Jerry Bledsoe (born 1941) is an American

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

known for several

true crime True crime is a genre of non-fiction work in which an author examines a crime, including detailing the actions of people associated with and affected by the crime, and investigating the perpetrator's Motive (law), motives. True crime works often ...

titles based on murders in his native state of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. 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. ...

, Charlotte, and

Greensboro Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...

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 gentleman ...

'' magazine. Bledsoe also contributes investigative reports to the '' Rhinoceros Times'', including a 92-part, three-year 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 ''The World's Number One, Flat-Out, All-Time Great Stock Car Racing Book'' is a non-fiction book on early stock car racing published in 1975 by Doubleday. The book revolves around the 1972 Southern 500 weekend at Darlington Raceway in Darlington ...

'' published by Doubleday in 1975. His book ''

Bitter Blood ''Bitter Blood: A True Story of Southern Family Pride, Madness, and Multiple Murder'' (1988) is a non-fiction crime tragedy written by American author Jerry Bledsoe that reached #1 on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list. ''Bitter Blood'' is ...

'' 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, North Carolina.

Books

* ''

'' (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) * ''The Angel Doll: A Christmas Story'' (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