Sometimes called the "High Priestess of French erotic literature", Deforges was the first woman to own and operate a publishing house in France. Over the years, she has been censored, prosecuted, and heavily fined for publishing "offensive" literature.
One of her novels, La Bicyclette Bleue (The Blue Bicycle), published in 1981, was France's best-selling novel ever. A story of love, obsession, and survival set during the turmoil of World War II, it would become a successful series of seven books.
She has also been president of the Societé des Gens de Lettres de France and a member of the Prix Fémina jury.
Deforges lives in Paris.