About the author
Ben Baldwin is a Yorkshire man lost in Milton Keynes. Born in Huddersfield Ben spent his early years in the old textile villages in the foothills of the pennines. A below average student, at 9 years old Ben's life was to change thanks to the forgetfulness of his parents in leaving out Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe's Honour
From there on he was rarely to be found without his nose in a book. Thanks to this new found hobby Ben fell in love with all sorts of story telling. From fiction, to crime and especially history, the pages kept turning. Growing up he studied history at the University of Sheffield where he met his wife Kim who forced him to leave the home county. He can now be found living in Milton Keynes with their two little girls Ella and Megan.
In the professional world Ben spent ten years working in Tesco. Joining as a graduate before leaving as a project manager in their head office. He is currently working in the world of Deloitte as a senior consultant.
But he only works to fund his holidays and when they are not at home the family can be found exploring the world in their family motorhome 'Henry.'
'Code Red' is his first novel and the first adventure of Sam Taylor. A fellow Yorkshire man lost in the south.
I learned very early in life that: Without a BOOK, the day would never end; without a friend a man ain’t got a friend; without a BOOK, the road would never bend - without a BOOK” So I keep READING a BOOK
Elvis Presley / Ben Baldwin
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A mix of things, I knew I wanted to write about a character that investigates and who is able to travel the world. The best experiences of my own life have come from seeing new places and I wanted my character to bring that into their own story. But it was a random news story that provided the final piece of the jigsaw. Something about someone being stuck abroad which made me think who exactly was responsible for getting them home? From there the Repatriation Office was born, albeit with a slightly more exotic remit!
My writing process involves a lot of mindless task. My best ideas come from when I'm busy doing something which allows me to daydream. Driving and washing up are the best for that! From there I basically like to picture key events at iconic locations in the cities I'm in and then it all comes together.
My girls! One summer holiday I was dreading returning to work, I looked at my girls and knew that I could never tell them to follow their own dreams if I had not even tried my own.
Everyone knows a good story, whether they have lived it, heard it, watched it or read it everyone enjoys a good storytelling. It's no different for me, I've spent hours with my nose in a good book wanting to get to the end. The result being someone who was so full of his own ideas that he needed to put finger to keyboard.
I'd love for Sam to have a range of adventures. The benefit of creating a character that can travel the world is the pure range of adventures available. I hope that one day there is at least one person in the world who cares enough to want Sam to visit their country.
Next up is France, I grew up visiting the country and I feel it's only fair that Sam gets a visit. After that is Germany, I've always had a soft spot for the old spy stories of John le Carre or Ian Fleming so why not let Sam have a go?
I have a small number of early readers who always read the first drafts of my work. Without their support it would never have left my own private reading list!
In addition for my first work I wanted to get some professional help to sharpen the book and to get an industry insight. To do this I worked with Claire Wingfield to edit the first draft - https://www.clairewingfield.co.uk She was a great help in preparing the work to be read by those in the industry.
And finally my agent Anna at Intersaga, her enthusiasm over the work and belief in its potential has been a key factor in where we are today.