Ghostwriter Speculation

[Bigfootman]

We have a simular topic in the Supermystery and Ultra-Thriller sections, so I figured I'd put one here.

Speculation
-Bill McCay may have written Evil Inc due to some simularities in character descriptions and dialogue.

-"Hostages Of Hate" and "Brother Against Brother" were possibly written by the same person. Both have brief sections written from a villain's point of view. "Brother against Brother" also starts with Joe having a nightmare about the events of "Hostages Of Hate".

-"Poisoned Paradise" and "Toxic Revenge" were likely written by the same person. Not only does "Toxic Revenge" refrence " Poisoned Paradise", but both books have eviromental themes.

[ajohns90]

Here is an interview I did with ghostwriter Rick Oliver back in 2002/2003.

[Rick wrote this intro...] Like a character in a first-person shooter video game, Richard Oliver has left a trail of destruction and devastation behind him. Shortly after obtaining a completely worthless master's degree in Sociology, he quit a real job to work on a fledgling video magazine, which promptly failed. Never one to learn from his mistakes, he helped start a comic book publishing company, which took longer to fail, but eventually did so in spectacular fashion. Undaunted by his adverse experiences, he went on to be the head writer for a small animation company that produced children's interactive educational videos. As you may have already guessed, that venture also went belly-up. He currently works for a computer software company, which he has every confidence will file for bankruptcy any day now. Somewhere along the line he also managed to write ten Hardy Boys Casefiles books, and he's pretty sure that gig's no longer available either.
.
- Rick Oliver
 
Bayport Gazette: How did you become involved with The Hardy Boys "Casefiles" series, Mr. Oliver?

Steve Grant will have to take the blame for that. We were both working in comics at the time.  I was editing Steve's "Whisper" series, and Steve was also writing Casefiles at the same time.  Steve introduced me to Bill McCay, the original editor of the Casefiles, at an ABA (American Booksellers Association) convention.

BG: Which titles in the Casefiles series did you write?

Collision Course (#33), Fright Wave (#40 and winner of "worst Casefiles cover ever"), In Self-Defense (#45), Power Play (#50), Open Season (#59), Mayhem in Motion (#69), Survival Run (#77), Winner Take All (#85), Mission Mayhem (#93), and True Thriller (#100). I also rewrote three others.

BG: Which Casefiles titles did you "rewrite," and was there a specific reason that Mega-Books/Simon and Schuster wished you to rewrite these?

Well, if you had seen the original manuscripts, you'd know why the editors wanted someone to rewrite them. I think Mega-Books had a pretty tight budget. They couldn't exactly throw big money at established writers; so sometimes they took a chance on a new writer -- and sometimes that didn't work out.

The first rewrite I did was the first installment of the "Ring of Evil" trilogy. Since I was already writing the second book in the trilogy, I guess  it made sense for me to take a stab at fixing the first one. And I'll take this opportunity to say I didn't plot or write the final book in the trilogy; so don't blame me for that one. I am, however, entirely to blame for "Bob the Assassin."

I don't remember the names or numbers of the other two (Mega-Books forgot to send me complimentary copies, and I never asked). One was about a magician, and the other was about fire fighters in Alaska. (Editor's Note: Thanks to Skywarp's Casefiles Website, we can supply the names of the other two books Rick wrote: #88, Inferno of Fear, and #98, Murder by Magic.)

BG: Were you supplied with any guidelines or a "Writer's Guide" when writing the stories?

Yeah. Before I started writing Collision Course, Bill McCay sent me a Hardy Boys "bible" that spelled out the basics. It even revealed that Aunt Gertrude had a secret career as a writer of mystery novels  -- but since it was never clear to me if Frank and Joe knew about that, I never mentioned it in any of the stories, because the readers only know what Frank and Joe know. The "bible" was also a little fuzzy on details. One time I had to call up the editor to find out Callie Shaw's hair color.

BG: Did Mega-Books edit your manuscripts in any way?

Well, I guess that depends on how you define "edit." The editors at both Mega-Books and Simon and Schuster were involved at every step of the process. I frequently had to revise outlines and manuscripts based on their review comments -- and sometime the debates were almost comical. One time, they decided there wasn't enough ethnic diversity in the books; so they told me to add a black character to one of the stories. There was just one hitch: I couldn't refer to his skin color or ethnicity in any way, since they didn't think that would be politically correct. So the outline referred to this black character, but no one reading the book would ever know he was black since any reference to his "blackness" had been assiduously excised. This seemed to satisfy the editors desire for ethnic diversity, and the issue never came up again.

