O'Neal, Katherine

PERSONAL:

Married William Arnold (a film critic); children: Janie. Hobbies and other interests: Travel, literature.

CAREER:

Writer.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Romantic Times Awards for Best Sensual Historical Romance and Career Achievement.

WRITINGS:

ROMANCE FICTION

The Last Highwayman, Fanfare (New York, NY), 1993.

Princess of Thieves, Fanfare (New York, NY), 1993.

Master of Paradise, Domain (New York, NY), 1995.

Bride of Danger, Bantam (New York, NY), 1997.

Written in the Stars, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1998.

My One and Only, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Susan Johnson and Thea Devine) Taken by Surprise, Brava (New York, NY), 2003.

Silent Surrender, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 2003.

(With Susan Johnson and Pam Rosenthal) Strangers in the Night, Brava/Kensington (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Susan Johnson and Diane Whiteside) Not Just for Tonight, Brava/Kensington (New York, NY), 2005.

The Art of Seduction, Kensington (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Katherine O'Neal is primarily a romance writer who specializes in historical novels that take place around the globe, particularly in lands belonging to the old British Empire. O'Neal, who is married to noted film critic William Arnold, mines her love of and experiences with traveling, weaving the exotic locations she has visited into the plot of her stories.

My One and Only revolves around heroine Kitty Fontaine, a young woman who has captured Edwardian society's imagination through her daredevil flying and her ambition to become the first pilot to fly across the English Channel. However, Kitty has a secret life: at night she breaks into the houses of those same society members who are so fascinated with her daylight exploits, searching for the Blood of India ruby. Obtaining the jewel is the only way she can think of to rescue her father, who has been accused of corruption in India and sentenced to death. Of course, when she meets another mysterious thief during her nocturnal wanderings the stakes become even higher. Patty Engelmann observed in Booklist that "O'Neal's strong, dynamic, and sensual heroine lives the life of an action hero." A reviewer for Publishers Weekly commented that the "skillfully written adventure brims with smoldering sensuality." Romantic Times Online contributor Kathe Robin asserted: "Spirited dialogue, unexpected twists and turns and simply fine storytelling hallmark this keeper."

In Silent Surrender, a young actress named Liana Wycliffe meets Spencer Sloane, a World War I fighter pilot, at a showing of the film Birth of a Nation. Over the course of ten days, she falls in love with the man, only to have him drop her promptly after they have made love. Four years later, Sloane is a film director and persuades Liana to act in a new movie set in the South Seas. The project leads to more trouble and scandal before the two resolve their differences. Best Reviews critic Harriet Klausner remarked that "fans of deep early twentieth century tales will appreciate this strong powerhouse." Tammie Ard, writing for the same Web site, called the book "a powerful story of love and deception." Romantic Times Online contributor Kathe Robin felt that the book "has the epic draw of a mainstream saga and the heated, grand passion of the finest romances."

The Art of Seduction is set in the Paris art world. It features Mason Caldwell, a serious painter who, determined to make a splash despite being a woman, fakes her own death to raise the value and prestige of her paintings. Booklist reviewer Patty Engelmann dubbed the book an "imaginative romance."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 1, 1999, Patty Engelmann, review of My One and Only, p. 688; September 15, 2000, Donna Seaman, review of My One and Only, p. 226; January 1, 2007, Patty Engelmann, review of The Art of Seduction, p. 68.

Publishers Weekly, February 1, 1993, review of The Last Highwayman, p. 89; June 9, 1997, review of Bride of Danger, p. 42; December 20, 1999, review of My One and Only, p. 63.

ONLINE

Best Reviews,http://www.thebestreviews.com/ (December 10, 2002), Harriet Klausner, review of Taken by Surprise; (March 16, 2003), Desmond C. Han, review of Taken by Surprise; (May 17, 2003), Harriet Klausner, review of Silent Surrender; (June 3, 2003), Tammie Ard, review of Silent Surrender; (June 26, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of Not Just for Tonight.

Romantic Times Online,http://www.romantictimes.com/ (August 30, 2007), Kathe Robin, reviews of Master of Paradise, Bride of Danger, Written in the Stars, My One and Only, Silent Surrender, and The Art of Seduction.