Mark Blaylock of Vaiden began writing his first novel after discovering his great-grandmother’s peculiar last name. Anna Pickle’s name not only gave him a chuckle, it gave him inspiration to write his novel – a novel that ultimately won the New Generation Indie Book Award for Best Indie Book of 2020.
Blaylock said he began researching his family tree, and he found that his third great-grandmother was named Anna Blaylock.
“She got remarried and her name became Anna Pickle. And I thought it was funny because it reminded me of someone being “in a pickle” because her name was Anna Pickle,” He laughed.
This led to the birth of Foolish Things: A Southern Tale. Blaylock said he took his father’s childhood stories and changed the names of those who were involved.
Foolish Things: A Southern Tale, is based in the fictional community of Misty Hollow, which is based on Montgomery County’s New Hope Community, three miles north of Winona. Blaylock set the story in the time of his father’s childhood, when indoor plumbing and electricity wasn’t available in every household. Although the work is fiction, much of the action is based on stories told to Blaylock by his father.
“My dad grew up in a generation before me,” Blaylock said. “When he grew up, he didn’t have any electricity. He talked about riding to town in a wagon.”
Blaylock said that he found it fascinating that his dad grew up in this era, without modern conveniences, that was just before his own. The novel is set in Montgomery, Carroll, and Leflore counties, and it tells the tale of a much simpler time.
“He grew up in a time previous to my own. It was fascinating to me. He would tell me that they would go to town in a wagon and I had never ridden in one. It was so much different from the world we live in now,” Blaylock said.
He said his father grew up in the era around World War II. In some homes, there were no radios, no television, and no electricity. Blaylock said he took the stories that his father told him of his life and the hardships, tragedies, along with the good time he had and he loosely based his book off of those stories. “It’s really a comedy and a coming of age story,” Blaylock said.
He said there’s a little tragedy in the book, but it details the highs and lows of the characters as they grow up during this time period.
Blaylock said the novel’s premise isn’t to remind people of a simpler time before the hustle and bustle of the modern age. Its premise is to share the message of the Gospel. He said his goal is to bring people to Christ through the book.
“I really wrote this book for my children and my grandchildren -- just for my family to have a record,” Blaylock said. “But, if one person reads it and comes to the Lord I’m good.”
Blaylock said he wanted the book to have a strong Christian message in it, and it should because Blaylock said he spent a lot of time praying while writing the book.
“I asked the Lord for guidance because I didn’t have a clue what to write,” he said.
Blaylock said reviews from his first book has been positive, and he hopes for more sales and for more people to enjoy the book.
“The reviews on Amazon have been good. I just got to get more people to read it,” he said.
He said those he knows who have read it have loved it.
“They tell me they love it,” he said.
Blaylock entered Foolish Things: A Southern Tale into the New Generation Indie Book Awards and won Best Indie Book of 2020.
“When I learned I won I was super excited,” he said. “It was a total surprise to me because I’m an unknown author and this award will help me gain the credibility that I need to get out there more.”
Foolish Things: A Southern Tale can be purchased on Amazon or at Daily Nutrition in Winona and Carrollton Nutrition in Carrollton.
