The romance industry morns the passing of one of our leaders last week. Editor Kate Duffy was a force to be reckoned with. She had a huge  impact on the changing face of romance. She will be missed. Ms. Duffy lost a battle with cancer at age 56. Her obituary runs today in the New York Times, which you can read here.

I was lucky to have met Kate at the 2008 RWA National Conference in San Francisco. As a shy, newby writer, I had little knowledge of the editing side of the industry, but I had heard tales of the great Kate Duffy. She was a dragon lady, or so I’d heard, and a born and bred New Yorker. When I sat down at the hotel bar next to, what I assumed was, a fellow single conference goer and struck up a conversation, the last thing I expected was to meet an editor, let alone The Kate Duffy. I blogged a tongue-in-cheek version of the evening, but the upshot was that Kate made an impression on me that night. She was very kind and generous. I had a realization: Editors are people too, not fire-breathing dragons or mythical giants.

Kate will be missed. Her legacy lives on, and her impact on this little author will not be forgotten.

Tags: Kate Duffy, romance novel industry