Maureen Stephenson

Maureen Stephenson (14 February 1927 - 5 July 2008) was an author of romantic, gothic and contemporary mysteries.

Personal life Stephenson was born to father Joseph Duffy, a tailor, and mother Anne, née Byrom. She attended high school in London. She married Louis John Stephenson, an engineer and later Warwickshire County councillor, in 1954. They had three children. She lived at Ansley Mill Farm, Ansley,

Films on which she worked included: Anna Karenina (1948) Dir. Julien Duvivier Maria Chapdelaine (1950) Dir. Marc Allégret Men Against the Sun (1953) Dir. Brendan J. Stafford The Square Ring (1953) Dir. Basil Dearden Isn't Life Wonderful! (1953) Dir. Harold French

Writing Stephenson started writing when her father paid for her to take a correspondence course in fiction writing, about which she said, "In my opinion, such courses are the best way to start." While on holiday in the Yorkshire Dales in 1977 she started writing romantic mysteries. She was influenced by the Brontë sisters, stating that "They achieve a mystical otherworldliness that I admire." Ride the Dark Moors (1977) Pub. Zebra Books, also published in German The House on Wath Moor (1979) Pub. Zebra Books, also published in German The Flowers of Tomorrow (1980) House on the Heath (1982) A reprint of Wath Moor with a new title. Pub. Zebra Books Autumn of Deception (1982) Roses have Thorns (1983) The Enchanted Desert (1986), also published in Norwegian Snow in my Heart (1987) Never Too Late (1992) The Love Dance (1996) I'll Wait Forever (1996) Dance Amongst Thorns (1996) Pub. Cosmax Co Kiwi Sunset (2006)

Legal issue Unbeknownst to Stephenson – Wath Moor US publication rights were unlawfully "sold" to an American named Elliot as part of a tax evasion scheme in which expenses and purported losses associated with publication were to be used to reduce the buyer's liability for income tax. The plan did not succeed. She was a featured author as part of the second World Book Day in 1999.