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James Patterson

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James Patterson is a famous American author who tells many kinds of stories.

He writes books for adults and children alike. Some of his stories are thrillers that keep readers excited. Other books are for younger readers, such as the Maximum Ride series. He also writes about mystery and romance. His most popular books feature a character named Alex Cross. Alex is a psychologist who helps the police with difficult cases.

Patterson has a very special way of making his books. He says he is great at dreaming up big plots. However, he finds it harder to write every single sentence. To help with this, he often works with co-authors.

These partners include writers like Maxine Paetro and Andrew Gross. He even worked with former President Bill Clinton on a book. Patterson believes that working with others brings new and interesting ideas to his work. This teamwork helps him create a huge number of novels.

His journey as a writer began many years ago.

Patterson was born on March 22, 1947, in Newburgh, New York. He studied English at Manhattan University and Vanderbilt University. Before he was a full-time writer, he worked in advertising. He published his first novel, The Thomas Berryman Number, in 1976. Since then, he has written more than 200 novels. He has reached the top of the bestseller lists many times.

Patterson has achieved some truly amazing numbers in his career.

He has sold more than 425 million copies of his books. He was also the first person to sell one million e-books. He holds a Guinness World Record for having 67 number one bestsellers. In 2016, Forbes listed him as one of the highest-paid authors. He earned $95 million that year alone. His books are so popular that they make up about 6% of all hardcover novels sold in the United States.

Beyond writing, Patterson cares deeply about the world of books.

He has donated millions of dollars to help people learn to read. He gives money to universities, teachers, and school libraries. He started the PageTurner Awards to honor people who spread the joy of reading. He also created ReadKiddoRead.com to help parents find books for their children. This idea came from helping his own son, Jack, learn to love reading. Patterson wants to make sure everyone has a chance to discover a great story.

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