Helen Bailey has died. She (pictured, via) was 51 years old.
BBC News reports that Bailey was well-known as a children’s books author within the United Kingdom. In addition to writing books for young readers and teens, she also ran a blog called Planet Grief. She drew inspiration from this blog to write a memoir entitled When Bad Things Happen in Good Bikinis; it was published in 2015.
Here’s more from The Guardian: “Her first teenage title, Life at the Shallow End: The Crazy World of Electra Brown, published in 2008, was quickly followed by Out of My Depth (2008), Swimming Against the Tide (2009) and Taking the Plunge (2009). Friendships, families and the overwhelming importance of mascara fuelled the funny, fast-paced, easy-to-read titles and put Bailey immediately among the most-read teen writers. Often enjoyed alongside Louise Rennison’s Georgia Nicolson titles, Bailey’s Electra Brown stories brought her a loyal band of readers and she was shortlisted for the prestigious Queen of Teen award in 2010.” (via The Chicago Tribune)