The Balladeer by
The Balladeer is about a troubled man looking for redemption and forgiveness. Much of story was inspired by traumatic experiences in my own childhood. It’s taken me the better part of thirty years of reflection to finally find a way to write about it. The opening of this lyrical novel “The Balladeer” by Fred Calvert, sets the tone for this striking and poignant tale about the destruction of two families.
During World War II in Kentucky, farm boys Bobby and Eldon Wayner are budding balladeers. They become intrigued with a recluse farmer, “Ol’ Weber,” a German immigrant. Rumors allege that he’s a Nazi and that he‘d even murdered his own family. The boys spy on him and discover that at night he plays a mesmerizing piano tune. To write a ballad about Ol’ Weber, Eldon takes a fatal risk.
Many years later, after time served in California’s Folsom Prison for a barroom killing, Bobby travels back to Kentucky. On the way, his ballads and memories tell why he’d run away after Eldon died. When he reaches home, he discovers the past has been waiting like Judgment Day.
About the author, Fred Calvert:
Fred Calvert is a former Walt Disney staff artist, who has written and directed full-length motion pictures, documentaries, as well as hundreds of hours of both Public and Commercial television.
He served as a consultant in the creation of the Children’s Television Workshop, and has created and produced hundreds of “Sesame Street” and “Electric Company” segments.
The ideas for several stories came about when my man and I were floating around on a boat in the Mediterranean for 16 months. Plenty of time for the creative juices to flow and undoubtedly the experience of a lifetime, but before any of those ideas became fully fledged books; we returned to Australia and the real world of jobs and in my case, opening a small business.
In writing my Life’s story (Tears of the Silenced) I hope to bring awareness to child abuse. It is an epidemic in our society and is happening more often than one might think.
Growing up, L.V. Lewis wanted to be an internationally known rock star, but unfortunately, lived in the wrong part of the country to pursue that career (and neither American Idol nor The Voice were available then). An early love for the written word gave her the plan B she sought. Her career as a contract manager was not creative writing by a long shot, but it didn’t require her to spend the hundreds of thousands of dollars required for a law degree. It does pay the bills while she dabbles in the publishing world as an author on the evenings and weekends.
A born and bred New Yorker, Meredith Schorr discovered her passion for writing when she began to enjoy drafting work-related emails way more than she was probably supposed to. After trying her hand penning children’s stories and blogging her personal experiences, Meredith found her calling writing chick lit and contemporary women’s fiction. She secures much inspiration from her day job as a hard-working trademark paralegal and her still single (but looking) status. Meredith is also the co-founder of BookBuzz, a live author/reader event held annually. She is a loyal New York Yankees fan and an avid runner. How Do You Know? is her fourth novel.