James Patterson

BIO

PAST INTERVIEW

December 21, 2001

Alex Cross is back in this thrilling follow-up to James Patterson's bestselling ROSES ARE RED. This time he's not only battling his longtime nemesis "The Mastermind," but also a legion of terrifying bloodsuckers. Alex the Vampire Slayer? Join our conversation with Patterson to find out more about The Mastermind, Alex Cross on the big-screen, the author's literary influences and much more!

TBR: The underworld of the vampires that you describe in VIOLETS ARE BLUE is very dark and disturbing, where did the idea come from? Did it require a lot of research?

JP: For many years I had heard about an underworld consisting of people who act out a vampire fantasy while I was living in New York. Fortunately for me there are also several books on the phenomena. I read some, and then visited with people involved in this curious, exciting and somewhat misunderstood sub-culture. I met with a fang maker, who offered to fit me for an exquisite pair. I also went to a club in Los Angeles where I was one of the few participants without fangs and colored contact lenses to make my eyes appear red or purple.

TBR: The Mastermind makes a return appearance in VIOLETS ARE BLUE after being the villain in ROSES ARE RED. Is he your most sinister killer yet and how do you think up these evil characters?

JP: It's very difficult for me to pick a favorite among my sinister children. The Mastermind, Gary Soneji and Geoffrey Shafer are all pretty nasty. Most of these characters are based on people I knew while working in advertising. Just kidding.

TBR: In VIOLETS ARE BLUE, the action takes place across the country from Washington DC, to San Francisco to Las Vegas to Savannah to New Orleans. Did you travel to all these locations? Why did you pick these cities? Are they known to be the centers of the vampire world?

JP: Yes, I have visited all of the major locations in the book with the exception of Las Vegas. The vampire underworld is much larger than most people could imagine. It exists in all the cities mentioned in the book, but also in many, many more. Teenagers, especially, seem to like to act out vampire fantasies. There are several popular computer games with vampire scenes.

TBR: With the success of your new Women's Murder Club Series (1ST TO DIE) and your love story (SUZANNE'S DIARY FOR NICHOLAS) did you look forward to returning to the character of Alex Cross?

JP: Sure, I always look forward to writing about Alex Cross. However, writing 1ST TO DIE and SUZANNE'S DIARY FOR NICHOLAS gave me a very necessary breather and I'm sure contributed to VIOLETS ARE BLUE in that way.

TBR: When you write, do you tend to finish one book at a time or are you working on several different stories lines simultaneously?

JP: Lately, I find that I'm working on three or more projects at any given time. For some reason, this is a very comfortable way for me to work.

TBR: What is next for Alex Cross? Will we see him on the big screen again?

JP: I'm just finishing up the next Alex Cross and I'm pleased with it. Some people will look at it as more realistic than VIOLETS ARE BLUE, but only because they won't be able to believe that the vampire underworld is as large and real as it is. Currently, Paramount is talking about ROSES ARE RED that I think has the makings of a terrific movie.

TBR: Who do you see as the next Alex Cross?

JP: I think Morgan will still play the character in the next film although Samuel Jackson is cool; I could see him playing the role. Will Smith is a few years too young right now to play Alex although a few years from now that would be kind of interesting. But Hollywood is capable of anything --- Robert Redford starring as Alex Cross?!     

TBR: Would you like to be more involved in the process of adapting your books to film?

JP: That's a tough one. I wouldn't mind doing a movie if you could have a very small group of people who were very good and had reasonable freedom. In terms of getting involved with three agents for that actor, four agents for that actor, lawyers, studio people, studio line producers --- there are so many people, I don't know if that would be my cup of tea, personally.     

TBR: What is next for James Patterson? Is there any form of writing that you haven't tried that you are interested in?

JP: This summer I'll be bringing out a mystery that involves a young lawyer and a court scene, the likes of which I don't think you've ever seen. Hollywood said this is James Patterson meets John Grisham. I'm also working on a medieval mystery story that hopefully will read like an historical novel on speed. At some point, I'd like to try a contemporary horror novel, and maybe write another love story like SUZANNE'S DIARY FOR NICHOLAS.

TBR: In terms of influences on you as a writer, who or what do you count as your influences?

JP: Ernest Hemingway always said his influence was Cezzane. I really can't point to any one person in particular. There was a book at Thompson on creativity that I avoided, but was then forced to read for a symposium I was preparing on the same topic. And I was on a plane reading it and realized, "Ooh, this is a really cool book." And it really did get out a lot of principles about why some people are the way they are and what some of the things are that make people more or less creative.

The point that really struck me, because it was true about the limitations of my own creativity, is that there is very little completely creative, out-of-nowhere stuff that appears. It's more likely someone puts together Chinese poetry and out of that, along with four or five other influences, this cumulative process creates something new and different. Previous to reading about that, I hadn't been that interested in a lot of side things. Then I started to think, being creative is what I love to do, and yet I'm not taking in enough stimuli, so I really started broadening my span of things that I am interested in.

