James Patterson was born on March 22, 1947 and still lives today. He was raised in Newburgh, New York. His parents were Charles Patterson and Isabelle Patterson. Charles was an insurance broker while Isabelle worked as a teacher and homemaker. His personal life has been mostly private. Patterson does not like to tell about his family life to anyone, but does tell seldom. Right now, Patterson lives in Palm Beach, Florida with his wife, Sue and son, Jack who is ten. His favorite hobby to do, besides write, is to golf with his friends.

James Patterson went on to major in English at Manhattan College in 1969. He only stayed one year. James Patterson had a unique story to where and when he decided to be an author. His job over the summer of 1969 was working as a medical aid at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts. While working there, he became friends with a poet named Robert Lowell. Lowell talked to Patterson about writing and seeing if he may want to. In that summer, Patterson began to try and write, but turned out wanting to try to teach. He went to Vanderbilt University in 1970 for a teaching major. He didn’t enjoy it. He left that year and started to write again. Instead of a teaching job he got a job at J. Walter Thompson advertising agency as a junior copywriter. In his off time Patterson wrote many books. Through the years he worked his way up and in 1990 became the CEO. In 1995, Patterson retired his job and devoted his life to writing (Kelly).

“Anybody who wants to take a quick beach trip out, there should sit down with a book.” (iclebz.com). James Patterson grew up loving books, and that’s why he writes now. His first book was published in 1976. It was called The Thomas Berryman Number, and it won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for best mystery of the year. The book is in the perspective of a newspaper reporter who writes a story about the main story on Thomas Berryman. Thomas Berryman is a man who was hired to kill a politician and causes a massive manhunt for him (shvoong). But in 1992, James Patterson came out with his breakthrough work. A series called Alex Cross. The first book was titled Along Came Spider. This book was turned into a movie in 2001. He still writes this series and has come out with fourteen so far. His first young adult book was released in 2005. This was a series as well, Maximum Ride was its name and it was a hit. So far he has come out with four of the series and more are on its way. In 2008, Patterson noticed that there weren’t many books out for his son, Jack, to read. So, Patterson wrote one. The Dangerous Days of Daniel X was about a young teen that is part alien part human and helps save the world. Patterson’s new book flew off the shelves fast, and his son was pleased with his father’s work. James Patterson has two new books soon to be out. MAXis coming out in late March which will be the fifth Maximum Rideseries book. He is also coming out with 8th Confessionwhich is coming out late April or early May (jamespatterson.com). Patterson’s life is all about what he loves to do, write.

James Patterson is devoted to writing. He writes stories because he wants to have the reader amazed and filled with excitement. His thriller and suspense stories can’t stop a reader reading. I’ve read some of his works, and it shows. James Patterson is a true American author.

1. Agatha Christie

   

   This most prolific writer has to be tops on anyone’s list. Often imitated but never equaled, Dame Christie’s mystery’s always played fair providing enough clues to help the reader guess “whodunnit” before the end of the book. Of course, no reader was ever as good at finding the killer as Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple. Her most well-know work, repeated again and again in film and literature is probably Ten Little Indians ( also know as And Then There Were None), although many are familiar with The Mystery on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. Her books are a must read for anyone who enjoys mystery novels.

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2. Dorothy Sayers

   

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   A young teen when I first started reading this author, I fell in love with her fictional detective, the dashing, debonair Lord Peter Wimsey. The monocled amateur sleuth rode around in his Daimler solving mysteries with the help of his butler, Bunter, his friend, Inspector Charles Parker and his future bride, Harriet Vane. Sayers novels are intelligent and well-plotted and provide an interesting look at the lives of the British upper class subsequent to World War I.

3. P. D. James

   

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   Although at times I find James’ detective, Inspector Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard to be a bit too morose, I have always immensely enjoyed her writing . Her books are methodically plotted, contain a wealth of information about British life and institutions and well-defined characters.

4. Martha Grimes

   Ok, I am cheating a little, here. Ms. Grimes is actually an American, but I have included her on this list because her novels are set in England. Her mysteries feature the dynamic duo, Inspector Richard Jury of Scotland Yard and Melrose Plant, a member of the British peerage who gave up his title. These two sleuths are always surrounded by a recurring eccentric cast of characters while they go about solving mysteries. The titles to the books are always the name of a British pub or inn. Highly enjoyable works.

5. Ngaio Marsh

   Not as well-known today as the other authors on my list, Dame Marsh was a native New Zealander whose main character was Inspector Roderick Alleyn of Scotland Yard. Her works contained intricate mysteries, highly developed, colorful characters and vivid, sparkling dialogue. Any of her books is a treat to read.

This author’s first novel, Night School, came out in November 2008, and he’s still busy writing short stories and is at work on other writing projects. Night School begins with a teacher going missing in a small town. A friend of the teacher and one of the teacher’s students begin to play detective in hopes of finding the teacher, but the situation turns even darker. Mutilated bodies are showing up all over town. Is there a maniac on the loose? Or something much darker.

