We’ve found President Clinton
Writing The President Is Missing with Patterson.
Book trailers rarely get as much attention as movie trailers. But few star a former president and a mega-selling author.
In a new video, former president Bill Clinton and No. 1 USA TODAY best-selling author James Patterson team up to talk about their summer thriller, The President Is Missing (Little, Brown/Knopf, on sale June 4), and USA TODAY has the first look at USATODAY.com.
The former president looks, well, presidential in a suit and tie, while Patterson sports more casual attire in a down vest. In a video that lasts just over a minute, the co-authors promise a page-turner that will take readers inside the White House.
Patterson says their new novel (Clinton’s first) is “about a United States president who’s involved in a terrifying world crisis and goes missing.”
The novel, Patterson says, “will make you feel the impossible decisions, the stress, the dangers out there in today’s world, and the importance of the American presidency.”
Clinton says that “being president is a profound honor, but it can also be the most difficult job in the world. Because every day brings something new, and it’s not all good.”
Patterson promises that Missing “is full of twists and turns, kind of like being president.”
“Jim,” Clinton responds, “you have no idea.” That comment wraps the trailer.
The collaboration between Clinton, whose 2004 memoir My Life was a best seller, and Patterson, best known for his Alex Cross detective series, was announced last year.
Describing their partnership, Clinton says: “Every once in a while, as we were writing or discussing a particular twist, I’d suggest something that Jim thought was a bit far-fetched. And I could see why he’d think so, but I’d tell him, ‘Knowing what I know, Jim, this could actually happen.’ ”
Says Patterson: “Needless to say, we had some great conversations about the presidency, what life in Washington is really like, and about the state of America and the rest of the world. We’re looking forward to continuing those conversations on our book tour.”