There was only one time the editors unilaterally changed one of my manuscripts in any noticeable fashion. Ironically, it was the one manuscript that was accepted on the first draft. Someone apparently decided that the term "Indian" wasn't politically correct -- even when uttered by one of the bad guys in an intentionally derogatory fashion. So, you've got a bunch of lowlife rednecks saying things like "I'm gonna get that no-good half-breed Native American!"

BG: Had you read any Hardy Boys books before becoming a Ghostwriter? Were you a fan of the series? If you hadn't read any before, how did you research the characters?

Okay, I confess. I was never a big fan of the Hardy Boys when I was growing up. I was more of a Tom Swift kind of guy. But by the time I started writing Casefiles, there where already two dozen in print; so I had a very convenient reference library.

BG: As all authors do, I'm sure you researched certain things when writing these books. Is there anything you can tell us about this process? Any sources that you used, whether they be people, books, videos...?

I guess I'd have to say that it depends on the subject matter. My first book, Collision Course, was based on a one-page story idea from Bill McCay about Formula One race cars. I knew nothing about race cars! So I spent several weeks just doing research on Formula One racing. Mostly books at that time because the Internet barely existed. In contrast, I didn't really have to do any research for Mayhem in Motion because my background is in comics and animation.

BG: I understand that you were the author who wrote the first book to feature Joe's new girlfriend, Vanessa.

Yeah. That was in Mayhem in Motion.

BG: Whose idea was it to introduce Vanessa and her mother? Did you propose it, or was she planned by Mega- Books/Simon and Schuster? If she was your creation, did MB/S&S have any requirements as to her description, personality, etc.? Also, if she was your creation, did you plan her only for that one book, or on the basis that she would be a continuing character?

BG: Most of my characters spring from my own head -- although I often use the names of people I know.

As far as I can remember, the only contribution from Mega-Books/Simon and Schuster was her name. I think it was the name of a friend of the editor's. I was very surprised they decided to make her a regular character. It sure wasn't my idea. Personally, I liked to play up the contrasts between Joe and Frank, and one of those contrasts was Joe's carefree, no commitment approach to girls versus Frank's stable relationship with Callie.

BG: Did you know about Frank driving a GTO in the (then) upcoming TV series, or was your inclusion of one in Casefile #100 just a  coincidence? (Note: The 1995 TV Series was partially adapted from Casefiles of the time period.)

I'm glad you asked that question! I was wondering if anyone else had ever noticed. Either it was just a coincidence or they borrowed the idea from me. I didn't even know they were making a television series when I wrote the manuscript for #100. The copyright date is June, 1995, which means I finished the manuscript some time in the latter half of 1994. The TV series may have been in production at that time, but nobody told me about it.

The GTO ended up in the book because I had to have some way for Frank and Joe to get around after I blew up the van. I picked a GTO because my father had a yellow 1965 GTO, and I always dreamed of owning one. So I sort of got my wish, since in the book the car was bought by and therefore technically belonged to the inept writer tagging along with the Hardys.
 
I knew the only way I'd get my name on the cover of one of the books would be to write myself into the story -- and you'll find my name on the back cover of Hardy Boys Casefiles #100. Since it's the back cover, I guess it makes sense that my name is backwards: Oliver Richards.

[ajohns90]

Forgot to say that the interview can also be accessed from our old Bayport Gazette site via Archive.org:

http://web.archive.org/web/20060318042729/http://www.hardy-boys.com/bg/8/bg_8_5.html

[ajohns90]

I am going to post the other two interviews we did (Larry Mike Garmon and Steven Grant) here as well. Mostly this is for anyone interested, but also for posterity sake, as getting this data onto a more modern and stable format like this message board may preserve it longer into the future. But they can also be accessed via Archive.org at this link:
http://web.archive.org/web/20060318041353/http://www.hardy-boys.com/bg/5/bg_5.html

- Larry Mike Garmon -
1. Which books in the Hardy Boys series did you write, Mr. Garmon?
I really don't remember the numbers, and I probably have them out of order, but the books I wrote were Nowhere to Run, Running on Empty, Foul Play, Strategic Moves, and Flesh and Blood, which were Casefiles. I created and outlined the Nancy Drew-Hardy Boys Supermystery Buried in Time, outlined and wrote half of Fire in the Sky. I fell ill and could not finish Fire in the Sky, so another author finished it. Also, they had promised the ND-HB SuperMystery to another writer who could not outline or plot and so that is why I outlined that story. I never did that again because I wanted to write the story myself.
[Editor's Note: Below are the Casefiles Mr. Garmon wrote in the correct order.]
27: Nowhere to Run 36: Running On Empty 39: Flesh And Blood 43: Strategic Moves 46: Foul Play 126: Fire in the Sky

