Fiction author Jane Orcutt died from cancer March 18 in Forth Worth, Texas. Orcutt, 47, was diagnosed with leukemia in December, according to Baker Publishing Group.

She had just finished her new novel All the Tea in China, which will be released in June by Revell, a division of Baker. Orcutt authored and co-authored 15 books, including the best-selling Porch Swings and Picket Fences (WaterBrook Press).

Lonnie Hull DuPont, Revell's director of acquisitions, said that “from the get-go, we knew we were lucky to get Jane. But when I read her final manuscript of All the Tea in China, I saw how truly fortunate we were to have such a fine writer on our list. This is a tremendous loss for all of us.”

Orcutt published her first novel, The Fruit of Her Hands, in 1997 with Barbour Books, which prompted the Heartsong Presents Club to name her as one of its Top Ten Favorite new authors. Orcutt's The Fugitive Heart and The Hidden Heart (both by WaterBrook Press) were both named as finalists for the Romance Writers of America's RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance.

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