Did I ever tell you how I got to be Carolyn Keene?
If anybody asked me, when I was twelve, what I wanted to be when I grew up, the answer was easy: I'd love to be Nancy Drew (wouldn't every girl?). But really, I'd add, I'd rather be Carolyn Keene--and I meant it. Even at twelve, I had dreams of being a writer. I'd rather write a Nancy than be Nancy.
And in 1985,and for some years after, I really was Carolyn Keene. It happened because I had written a YA mystery called The Haunted Dollhouse, under the name Susan Blake, for Dell's Twilight series. An editor for Megabooks (the company that produced the Nancy Drew Case Files) read Dollhouse, tracked me down, and called me. I picked up the phone one morning and the voice on the other end of the line asked: "How would you like to be Carolyn Keene?" I was astonished. Well, wouldn't you be, if someone phoned to grant your dearest childhood wish?
My first Nancy was called White Water Terror. I went on to write several Nancys, by myself or with Bill, and several more Hardy Boys, as well. (You can see a full list of our books here.) During those years--the late 1980s--I also wrote in a great many other YA series, under different pseudonyms. After a while, I got tired of working within the formulaic limitations imposed by these series, and went on to do my own work. But the Nancys, Hardy Boys, and other YA books were a good apprenticeship for me: they gave me a chance to learn the craft, practice the discipline of writing-to-earn-a-living (not an easy discipline, by any means), and get acquainted with editors, editorial preferences, and the publishing business--from the inside. When I began the China Bayles series in 1992, and the Robin Paige Victorians in 1994, I wasn't a novice. What I learned as Carolyn Keene (and Francine Pascal and Susan Blake and Eileen Goudge and others) prepared me to do the adult mysteries. It was an invaluable beginning.
Which is why I had to smile when Judge Sotomayor said that Nancy Drew represented boldness and intelligence. And when I read "Nancy Drew's Granddaughters" in the New York Times this morning, I was very glad that Nancy is getting all the respect she deserves. She meant a great deal to me: courage, the willingness to take risks, and the chance to imagine myself doing things I wasn't allowed to do--and get by with it. And so did Carolyn Keene.
For a full history of the series, its evolution and various spin-offs, check out Wikipedia. I also enjoyed Melanie Rehak's book, Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her.
Reading note: “I needed Nancy Drew,” said [former Congresswoman Pat] Schroeder. “She was smart and she didn’t have to hide it! She showed me there was another way to live,” added Ms. Schroeder, who would earn her pilot’s license at 15, and become a feminist politician from Colorado. For women like Ms. Schroeder and Judge Sotomayor, the acquisition of the books is central to their Nancy Drew narratives.--"Nancy Drew's Granddaughters"