CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · People & Ideas

Mary Castillo

American writer

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
People and ideasInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionFeb 26, 2026
Entity authorityQ6779190
Source-derived summary

Mary Castillo (born 1974) writes and narrates paranormal mystery and romance novels and audiobooks. She started her writing career publishing chick lit romances with Latina heroines. A graduate of the University of Southern California, Castillo once considered medicine as a career. She now considers herself fortunate to have had the good sense to follow an impossible dream and tell stories with courageous and smart heroines. Her latest novel, Lost in Whispers continues the Dori O. Paranormal Mystery series, inspired by Castillo's childhood growing up in a haunted house. She set the series in her hometown of National City, inspired by the 19th Century historic mansions. The series heroine, Dori Orihuela first appeared in a novella, "Till Death Do Us Part." A San Diego Police Department Robbery Detective, Dori finds herself with the ability to see and communicate with the dead after a near death experience. Castillo's fascination with ghosts, psychics, Gothic mystery novels and untold women's histories drive each novel which take place in modern times and the past – Prohibition (Lost in the Light) and a WWII era maternity home (Lost in Whispers).

The first novel, Lost in the Light was nominated for the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Paranormal Mystery. Her debut novel, Hot Tamara was Cosmopolitan Magazine's Red Hot Read in April 2005.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Mary Castillo” as american writer. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1974, 2005—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1974-01-01. The account is most persuasive where Mary, Castillo and American can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as american writer. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6779190. VIAF identifies the subject as 67625781. The Library of Congress control number is n2004030056. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1974 and 2005.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Mary Castillo”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Mary Castillo primary sources, Mary Castillo archive and Mary research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Mary Castillo”?
  2. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Mary Castillo” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.