The bestselling British author Penny Vincenzi has died at the age of 78.
Her publisher, Headline Books, said Vincenzi "died peacefully" on Sunday.
The author's four daughters with her late husband Paul - Polly Harding, Sophie Cornish, Emily Gunnis and Claudia Vincenzi - said they were "incredibly touched and overwhelmed" by the tributes to their mother from fans and fellow writers.
"Although we knew how exceptional and special she was, we're so grateful to know that so many others knew her that way, too," they said. "To us she was a mother first.
"We knew her kindness, care and constancy. She often said that the most important thing a mother can do for her children is to be in their corner, and she was, every day, every time."
"In her later years she met many challenges with her health, but was adamant to remain, in her own words, 'cheerful and positive, someone the grandchildren remembered as happy and fun to be around'," the sisters' statement continued.
"She always said she wanted to die at her typewriter. Only last week she was still galloping through her new novel, so she fulfilled her ambitions to the last."
A former fashion journalist, Vincenzi's bestsellers included An Outrageous Affair, An Absolute Scandal, The Best of Times and A Perfect Heritage. Her most recent book, A Question of Trust, was published last year.
Paying tribute, Vincenzi's friend and fellow author Sophie Kinsella said: "She was the most entertaining of friends, always full of ideas and views and opinions, always ready to laugh at life's absurdities. She was incredibly supportive, wrote long and witty emails and was one of life's givers.
"As an author I so admired her ability to weave together huge, epic plotlines and create such satisfying books full of real life, wit and passion. She was like one of her own novels: once you were in her company you didn't want to say goodbye. I will really miss her."
