ready? "she wanted to laugh orjoke at the thought of being kidnapped, but the hard look in that secret service agent's eyes, so much like dad's, kept her mouth shut." so, how did the writing process work? master patterson here would give me a list of assignments, which are basically — tell us how we're going to say this without screwing it up. he was so shocked that somebody would actually give him some things to do, some tasks. i loved it. i'm well aware that most people in the end found politics boring if it takes you more than 15 seconds to say what you're doing. if a lot of people read this book and like the thriller, they'll pick up some things about the presidency. the authenticity is the key thing for us. how much of the plotline is inspired by real events? were there ever specific threats made against your daughter, chelsea?