“Reading is a muscle you need to use.”
James Patterson

No one can say that James Patterson is not prolific. Over the years, he’s penned or “managed” the creation of scores of books. Some he’s written on his own, some he’s co-authored, and some he’s developed in his book “factory.” While it’s hard for me to comment on the quality of all this quantity, I did read one, no make that two, romances by Patterson that came my way. And I have to say that while the writing style wasn’t exactly Shakespeare, the guy knows how to tell a good tale. One of them was definitely not just a page turner, but a tear jerker.

So the guy does know how to spin a yarn. He also seems to know how to spin straw into gold, because he’s one of the most successful authors around on the financial front. Anything with his name on it seems to have legions of loyal fans.

And now, our boy James, who’s broken just about every commercial book-selling record you can think of, has accomplished a double whammy: releasing two new books on the same day. One is an adult thriller and the other is aimed at the middle-school crowd. Called Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (with a name like that, how can you lose?), it was co-written by Patterson.

Patterson was inspired to write for kids by his son Jack, who was a slow starter on the reading front. Jack began devouring his dad’s books, and today he’s an avid reader. James has even created a Web site called ReadKiddoRead.com. His newest book for kids has loads of visuals, which he feels has pushed him in an exciting new direction. At 64, James is still going strong. He has five more books — that’s right, five! — three for adults and two for kids. I wonder if there’s something we can learn from James about getting the job done. Write on, James, write on!