Today's Special - - Kate Carlisle

Mystery Author Kate Carlisle – The Lies that Bind

I'm delighted to welcome one of my favorite people, Kate Carlisle, back to The Romance Dish!  A New York Times bestselling author, Kate  worked in television, studied acting and singing, toiled in vineyards, collected books, and joined a commune, but it was the year she spent in law school that drove her to write fiction. It seemed the safest way to kill off her professors. Those professors are breathing easier now that she spends most of her time writing near the beach in Southern California where she lives with her perfect husband. Visit Kate online at www.katecarlisle.com and www.facebook.com/katecarlislebooks.

Please give Kate a warm welcome!

This just in...Kate's new release, The Lies That Bind, has hit the New York Times Bestseller List at #31!  Congratulations, Kate!



Would You Willingly Become a Ghost?
by Kate Carlisle

Lately, I’ve been facing a pretty major dilemma. Have you seen the TV show Castle? Rick Castle, the hero, is a bestselling mystery author so, as you can imagine, it’s one of my favorite shows. To get inspiration for his Nikki Heat series of suspense novels, he shadows NYPD detective Kate Beckett and helps the police catch real-life murderers.
 

The thing is, Hyperion is now publishing mysteries written by “Richard Castle,” the fictional character from the show. The fictional character is a real-life author. (Genius in marketing!) These are real books, people – hardcovers – and they’re bestsellers, too. They’re Nikki Heat books, written by Richard Castle. Who doesn’t exist.

Get it?

Richard Castle even has an Amazon author page. I would click the “Like” button if it had one because honestly, it’s pretty damn funny. His Amazon bio says he lives in New York City with his mother and his daughter, who infuse his life with humor and inspiration. (If you watch the show, you’ll know why that’s funny.)

So I’m wondering, who’s really writing those books? Do they need help? Hmm.

And that brings me to my dilemma: Should I temporarily set aside my own career writing the Bibliophile Mysteries and agree to ghostwrite a Richard Castle book?

Oh, they haven’t asked me. But I want to be ready in case they do.

On the one hand, I enjoy seeing my name on the cover of a book, such as my latest, THE LIES THAT BIND, which was released simultaneously in paperback and on audio November 2. (Yay!) I enjoy doing book signings and meeting the readers who have been entertained by my books. I got real thrills and chills out of seeing my name on the New York Times bestsellers list.

We all enjoy positive feedback for the work that we do which is, at most times, a solitary profession. I can usually rely only on my gut to tell me whether the story is working. Well, my gut and my editor’s. So when we get good reactions to our work, it makes us happy. Of course it does!

But ghostwriters must check their egos at the door. While I don’t think I’m completely full of myself, I do take pride in my accomplishments, but I’m not sure anyone would be interested in meeting the ghost behind the famous name and face.

I think it would be difficult to write a slammin’ story that hits all the bestsellers lists and not want to take credit for it. If your book hits the bestsellers lists with someone else’s name on the cover, does it still make a sound?

On the other hand, I’m looking into the future and I’m seeing Nathan Fillion, the actor who plays Castle. He’s really, really cute. And if I were to ghostwrite a book supposedly written by a character he plays, there’s a chance they would ask me to be on the show. I have studied acting, after all. (Really! I was once Hermia’s understudy in a local theater’s version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I could’ve been a star!)

So if they asked me to be on the show, there’s a chance I would play a damsel in distress. Nathan would rescue me. He would carry me in his big, strong arms with concern etched in his beautiful blue eyes …

What? Hey, it could happen!

Okay, so maybe I’ll never be a ghostwriter for Castle. But that’s okay, because I am actually only separated by two or three (or four) degrees from the very cute Nathan Fillion – who, it turns out, is not just a pretty face. Last year, I did a Barnes and Noble book signing from which the proceeds went to an organization that he co-founded called Kids Need to Read  . The mission of Kids Need to Read is to create a culture of reading by sending inspiring books to children’s libraries, underfunded schools, and literacy programs. They carefully cull the list of books they donate so that kids don’t pick up a boring book and decide they hate reading. Think about it. Getting them hooked on books while they’re young is our job security! Is that cool or what?!

What about you? If you’re a writer, would you be willing to sublimate your own identity in order to ghostwrite a book under someone else’s name? What if you were legally prohibited from ever revealing the truth, even to your closest friends and family? Would it make a difference one way or the other if that book was a #1 bestselling hardcover?

If you’re not a writer, think of the question in terms of your own life. Would you be willing to [fill in the blank] even if no one could ever know that you were the one [filling in the blank]? 

One randomly selected person leaving a comment will receive Kate's new book,  The Lies That Bind!  (U.S. mailing addresses only)