Margaret Mayo

Margaret Mayo (born 1936) is an English romance novelist from Staffordshire who has written more than 80 novels for Mills & Boon since her first books appeared in 1976.

She was born on 7 February 1936 in Staffordshire. She left school at 15, learned shorthand and typing, and spent many years as a secretary. She married at 22 and had two children, and began publishing romances with Mills & Boon at the age of 40.

Her earliest books date from 1976 and include Destiny Paradise, issued in North America as Harlequin Romance no. 1980 in June 1976, along with Shades of Autumn and Perilous Waters; Open Library also dates the Mills & Boon edition of Land of Ice and Fire to 1976, while its Harlequin Romance edition followed in March 1977. The Romance Wiki counts 22 of her novels in the Harlequin Romance line and six in Harlequin Presents.

For collectors. Her first books, all from 1976, are the natural starting point, with Destiny Paradise the earliest she is credited with. Many of her novels were published by Mills & Boon in Britain and Harlequin in North America, so the same title can appear under both imprints; check the copyright page for the earlier date. Take care with online listings: Open Library's record for her mixes in books by others of the same name, such as If You Should Meet a Crocodile (Kaye & Ward, 1974).