Mills & Boon: And you thought romance was dead! After 35,000 tender clinches, 30,000 kisses and 10,000 ‘I do’s’ Mills & Boon is still booming 100 years on | Daily Mail Online

Almost all Mills & Boon authors are women, but one in ten readers is male. "It's not so surprising," says Kate. "Men read Mills & Boon the same way they watch romcoms - a lot of entertainment has romance at its heart and a feel-good factor."

Most writers use a pseudonym, a Mills & Boon convention. It lets them write other genres and ensures that teachers and nurses, for whom writing is not a full-time career, retain their professional privacy. "As our books are quite sexy, you can imagine why teachers wouldn't want their students reading or passing around copies," points out Mills & Boon senior editor Joanne Grant.