Patterson, James 1947- (James B. Patterson)

Personal

Born March 22, 1947, in Newburgh, NY; son of Charles (an insurance broker) and Isabelle (a teacher and homemaker) Patterson; married; wife's name Susan; children: one son. Education: Manhattan College, B.A. (English; summa cum laude), 1969; Vanderbilt University, M.A. (English; summa cum laude), 1970. Hobbies and other interests: Golf.

Addresses

Home—Palm Beach County, FL.

Career

Writer. J. Walter Thompson Co., New York, NY, junior copywriter, beginning 1971, vice president and associate creative supervisor of JWT/U.S.A., 1976, senior vice president and creative director of JWT/New York, 1980, executive creative director and member of board of directors, 1984, chair and creative director, 1987, and chief executive officer, 1988, chair of JWT/North America, 1990-96.

Awards, Honors

Edgar Allan Poe Award, Mystery Writers of America, 1977, for The Thomas Berryman Number.

Writings

MYSTERY NOVELS; FOR ADULTS

The Thomas Berryman Number, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1976, reprinted, Compass Press (Boston, MA), 1997.

The Season of the Machete, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1977, reprinted, 1997.

The Jericho Commandment, Crown (New York, NY), 1979, published as See How They Run, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Virgin, McGraw Hill (New York, NY), 1980, revised as Cradle and All, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2000.

Black Market, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1986, published as Black Friday, Warner Books (New York, NY), 2002.

The Midnight Club, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1989.

(With Peter de Jonge) Miracle on the 17th Green, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1996.

Hide and Seek, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1996.

When the Wind Blows, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1998.

(With Peter de Jonge) The Beach House, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2002.

The Lake House (sequel to When the Wind Blows), Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2003.

(With Andrew Gross) The Jester, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2003.

(With Howard Roughan) Honeymoon, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2005.

(With Andrew Gross) Lifeguard, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2005.

(With Andrew Gross) Judge and Jury, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2006.

(With Peter de Jonge) Beach Road, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2006.

(With Michael Ledwidge) Step on a Crack, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2007.

(With Michael Ledwidge) The Quickie, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2007.

(With Howard Roughan) You've Been Warned, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2007.

(With Howard Roughan) Sail, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2008.

(With Gabrielle Charbonnet) Sundays at Tiffany's, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2008.

(With Michael Ledwidge) Run for Your Life, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2009.

"WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB" SERIES; FOR ADULTS

First to Die, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2001.

(With Andrew Gross) Second Chance, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2002.

(With Andrew Gross) Third Degree, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Maxine Paetro) Fourth of July, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2005.

(With Maxine Paetro) The Fifth Horseman, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2006.

(With Maxine Paetro) The Sixth Target, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2007.

(With Maxine Paetro) Seventh Heaven, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2008.

"ALEX CROSS" MYSTERY SERIES; FOR ADULTS

Along Came a Spider, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1993.

Kiss the Girls, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1995.

Jack and Jill, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1996.

Cat and Mouse, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1997.

Pop Goes the Weasel, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1999.

Roses Are Red, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2000.

Violets Are Blue, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2001.

Four Blind Mice, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2002.

The Big Bad Wolf, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2003.

London Bridges, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2004.

Mary, Mary, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2005.

Cross, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2007.

Double Cross, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2007.

Cross Country, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2008.

FOR YOUNGER READERS

SantaKid (picture book), illustrated by Michael Garland, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2004.

(With Michael Ledwidge) The Dangerous Days of Daniel X (also see below), Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2008.

(With Leopoldo Gout) Daniel X: Alien Hunter (graphic-novel adaptation of The Dangerous Days of Daniel X), Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2008.

"MAXIMUM RIDE" NOVEL SERIES; FOR YOUNG ADULTS

The Angel Experiment, Little Brown (New York, NY), 2005.

School's Out—Forever, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2006.

Saving the World, and Other Extreme Sports, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2007.

The Final Warning, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2008.

OTHER

(With Peter Kim) The Day America Told the Truth: What People Really Believe about Everything That Matters (nonfiction), Prentice Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1991.

(With Peter Kim) The Second American Revolution (nonfiction), Morrow (New York, NY), 1994.

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas (adult fiction), Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2001.

Sam's Letters to Jennifer (adult fiction), Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2004.

(Editor) Thriller (short stories), Mira (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2006.

