PALM BEACH, Fla. — James Patterson's life was an accident, a clashing of indecisiveness, a lost first love and an idea that there were rules for ordinary folks like him. But at 59, there's nothing ordinary about the multimillionaire author.

Patterson has published 35 books, 18 of which hit No. 1 on The New York Times list of best sellers. He's sold 100 million copies, grossing $1 billion in sales. His thrillers, "Kiss the Girls" and "Along Came a Spider," have been made into movies starring Morgan Freeman as criminal profiler Alex Cross. More Hollywood deals are in the works.

The former chairman of J. Walter Thompson advertising firm, Patterson produces up to five books a year: mysteries, thrillers, fantasies, love stories and children's themes. He made $40 million last year — doing it in a manner that caught the eye of a Harvard University business professor.

Still, despite the fame and fortune, he sees himself as "just a guy that tells stories," his work as "scribbling."

A literary icon? "Nope."

"My books are good of their kind," Patterson says matter-of-factly, as he sits in a pale yellow multimillion-dollar waterside mansion in swanky Palm Beach with two Mercedes-Benzes parked in the driveway. There's a dock outside, but no boat. "I know the rules, and I just choose to break them."

Patterson has just returned from a 10-day tour to promote his new book, "Beach Road," which he wrote with journalist Peter de Jonge. Another book was due out May 23, his third for the year so far.

On this recent sunny day, his huge, white front door is filled with balloons and plastered with signs reading, "Welcome Home Daddy." His wife, Sue, newly emerged from the swimming pool, walks around the airy estate in a white robe.

Unlike many writers, Patterson is the hand that rocks his own cradle, involving himself in cover designs, organizing signing events and speaking engagements. He contributes his own money to his book advertising campaigns.

In the halls of Harvard Business School, Patterson is an unusual icon.

Harvard's John Deighton devised "Marketing James Patterson," a case study taught in several courses, after hearing the author speak at a gathering of business professionals and realizing that he is a marketer who happens to be his own product.

"That doesn't happen with a can of soda," Deighton said.

"The man is a marketing machine," added Bob Wietrak, vice president of merchandise for Barnes & Noble booksellers.

A few years ago, Patterson began using collaborators to produce even more work.

"I do have a big imagination," he says, the slit of his left eye closing to a near wink.