Sudhi had planned to talk about a Dan Brown bestseller but then he changed his mind and picked something unique- a book called Many Mansions: The Edgar Cayce Story on Reincarnation by Gina Cerminara. Many times in life we wonder why things happen to us. Cerminara traces the story of how Edgar Cayce, the miracle man of Virginia Beach healed many using the theory of reincarnation as a crutch. An example Sudhi gave was of a woman who was partially paralyzed. Apparently, she was happy in a previous life when she witnessed a murder. The very thought resulted in her predicament (the karma argument) or so went the belief. “This book is good for those who like to read metaphysical psychic stuff,” Sudhi said.
Srikanth, a 10th grader, arrived to speak about a book by James Patterson called Where the Wind Blows. The story starts with a young veterinarian whose husband has been murdered. Kit arrives to solve this case and another murder that cropped up. The search leads to a tale filled with biology gone haywire and children with wings. It’s an exciting read and easy to finish as the chapters are about a page or two long. There were a couple of James Patterson fans at the Party.
If you are interested in how Patterson Inc. works, you must read this article in the NY Times. Here’s a snippet:
“The way it usually works, Patterson will write a detailed outline — sometimes as long as 50 pages, triple-spaced — and one of his co-authors will draft the chapters for him to read, revise and, when necessary, rewrite. When he’s first starting to work with a new collaborator, a book will typically require numerous drafts. Over time, the process invariably becomes more efficient. Patterson pays his co-authors out of his own pocket. On the adult side, his collaborators work directly and exclusively with Patterson. On the Y.A. side, they sometimes work with Patterson’s young-adult editor, who decides when pages are ready to be passed along to Patterson.”
Many other series were discussed including those of Agatha Christie and the obvious Harry Potter. If you want to know how to write a series, you can check out a series we have written about it, quite a long one- with four parts- 1, 2, 3, and 4. We’ve also made a Visual Friday infographic on series that are faves; you might want to have a look at it if you are a series buff.