Jerry Bledsoe is an American author and journalist known for several true crime

True crime

True crime is a non-fiction literary and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people.The crimes most commonly include murder, but true crime works have also touched on other legal cases. Depending on the writer, true crime can adhere strictly to...

 titles based on murders in his native state of North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

.

His journalism career, which spanned over 20 years, included newspaper work the North Carolina Cities of Kannapolis

Kannapolis, North Carolina

Kannapolis is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte. The population was 42,625 at the 2010 census, which makes Kannapolis the 20th largest city in North Carolina...

, Charlotte

Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

, and Greensboro

Greensboro, North Carolina

Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...

 and work at Esquire

Esquire (magazine)

Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...

 magazine. Bledsoe also contributes investigative reports to the Rhinoceros Times

Rhinoceros Times

The Rhinoceros Times is a free weekly conservative news and opinion newspaper published in Greensboro, North Carolina, founded in 1991. A Charlotte, North Carolina print edition was founded in 2002 and discontinued in 2008.-Background:...

, 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

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 written in 1973-1974...

 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, North Carolina

-Notable people:*Naomi Wise, murder victim*Richard Petty - Nascar driver.*Lee Petty - Nascar pioneer. Richard Petty's father.*Kyle Petty - Nascar driver. Son of Richard Petty*Adam Petty - Nascar driver. Kyle Petty's son...

, North Carolina.

Books

• 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
  The World's Number One, Flat-Out, All-Time Great Stock Car Racing Book is a non-fiction book on early stock car racing written in 1973-1974...
  
   (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
  Barbara Stager
  Barbara Stager is an American woman who was convicted in 1989 of murdering her husband, Russell Stager in 1988. Stager is also suspected of the earlier murder of her first husband, Larry Ford, who died in nearly identical circumstances....
  
  )
• Grits For Brain (1994)
• Christmas Angel (1996)
• Death Sentence: The True Story of Velma Barfield's
  Velma Barfield
  Margie Velma Barfield was a serial killer, convicted of six murders. She was the first woman in the United States to be executed after the 1976 resumption of capital punishment and the first since 1962...
  
  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)

External links

• Interview with Jerry Bledsoe at blairpub.com