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James Patterson Bio Fast Facts Trivia Website The Lake House Review/Excerpt Buy the books! Author Bibliography Past Interviews Meet the Women's Murder Club Before becoming one of the world's top-selling novelists, James Patterson's ambition in life was to become a professional basketball player; unfortunately, he wasn't tall or fast enough. Ironically, Patterson did not like to read in high school. However, in his late teens, he started to read everything he could get his hands on. As a young copywriter with an advertising agency, Patterson's interest in writing grew enormously. In fact, The Day of the Jackal and The Exorcist were the two books that inspired him to write. In 2001 Patterson told the Chicago Tribune, "I had just decided I didn't have Ulysses in me, but I might have a Day of the Jackal." Patterson's fans are certainly grateful for this decision, because he has since written more than 20 novels and has made numerous appearances on bestseller lists. His novels include his popular series featuring forensic psychologist/detective Alex Cross and the "Women's Murder Club" series, which is full of breathtaking drama and shocking twists. His latest effort, The Lake House, is the highly anticipated sequel to the 1998 bestselling When the Wind Blows. To celebrate the release of The Lake House, AuthorsOnTheWeb has chosen James Patterson as our Author of the Month. Readers can learn more about Patterson's life and works through trivia questions, fast facts and biographical information, as well as links to his website, bibliography, past interviews, and book reviews. FAST FACTS Amazingly, Patterson has written 2-3 books a year, dating back to 2000. He is always fascinated at how a story will unfold once he begins writing --- this is his chief motivation for writing so many books during the course of a year. The chapters in Patterson's books are quite short, typically 2-4 pages. Patterson feels that it's an easier way to read; he's looking to catapult his stories forward and believes that readers can better visualize the events that are transpiring on the pages. The inspiration for Patterson's first romance novel, Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, came from his own life. His wife had kept a diary for their then two-year-old son. A story then popped into his head; he couldn't forget about it and knew it had to be pursued. The Beach House was Patterson's first legal thriller. He never set out to write a legal thriller; he was simply fascinated by the story and aware of the fact that many people are fed up with the way justice is dispensed in America. Patterson has said that The Jester is his favorite book because it is set during a time when life was truly thrilling: the holy Crusades, romance between royalty and commoners, and epic battles. He calls the novel "history on adrenaline" with a hero who he describes as "part Braveheart, part Seinfeld, part Sherlock Holmes." Patterson has co-written a number of books with other authors, including Peter de Jonge and Andrew Gross. Each writer brings a new style and perspective to the table. Patterson likes doing this because it enables him to get more books done, and he enjoys seeing how a story will turn out. top of page

BIO James Patterson grew up in Newburgh, New York. He graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in English from Manhattan College and summa cum laude with an M.A. in English from Vanderbilt University. His debut novel, The Thomas Berryman Number, won the Edgar Award for the best first mystery novel. It was published by Little, Brown in 1976 when he was just twenty-seven years old --- after being turned down by more than two dozen other publishers. He has since written a number of major national bestsellers that includes the seven books in the series featuring detective/psychologist Alex Cross --- Along Came a Spider, Kiss the Girls, Jack & Jill, Cat & Mouse, Pop Goes the Weasel, Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue and Four Blind Mice --- as well as Hide & Seek, When the Wind Blows, Cradle and All, Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas and The Jester. There are currently two books in the bestselling "Women's Murder Club" series, 1st to Die and 2nd Chance. Many of Patterson's novels have been made into movies. Paramount Pictures' feature film adaptation of Kiss the Girls, starring Morgan Freeman as Alex Cross, was a box office hit in 1997. Freeman reprised the Cross role in the film adaptation of the first novel in the series, Along Came a Spider, in 2001. NBC bought the rights to 1st to Die and aired a three-hour mini-series starring Tracy Pollan and Gil Bellows in February 2003. Miracle on the 17th Green, a novel co-written with Peter de Jonge, was also made into a television movie, starring Robert Urich. In addition to writing novels, Patterson served as chairman of J. Walter Thompson, North America from 1990 to 1996. He began his advertising career as a junior copywriter with the company in 1971 and went on to become the youngest executive creative director and youngest chief executive officer in the company's history. He made his mark at the agency by creating award-winning campaigns for Kodak, Burger King, Toys R' Us, Bell Atlantic, Bristol-Myers and others. He even collaborated with advertising colleague Peter Kim to produce the nonfiction bestseller The Day America Told the Truth. Patterson currently lives in Palm Beach County, Florida, with his wife and their young son. © Copyright 2003, AuthorsOnTheWeb.com. All rights reserved. top of page

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