New York Times #1 Best-selling author David Baldacci recently came to Roanoke for a talk and book signing at the Tanglewood Barnes & Noble, a stop on his current tour around the country. He was promoting his newest book, “True Blue,” a fictional police mystery set in Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Baldacci began his talk by explaining how he conducted research for his new book. He first asked his wife’s permission (which luckily she granted) to accompany the D.C. police as they went out on their rounds. He was armed with only a pen and pad, while the policemen he shadowed had guns and Kevlar vests. The police work Baldacci disliked the most was searching dark alleys looking for drug dealers. He was afraid of an ambush, but instead he encountered a double murderer’s chained mastiff trying its best to attack him. He shouted to the nearby officer, asking what to do. The officer’s response was “run like …” which he did!
On one occasion, after a suspect was handcuffed on the ground, he asked the man if he would agree to an interview. The suspect recognized him and said, “Hey, I have read all your books.” Baldacci replied, “You are going to have a lot of time in jail to read my new one!”
Baldacci’s long and prolific career has produced 17 consecutive New York Times bestsellers. His books are published in over 40 languages in more than 80 countries, with nearly 90 million copies in print. He and his wife are co-founders of the Wish You Well Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America. He founded the program “Feeding Body and Mind,” (www.feedingbodyandmind.com) with 12 other authors to help distribute books across America. Baldacci had a large box placed in the Barnes & Noble store and asked for contributions of books for his program. Books donated locally go to the Rescue Mission and various other local shelters in Roanoke.
One of Baldacci’s series, “Camel Club,” is in the process of being optioned for movie rights. While in London to discuss details of the movie deal, he and his family had the pleasure of touring the new Harry Potter movie set during filming. He wryly observed that his children thought he “was finally cool for about 10 minutes.”
During the question and answer session Baldacci was asked that if he had an opportunity to co-author a book with anyone, who would that be? His choice: either Nelson Demille or John Irving. When asked about his favorite authors — the people he reads for pleasure – he readily responded, “Sue Grafton, John Grisham and Patricia Cornwell.”
He also talked about his unpublished book, due for release in the spring of 2010. It is entitled “Deliver Us From Evil” and is about 90% finished. Baldacci said he actually does not have an ending yet. He said that ,”so far every ending I have imagined has seemed boring,” so he is going to wait and let the ending occur to him spontaneously. He surmised that it will be based on current events and the present evil that surrounds us.
Baldacci was recently named a Contributing Editor to Parade Magazine; his first article will be about George and Laura Bush. He and his family live in Northern Virginia, and have a vacation home at Smith Mountain Lake.
By Carla Bream [email protected]