David Wellington

Wellington has a growing list of novels, but he’s probably best known for his vampire books, a few of which are 99 Coffins, Vampire 0 and 23 Hours. One of the fun things about this author’s novels is that his vampires are bad guys. That’s right, no aristocratic nice-guy vampires or teen vampires that make the girls’ hearts beat faster. Nope, Wellington’s vampires are mean and lean, and they don’t go down without a major fight.

Lavie Tidhar

Lavie Tidhar grew up in Israel and has lived in several other places throughout the world. So far he has three books available, The Tel Aviv Dossier, Hebrew Punk and An Occupation of Angels. Tidhar’s short stories have appeared in several anthologies and in multiple magazines and online venues. The writing here is solid. Some of the best new horror available.

Maurice Broaddus

Mr. Broaddus is probably one of the more popular of a growing trend of Christian horror authors. His short stories have appeared in many top anthologies, such as Orgy of Souls and Whispers in the Night, and in a goodly number of top magazines, such as Weird Tales and the Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest. His book Devil’s Marionette is coming out soon from Shroud Publishing.

Jeff Lindsay

Lindsay is probably the best known of the authors listed here. His likable serial-killer Dexter has his own television program on Showtime called, quite appropriately, Dexter. And how could you call a serial killer likable? Charming? Even kind of goofy? For one thing, Dexter only kills other serial killers and really bad people. Usually, anyway. To know more you just have to read the books, which so far are Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dearly Devoted Dexter and Dexter in the Dark.

Plus, his books are crazy-good and very readable. So, here are my personal favorites. I’ve read all of his published works. Most of them I’ve read multiple times, so if I forgot a good one, its owing to my impending senility. Anyway, here is a Stephen King starter list for the uninitiated:

1. Bag of Bones

   Unlike some of his earlier work, this book has the pacing and plot of a thriller. The character development is a little thin, but the first-person narrative explains that. Also affords a good look at racial discrimination and its long-term, and sometimes supernatural, consequences.

2. The Talisman (With Peter Straub)

   The tale of a young runaway with a mission to save his mother. This book does a remarkable job of capturing the gloom and isolation of the American underclass, while contrasting it with the agrarian myth of the ideal “kingdom”. The drawback on this one is the fact that it is clear which author wrote which chapters, which breaks the flow considerably. There is also considerable insight on what it means to be twelve.

3. The Long Walk (as Richard Bachman)

   A startlingly prescient commentary on America’s love of blood-sport, the Long Walk is a sport with one simple rule: Walk or Die. One hundred participants begin the Walk, and this story describes the journey of the one winner of that year. This is a great observational commentary on dealing with inner demons while engaging in a physical ordeal, and what would drive a sixteen-to-twenty year old kid to risk probable death for a prize of “anything they want.”

4. Duma Key

   King’s most recent work, this novel combines the strengths of his earlier work (character development and history) with those of his later work (pacing and action). This is the latest of three or four novels written after King announced his retirement. It seems that Brett Favre is the Stephen King of football. As far as I’m concerned, both of them should continue until dragged away kicking and screaming.

5. The Running Man (as Richard Bachman)

   Another nearly spot-on prediction of America’s obsession with reality television. This book is action-paced to the point that the chapters are titled as a countdown (ie: T-100…). This book is also a scathing commentary on the exploitation of the underclass, and the numbing force of the media.

6. The Green Mile

   Originally released as a serial (in honor of Charles Dickens), this is a thrilling story as well as an allegory that addresses martyrdom, the curse of longevity, and capitol punishment. (Michael-Clark Duncan = Jesus…get it?)

7. The Tommyknockers

   One of the “old-school” King novels that was ruined by an attempted TV mini-series. With a few exceptions, (Stand By Me, Misery, the ShawShank Redemption, Green Mile) King’s books do not translate well on the big (or small) screen. This book is rich in character development, regional (fictional) history, and fascinating conjecture on what would happen if our worldly problems were solved. (hint: we’d have new problems). The narrative explores themes such as alcoholism, domestic abuse, environmentalism and alien intelligence.

8. It

   Another novel ruined by an attempt to make television. This book is NOT ABOUT A HOMICIDAL CLOWN. It’s about a creature that feeds on terror. Clowns just happen to terrorize children, get it? This novel contains excellent character development, and wonderful insight on the joys and strengths of childhood, growing older, and the demons of childhood. Also, great historical context in the form of “interludes” that explain the Monster’s effect on earlier generations.

9. The Stand (Uncut Version)

   This is really two novels in one. The first half chronicles the fall of western society in the face of a super-plague that wipes out 99% of the country. The second part, cleverly interwoven with the first, is an apocalyptic battle between the forces of good and evil. King pulls this off without getting all religious and preachy. Great character development, including that rare beast in literature: character change over time. Also follows how an outcast can choose evil over acceptance and be victimized by the promise of prominence.

