Star Power

Over on the blog Bookslut it's been pointed out that Pamela Anderson has written a novel, called Star. (Well, rather, she has ghost written a novel.) Who knew?

Pamela Anderson also writes a column for Jane magazine, which does give the impression of a very nice and likeable person (whether it's ghost written, I don't know, but I doubt it). So I'm not here to slam Pam Anderson, but it did bring to mind that celebrity effect, where someone who's an actor decides s/he should start a recording career, or someone who's a musician decides to write books, and so forth.

(Now, don't get me wrong. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy's forays into music are one of the most entertaining pieces of pop culture we've got, IMHO.)

Doesn't it ever make you a little mad, though? The rest of us slave away at things that (hopefully) we actually have innate talent in. Someone else can swoop in on their own celebrity. I guess it all comes down to the corporate aspects of the game -- having name recognition is going to sell copies regardless of merit.

I have no doubt Star is a "fun" read, which is what several of the Amazon reviews said. From what I understand, it's a mix of things from Pam Anderson's own life mixed with some fictional events. (A TV show called Lifeguards Inc.? Yeah.) I don't think I'll be reading it, of course. But I can understand how this might be a popular book with the titillating hint of "tell-all" thinly disguised as fiction.

But if there's anything in the publishing world that maybe might upset me more than "it's who you know," perhaps it's the offshoot of that -- "it's who you are."

Thanks for reading,

LLB