London, Cait [A pseudonym] (Lois Kleinsasser, Cait Logan)

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London, Cait [A pseudonym] (Lois Kleinsasser, Cait Logan)

PERSONAL:

Born April 11; children: three daughters. Hobbies and other interests: Cooking, art, herbs, traveling.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Hollister, MO. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer and novelist.

MEMBER:

Romance Writers of America, Orange County Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Novelists, Inc.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Best Americana Award nomination; recipient of other awards.

WRITINGS:

The Loving Season, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1989.

Angel vs. Maclean, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1990.

The Pendragon Virus, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1990.

Midnight Rider, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1992.

The Cowboy, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1993.

Maybe No, Maybe Yes, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1993.

The Seduction of Jake Tallman, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1993.

The Bride Says No, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1994.

The Daddy Candidate, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1994.

Fusion, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1994.

Lightfoot and Loving, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1994.

Every Girl's Guide to …, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1995.

Miracles and Mistletoe, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1995.

Mr. Easy, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1995.

Every Groom's Guide to …, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1996.

The Perfect Fit, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1998.

Rafe Palladin: Man of Secrets, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1998.

Scent of a Woman, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1998.

Three Kisses, Avon Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Blaylock's Bride, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1999.

Typical Male, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1999.

Sleepless in Montana, Avon Books (New York, NY), 1999.

Rio: Man of Destiny, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1999.

Un Hombre y sus secretos, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1999.

Last Dance, Silhouette (New York, NY), 2000.

It Happened at Midnight, Avon Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Slow Fever, Silhouette (New York, NY), 2000.

Do You Take This Cowboy, Silhouette (New York, NY), 2000.

Gabriel's Gift, Silhouette (New York, NY), 2001.

A Loving Man, Silhouette (New York, NY), 2001.

Leaving Lonely Town, Avon Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Mr. Temptation, Silhouette, (New York, NY), 2002.

When Night Falls, Avon Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Instinctive Male, Silhouette (New York, NY), 2003.

With Her Last Breath, Avon Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Stuck on You, Silhouette (New York, NY), 2004.

Hold Me Tight, Silhouette (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Susan Mallery) Lassoed Hearts, Silhouette (New York, NY), 2004.

What Memories Remain, Avon Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Flashback, Avon Books (New York, NY), 2005.

Hidden Secrets, Avon Books (New York, NY), 2005.

Total Package, Silhouette (New York, NY), 2005.

Silence the Whispers, Avon Books (New York, NY), 2006.

At the Edge, Avon Books (New York, NY), 2007.

"TALLCHIEF" SERIES

The Cowboy and the Cradle, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1996.

Tallchief's Bride, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1996.

The Groom Candidate, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1997.

Tallchief for Keeps, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1997.

The Seduction of Fiona Tallchief, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1998.

The Homecoming, Silhouette (New York, NY), 2000.

A Tallchief Celebration, Silhouette (New York, NY), 2001.

The Hunter, Silhouette (New York, NY), 2002.

Contributor to books, including Maternity Leave, Silhouette, 1998, and Stuck on You, Silhouette, 2004. Contributor to periodicals.

UNDER PSEUDONYM CAIT LOGAN

Lady on the Line, Berkley (New York, NY), 1986.

Rugged Glory, Berkley (New York, NY), 1986.

Gambler's Lady, Berkley (New York, NY), 1987.

Lady's Choice, Berkley (New York, NY), 1988.

Lady's Desire, Berkley (New York, NY), 1988.

Tame the Fury, Berkley (New York, NY), 1990.

Wild Dawn, Berkley (New York, NY), 1992.

Night Fire, Berkley (New York, NY), 1994.

Delilah, Berkley (New York, NY), 1995.

The Wedding Gamble, Dell (New York, NY), 1996.

Be Mine, Dell (New York, NY), 1997.

Lady Desperado, Dell (New York, NY), 1997.

Contributor to Outlaw Love, Dell, 1987.

SIDELIGHTS:

Cait London is a pseudonym for romance writer Lois Kleinsasser, who writes western historical novels and contemporary romantic fiction. She has also written under the pseudonym Cait Logan. Her novels have been published in over twenty countries and have introduced readers to the continuing sagas of many families, including the Tallchiefs, the Palladins, the Langtrys, and the Blaylocks.

Critics for Publishers Weekly have reviewed the author's historical romances. For example, The Wedding Gamble, which details the courtship of a Montana rancher and a female gambler from San Francisco, was called a "thoroughly enjoyable Western romance" with "a rousing finish" by a Publishers Weekly contributor.

In a review of the historical novel Be Mine for Romance Reader magazine, Katy Cooper found much to be admired in the story of a Native American man who reluctantly falls in love with a German-American woman on the American frontier. Cooper wrote that "the straightforward simplicity of Cait Logan's writing exactly suits the time and place she writes about." Although maintaining that the ending does not mesh entirely with the rest of the story, Cooper praised "the quality of the writing, the freshness of the characterization, and the distinctive flavor of the setting."

The author's more contemporary "Tallchief" series consists of novels detailing the lives and loves of the Tallchief family of Amen Flats, Wyoming. Each novel in the series focuses on a different Tallchief sibling. In Tallchief for Keeps, the third installment of the series, Elspeth Tallchief has a one-night stand with her sister's brother-in-law during a trip to Scotland. He later discovers that she became pregnant with his child, and after falsely accusing her of aborting the baby—she had a miscarriage—tries to convince her that he is in love with her. Elspeth is attracted to him but remains bitter about past events.

