We were saddened yesterday to hear of the death of novelist Mary Wilbon, who came to New York in the 1970s to pursue a career as a Broadway actress and eventually wound up as an employee of the U.S. Department of Labor (doing such an outstanding job that she received a letter of recommendation from then-vice president Al Gore). Wilbon stayed active in community theater near her home in northern New Jersey, but she also published two novels with Kensington: Naughty Little Secrets in 2004, and One Last Kiss in February of this year. "Mary’s effervescent personality will be missed by all those who knew her," Kensington said in its notice of Wilbon's death following a short illness. "Her last wishes included any donations to be sent to the Human Rights Campaign and local chapters of the ASPCA."

"This isn't a recent photo," she once wrote about the headshot at left, "but damn it, she was determined to get some use out of the headshots she paid for."