2. How did you become involved with the series?
I was taking a writing class with the late Mike McQuay (Escape from New York, My Science Project) at the University of Central of Oklahoma in Edmond. Mike and I became good friends. In fact, we looked a lot a like except that I had more hair. Mike had written some of the younger Hardy Boys and suggested I try my hand at writing the Hardy Boys and begin to establish myself as a writer. Mike was a good but a demanding writing teacher. He was very honest and often told me that my stuff was crap. Finally, he told me that I should either get serious about writing or quit. I got serious. The CaseFiles series was just beginning. I loved the old classics but I didn't much like the younger Hardy Boys books. The CaseFiles was more mature and action oriented. I bought the first three CaseFiles and read them. Then I studied them as though they were written by Milton or Shakespeare, underlining passages, writing notes in the margins, and dissecting the stories. I then wrote a precis, an outline, and sample chapters and sent them to Mega-Books, the packaging company handling the series at the time. I didn't hear anything for about six weeks, so I sent all the stuff again. Again, nothing. So I called Mega-Books. I got ahold of the editor working on the CaseFiles, and he was quite surprised that I had called him. He kind of stammered around and said he liked my writing, but that my idea was not suitable for the Hardy Boys series. He told me to try again. So, I did. This time I only waited about three weeks, and then I called him again. He said he really liked my writing and plotting but, again, the story was not suitable. (Both were about busting drugs coming up from Mexico, and drugs are big No No in the Hardy Boys world. Terrorism, yes. Drugs, no. Go figure!) Then he told he wanted me to write for the series. He asked if I had any other ideas. I was unprepared for the question and didn't say anything. This moment was one of the few in which I have been speechless. I was speechless because he was asking me to write for the Hardy Boys. He then laid out a basic story idea: an old friend of the Hardys is in trouble with the law, and the boys have to get him out of trouble. Not original, but he was trying to help. That's how I came up with Nowhere to Run. One thing I tried to do in each of the Hardy Boys, beginning with Nowhere, was to answer some biographical question about one of the Boys. For example, why, when, and how did Joe become so interested in cars? That book tells you. That's how it all started. I also set out to create new cities or places, such as South Port and the minor league baseball team in Bayport, the Bayport Blues. Later, this editor told me that he got calls all the time from would-be writers, and that I was just one of the crazy ones who was constantly calling. He was just trying to humor me the first time I called and was surprised when I sent another story idea and then called a second time!

3. Were you supplied with any guidelines or a "Writer's Guide" when writing the stories?
After I sent in my precis and an outline and after the editor (and I can't remember his name) accepted my story idea and told me to get to writing, he sent me a bible with a run down on Frank and Joe, Fenton, Laura, Bayport, friends, character traits (emotional and physical), and synopsis of all the CaseFiles stories up to that time. This was very useful, but I didn't use it after I wrote the first one. After I wrote the first book and then sold my second idea to them, I began to concentrate more on the "guest stars", those characters that really only appear in one book, and on the villains. Frank and Joe are, basically, cardboard figures and I (as well as the other writers) write to enliven them as much as possible. The real fun, however, is creating the villains or the foils for the boys. Another element I always tried to have was a strong female character who would give Joe a run for his money. I had a feeling that the HB series had a quiet but strong female following and so wanted them to have a female hero. Running on Empty and Flesh and Blood both outsold Nancy Drew for a couple of months and hit number one on the YA serial lists.

4. Approximately how long were your outlines?
One page per chapter was requested by the editor. Often, though, my outlines were over 20 pages because I tend to write long in the outlines. Same goes with the stories I write today. I want to get as much as possible into the pre-writing so when I sit down to write, I can just let the characters take over and the story flows.

5. After you wrote the story and sent it in, did they return it with comments or editing? How were the comments presented to you?
Depending on how much work had to be redone, I would either get a letter from the editor with questions concerning problems in some chapters or I would get the whole manuscript back. If I got the manuscript back, the editor at Mega-Books and the editor at Simon and Schuster would both write notes in the margins. Then I would rewrite anything they had questioned and send in a fresh manuscript. Sometimes I could explain the reason I left something out or the reason I jumped in point of view, and my explanation was enough so that I didn't have to make a change. I didn't like the first Mega-Books editor with whom I worked. By the third book, a new editor had come on board and we are still friends to this day. She's no longer at Mega-Books and has moved on to bigger and better things. The second editor sent me a letter from Anne Greenberg and her assistant applauding the "writer" on the action in Running on Empty. That book and Flesh and Blood are my favorites of those I wrote. The letter from Greenberg was quite a confidence builder. Often, I was told my stories were too long. Not that the length itself was bad, but S & S had a specific number of pages (160-185) and did not want to go beyond that. Often, my stories reached well over 200, like the older books. So, I'd have to cut whole chapters or condense characters. For example, the villain at the salvage yard in Running on Empty was originally two identical twin brothers.

