{{short description|American author and ghostwriter}} {{more footnotes|date=October 2017}} {{infobox writer |name=Donald Bain |birth_name=Donald Sutherland Bain |birth_date={{birth date|1935|3|6}} |death_date={{death date and age|2017|10|21|1935|3|6}} |occupation={{flatlist| *Author *ghostwriter }} |nationality=American }} '''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.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last1=Roberts |first1=Sam |title=Donald Bain, Widely Read Author (but Not by That Name), Dies at 82 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/obituaries/donald-bain-dead-widely-read-author-but-not-by-that-name.html |access-date=23 April 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=26 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Schudel |first1=Matt |title=Donald Bain, ghostwriter of dozens of books, dies at 82 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/donald-bain-ghostwriter-of-dozens-of-books-under-other-peoples-names-dies-at-82/2017/10/28/52e6ddae-bbfe-11e7-a908-a3470754bbb9_story.html |access-date=23 April 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=28 October 2017}}</ref> <!-- ==Biography== A graduate of Purdue University, he was the recipient of many writing awards. Bain was a professional jazz musician as well as a writer. He was married to Renée Paley-Bain, who is also a writer. Bain has two daughters, Laurie Bain Wilson (who is also a writer and author) and Pamela Bain Shippee (who is a teacher), and four grandsons, Alexander Bain Wilson, Zachary Shippee, Jake Shippee, and Luke Shippee. Bain's grandfather, Con Daily, was a major league baseball player. -->
== Early life and education == Bain was a native of Mineola, New York and graduated from Purdue University in 1957 where he studied speech and drama.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Donald Bain, ghost writer for popular novels, dead at 82 {{!}} The Spokesman-Review |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/oct/28/donald-bain-ghost-writer-for-popular-novels-dead-a/ |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=www.spokesman.com}}</ref> While there, he earned his pilot's license through the Air Force ROTC.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Donald Bain - College of Liberal Arts - Purdue University |url=https://www.cla.purdue.edu/alumni/our-alumni/profiles/donald-bain.html |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=www.cla.purdue.edu}}</ref>
==Bibliography==
===The ''Coffee, Tea or Me?'' series=== 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=== {{main|List of Murder, She Wrote novels}} 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. {{col-begin}} {{col-2}} *''Gin and Daggers'' (1st edition) (1989) *''Manhattans and Murder'' (1994) *''Rum and Razors'' (1995) *''Brandy and Bullets'' (1995) *''Martinis and Mayhem'' (1995) *''A Deadly Judgment'' (1996) *''A Palette for Murder'' (1996) *''The Highland Fling Murders'' (1997) *''Murder on the QE2'' (1997) *''Murder in Moscow'' (1998) *''A Little Yuletide Murder'' (1998) *''Murder at the Powderhorn Ranch'' (1999) *''Knock 'em Dead'' (1999) *''Gin and Daggers'' (2nd edition) (2000) *''Trick or Treachery'' (2000) *''Blood on the Vine'' (2001) *''Murder in a Minor Key'' (2001) *''Provence - to Die for'' (2002) *''You Bet Your Life'' (2002) *'' Majoring in Murder'' (2003) *''Destination Murder'' (2003) *''Dying to Retire'' (2004) *''A Vote for Murder'' (2004) *''The Maine Mutiny'' (2005) {{col-break}} *''Margaritas and Murder'' (2005) *''A Question of Murder'' (2006) *''Three Strikes and You're Dead'' (2006) *''Coffee, Tea, or Murder?'' (2007) *''Panning For Murder'' (2007) *''Murder on Parade'' (2008) *''A Slaying in Savannah'' (2008) *''Madison Avenue Shoot'' (2009) *''A Fatal Feast'' (2009) *''Nashville Noir'' (2010) *''The Queen's Jewels'' (2010) *''Skating on Thin Ice'' (2011) *''The Fine Art of Murder'' (2011) *''Trouble at High Tide'' (2012) *''Domestic Malice'' (2012) *''Prescription For Murder'' (2013) *''Close-Up On Murder'' (2013) *''Aloha Betrayed'' (2014) *''Death of a Blue Blood'' (2014) *''Killer in the Kitchen'' (2015) *''The Ghost and Mrs. Fletcher'' (2015) *''Design for Murder'' (2016) *''Hook, Line, and Murder'' (2016) *''A Date with Murder'' (2018) written with Jon Land
{{col-end}}
===Comedic novels=== *''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=== 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=== *''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=== *''Murder HE Wrote: A Successful Writer's Life'' (2006) (Autobiography)
===Other books=== *''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=== 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,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/886tuxmk.asp?pg=2| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070930181717/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/886tuxmk.asp?pg=2| archive-date = 2007-09-30| title = The Ghost of Miss Truman}} </ref> 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{{spaced ndash}}my name is on only the most recent entries, released after her death)."<ref name=BainPW>{{cite news|last1=Bain|first1=Donald|title=A Novel of My Own|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/soapbox/article/61442-a-novel-of-my-own.html|accessdate=October 15, 2014|work=Publishers Weekly|date=March 14, 2014}}</ref>
== Personal life == Bain died of congestive heart failure on October 21, 2017, in White Plains, New York at the age of 82.<ref name=":0" />
==See also== *United States novelists *American literature
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20081004173729/http://nalauthors.com/author88 Donald Bain on New American Library] {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bain, Donald}} Category:1935 births Category:2017 deaths Category:American male biographers Category:American mystery writers Category:American male novelists Category:Cozy mystery writers Category:Ghostwriters Category:20th-century American novelists Category:20th-century American male writers Category:21st-century American novelists Category:20th-century American biographers Category:21st-century American male writers Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers