Mystery/suspense author James Patterson may have joined the roster of the Romance Writers of America. His first book in the romance genre, back in 2001, was

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas; it spent a total of 36 weeks on PW's hardcover, trade paper and mass market charts. In-print totals for that book: 805,000 for hardcover, 795,000 for trade and 1,655,000 for mass market. And now his second romance novel,

Sam's Letters to Jennifer, lands high on the national bestseller charts. Little, Brown did a one-day laydown on June 28, launching the book with 900,000 copies. In between these two books, Patterson penned eight bestselling thrillers. He is packing in the crowds at his book signings, and one scheduled for the end of July promises to be the best. That would be Lake Geneva, Wisc., where Sam's Letters is set. The author will be presented with a key to the city and a town proclamation will name Friday, July 30, James Patterson Day. Patterson will sign copies of the new book for everyone at the celebration and he has personalized copies for every inn and b&b in the area.