Against Medical Advice: A True Story, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2008.

Adaptations

Kiss the Girls was produced by Paramount in 1997. Along Came a Spider was produced by Paramount, 2001, starring Morgan Freeman and directed by Lee Tamahori. Roses Are Red was adapted for film by Ben Ramsey. First to Die was adapted for an NBC television mini-series. Virgin was adapted as a television film titled Child of Darkness, Child of Light. Film rights to When the Wind Blows and Maximum Ride were sold to Warner Bros. Film rights to Santakid and Honeymoon were sold to New Line Cinema. All Patterson's mystery novels have been adapted as audiobooks, as have his "Maximum Ride" books.

Sidelights

A best-selling novelist whose "Alex Cross" mystery thrillers have won him a loyal following, James Patterson moved to fiction writing after a stellar career in advertising where, as former chair of the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency, he created advertising campaigns for Kodak, Toys 'R' Us, Burger King, and other companies. His first novel to crack the bestseller list was Along Came a Spider, the story of a crazed math teacher who kidnaps two of his students. In addition to introducing Cross, a black police psychologist, the novel marked the first of Patterson's books to be adapted as a feature film starring Morgan Freeman. Known for his addictive, fast-moving plots, Patterson dedicated his eighth "Alex Cross" mystery, Pop Goes the Weasel, to "the millions of Alex Cross readers who so frequently ask ‘Can't you write faster?’"

In addition to his "Alex Cross" novels, Patterson has produced several other series novels, as well as mainstream novels, in his prolific career. When the Wind Blows and its sequel, The Lake House, proved to be a slight change of pace for the author because they combine a taut mystery with elements of science fiction. While written for an adult readership, When the Wind Blows focuses on a Colorado veterinarian who meets a strange preteen named Max who is trying to avoid the group of thugs attempting to return her to a secret genetic research laboratory located nearby. As the novel continues, five other children—Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel—are introduced, all half-human, half clones with extraordinary abilities. The Lake House continues the story, as the members of the Flock confront a new threat in the form of a maniacal physician who wants to subject the young people to unpleasant forms of medical experimentation.

Learning that When the Wind Blows and The Lake House had gained him many teen readers, Patterson decided to rework Max's story in a book specifically geared for a young-adult audience. In Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment Max is now fourteen, and her five friends are discovering how to use the retractable wings and other super-abilities resulting from the bird DNA that was grafted onto their human genes. Orphans, the children were held in cages at a place known only as the "School"; since their escape they have lived in hiding, migrating to New York City in search of answers and hoping to escape the half-wolf Erasers who are hunting them down.

Dubbing Maximum Ride "an action-packed cross between Gertrude Chandler Warner's "Boxcar Children" and Marvel Comics' X-Men," Booklist contributor Stephanie Zvirin predicted that the novel would attract both teen and adult readers. Noting that the novel's "fast-moving plot" is conveyed primarily through Max's first-person narration, Sharon Rawlins praised the novel as a "compelling read," while a Kirkus Reviews contributor noted that "nonstop action" propels Patterson's "page-turner breathlessly from start to finish." While several reviewers noted that Maximum Ride leaves several questions unanswered, the Kirkus Reviews contributor wrote that the novel closes, "leaving layers of mystery" for Patterson's planned sequel.

Patterson continues Max's adventures in three other "Maximum Ride" novels, as the young woman is guided toward her ultimate destiny: to save the world. In School's Out—Forever Max and her wingéd friends Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel are flying south when their location is made known to the FBI after Fang becomes injured and must be taken to the hospital. Although FBI agent Anne Walker hides the six teens on her Virginia farm, their flirtation with real life proves to be short-lived. Saving the World, and Other Extreme Sports moves the action closer to the final countdown, as Max combats a group of scientists attempting to reengineer humans into a superior master race. In The Final Warning the Flock travels to Antarctica, hoping to combat climate change, but their creator lies in wait, hoping to capture the teens and sell them to the highest bidder. "Patterson, an accomplished storyteller, … demonstrates his ability to write page-turning action scenes," concluded Booklist critic Diana Tixier Herald in her review of School's Out—Forever, the critic also citing the author's inclusion of "some surprising humor." In Booklist Jennifer Mattson predicted of Saving the World, and Other Extreme Sports that "affection for the dauntless characters and misadventures" in the series "will hold readers."

