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

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

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 language, 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 a ...

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 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 th ...

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 alo ...

. 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 and the 2006 Paterson Prize. 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 S ...

, 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, (2019) .

Song-writing career

In addition to her literary triumphs, she has had songs recorded by David Byrne, Texas Tornados, Glaser Brothers.

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