10. The Dark Tower (series of 7 books)

    Meant to be his defining work as an author, and written over 30 years time, this Magnum Opus lives up to its billing. It’s got the Steven King standards of character and history, as well as a little something for everyone else: Western, fantasy, adventure, time travel, alternate realities, and more. It also makes oblique reference to about 20 of his other novels (and them to these novels). King even utilizes a version of himself in the book as the characters are forced to convince him to finish writing their story. The ending will piss you off until you think about it, and realize that it could not end any other way. (Hint: not like The Sopranos…)

We discovered soon after beginning the third in the Twilight series, Eclipse, that there would be a book release party at Books-a-Million for the next book “Breaking Dawn”. My daughter was ecstatic. She all but begged me to take her to the party. I admit to getting caught up in her excitement, enjoying that she looked forward to doing something different on the weekend rather than just watching a rented movie at home.

Friends Join Us in Adoration of Bella and Edward

We discovered a couple of her public school friends also loved the Stephenie Meyer collection. We asked them to join us at the book release party. I was merely curious to see what that sort of party would be like, and I wanted to chaperone the girls. Once we arrived at the party, the girls almost burned a hole in the ground getting into the bookstore! I was relieved that they were excited to visit a bookstore instead of some of the other dangerous places teens choose to go on weekends. The girls had even gotten into the spirit and dressed for the prom theme of the party.

Bella Contest Takes Us by Surprise

Surprisingly, my daughter won the contest for dressing like Bella! She was happier than I’d seen her in awhile. We hadn’t known there would be a costume contest. She just dressed in something she thought Bella would wear. She had mentioned that she wanted to dress up because it might be the closest she would ever get to attending a prom. While that made me sad, I kept quiet about it. After all, she is a teenager. We all know how moody and dramatic they can become at times. I wanted to say, “How do you know you’ll never attend a prom?”

We both enjoy following the exploits of the characters in the Twilight series. Bella, with her love triangle between Jacob and Edward, keeps us a little frustrated, but she is charming as well with her personality quirks and insecurities.

The girls and I enjoyed the party, walking around to admire the others who had dressed for the occasion, listening to the many comments of the other guests, joining in the trivia contest about Stephenie Meyer books, and browsing through the selections while we eagerly awaited the release of “Breaking Dawn”.

Meyer is Tops on Our List of Authors

Even the Harry Potter books didn’t capture our attention as the Meyer collection has. It’s been so much fun to be able to discuss the characters with my daughter and her friends. It’s great that the story line is on a level they can enjoy as teenagers in the process of becoming young adults. Stephenie has done a fine job on these stories. To be able to bring teenagers and a middle-aged mother together in a mutual respect for an author and her characters is awesome to me.

Not only are the books worthy of our attention and devotion, her interest in Bella has encouraged my daughter to willingly search for and read a classic called “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte’. How great is that? I am so excited about this, I’ve decided to read it, too!

Stephenie Meyer definitely has a fan club here in our homeschool.

Yet, Vlad III had no association with vampires, and he was not a count. He was a Christian Romanian prince. (Wallachia is one of the three Romanian provinces.) Vlad surnamed himself Dracula (“Son of Dracul”), a reference to the fact that he was the son of Vlad Dracul, a member of the Order of the Dragon (dracul is Romanian for dragon). The Order of the Dragon was a semi-military, religious society of knights, created in 1378 by the Holy Roman Emperor. Their official dress was a black cape over a red garment. (In most horror films vampires wear black capes with red lining.)

Vlad III was notorious for the atrocities he inflicted on his enemies. He had people skinned, burned, nailed or buried alive. His favourite execution technique was impaling his enemies on long wooden pointed stakes. Legend has it that he once impaled 20,000 Turkish prisoners in concentric circles outside his capital of Tirgoviste.

To Romanians, however, Vlad is something of a national hero, who defended his country and religion and defeated the Turks in 1462. They do not call him Dracula, because of the western association with vampirism, which they regard as an affront to their history. Instead, they refer to the Prince as Vlad Tepes (pronounced tsep-pesh) alias Vlad the Impaler, a nickname given to him by the Turks.

Some scholars question the link between Stoker’s Dracula and Vlad Tepes. Professor Elizabeth Miller, a leading authority on Dracula, states that Stoker new little more than the name Dracula and that he was not really familiar with the Vlad Tepes stories. The only thing that is for sure is that Stoker came across the name Dracula in a footnote in a history book written by William Wilkinson and that he linked the association with “devil”.

Why vampires don’t have a reflection

The idea that vampires have no reflection is based on a superstition that a mirror reflects a person’s soul. As vampires are “un-dead” and therefore have no soul, no reflection appears.