James Patterson: His Story

The author James Patterson needs no introduction. Anyone even distantly associated with the literary world would have heard of this renowned figure and his achievements. James Patterson grew up in Newburgh, New York. He graduated with a B.A. in English from Manhattan College and an M.A. in English from Vanderbilt University. James debuted into the literary circles with The Thomas Berryman Number which won the Edgar Award for the best first mystery novel.

It would be surprising to know that one of the world's top-selling novelists, James Patterson’s ambition in life was to become a professional basketball player; unfortunately, that dream of his could not materialise. His interest in writing grew only after his stint as a young copywriter with an advertising agency. In fact, in his own words, The Day of the Jackal and The Exorcist were the two books that inspired him to write.

Patterson’s decision to give his life a literary course has been a very fruitful one and his fans should be grateful for it. In his long career, James has written 20 novels and many of them have found a place in the bestseller lists. His novels include his popular series featuring forensic psychologist/detective Alex Cross and the "Women's Murder Club" series. The Lake House, his latest offering, is the highly anticipated sequel to the 1998 bestselling When the Wind Blows.

Many movies have been inspired by various James Patterson’ novels. Paramount Pictures' feature film adaptation of Kiss the Girls was a box office hit in 1997, and starred Morgan Freeman as Alex Cross. In 2001, Freeman reprised the Cross role in the film adaptation of the first novel in the series, Along Came a Spider. James co-wrote Miracle on the 17th Green with Peter de Jonge. This too was made into a television movie.

Currently, Patterson lives in Palm Beach County, Florida, with his wife and their young son.