The "Tallchief" series also features the Palladin family, who are responsible for the murder of the Tallchiefs' parents. In Rafe Palladin: Man of Secrets, London gives the Palladins their own story. Rafe attempts to atone for his father's sins by trying to repay the Valerian family for the shady real estate deal that his father concocted to swindle Dr. Valerian many years earlier. To do so, Rafe travels to a transplanted and decrepit English castle in the Rocky Mountains that his father had sold to the beleaguered Dr. Valerian, intending to repurchase it. But despite the misfortunes the castle has caused the Valerians, they decide not to sell. Instead, the two men work out a plan by which Rafe will help restore the house, and in the process Rafe schemes to acquire Dr. Valerian's beautiful wife, Demi Tallchief.

According to her Web site, one of London's own favorites is Three Kisses, the story about prodigal daughter Cloe, who returns to Lolo, Wyoming, twelve years after leaving, and attempts to come to terms with "The Club," spiteful locals who ruined her family when they accused her father of killing her mother's rapist. Michael Bearclaw, a man who spurned Cloe's advances years ago and who is now a handsome forensics investigator, serves as the love interest.

In Rio: Man of Destiny, Rio Blaylock becomes an heir to Boone Llewlyn's Wyoming feed store, and searches for concert pianist Paloma Forbes in order to buy out her share of the business. Paloma, however, would rather forget about the feed store in the small Wyoming town where Boone watched over her as a child when her mother abandoned her. Rio knows instantly that Paloma is the woman for him, but in order for her to come to terms with Rio and her painful childhood, he must allow her time and space to sort out her emotions.

Hogan Kodiak returns home to Sweet Grass County, Montana, in Sleepless in Montana. Having lived for eighteen years abroad as an artist, he returns to sort through the quagmire of his childhood. When Hogan's sister Carley is stalked by a rapist in Seattle, her life-long friend Jemma brings her back to Montana, where she will be safe with her father and Hogan. The Kodiaks are dysfunctional enough without Jemma around, but Hogan cannot help but notice how attractive she is. Liz Zink, reviewing the novel on the All about Romance Web site, appreciated the factual western setting and acknowledged that the level of dysfunction operating between the characters makes the book "not an easy read." Zink nevertheless noted that Sleepless in Montana is "beautiful and heart-wrenching."

Leaving Lonely Town is a sequel to It Happened at Midnight, a novel that introduces the Langtry family. Although both books mine the milieu of the western frontier, they relate contemporary stories. Both books are inspired by lullabies written by London, which are sung by the protagonists to help ease their plights. In It Happened at Midnight, a man comforts his wife, who has just given birth, with a song sung by a campfire, after their lives in the American South are left behind. In Leaving Lonely Town, Cleopatra Langtry sings to her newborn daughter a song that echoes through the book as Cleopatra's descendants suffer the kidnaping of their child. When the child grows up, she comes to suspect the horror of her past.

The author places the action for her novel When Night Falls in the small town of Madrid, Oklahoma. While not much ever happens in Madrid, a killer seeking revenge soon wakes the residents up to the danger in their midst. Kristin Ramsdell, writing in the Library Journal, noted "the superb depiction of the small-town environment, unexpected details …, and well-done dual romances."

What Memories Remain is a romantic suspense novel featuring Cyd Callahan, whose mother is a prostitute in a small Lake Michigan fishing village, and Hallie Lochlain, an orphan who was abused. The novel follows the two as they overcome disastrous childhoods, become involved in a murder investigation, and find true love. A contributor to the Ozarks Magazine Web site noted that the author "is a master at painting people—so that even the most surprising character revelation seems reasonable."

Danya Stepanov is brooding over his wife's death nine years earlier in the beginning of London's novel Total Package. Early in the novel, Danya goes for a walk and sees a woman at the grave site of Indian Chief Kamakani in Amoteh, Washington. The woman, fashion photographer Sidney Blakely, sees Danya and fears that he is suicidal. She offers to be his friend but he begins to fall in love with her. However, he must overcome Sidney's feelings for a boyfriend who dumped her. In a review of Total Package in MBR Bookwatch, a contributor noted: "Fans of warm contemporary drama will enjoy this fine romance."

In Silence the Whispers, Hayden Olson finds his father hanged and, though he is only ten years old at the time, he is arrested for kidnapping a six-year-old heiress. When, more than twenty years later, he returns to the old Oklahoma Estate where the girl was kidnapped, Hayden sets out to prove that his father's death was not a suicide but murder. In the process, he reconnects with his old school friend Cameron, whose own mother died under mysterious circumstances. A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that the author "has created a deliberate, atmospheric tale of dangerous passion and slippery memory."

In the 2007 romance, At the Edge, Greer Aisling, a psychic who often helps the police on murder and missing persons cases, also has triplet daughters who are psychics. In this installment of a proposed trilogy focusing on the triplets, the story focuses on Claire, who is living in Montana. Claire is attracted to her neighbor, Neil Olafson, who recruits her to help find his daughter who has been missing for the past eight years. In a review of At the Edge on The Best Reviews Web site, Harriet Klausner wrote: "Fans will be charmed by Cait London's entertaining story of love between the psychic and the skeptic."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Best Reviews,http://thebestreviews.com/ (July 2, 2007), Harriet Klausner, review of At the Edge.

Library Journal, August 1, 2002, Kristin Ramsdell, review of When Night Falls, p. 72.

MBR Bookwatch, March 1, 2005, Harriet Klausner, review of Hidden Secrets; April 1, 2005, review of Total Package.

Publishers Weekly, June 29, 1990, Penny Kaganoff, review of Tame the Fury, p. 97; February 20, 1995, review of Delilah, p. 202; July 1, 1996, review of The Wedding Gamble, p. 58; May 29, 2006, review of Silence the Whispers, p. 42.