6. Did you ever speak with anyone personally, or just communicate by mail?
Remember, I was working for Mega-Books before e-mail! The second editor and I talked all the time. We exchanged personal letters, talked about family, she became engaged and I sent her flowers. We had a good working relationship as well as a friendship. She was all business about the series, though, and would chide me if I slacked off in the writing style or was late with a manuscript. I flew to New York to meet her and her fiancee and we all are still friends after 12 years. I never received anything personally from anybody at Simon and Schuster.

7. Did Simon & Schuster send you a copy of the book you wrote for free?
No. My editor at Mega-Books would send me three to five copies, but that was it. Simon & Schuster had a gold mine with the CaseFiles series, and it's my opinion that the writers got the shaft when it came to payment and receiving copies. I was happy to be writing and humbled to be a part of literary legacy, but after three years, I decided I could do better. Also, I foresaw the demise of the series. Mega-Books had changed hands and Simon & Schuster wasn't looking for any innovations in the series, just formulaic stories. I grew tired of writing, basically, the same thing over and over.

I hope I don't sound bitter about quitting the series. I'm proud of my work, and writing for the Hardy Boys afforded me the opportunity and confidence to continue writing and strike out on my own. I have been a Hardy Boys fan since I was a child, reading some of the original versions as well as the versions from the 50's and 60's. I still like a good Hardy Boys story. However, I have little interest in the Hardy Boys written for a younger audience. I'd like to see a newer, more hard-boiled series, but Simon & Schuster has such a tight grip on the rights and guard very jealously the "image" of the boys, that I'm afraid Frank and Joe will forever be dressed in the mantle of 1930's or 1960's characterizations.

- Steven Grant -
1. Which books in the Hardy Boys series did you write, Mr. Grant?
HARDY BOYS CASEFILES
 #3: Cult Of Crime
#6: The Crowning Terror
#14: Too Many Traitors
#19: Nightmare In Angel City
#29: Thick As Thieves
#62: Final Gambit

2. How did you become involved with the series?
Marvel Comics had sent me over to Children's Television Workshop to write Spidey Super-Stories episodes for the Electric Company magazine, which then was edited by a wonderful woman named Pat Fortunado.  Pat left CTW to found a book packaging company called Mega-Books Of New York, which created a teen adventure series, RACE AGAINST TIME, and Pat called me in as one of the writers on that.  The head writer, Bill McCay, later "rethought" the Hardy Boys concept into the CASEFILES series.  On the strength of RACE AGAINST TIME, Mega-Books cut a deal with Pocket Books to create a new Hardy Boys series -- I'm not sure who approached who -- as Pocket Books wanted to make the characters relevant to mid-eighties teens.  Someone suggested a "two-boy war against crime" type series, to tap into the Rambomania rampant at the time.  Bill and Pat called and asked if I wanted to be involved with the new Hardy series.

3. Were you supplied with any guidelines or a "Writer's Guide" when writing the stories?
I don't recall if there was anything written.  I know they had parameters fairly well worked out by the time I came onboard, and we discussed them considerably.  I made a number of modifications to the concept when writing CULT OF CRIME, and they actually went back and rewrote the first two books to fit my modifications, though I don't remember now exactly what they were.  Just little things about how the characters were handled and how they interacted.

4. Approximately how long were the outlines?
It varied.  I think I usually did a verbal springboard, which, when accepted by Mega-Books, got converted into a short - probably one page or less - pitch to give to Pocket Books, which, when accepted, would be developed into a chapter by chapter breakdown for final approval.  Those could run anywhere between two and six pages, depending on the complexity and detail.  My plots tended to be a little on the complex side, lots of twists and turns.

5. After you wrote the story and sent it back, did they return it with comments or editing? How were the comments present to you?
I don't recall doing any major rewrites.  They generally accepted my manuscripts as is.  Of course, there were always little things here and there someone would want changed.  As I remember, generally the notes were on little stickums attached to the page margins at the item they wanted corrected.

6. Did you ever speak with anyone at S&S or Pocket Books, or just communicate by Mega Books?
I dealt with Mega-Books directly.  I never had any direct communication with Simon and Schuster or Pocket Books.

7. Did Simon & Schuster send you a copy of the book you wrote for free?
By proxy.  Mega-Books sent me stacks of copies of everything I wrote.