Vampires are hot. We’ve known this way before Rob Pattinson ever donned glitter in Twilight (Bela Lugosi might not have inspired the shrieks of tweens nationwide, but hey, he still pulled it off, Hungarian accent and all). But mutant humans? I’m not so sure. But with news breaking this morning that Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke might direct the adaptation of James Patterson’s Maximum Ride series — which follows a group of teens that are half-bird, half-human — I’m beginning to wonder if the movie has the potential to be the next Twilight. The two series certainly have a lot in common: they’re both fantasy series, they both revolve around teens, and they both boast a strong adult following as well (not to mention the fact that the family of half-bird, half-humans, called the Flocks, lives in a remote house. And have human-wolf hybrids as enemies). 

But every teen-centric novel adaptation needs a heartthrob. So which hotties should play Maximum Ride, the series’ main female character, and Fang, Max’s strong right-hand man-bird?

(Popwatch, Mar. 17, Kate Ward)

Order your signed copies of  James Patterson books from www.vjbooks.com

James Patterson is set to add another name to his list of collaborators: Liza Marklund. Marklund is Scandinavia’s bestselling female crime writer. The announcement came Friday afternoon via a blog post by “Lindsay Boxerette” on Patterson’s social-networking site. The international thriller is due in 2010. All that is known of the story at this point is that it is set in Stockholm, Sweden.

Marklund was quoted as saying, “Writing this book is so much fun. The story is violent, emotional, and fast paced. It’s very exciting to work with such an intelligent and creative writer. James Patterson is not only exceptionally smart and funny, he is also incredibly humble.” A goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, Marklund is credited with revolutionizing the Swedish police procedural in the late 90’s with The Bomber, her first novel in a series that is now heralded as the most successful ever by a female Scandinavian writer.

The series centers on character Annika Bengzton, a crime reporter for a tabloid who must balance her career with the responsibilities of motherhood. The books have been so successful internationally that the author has become a #1 bestseller in all five Nordic countries. Collectively, the books have sold 9 million copies in 30 languages worldwide.

Patterson, meanwhile, is set to release MAX, the fifth installment of the young adult Maximum Ride series, on March 16th. Most recently, Run For Your Life (Little, Brown February 2009), written with Michael Ledwidge, topped bestseller lists. Other collaborators have included Andrew Gross, Maxine Paetro, Hal Friedman, Howard Roughan, and Peter de Jonge.

(Hartford Books Examiner, Mar. 8, John Valeri)

www.vjbooks.com has signed copies of all James Patterson novels.

Even before he had a word published by himself, Andrew Gross was a best-selling author as one of James Patterson‘s co-writers. Six novels, including “The Women’s Murder Club” series, put Gross’s work on many best-sellers lists.

But Gross isn’t in Patterson’s shadow anymore. In his third solo novel, Gross continues to show that he is a thriller writer in his own right, though stylistically “Don’t Look Twice” is akin to Patterson’s work with clipped sentences, short chapters and ramped-up action.

“Don’t Look Twice” resonates with character development and a solid plot. Although the dialogue occasionally dips to the level of cliche, Gross’s enthusiasm for his storytelling overrides this flaw.

Greenwich, Conn., police detective Ty Hauck’s quiet outing with his daughter is halted when they are victims of a drive-by shooting at a service station where they are buying groceries. Hauck is wounded, his daughter is all right physically, but David Sanger, a federal prosecutor, is killed. Ty’s investigation first centers on just who was the intended victim: the cop, the prosecutor or the Pakistani who owned the business?

The investigation takes Ty through a maze that leads to a conspiracy, an area casino and a member of his own family. Corruption and greed ooze throughout the thrilling “Don’t Look Twice.”

Gross accelerates the action as he moves the story throughout Connecticut, including Hartford, as well as the Dominican Republic.

(sunjournal.com, Mar. 9, Oline H. Cogdill)

Order your signed copy of Don’t Look Twice by Andrew Gross from www.vjbooks.com

According to Bookscan, the Women’s Murder Club series is the bestselling U.S. detective series in the past decade; Patterson‘s  Alex Cross series is  #1 over the last 20 years.  Publisher’s Weekly review called 7th Heaven “gripping” and said, “fans won’t be disappointed with the twist at the end that not even Lindsay sees coming.”  The next installment in the series, the 8th Confession, goes on sale April 27.

(Publisher’s Weekly, Apr. 20)

Order your signed copy of 8th Confession by James Patterson at www.vjbooks.com

We are pleased to bring you great new titles by some wonderful authors.  Larwrence Block, Greg Rucka,  and James Huston have been some of our top selling authors for years, and what could we possibly say about a new Chuck Palahnuik title except “stand back!”   The Little Stranger, is the eagerly anticipated fifth novel by Sarah Waters. 

Peter De Jonge steps out of James Patterson’s shadow with an edgy, electrifying, dark and riveting debut, Shadows Still Remain.

(Publisher’s Weekly, Mar 30)

(And who could blame you:  it’s been two weeks since Little, Brown released Max, the fifth in the author’s Maximum Ride YA series.)  Fret not  coming next week is 7th Heaven, the latest paperback Women’s Murder Club installment, followed on April 27 by the newest hardcover in that series, The 8th Confession.

Check out signed James Patterson titles at www.vjbooks.com!

(Publisher’s Weekly, Mar. 23, by Dermot McEvoy and Michael Coffey )

Familiar voices crowd the top in fiction; in nonfiction, the fundamental rules apply—plus all things Obama

John Grisham‘s aptly titled Appeal had the most of it, as far as the novel-buying reading public went, earning the #1 slot on our hardcover fiction list last year—just enough to beat out the beloved Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski, which sold 1.3 million. Our top 15 fiction titles this year look much like last year’s, with the notable absence of Khaled Hosseini, who was top dog in ’07. The prolific James Patterson racked up three in the top echelon, and Nicholas Sparks, Patricia Cornwell, Dean Koontz and David Baldacci made returns. The new kids on the block, in addition to Wroblewski, were Stephenie Meyer, seamlessly crossing over from the YA genre with The Host, and Glenn Beck, whose Christmas Sweater apparently warmed the hearts of his faithful. (more…)

Avi Arad, the producer behind the Spider Man and X Men movies has bought MAXIMUM RIDE and is working on the movie for Sony Pictures.

(Publisher’s Weekly, Feb. 16, Carlisle Webber)

Persuading adults to read YA literature

Overheard in a library: “This is a teen novel? I don’t want it then. I just want regular James Patterson.” The patron was holding the copy of Maximum Ride that she had requested.

Among a blog’s comments: “I’m an adult who loves YA fiction, but I always feel so embarrassed by looking through the YA section of the local library.”

Every day, those of us who advocate for young adult literature hear statements like these, which not only devalue the genre but show us that too many adults believe that YA is either junk or best appreciated by 10-year-olds. We roll our eyes when yet another media outlet writes about this newfangled genre of literature, one that consists solely of Harry Potter, Gossip Girl and the Twilight saga (and maybe some other vampire books if (more…)

The latest installment in James Patterson’s series for our younger audiences is now available to order.  Check it out!

Comfortable in their new safe house, Max and the rest of the Flock finally begin to feel optimistic about their newly-gained freedom. Then the Machine Geeks appear–part machine, part human, totally destructive. They are in the service of an ominous Mr. Chu, who has his eyes on the Flock and their unique abilities. And if he can’t have them, he’ll make sure nobody else can either!

Patterson is the author of novels–from The Thomas Berryman Number (1976) to Honeymoon (2005)–that have won awards including the Edgar, the BCA Mystery Guild’s Thriller of the Year, and the International Thriller of the Year award.