It’s with great sadness that we announce Maureen Lee, who wrote as Miranda Lee, died on 13th November 2021, aged 76.
Miranda Lee was one of Mills & Boon’s most influential and popular romance authors. She signed with the publisher in 1988 and her first novel, After the Affair, was published in 1990. Since then, Maureen went on to write over 90 novels for Mills & Boon; selling over 18 million copies worldwide and hitting the USA Today bestseller list. She delighted readers around the globe with her spellbinding love stories and inspired many current Mills & Boon authors to write romance novels.
Born in 1945 in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia, Maureen was the youngest of four children; her late sister Wendy Brennan was a fellow Mills & Boon author who wrote under the pen name Emma Darcy. Maureen briefly pursued a career in classical music before moving to Sydney and embracing the world of computers. She worked as a programmer until her marriage to her beloved husband, Tony Lee. They had three daughters and Maureen began writing when family commitments kept her at home.
Maureen liked to create believable, fast-paced and passionate stories, usually set in her sunny home country of Australia. She retired from writing for Mills & Boon in 2020 and her last title, The Billionaire’s Cinderella Housekeeper, was published in Mills & Boon Modern in March 2021.
An inspirational author to work with, Maureen was steadfast in her editorial vision and commitment to entertaining readers with her iconic love stories. She was forthright and honest in her approach to writing, and also deeply caring and interested in those she worked with.
Maureen’s editor, Carly Byrne, says: ‘Being Maureen’s editor for the past 9 years has been a career highlight. Her books were my entry point into the wonderful world of Mills & Boon, and it was a dream come true to eventually work with her. She leaves an amazing legacy of alpha heroes, fiery heroines and stunning Australian settings behind her that will have brought joy to so many readers and continue to do so through her incredible backlist of novels.’
She is survived by her husband Tony, 3 children, 3 grandchildren and 1 great grand child.
