuing to do so for another 20 years!"

Carole lives "in a most beautiful part of Britain" with her husband, sixchildren, including her unexpected last child who was 22 years younger thanher first-born, and a menagerie of pets, including a dog acquired severalyears ago in Canada, which is actually half-coyote!