5 Intriguing Facts About David Baldacci

David Baldacci's newest novel just hit the shelves and we're pretty excited to read it. Over the last two decades Baldacci has been hailed as one of today's best thriller writers. He excels in creating complex, deeply flawed protagonists and high-stakes drama. His new book, The 6:20 Man, centers on Travis Devine, an entry-level analyst at a prestigious Manhattan investment firm. One morning his tedious routine is shattered by an anonymous email: She is dead.

Read on for five arresting facts about the author.

1. As a child, Baldacci was schooled on classic mysteries.

The idea of suspense coupled with a puzzle that one needed to solve was irresistible to me.

Baldacci began writing in elementary school after his mother gave him a notebook and encouraged him to record his stories. He found early inspiration from The Hardy Boys, Sherlock Holmes, and all things Agatha Christie. He cherishes childhood memories of weekly trips to the library with his parents and siblings. In an interview, he explained: "But for my love of books, I wouldn't have ended up being a writer. But I could open a book and explore different parts of the world without ever leaving the city where I grew up."

2. Before becoming a bestselling novelist, he practiced law for nine years.

But if you don't know where you want to go, I suppose any path will get you there.

With his early start as a writer, Baldacci spent more than two decades penning short stories and later screenplays with little success. After earning a law degree, he began working as a trial lawyer in Washington, D.C. It was during these years that he wrote his first novel, Absolute Power. Writing "at night, early in the morning, and on weekends," the book took three years to complete and was published in 1996. The book centers on a career burglar who breaks into a Virginia mansion where he witnesses a brutal crime implicating the President of the United States. It was an overnight success and was adapted into a movie starring Gene Hackman and Clint Eastwood.

3. He's written more than 40 bestsellers over the last two decades.

It's not the beginning or the destination that counts. It's the ride in between.

Baldacci's novels have been published in over 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, with over 130 million worldwide sales as of 2018. Here are some of his biggest blockbusters (all series starters):

• Memory Man (Amos Decker, #1): The first book of a series about a gifted police detective with a perfect memory who must solve a mystery he wishes he could forget—his family's murder.
• The Innocent (Will Robie, #1): When a government operation goes horribly wrong, America's top hitman finds himself embroiled with a teenager on the run after her parents were murdered.
• The Camel Club (The Camel Club, #1): After witnessing a shocking crime, four conspiracy theorists team up with a Secret Service agent to prevent an international terrorism crisis.
• Zero Day (John Puller, #1): A top military investigator is enlisted to investigate a brutal crime scene in West Virginia. Joining forces with a local homicide detective, he begins to realize that nothing is what it seems.
• Split Second (Sean King & Michelle Maxwell, #1): Two discredited former Secret Service agents see their destinies converge as they are drawn into a maze of lies, secrets, and deadly coincidences.

4. He's a dedicated philanthropist.

The human spirit was the strongest medicine on earth. And sometimes all it needed was a little encouragement to pull off a miracle.

Baldacci and his wife cofounded a nonprofit called the Wish You Well Foundation, which works to promote adult and family literacy in the US. The Foundation offers support to literacy programs throughout the country. Baldacci also became involved in the National Multiple Sclerosis Society after his sister, author Sharon Baldacci, was diagnosed with MS. He also sits on the board of trustees for Mark Twain's historic home in Hartford, Connecticut and has contributed considerable support to its preservation.

5. Baldacci has been celebrated in Barga, the Italian city where his grandfather was born.

There was a band, I gave some remarks, the mayor gave a speech, they presented me with a St. Christopher's medal—that's the patron saint—and made me an official citizen of Barga.

When the mayor of Barga learned that the author was planning a Tuscan vacation, he emailed Baldacci and asked if he'd like to come see the place where his family came from. Baldacci, who had already planned a stop in his ancestral home, responded with enthusiasm. He and his family drove to the walled city where he was received in style. "When we got there we knew we were in the right place because they had this huge poster of me on the wall of the city! And they had my picture plastered all over town, they had American flags, they had paparazzi, they had a huge crowd waiting. Basically it was David Baldacci Day!"

Bravo to that! We can certainly get behind this sort of celebration. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily book recommendations, literary tidbits, and more.

Read more by Ashly Moore Sheldon