TBR: If you had to sum up the Cross thrillers for new readers, what would you tell them?

JP: The real story with these books is what moves them. They're very fast reads. When someone reads one, a very high proportion of readers goes on to the next. The books are somewhat addictive. I think it's a lot of different compelling reasons as to why a lot of readers really like Alex; I think he grows on people. They like the family, the grandmother, the kids and the thing I'll get in letters from readers is "Do not hurt any one in Alex's family; do not kill their cat." I get a lot of letters and most of them are very positive, which is great. People will pick up that I'm not very good on my gun facts but, other than that, that's the only negative thing.

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PAST INTERVIEW

July 20, 2001

James Patterson is a perennial favorite with The Book Report's readers and they flock to the stores to snap up any book he writes --- even when it isn't an Alex Cross novel. With this departure from his usual thrillers, Patterson reveals to Bookreporter.com's Joe Hartlaub what's behind the poignant story of SUZANNE'S DIARY FOR NICHOLAS.

TBR: You are best known for writing mystery thrillers and, while there has been a romantic theme or love interest in your books, it has always served as a secondary plot device rather than as the main focus of the book. Your Alex Cross fans are accordingly going to be quite surprised by SUZANNE'S DIARY FOR NICHOLAS. Where did the impetus for this book originate? Was this an idea that had been percolating with you for a while or something that came to you all at once?

JP: I have a three-year-old son and he's probably the one most responsible for the book. My wife keeps a diary for him, though it's not as elaborate as the one Suzanne keeps for Nicholas. The other impetus involves a woman who I lived with in my late 20's and early 30's. She died of a brain tumor. This book is dedicated to anyone who's ever loved and lost, and tried to find love again.  

TBR: Is SUZANNE'S DIARY FOR NICHOLAS based in whole or in part on true events?

JP: See my answer to #1. Also, my grandmother told me the story of the five balls when I was just a little kid.

TBR: Again, your primary body of work has been in the thriller genre. What was the reaction of your publisher when you brought them SUZANNE'S DIARY FOR NICHOLAS?

JP: One day before I started SUZANNE'S DIARY FOR NICHOLAS I went into the publisher and said "Let me tell you a story."  When I finished the story, which eventually became this book, both of them were crying. I knew then that I had to write SUZANNE'S DIARY FOR NICHOLAS.

TBR: In previous interviews you have described your work schedule. Did you find that you did anything different while writing SUZANNE'S DIARY FOR NICHOLAS?

JP: I usually work in my office, but I wrote SUZANNE'S DIARY FOR NICHOLAS in the bedroom. I usually write 6-7 drafts, but I wrote 11 drafts for SUZANNE'S DIARY FOR NICHOLAS.

TBR: One of the more interesting elements of SUZANNE'S DIARY FOR NICHOLAS is that of the three points of the love triangle --- Matt, Katie, and Suzanne --- the reader doesn't meet Suzanne at all and does not really meet Matt until the last chapter of the book. Yet after reading the novel one has the sense of intimately knowing all three of these individuals. Did you introduce the characters in the way you did by design, or was this simply the way the story unfolded for you as the idea for it took root?

JP: I don't exactly know what you mean by Suzanne and Matt not being introduced early in the book. I think that the diary introduces them as effectively as a third or first person narrator would.

TBR: If SUZANNE'S DIARY FOR NICHOLAS was made into a film and you had total control over the work, who would you cast as Matt, Katie, and Suzanne?

JP: This is the fairy tale of all fairy tales --- that a novelist would have any control over what happens in Hollywood. How about Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks?

TBR: Do you at this point plan to return to the romance genre, or to a genre other than mysteries, at any time in the foreseeable future?

JP: I'm not thinking about it right now, but I've learned to never say never.  

TBR: What are you working on now?

JP: The new Alex Cross -- VIOLETS ARE BLUE --- is finished and will be out in the fall.  The new Women's Murder Club --- 2ND CHANCE --- is almost finished and will be out in the spring. I'm also working on a mystery that takes place in medieval times.  

TBR: On a related note (since you tend to be a book or two ahead of what is being published now) what can you tell us about your next book?

JP: VIOLETS ARE BLUE will be published in late November.  It's the new Alex Cross and hopefully it will answer any questions left over from ROSES ARE RED. I think it's one of the most exciting Alex Cross books yet.  

TBR: Are there any books which you have read in the past six months which you could recommend to your readers?

JP: I just read the DEATH OF VISHNU, which is extremely well written and engaging, though it isn't a mystery. I also read Robert Parker's Cowboy Tale, GUNMAN's RHAPSODY, which I enjoyed.