Bill Clinton Writes What He Knows

We'd already heard that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in the process of writing a book—a collection of “essays … inspired by the hundreds of quotations she has been collecting for decade,” and also touching on her experiences during the disastrous 2016 U.S. presidential election. But it seems her husband, former President Bill Clinton, has caught the book-writing itch, too. As Slate reports:

James Patterson’s famed co-author gambit has, by a large margin, scored its biggest name yet: former president Bill Clinton. In an announcement made Monday morning, Knopf Doubleday chairman Sonny Mehta and Hachette CEO Michael Pietsch confirmed that The President Is Missing, Clinton’s debut novel, will be published in June 2018. It’s described as “a unique amalgam of intrigue, suspense, and behind-the-scenes global drama from the highest corridors of power … that only a president can know.”

“Working on a book about a sitting President—drawing on what I know about the job, life in the White House, and the way Washington works—has been a lot of fun,” Clinton said in a statement. “And working with Jim has been terrific. I’ve been a fan of his for a very long time.” Patterson also chimed in, saying that collaborating with Clinton marks “the highlight” of his career. The official press release confirmed that this is the first time Patterson has worked with a president.

The Guardian notes that “Clinton, a keen reader of thrillers and mysteries, has known Patterson for 10 years, during which time they have become golf partners. They came up with the idea for the novel after the lawyer they both retain suggested they work together. They started working on the book in late 2016, and though details of the plot are being held back until publication, a source told The Guardian it would involve a sitting U.S. president being kidnapped.”

There’s no word yet on how much Clinton might be paid for these literary efforts, but The Guardian says, “it is thought to have gone for a significant seven-figure sum.”

READ MORE: “Bill Clinton and James Patterson Co-Writing a Thriller,” by Hillel Italie (Associated Press).