--------------------------------------------------------------------------

James Patterson usually cites Gabriel García Márquez and Jean Genet as his favorite authors, but it was The Day of the Jackal and The Exorcist that inspired him to write. As a young copywriter with a Masters in English, Patterson told the Chicago Tribune in 2001, “I had just decided I didn't have Ulysses in me, but I might have a Day of the Jackal.” That decision set Patterson on the road to writing more than 20 novels and making numerous forays onto the bestseller lists.

After writing several moderately successful thrillers, Patterson had an idea in the early ‘90s to create a strong African-American hero for the genre. The idea spawned a series of bestsellers and two films starring Morgan Freeman (Kiss the Girls, 1997 and Along Came a Spider, 2001).

With the creation of Alex Cross in Along Came a Spider, Patterson found himself with a character who would become a household name well before his own. Cross, one of the most stand-up guys in the fictional detective game, is a forensic psychologist with a steely intuition and a heart of gold. He’s also a widower trying to be a good dad to his three kids, who are raised by his tough but lovable mom when he’s out solving cases. His combination of intellectual depth and tough moral fiber quickly established Cross as one of the most beloved sleuths in recent mystery fiction.

The Cross books were so successful that Patterson could have retired altogether; but as it happens, he didn’t even retire from his day job. Patterson’s prowess as an idea man had taken him to the top of the J. Walter Thompson ad agency, where he stayed full-time even as his novels shot up the bestseller lists.

Much of his success has been due to the fact that his books are so conceptually driven and fast-paced. In the competitive mystery/thriller category, other writers might be more graphically intense (Thomas Harris) or funnier (Carl Hiassen), but Patterson’s uncanny ability to propel a reader through his pages has given made him a perennial favorite with readers. The key might be his pacing: Written in straightforward, brief chapters with just enough detail to keep the story moving, Patterson’s books are deceptively quick reads.

Patterson is also unafraid of genre-hopping. In When the Wind Blows (1998), Patterson introduces a casualty of bioengineering in the form of a girl who can fly, and in 2001’s Violets Are Blue, Alex Cross ventures into a vampiric subculture. Also that year, Patterson debuted his first romance, Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas. Of this last title, The New York Times’s Janet Maslin wrote, “[It] has the temerity to mention The Bridges of Madison County. And as a sentimental string-puller, who knows if it won't wind up in that league.”

Patterson is so overwhelmed with story ideas that he took on co-author Andrew Gross to help carry out the Women’s Murder Club series, which he inaugurated with 1st to Die in 2001. He refuses to be confined by genre or even manpower: After all, his stated ambition is to be no more or less than “the king of page-turners.”