Rachel Caine (1962-2020)

Author Roxanne Longstreet Conrad, 58, who wrote as Rachel Caine, died November 1, 2020 of cancer shortly after entering hospice care. Caine was a prolific author of more than 50 books, best known for the Morganville Vampires series and the Weather Warden universe.

Roxanne Longstreet was born April 27, 1962 and grew up in West Texas. She went to Texas Tech University, graduating with an accounting degree and a minor in music in 1995, and worked as a professional musician and in corporate communications. She met her husband, the artist Cat Conrad, at a convention in 1991. In 2010, she became a full-time writer. In 2018 she was diagnosed with soft tissue carcinoma.

Her debut novel was Stormriders (1990), tie-in fiction for the Shadow World roleplaying game, published as Roxanne Longstreet (later reprinted under the name Ian Hammel). Other novels as Longstreet include The Undead (1993), Red Angel (1994), Cold Kiss (1995), and Slow Burn (1996). Copper Moon (1997), Bridge of Shadows (1998), and Exile, Texas (2003) appeared under the name Roxanne Conrad.

She began using the Rachel Caine pseudonym for her Weather Warden universe, starting with Ill Wind (2003) and including Heat Stroke (2004), Chill Factor (2005), Windfall (2005), Firestorm (2006), Thin Air (2007), Gale Force (2008), Cape Storm (2009), and Total Eclipse (2010). A tenth volume, Red Hot Rain, was planned, but unfinished due to health problems. The spin-off Outcast Season series is Undone (2009), Unknown (2010), Unseen (2011), and Unbroken (2012). Other adult series under the Caine name are the Red Letter Days books: Devil’s Bargain (2005) and Devil’s Due (2006), and the Revivalist series: Working Stiff (2011), Two Weeks’ Notice (2012), and Terminated (2013).

Her popular Morganville Vampires YA fantasy series started in 2006 with Glass Houses, and includes The Dead Girls’ Dance (2007), Midnight Alley (2007), Feast of Fools (2008), Lord of Misrule (2009), Carpe Corpus (2009), Fade Out (2009), Kiss of Death (2010), Ghost Town (2010), Bite Club (2011), Last Breath (2011), Black Dawn (2012), Bitter Blood (2012), Fall of Night (2013), and Daylighters (2013). The Great Library series is Ink and Bone (2015), Paper and Fire (2016), Ash and Quill (2017), Smoke and Iron (2018), and Sword and Pen (2019). With Ann Aquirre she wrote YA novels Honor Among Thieves (2018), Honor Bound (2019), and Honor Lost (2020). She also wrote standalone Shakespearean YA Prince of Shadows (2014).

Conrad also wrote thrillers, notably several volumes in the Stillhouse Lake series, and tie-in fiction, including a Stargate novel under the name Julie Fortune. She was a prolific author of short fiction, with work in numerous anthologies, and co-edited Chicks Kick Butt (2011) with Kerrie L. Hughes)

She is survived by her husband.