Cathie Pelletier (born 1953) is a novelist and songwriter who was born and raised in Allagash, a rural town in

Aroostook County Aroostook County ( ; french: Comté d'Aroostook) is a county in the U.S. state of Maine along the Canada–U.S. border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 67,105. Its county seat is Houlton, with offices in Caribou and Fort Kent. ...

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

Biography

Pelletier displayed such aptitude as a student that she was advanced two grades (the sixth grade and her senior year), graduating high school at the age of sixteen. Pelletier wore brash clothes that she claimed were "an outlet for her creativity." At seventeen years she was expelled from the

University of Maine at Fort Kent The University of Maine at Fort Kent (UMaine Fort Kent or UMFK) (French: ''Université du Maine à Fort Kent)'' is a public college in Fort Kent, Maine. It is the northernmost campus of the University of Maine System. It is an academic center ...

for breaking curfew and pulling a fire alarm. Following her expulsion, she began to

hitchhike Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Nomads hav ...

across the United States. She returned to her alma mater long enough to graduate with a baccalaureate before departing to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

in pursuit of a career as a songwriter. Pelletier moved to

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

where she met the country music star

Jim Glaser James William Glaser (December 16, 1937 – April 6, 2019) was an American country music artist. He was born in Spalding, Nebraska. Biography The brother of country singers Chuck and Tompall Glaser, he performed as both a solo artist and al ...

. The two lived together for seventeen years until they separated. She then married European-born hotel manager, Tom Viorikic, three months after they met in Canada.

Career

While living in Tennessee Pelletier wrote her first novel, ''The Funeral Makers''. Since then she has penned a number of works, some of which were published under her pseudonym, K.C. McKinnon. In 1998, Pelletier made international news after receiving a million-dollar advance from Doubleday for her novel ''Candles on Bay Street,'' a work that was translated into ten languages and made into a film. She has been the recipient of the

New England Book Award for Fiction New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

and the 2006

Paterson Prize Paterson may refer to: People * Paterson (surname) * Paterson (given name) Places Australia *Paterson, New South Wales *Paterson River, New South Wales * Division of Paterson, an electoral district in New South Wales *Paterson, Queensland, a lo ...

. Pelletier has acted as the literary agent for several published books.

Books by this author

*''Widows Walk (Poetry), 1976 *''The Funeral Makers'', 1986 *''Once Upon a Time on the Banks'', 1989 *''The Weight of Winter'', 1991 *''The Bubble Reputation'', 1993 *''A Marriage Made at Woodstock.'', 1994 *''Beaming Sonny Home'', 1996 *''Running the Bulls'', 2005 *''The One-Way Bridge'', 2013 *''The Summer Experiment'', 2014

Books under K.C. McKinnon

*''Dancing at the Harvest Moon'', 1997 *''Candles on Bay Street'', 1998

Joint works

*''A Country Music Christmas'', 1997 *''The Christmas Note'' with

Skeeter Davis Skeeter Davis (born Mary Frances Penick; December 30, 1931September 19, 2004) was an American country music singer and songwriter who sang crossover pop music songs including 1962's " The End of the World". She started out as part of the Davis ...

, 1997 *''The Ragin' Cajun'' with fiddler

Doug Kershaw Douglas James Kershaw (born January 24, 1936) is an American fiddle player, singer and songwriter from Louisiana. Active since 1948, he began his career as part of the duo Rusty and Doug, along with his brother, Rusty Kershaw. He had an exten ...

*''Proving Einstein Right: The Daring Expeditions that Changed How We Look at the Universe'', with

S. James Gates Sylvester James Gates Jr. (born December 15, 1950), known as S. James Gates Jr. or Jim Gates, is an American theoretical physicist who works on supersymmetry, supergravity, and superstring theory. He currently holds the Clark Leadership Chair ...

, (2019) .

Song-writing career

In addition to her literary triumphs, she has had songs recorded by

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

Texas Tornados Texas Tornados is a Tejano supergroup, composed of some of country music's biggest artists who modernized the Tex-Mex style including Flaco Jiménez, Augie Meyers, Doug Sahm, and Freddy Fender. Its music is a fusion of conjunto (German and No ...

Glaser Brothers Tompall & the Glaser Brothers were an American country music group composed of three brothers: Chuck (February 27, 1936 – June 10, 2019), Jim (December 16, 1937 – April 6, 2019), and Tompall (September 3, 1933 – August 13, 2013) Glaser. Th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelletier, Cathie 1953 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American women novelists People from Aroostook County, Maine University of Maine at Fort Kent alumni Novelists from Maine 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers