Donald Bain (writer)

Donald Bain
BornDonald Sutherland Bain
(1935-03-06)March 6, 1935
DiedOctober 21, 2017(2017-10-21) (aged 82)
Occupation
  • Author
  • ghostwriter
NationalityAmerican

Donald Sutherland Bain (March 6, 1935 – October 21, 2017) was an American author and ghostwriter, having written over 115 books in his 40-year career.[1][2]

Early life and education

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Bain was a native of Mineola, New York and graduated from Purdue University in 1957 where he studied speech and drama.[3] While there, he earned his pilot's license through the Air Force ROTC.[4]

Bibliography

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The Coffee, Tea or Me? series

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byline: Trudy Baker and Rachel Jones

  • Coffee, Tea or Me? (1967)
  • The Coffee Tea or Me Girls’ Round-the-World Diary (1970)
  • The Coffee Tea or Me Girls Lay It on the Line (1972)
  • The Coffee Tea or Me Girls Get Away From it All (1974)

The Murder, She Wrote series

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byline: Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain

A spin-off book series based on the Murder, She Wrote American crime drama television series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher.

Comedic novels

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  • Tender Loving Care – byline: Joni Moura & Jackie Sutherland (1969)
  • Girlpower – byline: Kathy Cole & Donna Bain (1971)
  • How to Make a Good Airline Stewardess – byline: Cornelius Wohl & Bill Wenzel (1972)
  • If It Moves, Kiss It – byline: Joni Moura & Jackie Sutherland (1973)
  • We Gave at the Office – byline: Laura Mills & Pauline Burlick (1977)
  • Fly Me - byline: Cornelius Wohl & Bill Wenzel (1974)
  • Teachers Pet – byline: Janet McMillan & Mitzi Sims (1975)
  • The Casting Couch and Me – byline: Joan Wood (1975)
  • Wall Street & Broad – byline: Teri Palmer (1976)

The J.D. Hardin western series

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byline: J.D. Hardin

  • Bloody Sands
  • The Spirit & the Flesh
  • Death Flotilla
  • The Lone Star Massacre
  • Raider’s Revenge
  • Raider’s Hell
  • Apache Gold
  • Bibles, Bullets & Brides
  • Death Lode

Other novels

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  • The Airport Affair (1975) – byline: David Toma & Jack Pearl
  • The Affair of the Unhappy Hooker (1976) – byline: David Toma & Jack Pearl
  • Sado Cop (1976) – byline: Nick Vasile
  • A Member of the Family (1993) – byline: Nick Vasile
  • Raven (1987) – byline: Mike Lundy
  • Baby Farm (1987) – byline: Mike Lundy
  • Daughter of the Sand (1978) – byline: Pamela South
  • The Eagle & the Serpent (1982) – byline: Lee Jackson
  • Texas Lily (1987) – byline: Stephanie Blake

Biographies and autobiographies

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  • Murder HE Wrote: A Successful Writer's Life (2006) (Autobiography)

Other books

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  • The Racing Flag (1965) – byline: Bloys Britt & Bill France
  • Veronica (1969) – byline: Veronica Lake (her autobiography, whose ghostwriter he was)
  • The Case Against Private Aviation (1969) – byline: Donald Bain
  • Long John Nebel (1974) – byline: Donald Bain
  • The Control of Candy Jones (1976) – byline: Donald Bain
  • Club Tropique (1978) – byline: Donald Bain
  • War in Illinois (1978) – byline: Donald Bain
  • Charlie & the Shawneetown Dame (2004) – byline: Donald Bain
  • Caviar, Caviar, Caviar (1981) – byline: Gerald M. Stein & Donald Bain
  • The "Girls" in the Newsroom (1983) – byline: Marjorie Margolies
  • The World’s Best Bartenders’ Guide (1998)– byline: Joseph Scott & Donald Bain
  • Margaret Truman's Experiment in Murder (2012)
  • Margaret Truman's Undiplomatic Murder (2014)
  • Margaret Truman's Internship In Murder (2015)
  • Margaret Truman's Deadly Medicine (2016)
  • Margaret Truman's Allied in Danger (2017)

Unacknowledged books

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A ghostwriter is often required to be anonymous as a part of the contract to write the book. Some sources claim Bain is the author of most of the mystery novels attributed to Margaret Truman. While Bain initially denied this,[5] he wrote a column in the March 14, 2014 issue of Publishers Weekly and finally acknowledged writing "27 novels in the Margaret Truman Capital Crimes series (mostly bylined by Truman, my close collaborator – my name is on only the most recent entries, released after her death)."[6]

Personal life

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Bain died of congestive heart failure on October 21, 2017, in White Plains, New York at the age of 82.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Roberts, Sam (26 October 2017). "Donald Bain, Widely Read Author (but Not by That Name), Dies at 82". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  2. ^ Schudel, Matt (28 October 2017). "Donald Bain, ghostwriter of dozens of books, dies at 82". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Donald Bain, ghost writer for popular novels, dead at 82 | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  4. ^ "Donald Bain - College of Liberal Arts - Purdue University". www.cla.purdue.edu. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  5. ^ "The Ghost of Miss Truman". Archived from the original on 2007-09-30.
  6. ^ Bain, Donald (March 14, 2014). "A Novel of My Own". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
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