Reading about Jon Lindstrom publicizing his second novel got me to thinking about soap people in front of, and behind the camera who are/were published authors., before, during or after their soap stints.

Have any posters read a book authored by someone with a soap connection?

Of course the late great Henry Slesar comes to mind. As well as writing Edge of Night for many years and SFT, OLTL etc his novel The Grey Flannel Shroud was an Edgar winner and he published a number of other novels and heaps of short stories for Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.

Let's get a definitive list here.

 

Victoria Rowell and Eileen Davidson have written novels.

Louise Shaffer -- All My Suspects

Jacqueline Babbin -- Bloody Soaps

Finola Hughes -- Soapsuds

ETA: Louise and Jacqueline wrote other books. I just named each of theirs that was related to soaps.

Edited 10 hours ago10 hr by Franko

Linda Dano (AW, OLTL etc:) Looking Great and Living Great, both lifestyle non fiction.

Eileen Fulton (ATWT): Soap Opera (novel), Take One For Murder (6 novel series)

Dame Joan Collins (Dynasty, GL): Past Imperfect (memoir), The Joan Collins Beauty Book (lifestyle non fiction), Katy: A Fight for Life (memoir), Prime Time (novel), Love and Desire and Hate (novel), Too Damn Famous (novel), my Secrets (lifestyle non fiction), My Friend’s Secrets (lifestyle non fiction), Second Act (memoir), Star Quality (novel), Misfortune’s Daughters (novel), The Art of Living Well (lifestyle non fiction), The World According to Joan (non fiction), The St. Tropez Lonely Hearts Club (novel), My Unapologetic Diaries (memoir), Beyond the Shoulder Pads (memoir)

Are we including memoirs like Susan Lucci's two books ("All My Life" and "La Lucci") and Kim Zimmer's ("I'm Just Sayin'"), or just fiction?

Edited 10 hours ago10 hr by alwaysAMC

Leah Laiman wrote several books (and I think was interviewed in SOD back in the '90s about this).

Leah Laiman (Author of Lingua Terra)

Harley Jane Kozak (ex-Mary Duvall, Santa Barbara, among other soap roles) has made a nice second career out of writing books:

https://harleyjanekozak.com/writing/

2 hours ago, Franko said:

Finola Hughes -- Soapsuds

Eileen's books were all co written with Robert J Randisi who probably did the actual writing with Eileen adding name value and advice on soaps. According to Wikipedia Randisi authored more than 650 published books and edited more than 30 anthologies of short stories. Booklist magazine said he "may be the last of the pulp writers." For more than three decades starting around January 1982, he had at least one book published every month. In 1984 he wrote 27 books in 12 months.

He collaborated with Eileen's husband actor, and poker commentator Vince Van Patten on "The Picasso Flop" and 'The Judgment Fold." Van Patten qualifies as a soap actor as he was on Y&R briefly.

3 hours ago, alwaysAMC said:

Are we including memoirs like Susan Lucci's two books ("All My Life" and "La Lucci") and Kim Zimmer's ("I'm Just Sayin'"), or just fiction?

I was thinking fiction but we can include memoirs also.

3 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Eileen's books were all co written with Robert J Randisi who probably did the actual writing with Eileen adding name value and advice on soaps. According to Wikipedia Randisi authored more than 650 published books and edited more than 30 anthologies of short stories. Booklist magazine said he "may be the last of the pulp writers." For more than three decades starting around January 1982, he had at least one book published every month. In 1984 he wrote 27 books in 12 months.

He collaborated with Eileen's husband actor, and poker commentator Vince Van Patten on "The Picasso Flop" and 'The Judgment Fold." Van Patten qualifies as a soap actor as he was on Y&R briefly.

God those covers are ugly. But I guess at least they're not AI slop.

Roy Winsor, creator of Search For Tomorrow, Love of Life, Secret storm and Ben Jerrod, writer for Somerset and Another Life wrote 3 mystery novels in the 70's.