In more recent years, responding to the demands of his fans as well as those of his publisher, Patterson has begun collaborating with other writers, sketching the plot of many of his adult novels and then approving his collaborator's completed manuscript. The young-adult novel The Dangerous Days of Daniel X is also a collaboration. Devised by Patterson and written by Michael Ledwidge, the story finds fifteen-year-old Daniel working in the family trade: hunting alien life forms and exterminating the top twenty creatures on the official List of Alien Outlaws on Terra Firma. In addition to appearing in novel form, The Dangerous Days of Daniel X was also adapted as the graphic novel Alien Hunter.

In his books for both teens and adults, Patterson remains known for his high-speed plots and his tendency to avoid in-depth character development in favor of high-octane storytelling. As he explained to Steven Womak in a Bookpage.com interview, "I read Ulysses and figured I couldn't top that, so I never had any desire to write literary fiction." However, when he read William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist and Frederick Forsyth's The Day of the Jackal, he had a different reaction. "I went, ‘Ooh! This is cool.’ … And I set out to write that kind of book, the kind of book that would make an airplane ride disappear." In an interview posted on his home page, Patterson explained that writing for younger readers is an especially fulfilling experience: "I love the idea of getting people reading."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 15, 2001, Kristine Huntley, review of Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, p. 1708; October 15, 2001, Kristine Huntley, review of Violets Are Blue, p. 356; January 1, 2002, Kristine Huntley, review of Sec- ond Chance, p. 777; July, 2004, Kristine Huntley, review of Sam's Letters to Jennifer, p. 1799; February 1, 2005, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, p. 918; May 15, 2006, Diana Tixier Herald, review of School's Out—Forever, p. 54; August, 2007, Jennifer Mattson, review of Saving the World, and Other Extreme Sports, p. 62; October 1, 2008, Jesse Karp, review of Daniel X: Alien Hunter, p. 40.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, April, 2005, Krista Hutley, review of The Angel Experiment, p. 353.

Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2001, review of Second Chance, p. 1712; June 1, 2004, review of Sam's Letters to Jennifer, p. 513; April 1, 2005, review of Maximum Ride, p. 422; April 1, 2006, review of School's Out—Forever, p. 353; May 1, 2007, review of Saving the World, and Other Extreme Sports; November 1, 2008, review of The Dangerous Days of Daniel X.

Kliatt, March, 2005, Paula Rohrlick, review of Maximum Ride, p. 15; March, 2006, Paula Rohrlick, review of School's Out—Forever, p. 16; May, 2007, Paula Rohrlick, review of Saving the World, and Other Extreme Sports, p. 17.

Library Journal, October 1, 2000, Rebecca House Stankowski, review of Roses Are Red, p. 148; July 2001, Margaret Hanes, review of Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, p. 126.

New York Times, July 24, 2001, Janet Maslin, "Love Story, or Is That Death Story?," p. 6; November 29, 2001, Janet Maslin, "Bodies Hang in California, and Bullets Fly in Florida," p. 7.

Publishers Weekly, August 2, 1999, review of Pop Goes the Weasel, p. 69; March 20, 2000, review of Cradle and All, p. 68; February 18, 2002, review of Second Chance, p. 75; March 18, 2002, Daisy Maryles and Dick Donahue, "Don't Get Mad, Get Even," p. 19; June 7, 2004, review of Sam's Letters to Jennifer, p. 33; July 12, 2004, Daisy Maryles, "A Passionate Patterson," p. 12; September 27, 2004, review of SantaKid, p. 60; March 21, 2005, review of Maximum Ride, p. 52.

School Library Journal, May, 2005, Sharon Rawlins, review of Maximum Ride, p. 135; August, 2006, Heather M. Campbell, review of School's Out—Forever, p. 127; July, 2007, Vicki Reutter, review of Saving the World, and Other Extreme Sports, p. 108.

Voice of Youth Advocates, April, 2005, Jenny Ingram, review of Maximum Ride, p. 60; February, 2007, review of School's Out—Forever; August, 2007, Jenny Ingram, review of Saving the World, and Other Extreme Sports.

ONLINE

Bookpage.com,http://www.bookpage.com/ (April 2, 2002), Steven Womak, "Stretching the Boundaries of the Thriller" (interview).

James Patterson Web site,http://www.jamespatterson.com (September 17, 2005).