Cassie Edwards


Cassie Edwards was an American author of over 100 historical romance novels published between 1982 and 2009. She was published by Dorchester Publishing, Signet Books, Kensington Publishing and Harlequin. Edwards stopped publishing after it was discovered she widely plagiarized works by other authors for her own novels.

Biography

Edwards began writing romances in 1982 and released her 100th novel, Savage Skies, on August 28, 2007. Although her earlier books were classic historical romances, the vast majority of her novels involved Native American tribes. Edwards's grandmother was Cheyenne. Her first 99 books sold a combined 10 million copies as of August 2007, with her more recent novels averaging sales of 250,000-350,000 copies.
Edwards had won the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award and the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award, and was named one of Affaire de Coeur's top ten favorite romance writers. Edwards has a reputation for meticulously researching the proper anthropological backgrounds of each tribe she wrote about.
Edwards and her husband Charles, a retired high school biology teacher, were married for over sixty years. They had two sons, Charles and Brian. The family lived in St. Louis, Missouri for over thirty years, but later moved to Mattoon, Illinois.
Edwards died on January 4, 2016, at the age of 79.

Plagiarism allegations

On 7 January 2008, the romance-novel review blog Smart Bitches, Trashy Books accused Edwards of widespread plagiarism after finding multiple passages in her novels that appeared to be directly taken from various works by other authors, including novels, poems, reference books, and websites about Native American history and culture. Many of the passages came from old references, many without copyright or with expired copyright protection. One of Edwards' publishers, Signet, initially defended the passages in question as fair use rather than copyright infringement.
Nora Roberts, herself a victim of plagiarism, joined the outcry. Two days later, Signet announced that they would be reviewing all of Edwards' books that they published to determine whether plagiarism had occurred, and, in April 2008, Signet stopped publishing Edwards' books "due to irreconcilable editorial differences." In an interview, Edwards said that she did not know she was supposed to credit sources, and her husband stated that Edwards gained ideas from her reference works but did not "lift passages".

Partial bibliography

Chippewa

  1. Savage Torment
  2. Savage Obsession
  3. Savage Innocence
  4. Savage Heart
  5. ''Savage Paradise''

Savage Secrets

  1. Savage Surrender
  2. Savage Eden
  3. Savage Bliss
  4. Savage Dream
  5. Savage Splendor
  6. Savage Whispers
  7. Savage Dance
  8. Savage Persuasion
  9. Savage Promise
  10. Savage Mists
  11. Savage Sunrise
  12. ''Savage Pride''

Wild Arizona

  1. Wild Ecstasy
  2. Wild Splendor
  3. Wild Desire
  4. Wild Abandon
  5. Wild Rapture
  6. ''Wild Embrace''

Savage

  1. Savage Illusion
  2. Savage Spirit
  3. Savage Embers
  4. Savage Secrets
  5. Savage Passions
  6. Savage Shadows
  7. Savage Longings
  8. Savage Tears
  9. Savage Heat
  10. Savage Wonder
  11. Savage Joy
  12. Savage Fires
  13. Savage Grace
  14. Savage Devotion
  15. Savage Thunder
  16. Savage Honor
  17. Savage Moon
  18. Savage Love
  19. Savage Destiny
  20. Savage Hero
  21. Savage Trust
  22. Savage Hope
  23. Savage Courage
  24. Savage Vision
  25. Savage Arrow
  26. Savage Beloved
  27. Savage Tempest
  28. Savage Quest
  29. Savage Intrigue
  30. Savage Skies
  31. Savage Glory
  32. Savage Flames
  33. Savage Abandon
  34. Savage Sun
  35. ''Savage Dawn''

Wild Tribes

  1. Wild Bliss
  2. Wild Thunder
  3. Wild Whispers
  4. ''Wind Walker''

Dreamcatcher

  1. Running Fox
  2. Shadow Bear
  3. ''Falcon Moon''

Stand-alone novels

  1. Portrait of Desire
  2. Rapture's Rendezvous
  3. Secrets of My Heart
  4. Silken Rapture
  5. Passions Web
  6. Elusive Ecstasy
  7. Island Rapture
  8. Desire's Blossom
  9. Forbidden Embrace
  10. Eugenia's Embrace
  11. Passions Fire
  12. Beloved Embrace
  13. Enchanted Enemy
  14. Hostage Heart
  15. Passion in the Wind
  16. A Gentle Passion
  17. Eden's Promise
  18. Roses After Rain
  19. Passion's Embrace
  20. When Passion Calls
  21. Touch the Wild Wind
  22. Rolling Thunder
  23. Flaming Arrow
  24. Innocent Obsession
  25. White Fire
  26. Bold Wolf
  27. Lone Eagle
  28. Thunder Heart
  29. Silver Wing
  30. Winter Raven
  31. Sun Hawk
  32. Midnight Falcon
  33. Fire Cloud
  34. Spirit Warrior
  35. Storm Rider
  36. Night Wolf
  37. Racing Moon
  38. Proud Eagle
  39. Silver Feather
  40. Swift Horse
  41. ''Her Forbidden Pirate''

Omnibus

  • An Old-Fashioned Valentine
  • Love's Legacy
  • Baby on the Doorstep
  • ''Wild Ecstasy / Wild Rapture / Wild Embrace''