*By Jacqueline Corba*
James Patterson is a fixture on the vaunted New York Times bestseller list. But this year, the author of canon thrillers like "Juror #3," "Pop Goes the Weasel," "Zoo," "Jack & Jill," and the "Alex Cross" series is using an unlikely platform to deliver his latest work: Facebook Messenger.
"I call it unofficially 'a bookie.' It's a book meets a movie, there's a lot of text and then video," Patterson told Cheddar Monday. "Nobody has done that before."
Patterson, whose books are often adapted into films, said his latest work, "The Chef," will yield "a 360 experience."
For Patterson, sustaining his readership is a matter of staying current. And that means the web.
"It's so important to me that books keep up ー that they enter the modern age and who knows where it's going to end up. But wherever it goes a lot of it will end up online," he said.
The goal, he said, is to drive more readers to new platforms ー but ideally, the format will allow his fans to have a more immersive experience with his stories.
On Facebook ($FB), embedded videos and clues will enhance Patterson's latest whodunit.
"Unfortunately, the publishing business has been a little sleepy, and we keep trying to wake 'em up," he said.
Patterson's murder mystery "The Chef" will be available on Facebook Messenger on Oct. 30 and the print edition will be available in February of 2019.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/why-james-patterson-is-teaming-up-with-facebook-for-his-latest-novel).
From the end of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to the beginning of a new zombie apocalypse, here's what's going on in entertainment.
One person was killed and multiple people were sent to local hospitals after a boat capsized Monday during a tour of an underground cavern system built to carry water from the Erie Canal beneath the western New York city of Lockport, officials said.
There was plenty of uncertainty in the run-up to this year’s Tony Awards, which at one point seemed unlikely to happen at all because of the ongoing Hollywood writer’s strike.
Classical music concerts have been popular since the age of Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart, but you've probably never thought about attending one in a cemetery. Our own Chloe Aiello spoke with Andrew Ousley, founder of Death of Classical, to learn more about a concert series held in the catacombs of the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
You may not know her name, but you've probably seen her face. Madhulika Sharma has graced Vogue India and ELLE Magazine and modeled for popular brands such as Reformation and Skims. Cheddar's own Hena Doba spoke with Sharma to discuss her globe-spanning modeling career, her education in fashion history, and working alongside Kim Kardashian.
The intimate, funny-sad musical “Kimberly Akimbo” nudged aside more splashier rivals on Sunday to win the best new musical crown at the Tony Awards on a night when Broadway flexed its muscle in the face of Hollywood writers’ strike and fully embraced trans-rights with history-making winners.
The ChatGPT chatbot, personified by different avatars on a huge screen above the altar, led the more than 300 people through 40 minutes of prayer, music, sermons and blessings.
New York's Assembly and Senate passed a bill to create a commission that would consider reparations for slavery.
New Orleans' Big Freedia, who many heard on Beyonce's new hit "Break My Soul," talks about upcoming business ventures and music projects, including a new show called Big Freedia Means Business on Fuse TV.
Cheddar's own Chloe Aiello tries out some unusual pickle flavors with Eddie Andre, head of brand at Grillo's Pickles.
