Fiction Twice-Removed

What do you call a popular new novel written by a fictional TV character? Heat Wave by "Richard Castle"! Although this literary device has been tried in the past by "Jessica Fletcher" and "Columbo" as "authors" of detective novels, it's never achieved the success of the new "Nikki Heat" series, based on ABC's "Castle" TV show. The premise of the television series is that author "Richard Castle", played by actor Nathan Filion, is writing a new mystery series based on the NYPD cases of "Det. Kate Beckett" and that's why he trails her around on murder investigations. "Heat Wave" has been incorporated into the show's plots this season, culminating in a book launch party on the October 19 episode. Actor Nathan Filion recently autographed 500 books as "Richard Castle" at a Borders in Northridge, CA and the novel, called "witty" and "fast-paced" by reviewers, is on several bestseller lists. Fiction begets fiction begets fiction!