Author James Patterson is both loved and hated depending on who you speak to.  He is a bestselling author of the Alex Cross, Women's Murder Club and Maximum Ride Series yet he continues to be criticized for the quality and formula approach he takes to his writing.  It is true that his work delivers a familiar style similar to TV series like Law and Order and CSI but think about how popular those shows are.  If you are a fan you know what you are going to get and you are rarely disappointed.

Author James Patterson is mainly a mystery/suspense/detective/thriller novelist but is not afraid to write in other genres.  His Maximum Ride series was written for young adults mainly because having a son he noticed that kids aren't reading as much these days.  He thought a series like Maximum Ride with its superhero like characters would pull these types of readers in and he was right.  He also has written love stories, Sam's Letters to Jennifer and Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas.

James Patterson was born in 1947 which would make him 62 as of this writing.  His career started as a copywriter at ad agency J. Walter Thompson where he did well.  He came up with the line "toy-r-us kid" which brings to mind the song which is engrained in anyone who grew up watching the toys-r-us commercials.  He started writing part-time while still working in advertising and even became the CEO of the firm.  His first novel The Thomas Berryman  Number won him the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America.  If anyone is new to James Patterson's work I would recommend that they start with this book.  In articles that I have read he has mentioned that he thinks this one was his best work.

His background in advertising explains his approach to marketing his novels like movies.  His heavy marketing approach and his prolific production of books with the help of coauthors has made his success somewhat controversial to the point that The WallStreet Journal and Forbes have written investigative articles on him and there are insinuations that he does not write his books anymore.  An allegation that author James Patterson vehemently denies.

I personally really like his books.  I find that I can appreciate a wide range of books(including literary classics) and the criticism of short chapters and his formulaic approach to writing seem to be from within the writing community itself.  Stephen King has been quoted "not being a fan of James Patterson's books" because his writing approach seems to be more cathartic.  If sales and bestseller status count(and they do), the public greatly enjoys his work.  Even the criticism about his coauthors is somewhat diminished when you realize that serial books like the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew(which I read as a kid) were written by many anonymous writers as Franklin W. Dixon and Carolyn Keene respectively.

James Patterson has had some of his books made into movies and TV series.  The Alex Cross books Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider were made into movies starring Morgan Freeman.  Both movies helped bring James Patterson's recognition to even more of the masses.  I was disappointed at the ABC series The Women's Murder Club being cancelled because it was hardly given a chance to build an audience.  Lindsay Boxer was played by Angie Harmon.  Several of James Patterson's novels have also been made into TV Movies.

In 2005 James Patterson started the Page Turner Awards "to recognize individuals, companies, schools, and other institutions that find original and effective ways to promote the excitement of books."  This initiative is one I share having young children and understanding the connection between reading/listening and success.  Listening to audio books is sometimes a good option for children having problems reading.

Author James Patterson continues to write books and has 4 new ones scheduled for the first half of 2009.  He has also edited the short story anthology Thriller on behalf of the International Thriller Writers Organization.  Whether you are new to James Patterson or not audio books provide a great format to enjoy his work.  His short chapters and concise writing deliver an experience where it is hard to turn the audio book off.  We at CreateTimeAudio highly recommend is work.

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