Blog Tour: The Ballad of Midnight and McRae by Jess Lederman #giveaway #historical #fiction #interview #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

Literary Historical Fiction / LGBT Friendly

Date Published: 07-16-2025

For Caleb McRae--devout Baptist, Texas Ranger, hero of the Wild West--life's simple enough: lawmen bring bad guys to justice, and hellfire's a sinner's fate. At least it seems that way, until he falls in love with the notorious outlaw, Henry Midnight...

Thomas Anderson of Literary Titan calls The Ballad of Midnight and McRae "wildly entertaining" and recommends it "to lovers of literary fiction, fans of Cormac McCarthy or Marilynne Robinson, and anyone who believes that stories still have the power to save."

Poet Malcolm Guite writes, "In the story of Midnight and McRae we are enabled to hear the long conversation between Pagan and Christian, and within Christianity between protestant and catholic. and on a personal level between father and son, between lover and beloved, and deep within ourselves, the conversation between the person we are pretending to be and the person we really are. And all these vital conversations are enfolded in and arise from a compelling story set on the frontiers, the badlands, and the formative days of America itself, the place where so many of these conversations need to take place."

“Wildly entertaining… Jess Lederman writes with a fierce tenderness, blending lyrical prose with grit and grace.”

—Thomas Anderson, Editor-in-Chief of Literary Titan

Interview 

Is There a Message in Your Novel That You Want Readers to Grasp?

The Ballad of Midnight and McRae is very much a book about moral issues, but I avoid anything that could be reduced to a simple one-or-two line moral—wouldn’t need to have written the book, in that case! What I really want to do is get readers thinking about moral issues. Caleb and Henry can’t agree on the meaning of justice: is it people getting what they deserve, or what they need? Hopefully by the end of the novel, the reader may have some new ideas about that. Through much of the novel, Caleb struggles to reconcile his love for Henry with his understanding of the Bible. The novel is clearly affirming of loving, monogamous same-sex relationships, and was inspired in part by the heartbreaking experience of many LGBTQ+ Christians. Caleb, the former Texas Ranger, also struggles with the idea that following Jesus might mean forswearing violence, but ultimately becomes a pacifist. His son, Matt (the narrator), who turns 18 shortly after the end of the Second World War, is disgusted by his father’s pacifism, but his own experiences in Korea begin to change his thinking. Fr. de Souza and Black Elk believe there is no Hell of eternal torment. Universal salvation becomes an issue, and that’s also a concept with strong moral implications about the very character of God.

 

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

My debut novel, Hearts Set Free, has been very popular, but a number of readers couldn’t deal with its multiple (though ultimately dovetailing) plotlines and time periods. The Ballad of Midnight and McRae has a more linear structure, but I do tend to use a great number of characters. This posed an interesting challenge for the super-talented narrator of the Audible edition (which will be coming out sometime in August), Boyd Barrett. He rose to the challenge of creating distinctive voices for all of them! Also, as you can tell from the first question above, I dive into tough, controversial issues.

 

How many books have you written and which is your favorite?
The Ballad is my second novel (hope to have my third out by the end of 2026). Oh man, you know that’s like asking a parent to choose their favorite child! But okay, okay, if I had to choose, The Ballad is my favorite.

If You had the chance to cast your main character from Hollywood today, who would you pick and why?

Interesting question! In creating the video book trailer, the producer started by creating AI images of the character based on the descriptions in the novel.
For example, here’s what I approved for Henry Midnight:

 
I’d probably ask Johnny Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ben Narnes, and Michiel Huisman to audition for the role!

 

When did you begin writing?

I’ve been writing since about the age of 12, after my older sister inspired me by reading a passage from John Dos Passos.

 

How long did it take to complete your first book?

I take a lot of time to do research and craft sentences to sound just the way I want, so I’m pretty slow. Hearts Set Free took about five years, same as this one.

 

Did you have an author who inspired you to become a writer?

Aside from the Dos Passos quote, my great inspirations have been the 19^th century author, poet, and preacher George MacDonald, in the 20^th century Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and among contemporary writers, authors of lyrical historical literary fiction like Lauren Groff (Matrix in particular!) 

 

What is your favorite part of the writing process?

When the words finally start to effortlessly flow!

 

Describe your latest book in 4 words.

Faith, doubt, desire, redemption

 

Can you share a little bit about your current work or what is in the future for your writing?

Sure! I had started out writing a current-day sequel to The Ballad, featuring a troubled priest working for the Vatican, investigating the miracles worked by Black Elk as part of his candidacy for sainthood, but ended up going in another direction (this is very typical for me!). Miracle Man (my working title) takes place in 1904, and features two plot lines that will come together in the melting pot of lower Manhattan. 36-year-old Fr. Giancarlo Giordano, who grew up on some of Rome’s meanest streets, is a miracle investigator working for the Vatican, who’s been pressed into service by the Inquisition to travel to New York to destroy the credibility of a rogue priest who supposedly preaches heretical doctrines while working dubious miracles. He’s a man troubled by heretical dreams and struggles with sexual desires. The other plot line centers on 28-year-old Elijah (Eli) Armstrong, a hustler and womanizer who navigates between the Italian, Irish, Jewish, and Chinese gangs who dominate lower Manhattan. His life takes a fateful turn when he meets Ying Zhao, the 24-year-old daughter of his fierce martial-arts mentor, who’s even more talented at fighting than her father, and convinces Eli to help her defend the defenseless on the streets of New York…

 

About the Author

Jess Lederman lives with his wife and young son in Southern California, where he writes historical fiction. His debut novel, Hearts Set Free, was an award-winning Amazon best-seller. When he's not writing or playing with his son, he's usually at the piano playing Chopin and Brahms for his wife.

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