About Clyde R. Hedges:
I was born in Evansville, Indiana toward the end of WWII. As far as my childhood, it was typical of any child from a dysfunctional family. My parents had many reasons for their dysfunctions, the Depression, my grandfather deserting my grandmother and his children when my mother was two, combat fatigue for my father who was a wounded veteran, and scrimping and saving and barely getting by until their eldest sons left for the service. I am a four year Army veteran, but I was more fortunate than my father and never experienced combat.
I had three major ambitions in life, to be a teacher, serve in the army, and write. I’ve done all three, so when my time comes, I will be satisfied. Probably the best and third happiest event of my life was meeting my wife while I was stationed at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. We’ve been married now for 49 years, and it hasn’t all been heavenly bliss as in most romance novels, but I’ve been happy, and my wife has always told me she was or is.
I rated meeting her as the third happiest thing in my life, the first two were the births of our daughters, Stacy and Kelly. We have one grandson, whom we dote upon continually, but I have to rate him fourth because you don’t center your life around a grandchild as you do a child. I’ve also been happy with my family, and the many fine friends I’ve made over the years, and the many fine students I was blessed with during my teaching career.
My wife and I were both teachers, and that was a blessed calling. I loved to teach, and I loved so many of my students. Contrary to popular belief, most kids are good, and they want to be good, and they give school their all. I always tried to make my classes interesting and to show the relevance of what I was teaching to their lives. Where education in America breaks down is with the administration of American education. We need to better train our teachers on how to run a class, structure a classroom, and how to make their lessons pertinent to the lives their students are leading.
I was fortunate in that I taught in inner-city schools, and I saw first hand how tough life can be for so many young people. I was never bigoted; I was raised in a bigoted atmosphere, but I never bought into it. But if we are going to help our troubled students, then we have to give them an education that is best fitted for their learning style. I believe that will require more computerized testing for learning styles and computer lessons geared on an individual level for maximum learning.
I started to write, years ago, and I’ve written fourteen novels, and three short story collections, which I am in the process of learning how to market. In the end, I believe in the natural goodness of the majority of people, no matter what their race, religion, or color of their skin. I believe that our ethnic and racial diversity can be our greatest strength or our greatest weakness. Let’s all work together for the future.
The novel I’m writing this biography for is “The Boys of Chattanooga.” While working for my masters degree at the University of Evansville, I learned for the first time about the Battle for Chattanooga, which was fought in November of 1863. On the third and final day of the battle, The Union Army of the Cumberland made the largest and most courageous charge of the war and completely routed The Confederate Army of Tennessee. “The Boys of Chattanooga” is historical fiction that tells of President Lincoln and the decisions he made that affected the commands of The Army of the Cumberland. It tells the story of Generals Grant and Thomas, the two Union field commanders on that fateful day. Most importantly, it tells of Billy, Matt, and Clarence three of the common soldiers who made that incredible charge without orders from any superior officer. I hope you enjoy reading it. I must add that I meticulously researched the book, and it is historically accurate.
What inspires you to write?
I get inspired continually when I read a neat article in the paper, another good book by a good author, or the lives of my family, myself, or my friends. I wrote “On Top of the Mountain,” when our daughter’s dog died from cancer of the spleen. My novel is not a rendering of Honey Dog’s life, but her early death and heroic life inspired me to write about her. I haven’t published mountain yet. It needs a little work and will come out next year. I was inspired to write “The Boys of Chattanooga” while in graduate school and learned of the battle for the first time and the heroic charge the men of The Army of the Cumberland made that fateful day in November. That was all the inspiration I needed. I was inspired by the great Dean Koontz to write “Coyote,” a story of what can go wrong with genetic manipulation. On and on it goes. Every one of my works has a different inspiration as does “Frisky Fairy Tale I & II, which are just a light hearted and adult spoofs on our old childhood stories.
Tell us about your writing process.
I usually start my day by exercising for two hours and thinking of what I want to accomplish. Next, I shower, and then start to work by rereading what I’ve written the day before or reviewing what and how I tried to market the day before. Once I’ve done that, I like to work for two to three hours. I almost always have to take a break and rest my mind.
An electronic publisher contacted me about “The Boys of Chattanooga” and “Twelve Tingly Tales.” I let them publish these two works, and then took them away and went with Create Space because I thought I could do more by marketing myself.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I don’t know as if I have a dialogue with my characters. I almost always visualize them, as if I’m a spectator at a theater. I feel as if I’m in the room with them, or outside, or wherever they are. I see their expressions and movements and feel their pain or happiness, or think of how I would react to what they are going through. I listen to them very intently. I wrote my novel, Evergreen, in the first person, and that way I was able to interact with my other characters from my view point. Other novels, I wrote as a spectator. I love my characters. They’re like children to me. I want what is very best for them.
What advice would you give other writers?
Don’t expect to set the world on fire. That happens very rarely. Study the great authors and the ones who appeal to you, and learn what it is that you like about them and learn to write it yourself. I’m currently rereading “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” by Hemingway. It’s a brilliantly written story, but I find it boring for hunting animals is not to my taste, and I can’t conceive of a wife jumping into bed with another man because her husband ran from a wounded lion. But I do appreciate his descriptions and most of his plotting. It’s a study lesson, but I would never say that I’m a big fan of his, though many millions were and are.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
An electronic publisher contacted me about “The Boys of Chattanooga” and “Twelve Tingly Tales.” I let them publish these two works, and then took them away and went with Create Space because I thought I could do more by marketing myself.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
It’s unlimited. All types of video inserted ebooks will soon become available for readers to see a video of a favorite scene, or to take a break from reading. Audio books have been on the scene for years, multiple plot books are available, or write along books, or just a few of the ideas that I’ve been mulling.
What genres do you write?: Romance, Military history, action and adventure, inspirational, light satire, animal stories
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Clyde R. Hedges Home Page Link
Link To Clyde R. Hedges Page On Amazon
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
