Contract suit against novelist Patterson can go forward

A woman who claims that her ex-fiancé stole her ideas to use in his best-selling novels will get a chance to prove her breach of contract claim.  A New York judge threw out several claims against novelist James Patterson, but agreed that Christina Sharp can proceed on her contract claims.

Sharp had a romantic relationship with Patterson and the parties had planned to wed until they broke up in 1997.  Sharp says that Patterson asked her to help him with some of the romantic passages in his subsequent, best-selling Cat and Mouse. She says she did not ask for compensation because she thought they would be sharing the benefits after their marriage.