How did a boy from small-town New York become one of the world's most successful writers? · On the morning he was born, he nearly died. · Growing up, he didn't love to read. That changed. · He worked at a mental hospital in Massachusetts, where he met the singer James Taylor and the poet Robert Lowell. · While he toiled in advertising hell, James wrote the ad jingle line "I'm a Toys 'R' Us Kid." · He once watched James Baldwin and Norman Mailer square off to trade punches at a party. · He's only been in love twice. Both times are amazing. · Dolly Parton once sang "Happy Birthday" to James over the phone. She calls him J.J., for Jimmy James. · Three American presidents have invited him to golf with them. These are the stories of James Patterson's life