JAMES PATTERSON is one of the best known and biggest selling writers in the world. He has sold in excess of 400 million copies worldwide, having written books across a broad range of genres.

James’ latest novel, The First Gentleman, sees him team up again with former president Bill Clinton to bring you another gripping political thriller.

AKINA HANSEN finds out what makes this writer tick.

James Patterson is one of the biggest selling and prolific writers in the world with over 200 books in his wheelhouse and over 400 million books sold worldwide. It’s safe to say his oeuvre speaks for itself.

But as with any successful artist, you have to start somewhere. For Patterson, this insatiable compulsion to write began during the summer of 1965 when he was 18 years old. He had just finished school and began working as an aide at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. During his night shifts he would read, discovering
a passion for literature. This very quickly graduated into writing and he hasn’t stopped since.

Literary success however didn’t happen overnight. At age 26 he wrote his first novel, The Thomas Berryman Number, which was rejected by 31 publishers before getting published. And while it won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel by an American Author, commercial success didn’t come until later in his life.

In fact, Patterson was 40 years old when his second novel Along Came a Spider (1993) was published, introducing readers to his beloved character, forensic psychologist Alex Cross. It was an instant bestseller and brought on a legion of loyal fans. Today there are over 30 books in the series, with Along Came a Spider adapted into a successful 2001 film starring Morgan Freeman.

In 1996 Patterson made the bold decision to quit his high-profile job in advertising to pursue a full-time writing career. Since then, he has gone on to write a number of popular series including ‘Women’s Murder Club’, ‘Michael Bennett’, and ‘Maximum Ride’. His books range across a variety of genres from fiction, non-fiction, thrillers, crime, romance to books for younger readers.

So, what’s the key to Patterson’s success?

‘I’d put it down to writing every day, staying curious, and writing stories that appeal to as many people as possible. You have to stay consistent, stay disciplined and break those tasks into smaller steps. I have always said I don’t work for a living, I play for a living. I’ve been lucky to find something I love to do that someone is willing to pay me to do,’ he tells me.

It’s evident these are words Patterson lives by – his daily writing routine is disciplined yet balanced: ‘I’ll get up around 5:30am, put my house in order, write a little bit, maybe an outline for that day. Then I’ll go out around 7am, frequently walk a golf course for an hour by myself. Then I’ll come back and write until, oh, 11 or 12.’

But it’s not merely consistency that has helped build his literary empire. This has also been accomplished through collaboration, something that has become synonymous with Patterson’s works and which has enabled him to continue to produce such an immense body of work.

‘I see collaboration only as a positive and natural way of working. One can only benefit from combining different strengths and perspectives.’

Some notable collaborators have included American singer Dolly Parton (Run, Rose, Run), Australian crime writer Candice Fox (‘Harriet Blue’, ‘2 Sisters’), British author Adam Hamdy (‘Private’), American author Maxine Paetro (‘Women’s Murder Club’) and even former president Bill Clinton.

This year marks his third collaboration with Clinton and, fascinatingly, the two have struck up an unlikely friendship.

‘Bill and I are friends at this point, we get each other birthday and Christmas presents. I’d like to think that ease of communicating has helped our process and a level of fun and authenticity.’

The duo first teamed up to write The President Is Missing which was published in 2018 and subsequently The President’s Daughter, which was published in 2022.

‘The partnership between Bill and me came about through a mutual desire to write a realistic political thriller. We had the idea to combine Bill’s unparalleled insider knowledge of the political world with my storytelling,’ Patterson says.

‘If you’re writing a book about a president and you’re a writer, you don’t really know what goes on. For me, one of the most valuable things was the president saying, “This is how it really works”. President Clinton wanted to make sure we got the details right. He said to me, “We’ve got to get the architecture in the White House right — the room to be the right room, the view to be the right view”. Facts matter.’

In their latest novel, The First Gentleman, we get a real insight into what takes place behind closed doors – from security details, bureaucracy, diplomatic engagements through to backroom deals. The story is set against the backdrop of an election campaign where we get to see the inner workings of the White House, all while enjoying Patterson’s trademark themes of political intrigue, conspiracies, murder and corruption.

‘If you think about the movies and TV shows and books that you’ve read about presidents, most of them don’t ring very true and the presidents aren’t very realistic. That always bothered Bill and me, and one of the things with these books is I couldn’t have even come close to without President Clinton’s help, is how realistic these people are, how human they are. Our common ground was getting to the real humanity of the stories.’

The First Gentleman begins by setting the scene. Cole Wright, the first gentleman and husband of the President is on trial for murder. But did he do it? The story takes us back to the events leading up to this trial when a pair of investigative journalists get a tip off that Wright was involved in the disappearance of a former cheerleader 17 years ago. In pursuit of the truth and a tell-all book, the pair begin to investigate the cold case, but they are quickly met with violence, lies, threats and various other obstructions. And what they initially believe to be an open-and-shut case, proves to be anything but.

‘Our plots are, of course, fiction and designed to entertain. One could say the plots are somewhat over the top, but in this day and age anything could happen. You know, the Capitol building is going to be stormed. If you wrote that you’d be like, “Come on, give me a break! That couldn’t happen!” But now?’

If anything, for Patterson, the higher the stakes, the better: ‘In a confusing political and world view I believe my readers like two things: escapism and resolution. A story with murder and deception is all about that resolution in the end. There’s reassurance in that.’

It’s clear that Patterson’s audience is always at the forefront of his mind. Whether it’s delivering the next book in a series or getting a book into the hands of a lapsed reader, his drive to make reading accessible and his wider philanthropy are perhaps what he’s become best known for.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who works in literacy I haven’t liked and admired. But the Young Booksellers Award introduced me to passion and energy that was overwhelming.’

His passion for promoting literacy among children has seen him donate millions in grants to independent bookshops, more than one million books to students and youth programs, millions to school and classroom libraries across the United States and establishing over 400 Teacher and Writer Education Scholarships at 21 colleges and universities across the US.

‘There has never been a more important time to celebrate booksellers and librarians – period. I’ve always said these people save lives. Their work has never been more crucial than in today’s world, and it’s not talked about enough. I’m happy to be able to give back to these heroes and to hopefully shine a light on all they do.’