Born and raised in remote Allagash, Maine, Cathie Pelletier is the author of ten novels, including The Funeral Makers, The Weight of Winter, Beaming Sonny Home, and The One-Way Bridge. Under the pseudonym of K. C. McKinnon she wrote two novels, Dancing at the Harvest Moon and Candles on Bay Street. The first McKinnon novel was translated into 19 languages and was a CBS TV film starring Jacqueline Bisset, Valerie Harper, and Eric Mabius. The second was translated into 10 languages and was a Hallmark Hall of Fame film starring Alicia Silverstone.Two of Cathie's novels received notable mentions from the New York Times Book Review. Her third novel, The Weight of Winter, won the New England Booksellers Award, and Running the Bulls won the 2006 Paterson Prize for Fiction.

She was also presented with the Bernie Schweid Award from Tennessee Booksellers. In addition to her books, Cathie has had songs recorded by David Byrne, the Texas Tornadoes, the Glaser Brothers, and others. She lives in Allagash, Maine, in the house in which she was born.