M.J. Rose, the author who found literary success after self-publishing her debut novel, died on Dec. 10 at 71, Publishers Weekly reports.

According to her website, Rose was raised in New York City and educated at Syracuse University. She worked in advertising before releasing her first novel, Lip Service, in 1998 on Amazon. A critic for Kirkus called the novel, about a housewife who becomes a phone sex therapist, “corny beyond belief, but amusing nevertheless.”

The novel became a bestseller. It was selected for the LiteraryGuild/Doubleday Book Club and later republished by Pocket.

Rose would go on to write nearly 20 more novels, including In Fidelity, Sheet Music, The Book of Lost Fragrances, and The Library of Light and Shadow. Her 2007 novel The Reincarnationist was adapted as the television series Past Life, created by David Hudgins and starring Kelli Giddish, Nic Bishop, and Richard Schiff.

Rose’s admirers paid tribute to her on social media. On the platform X, book critic Bethanne Patrick wrote, “To her family and dearest, deepest condolences. To those who knew her, personally and/or professionally, it's a great loss. M. J. was a visionary in writing, book publishing, and digital tech. May her ‘other side’ be filled with beauty and light.”

And author Chris Bohjalian posted, “RIP, MJ Rose. You were one of those writers who understood the literary world is big—expansive enough for us all. You cared about books, but never before the people who penned them. If there’s a heaven, yours is a library with your writer pals…so the room is very, very crowded.”

Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.