Jerry Bledsoe (born 1941) is an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

known for several

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...

titles based on murders in his native state of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. His journalism career, which spanned over 20 years, included newspaper work in the North Carolina cities of

Kannapolis Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte and is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The city of Kannapolis was incorporated in 1984. Th ...

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, and

Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

and work at ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' magazine. Bledsoe also contributes investigative reports to the '' Rhinoceros Times'', including a multi-part series detailing the controversies surrounding the Greensboro Police Department. His first published book was the stock car book '' The World's Number One, Flat-Out, All-Time Great Stock Car Racing Book'' published by Doubleday in 1975. His book '' Bitter Blood'' was #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and was adapted as a television movie. Bledsoe established Down Home Press to publish books about North Carolina. He and his wife, Linda, live in

Randolph County Randolph County is the name of eight counties in the United States: *Randolph County, Alabama *Randolph County, Arkansas *Randolph County, Georgia *Randolph County, Illinois *Randolph County, Indiana *Randolph County, Missouri *Randolph County, Nort ...

, North Carolina.

Books

* '' The World's Number One, Flat-Out, All-Time Great Stock Car Racing Book'' (1975) * ''You Can't Live on Radishes'' (1976) * ''Just Folks: Visitin's With Carolina People'' (1980) * ''Where's Mark Twain When We Really Need Him'' (1981) * ''From Whalebone to Hot House: A Journey Along North Carolina's Longest Highway, U.S. 64'' (1986) * '' Bitter Blood: A True Story of Southern Family Pride, Madness, and Multiple Murder'' (1989) * ''Bare-Bottomed Skier: And Other Unlikely Tales'' (1990) * ''Just Folks: Visitin' With Carolina People'' (1990) * ''North Carolina Curiosities: Jerry Bledsoe's Outlandish Guide to the Dablamedest Things to See and Do in North Carolina'' (1990) * '' Blood Games: A True Account of Family Murder'' (1991) * ''Country Cured: Reflections from the Heart'' (1991) * ''Blue Horizons: Faces and Places from a Bicycle Journey Along the Blue Ridge Parkway'' (1993) * ''Before He Wakes: A True Story of Money, Marriage, Sex and Murder'' (1994) (About convicted murderer Barbara Stager) * ''Grits For Brain'' (1994) * ''Christmas Angel'' (1996) * ''Death Sentence: The True Story of Velma Barfield's Life, Crimes, and Execution'' (1998) * ''A Gift of Angels: Sequel to the Angel Doll, a Christmas Story'' (1999) * ''Partial to Home: A Memoir of the Heart'' (w/Bob Timberlake, 1999) * ''Death by Journalism: One Teacher's Fateful Encounter With Political Correctness'' (2001) * ''Built on a Rock: A Memoir of Faith, Family and Place'' (w/Jerry D. Neal, 2005) * ''Fire In The Belly: Building A World-leading High-tech Company From Scratch In Tumultuous Times'' (w/Jerry D. Neal, 2005)

References

External links

Interview with Jerry Bledsoe at blairpub.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bledsoe, Jerry 1941 births Living people American non-fiction crime writers Ernie Pyle Award winners