Carole Matthews is a successful and popular British author, famous for her sense of humour and her romantic comedy novels. Her books have sold over 6.8 million books worldwide and have been published in more than 31 countries. In 2011, Matthews was inducted into the Festival of Romance Hall of Fame for her outstanding contribution to romance writing.

Biography

Matthews was born in

St Helens, Merseyside St Helens () is a town in Merseyside, England, with a population of 102,629. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, which had a population of 176,843 at the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census. St Helens i ...

in 1960 and was always an avid reader. She attended Champneys College where she studied

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. She has worked as a secretary, ice-cream lady, television presenter, beauty therapist and freelance writer. Her first book was ''Let's Meet on Platform Eight'' and was published in 1997. Her latest book is Christmas for Beginners. In 2021 Carole won the Romantic Novelists' Association - Romantic Novel of the Year Award. For Sunny days and Sea Breezes. She has published 34 novels and has appeared on the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, wh ...

'' and ''

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'' bestsellers lists and her books, ''Welcome To The Real World'', ''Wrapped up in You'' and ''Happiness for Beginners'' made the shortlist for the

Romantic Novelists' Association The Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) is the professional body that represents authors of romantic fiction in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1960 by Denise Robins (first president), Barbara Cartland (first vice-president), Vivian Stuar ...

Romantic Novel of the Year Award The Romantic Novel of the Year Award is an award for romance novels since 1960, presented by Romantic Novelists' Association, and since 2003, the novellas, also won the Love Story of the Year (now RoNA Rose Award). In 2018, awards were given t ...

. Her 4th book ''For Better, For Worse'', was picked in summer 2002 for a TV book club pick in America, Reading with Ripa, on the show

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. She has sold over 6.8 million books worldwide and is published in more than 31 countries. She has had more than 4.5 million

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

lends in the United Kingdom since she started writing. In 2011, she was inducted into the Festival of Romance Hall of Fame for her outstanding contribution to romance writing. In 2015 Carole was presented with an

Outstanding Achievement Award "Outstanding" is a song originally performed by the Gap Band and written by member Raymond Calhoun. The song originally appeared on the group's platinum-selling 1982 album '' Gap Band IV''. It is one of their signature songs and biggest hits, re ...

from the

for 25 novels which have consistently appeared in bestseller lists, and for her continued championing of the RNA and romantic fiction. As well as writing, Matthews has also been a

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...

and is a regular radio guest. She lives in Milton Keynes with her husband, Kevin, who she regularly refers to as 'Lovely Kev.'

UK Books

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Carole Living people British romantic fiction writers 1960 births People from St Helens, Merseyside