Author+of+the+Month+5

media type="youtube" key="sSJxfBHGJSg&feature=related" width="388" height="287"

**JAMES PATTERSON**
After initially being turned down by twenty-six publishers, Patterson's first novel, The Thomas Berryman Number (1976), was published and went on to win the Edgar Award for Best First Mystery Novel. However, it was not until the success of Along Came A Spider (1992) that the former chairman of advertising company J. W. Thompson left to take up writing full time. As of 2006 it is estimated that he has sold about 130 million books worldwide. In North America alone he sold 12 million copies in 2006. In 2005 he had five consecutive #1 New York Times bestselling hardcovers and is the first author to simultaneously hold the #1 spot on both the New York Times adult and children's bestseller lists. A prolific author, he has written 14 books in his Alex Cross series (including Cross Country, 2008), seven books in the Women's Murder Club series (including 7th Heaven, 2008), four in the Maximum Ride series (including Final Warning, 2008), plus over 20 stand along novels. Increasingly he writes with coauthors, most notably Maxine Paetro and Andrew Gross. He also founded the James Patterson PageTurner Awards and, as of 2007, has personally given away over $600,000 to reward "people, companies, schools, and other institutions who find original and effective ways to spread the excitement of books and reading." He lives in Palm Beach, Florida with his wife, Susan, and son, Jack.

Maximum RideThe Angel Experiment //** Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever**//