Eagle, Kathleen 1947-

views updated

EAGLE, Kathleen 1947-

PERSONAL: Born November 8, 1947, in Fredericksburg, VA; daughter of Sidney Daniel (in the U.S. Air Force) and Mary Virginia (Garner) Pierson; married Clyde Spencer Eagle (a teacher), October 10, 1970; children: David Spencer, Elizabeth Marie, and Christopher Daniel. Education: Mount Holyoke College, B.A., 1970; North State College, Aberdeen, SD, M.S., 1982. Religion: Episcopalian.

ADDRESSES: Home—1437 Larch Lane N., Minneapolis, MN 55441-4774; fax: 612-541-9537. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Romance novelist and educator. Fort Yates School District, ND, teacher, 1970-87; writer, 1984—; Minneapolis Star Tribune, reviewer.

MEMBER: North Dakota Council of Teachers of English (president, 1985-87), North Dakota Department of Education Curriculum Council (secretary, 1985-86), Romance Writers of America (national conference keynote speaker, 1993; adviser to board of directors, 1995-96), Novelists, Inc., Midwest Fiction Writers.

AWARDS, HONORS: Golden Heart Award, 1983; Golden Heart Award, Romance Writers of America (RWA), for Someday Soon, 1984; Lifetime Achievement Award, Romantic Times Magazine, 1989; RITA Award, RWA, for This Time Forever, 1993; RITA Award finalist, Fire and Rain, 1994; Midwest Fiction Writer of the Year, RWA, 1995; RITA Award finalist, Reason to Believe, 1995; Write Touch Readers Award, for Reason to Believe, 1996; Janet Daily Award finalist, Sunset Song, 1996; Career Achievement Award for Contemporary Novel, Romantic Times, for The Last True Cowboy, 1998.

WRITINGS:

Someday Soon (Silhouette Special Edition), Silhouette (New York, NY), 1984.

A Class Act (Silhouette Special Edition), Silhouette (New York, NY), 1985.

Georgia Nights (Silhouette Special Edition), Silhouette (New York, NY), 1986.

For Old Times' Sake (Silhouette Intimate Moments), Silhouette (New York, NY), 1986.

Something Worth Keeping (Silhouette Special Edition), Silhouette (New York, NY), 1987.

Carved in Stone (Western Lovers), Silhouette (New York, NY), 1987.

Candles in the Night (Silhouette Special Edition), Silhouette (New York, NY), 1988.

More Than a Miracle (Silhouette Intimate Moments), Silhouette (New York, NY), 1988.

But That Was Yesterday (Silhouette Intimate Moments), Silhouette (New York, NY), 1988.

Private Treaty (Harlequin Historical), Harlequin (New York, NY), 1988.

Medicine Woman (Harlequin Historical), Harlequin (New York, NY), 1989.

Paintbox Morning, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1989.

Heat Lightning, Pageant Books (New York, NY), 1989.

Heaven and Earth (Harlequin Historical), Harlequin (New York, NY), 1990.

'Til There Was You (Silhouette Special Edition), Silhouette (New York, NY), 1990.

Bad Moon Rising (Silhouette Intimate Moments), Silhouette (New York, NY), 1991.

To Each His Own (Silhouette Intimate Moments), Silhouette (New York, NY), 1992.

Black Tree Moon: American Hero (Silhouette Intimate Moments), Silhouette (New York, NY), 1992.

This Time Forever, Avon (New York, NY), 1992.

Diamond Willow (Silhouette Intimate Moments), Silhouette (New York, NY), 1993.

Broomstick Cowboy (Silhouette Special Edition), Silhouette (New York, NY), 1993.

Defender (Silhouette Intimate Moments), Silhouette (New York, NY), 1994.

Fire and Rain, Avon (New York, NY), 1994.

Reason to Believe, Avon (New York, NY), 1995.

A Class Act: North Dakota (Men Made in America), Harlequin (New York, NY), 1995.

Surrender!, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1995. (With Bronwyn Williams) Dream Catchers (by Request), Harlequin (New York, NY), 1996.

Sunrise Song, Avon (New York, NY), 1996.

The Night Remembers, Avon (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Kasey Michaels and Emilie Richards) A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Delivery Room, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Mary Lynn Baxter and Marie Ferrarella) For the Baby's Sake, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1997.

The Last True Cowboy, Avon (New York, NY), 1998.

What the Heart Knows, Avon (New York, NY), 1999.

The Last Good Man, Morrow (New York, NY), 2000.

You Never Can Tell, Morrow (New York, NY), 2001.

Once upon a Wedding, Morrow (New York, NY), 2002.

It Must Have Been Love, Morrow (New York, NY), 2002.

