Kate Saunders, the English author of novels for children and adults, has died at 62, the Guardian reports.

Saunders, a London native, began her career as an actor, appearing in shows such as Angels, A Family Affair, and Only Fools and Horses. She was a columnist for newspapers and magazines, making her literary debut in 1986 with the novel The Prodigal Father, winner of the Society of Authors’ Betty Trask Award.

Several other novels for adults followed, including Night Shall Overtake Us, The Marrying Game, and Bachelor Boys. She pivoted to children’s literature in 1999 with A Spell of Witches; her other books for younger readers included Magicalamity, The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop, and Five Children on the Western Front.

Her most recent book, The Mystery of the Sorrowful Maiden, was published in 2021.

Admirers of Saunders paid tribute to her on social media. On Twitter, children’s book author and illustrator Clara Vulliamy wrote, “So sorry to read that Kate Saunders has died. I remember her as formidably intelligent and tremendous fun.”

And Saunders’ sister, journalist Louisa Saunders, tweeted, “The warmest, bravest, most generous and most brilliant woman I will ever know. Heaven knows how we will live without her.”

Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.