Ask the Author: Ed Baldwin
Answered Questions (11)
Ed Baldwin
I don't do Facebook.
Ed Baldwin
Richard,
Gorilla didn't work so well. The best is Bookbub, but they are very hard to get on as the big publishers are using them now. I use Ereader News, and this week Freebooksy (Monday promo on Pilot).
Gorilla didn't work so well. The best is Bookbub, but they are very hard to get on as the big publishers are using them now. I use Ereader News, and this week Freebooksy (Monday promo on Pilot).
Ed Baldwin
Susie,
It is historical fiction in that it is about well known people who have long since passed away. John Hurt died in 1966. But, the story is a coming of age story that takes place in 1965, and some of us who were around then are still alive. I did a lot of research, reading the remarkable book Mississippi John Hurt, His Life and Times, by Philip Ratcliffe, and Moanin' At Midnight, the Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf by James Segrist and Mark Hoffman.
I travelled as a door to door salesman during the middle 1960s and spent a lot of time in small towns in Mississippi. I lived in Memphis and went to the Club Handy several times; once seeing Albert King perform. My brother was a musician and made a record in the old Sun Studio on Union. Though I can read music and played an instrument in high school, I have no musical talent. I bought a lot of blues records and compared playing and performance styles, then tried to put that into musical terms to explain what the old bluesmen were actually doing.
In addition to the story about blues music are tales of the railroad, including the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad. It was that railroad that had the "Sliding Delta" train that went from Greenwood to Grenada that Hurt mentions in his song by that name. Also, the main line of the Illinois Central runs through the area and there are stories of that.
The Voting Rights Act was passed the summer of 1965, and there was transition in Civil Rights going on. I witnessed, and put in the story, bigotry and discrimination. I also saw kindness and consideration between the races, and believe that is part of the history also.
I hope you'll read Sliding Delta, and would enjoy hearing from you afterward to know if you enjoyed it and feel it accurately reflects what you remember.
It is historical fiction in that it is about well known people who have long since passed away. John Hurt died in 1966. But, the story is a coming of age story that takes place in 1965, and some of us who were around then are still alive. I did a lot of research, reading the remarkable book Mississippi John Hurt, His Life and Times, by Philip Ratcliffe, and Moanin' At Midnight, the Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf by James Segrist and Mark Hoffman.
I travelled as a door to door salesman during the middle 1960s and spent a lot of time in small towns in Mississippi. I lived in Memphis and went to the Club Handy several times; once seeing Albert King perform. My brother was a musician and made a record in the old Sun Studio on Union. Though I can read music and played an instrument in high school, I have no musical talent. I bought a lot of blues records and compared playing and performance styles, then tried to put that into musical terms to explain what the old bluesmen were actually doing.
In addition to the story about blues music are tales of the railroad, including the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad. It was that railroad that had the "Sliding Delta" train that went from Greenwood to Grenada that Hurt mentions in his song by that name. Also, the main line of the Illinois Central runs through the area and there are stories of that.
The Voting Rights Act was passed the summer of 1965, and there was transition in Civil Rights going on. I witnessed, and put in the story, bigotry and discrimination. I also saw kindness and consideration between the races, and believe that is part of the history also.
I hope you'll read Sliding Delta, and would enjoy hearing from you afterward to know if you enjoyed it and feel it accurately reflects what you remember.
Ed Baldwin
Georgia,
Most characters begin with someone in mind, but soon they have their own personalities. As the story goes on the characters grow and I am continually surprised at what comes up. Writing a book is like reading a book, except you can change your mind and change a whole section.
The Fourth Domain was finished, I thought. My editor didn't like the ending and thought the beginning too slow in getting started. I revised it with more fireworks at the beginning and changed the end completely.
Once the story is truly done I don't think about it anymore and go on to the next story. I finished Domain in November, revised it between Christmas and the end of January and then went back to writing the next book, Sliding Delta. That one is essentially finished and I'm researching Little River Empire.
Most characters begin with someone in mind, but soon they have their own personalities. As the story goes on the characters grow and I am continually surprised at what comes up. Writing a book is like reading a book, except you can change your mind and change a whole section.
The Fourth Domain was finished, I thought. My editor didn't like the ending and thought the beginning too slow in getting started. I revised it with more fireworks at the beginning and changed the end completely.
Once the story is truly done I don't think about it anymore and go on to the next story. I finished Domain in November, revised it between Christmas and the end of January and then went back to writing the next book, Sliding Delta. That one is essentially finished and I'm researching Little River Empire.
Ed Baldwin
Chief,
Sorry I didn't answer this sooner, I've been out of town. What do you need?
Ed Baldwin
Sorry I didn't answer this sooner, I've been out of town. What do you need?
Ed Baldwin
Ed Baldwin
The Mingrelian was published in June. It's about the Republic of Georgia, which I visited in 1998 and again last November.
Ed Baldwin
I read in detail history and current events, especially the memoirs of recent government officials as government corruption and conspiracy is one of my main themes. I travel to get background for stories.
Ed Baldwin
I'm working on the next thriller in the Boyd Chailland series; The Fourth Domain. I"m also working on Sliding Delta, a southern historical novel.
Ed Baldwin
Write. You don't plan to be a writer, you write.
Ed Baldwin
I live the experiences I'm writing about; adventure, romance, intrigue!
Ed Baldwin
Quit writing for the day and come back to it later.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more