Contributor to anthologies, including Silhouette Christmas Stories 1988, Silhouette Summer Sizzlers 1991, and Summer Sizzlers: Men of Summer 1996. Also reviews popular fiction for the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

SIDELIGHTS: The writings of prolific American romance novelist Kathleen Eagle, who has written more than thirty-five books since publishing her debut work in 1984, have consistently appeared on regional and national best-seller lists. In fact, Eagle has won many of her genre's most important literary prizes, beginning with the Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart Award for her first novel, Someday Soon. The many other awards she has won include a Lifetime Achievement Award from Romantic Times Magazine and the Romantic Writers of America's prestigious RITA for her 1992 novel This Time Forever. Although many of her earlier novels were paperbacks published by Harlequin, most of her more recent efforts have been published in hardcover editions, including The Night Remembers, The Last Good Man, and You Never Can Tell.

Eagle spent most of her childhood moving around because her father, Sidney Pierson, was in the U.S. Air Force. After graduating from Mount Holyoke College in 1970, she began her professional career as a teacher on an Indian reservation in North Dakota. Around this time she met and married Clyde Spencer Eagle, a Native American of Lakota Sioux ancestry who was also a teacher. She began taking graduate courses at North State College in Aberdeen, South Dakota, graduating in 1982. As she explained in an interview with Amazon.com, it was around this time that she began to write her first book. "I was teaching high school English on Standing Rock Indian Reservation. I'd just finished getting my master's degree, and I decided to write a story for fun one summer," she said. "I didn't intend to become a novelist, but I'd dreamed of it when I was young enough to have such outlandish dreams."

Because of her relationship with her husband and her experiences while teaching on the reservation, Eagle understands the issues affecting Native Americans, both historically and in modern times. Many of her books use this firsthand knowledge and offer intimate glimpses of life on an Indian reservation. In fact, literary critics often point to her ability to portray these issues as strong points in her writing. For example, in her 1999 novel What the Heart Knows, Eagle examines the issue of gaming casinos on Indian reservations and the negative impact of legalized gambling on many Native American communities. Even when Eagle has written about something other than Native American life, she has still tackled serious issues, such as in The Last True Cowboy, in which she focuses on the greedy practices of corporate land development in the West. Critic Grace Lee, who reviewed the book for Booklist, called it "a compelling conflict between traditional love of the land and crass money-making."

Again drawing inspiration from her husband's Native-American heritage, You Never Can Tell follows the movements of Heather Reardon, an investigative journalist on the trail of an outlaw in hiding. The outlaw, Kole Kills Crow, reluctantly agrees to be the focus of her story. Lezlie Patterson, writing for Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service called it an "almost decent book, but Eagle took too much space to promote her cause, which left too little for romance."

Mix in three generations of women who reunite for a big wedding, an ex-husband or two, young people engrossed in lust, and you have the making of a sparkling romance in Once upon a Wedding. Patty Engelmann, of Booklist, called it a "sweet story about friendship, family, and the surprising changes weddings can put in motion." A Publishers Weekly reviewer added, "the wedding preparation details are frosting on the cake."

Despite the attention she gives to serious issues, Eagle is a romance writer at heart, and all her works center on romantic themes. In an Amazon.com interview, Eagle explained her primary concern when beginning a new book. "I always set out to write a book I'll enjoy reading myself. I write primarily to entertain." According to many critics, Eagle has succeeded in achieving this goal. Kristen Ramsdell, who has reviewed a number of Eagle's books for Library Journal, called her "a highly regarded writer of emotionally involving romances." With the success of her first work, Eagle gave up her job teaching at Standing Rock after seventeen years so that she could devote more time to writing. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and three children.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, 1997, Kathleen Hughes, review of The Night Remembers, p. 1655; April 1, 1998, Grace Lee, review of The Last True Cowboy, p. 1303; July, 1999, Alexandra Baker Shrake, review of What the Heart Knows, p. 1929; July, 2000, Patty Engelmann, review of The Last Good Man, p. 2015; July, 2001, Patty Engelmann, review of You Never Can Tell, p. 1990; June 1, 2002, Patty Engelmann, review of Once upon a Wedding, p. 1694.

Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 1997, review of The NightRemembers, p. 660.

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, February 6, 2002, Lezlie Patterson, review of You Never Can Tell, p. K1649.

Library Journal, February 15, 1996, review of SunriseSong, p. 140; May 15, 1997, Kristin Ramsdell, review of The Night Remembers, p. 66; May 15, 1998, Kristin Ramsdell, review of The Last True Cowboy, p. 75; August, 1999, Kristin Ramsdell, review of What the Heart Knows, p. 68; August, 2000, Kristin Ramsdell, review of The Last Good Man, p. 82; May 15, 2001, Kristin Ramsdell, review of You Never Can Tell, p. 106.

Publishers Weekly, May 12, 1997, review of The NightRemembers, p. 60; May 4, 1998, review of The Last True Cowboy, p. 204; May 31, 1999, review of What the Heart Knows, p. 63; July 10, 2000, review of The Last Good Man, p. 44; July 30, 2001, review of You Never Can Tell, p. 60; April 15, 2002, review of You Never Can Tell, p. 47. July 8, 2002, review of Once upon a Wedding, p. 32.