His greatest influence, he said later, was probably Evan S. After he retired from advertising in 1996, he devoted his time to writing. Patterson was a PhD candidate at Vanderbilt when he took a job as an advertising executive at J. in English from Manhattan College and an M.A. The family was working-class and of Irish descent. James Patterson was born on March 22, 1947, in Newburgh, New York, the son of Isabelle ( née Morris), a homemaker and teacher, and Charles Patterson, an insurance broker. Patterson has donated millions of dollars in grants and scholarship to various universities, teachers' colleges, independent bookstores, school libraries, and college students to promote literacy. In November 2015, Patterson received the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation. His total income over a decade is estimated at $700 million. In 2016, Patterson topped Forbes 's list of highest-paid authors for the third consecutive year, with an income of $95 million. His books have sold more than 425 million copies, and he was the first person to sell 1 million e-books. Among his works are the Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Women's Murder Club, Maximum Ride, Daniel X, NYPD Red, Witch & Wizard, Private and Middle School series, as well as many stand-alone thrillers, non-fiction, and romance novels. James Brendan Patterson (born March 22, 1947) is an American author.
