THE "WRITE" STUFF

Writing is a fundamentally uncinematic activity. Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw gave it a shot with her typing/voice-over version but, in the end, it's still just a person sitting and wiggling their fingers over a keyboard. Not exactly visually scintillating stuff.

However, the fallout from a book being written can be quite interesting.

In 1986, Guiding Light's Phillip wrote a novel entitled Zanzibar. Set in the Roaring 20s, it featured a hero named Zack (Phillip's son with Harley is named after him), who, in the black and white sequences dramatizing passages from the book, looked an awful lot like Phillip, as well as a love interest who, to no one's surprise, resembled Beth. The book went a long way towards Phillip and Beth reuniting in real life.

In 1999, a thinly disguised autobiographical World War II novel written by Blake (as Darlena DeLacoix) also helped to reunite her with the love of her life, Ross. Blake's later novels told the love stories of Selena and Miguel Santos (much to the dismay of his Black Widow wife, Carmen), as well as a highly fictionalized account of Harley and Mallet's time behind bars, a.k.a. Love in the Lock-Up.

Meanwhile, over on ATWT, John Dixon wrote a novel in 1982 called The Loner, in which he basically insulted the majority of Oakdale's citizens while recounting his prosecution for marital rape at the hands of ex-wife Dee Stewart. A movie producer expressed interest in filming the work, but it turned out to be merely a front for James Stenbeck to make sure that such a movie would never be made. Almost a quarter of a century later, Katie's novel, Oakdale Confidential, is sending similar ripples through the town, as she accuses Simon and Carly of a crime that they... actually did commit.

Over on Another World, Jamie Frame went the John Dixon route also in 1982 by writing A View of the Bay, in which he too basically insulted the majority of his hometown's citizens. When it came time for the movie version to be shot on location, the lead was played by fresh-faced Julia Shearer who, in turn, was portrayed by a very young, future movie star named Kyra Sedgwick (and later, after Kyra left for a real-life movie career of her own, by a pre-Murphy Brown Faith Ford).

But the book that had the most devastating effect on life in Bay City proved to be an unpublished thriller by the name of Harry Must Die.

Evil schemer Janice Frame used the Cory Publishing rejected manuscript as a blueprint for slowly poisoning her very wealthy husband, Mac Cory. Mac's ex, Rachel, discovered Janice's plan and, to save Mac's life, slept with Janice's lover and accomplice, Mitch Blake.

Rachel rescued Mac and the couple reunited (see magazine cover above for photos from their island adventure). Unfortunately, Rachel found herself pregnant with Mitch's child. She fully intended to pass the baby off as Mac's. But there was one problem. The drug Janice had used to poison Mac also left him sterile. Mac didn't know that. But he would if he ever read Harry Must Die.

Rachel was not about to let that happen.

Will she succeed with her own particular brand of literary censorship? Find out in the AW episodes airing now on the AOL/PGP Classic Soap Channel!