by IRENE MIDDLEMAN THOMAS

Steel has been in Guinness World Records three times for being on the New York Times bestseller lists longer than anyone else, and France named her an officer of the Order of Arts and Letters as well as a knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour.

Yet despite her success, she still worries every time she sends a manuscript to her editor, including her latest, The Wedding Planner. "I think, 'Oh, she's going to hate it.' I'm a very anxious person, always worrying about things," says Steel, adding that to this day she is still stunned and thrilled when her editor is pleased. "I really try not to rest on my laurels, and I never take my success for granted.

"I'm just a normal person. I don't play 'star,' I'm not a diva, and I'm very shy."