Hearing from Thriller Writer David Baldacci, Part 2

In another life, author David Baldacci could have been a comedian. The stories he told at his recent appearance on behalf of Literacy Volunteers of South Sarasota County had the audience in stitches. Take, for instance, the trip his family made to Barga, a small medieval town in Tuscany where his grandfather grew up.

Before the visit, Baldacci reached out to a city official to see if his family could get a tour of the town if they made a stop during their Italian vacation. He was assured it would be no problem. Baldacci envisioned no more than two hours from start to finish. After all, how much could there be to see in a town with a population of 10,000?

When the Baldacci family arrived, they found an unexpected amount of traffic and a 14' poster of David prominently displayed. He rolled down his window and asked the obvious question, "What's going on?"  "It's David Baldacci Day!" the resident happily told him. His wife's response?  "Are you freaking kidding me? Look at what we're wearing!"

What had started as a quick detour into some family history turned into a day to remember. Once the Baldaccis were out of their car, the mayor, draped in the regalia of Italian and American flags, welcomed them. On his heels were a marching band and videographers and journalists. His daughter -- a teenager -- gave David the evil eye that clearly conveyed he had ruined her life. His son, however, took to the unexpected attention, bowing and throwing kisses to the crowd.

As the crowd settled in for David's "grand" speech -- for which he was 100% unprepared -- the mayor gave gifts to the family. Baldacci's present was a genealogy chart dating back to the 11th century. But the best was yet to come. In a day full of surprises, the biggest one occurred when David was taken to meet a group of four elderly gentlemen -- ages 85 to 103 -- holding a variety of his books. They were members of the Baldacci family who had traveled from the surrounding environs to meet David. How special is that?

While nothing could top that story, Italy has yielded some other interesting experiences for Baldacci as well. Baldacci's "The Winner," a book about a rigged lottery, came out in 1998. A year later, he got a call from an Italian journalist asking if he had been following the Milan Lotto scandal. It seemed the method used for the fix was quite reminiscent of the technique used in Baldacci's novel. Would he care to comment?  Baldacci's official response was, "Well, that's very bad." In his head, though, he was thinking, "That is super cool!" Perhaps that's one reason "The Winner" made Baldacci's list of what he considers his top five novels. (To see the list, click here.)

Then there were the issues surrounding publication of his book "Absolute Power." Baldacci explained that international publishers sometimes want different covers or even different titles for a book. Given the country's history, his German publishers suggested the book might be more appealing to readers if it were renamed "The President." Baldacci agreed.

His Italian publishers were fine with the title of the book. It was Baldacci's own name they wanted to change. You see, they explained, while Italians love American thrillers, they don't like to read books by other Italians. Hmm. When confronted with this quirk of the Italian public, other writers have made seemingly logical choices. Steve Martini has been published under the name Steve Martin; Lisa Scottoline as Lisa Scott.

But what to do with the name Baldacci?  Instead of using a variant of his name, Baldacci blurted out, "How about David Ford?" He did, after all, drive an Explorer at the time. And so it was. He said he's happy the family had decided to sell their Subaru. (For the record, he is now sufficiently established to publish under his own name in Italy.)

While the evening filled with laughter, Baldacci talked as well about the power of literacy. He lauded the work of Literacy Volunteers, an organization that provides tutoring to adults who are learning English as a second language or working to improve their reading skills. Baldacci and his wife have their own literacy non-profit, the Wish You Well Foundation. The foundation has made grants to hundreds of literacy organizations. I understand Baldacci charged no fee for his appearance, which of course is another type of donation.

Baldacci is a big fan of Mark Twain, and he shared one of his favorite Twain quotes with us. "Travel," Twain said, "Is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness." Not everyone has the opportunity to travel the world. But, as Baldacci pointed out, we can all read about other cultures and ways of life. It's one way to make the world a little bit smaller.

Thanks to Literacy Volunteers of South Sarasota County for a wonderful evening. To learn more about the organization, click here. And to learn a bit more about Baldacci and his work, click here. And now I must get back to my book.