The Book Case — “J. Ryan Stradal SELLS and A Bookstore with a Mission”

Podcast: The Book Case
Hosts: Charlie Gibson & Kate Gibson (ABC News)
Date: December 4, 2025
Episode Focus:
This episode celebrates two “big news” stories in the book world: author J. Ryan Stradal’s new two-book deal (including the novel inspired by his mother) and the opening of Bound and Vine, an independent bookstore in Fayetteville, North Carolina, with a unique mission to unite military families and the wider community. The conversation dives into the nitty-gritty of book auctions, navigating the publishing industry, creative process, and building community through bookstores.

Episode Overview

The episode unfolds in two primary segments:

• The first delves deep into J. Ryan Stradal’s recent book sale, the emotional and financial stakes of being a working novelist, and how his latest character was crafted in loving tribute to his late mother.
• The second features a profile of Bound and Vine bookstore, exploring the vision and challenges of its military family founders, and their mission to create community in a transient military town.

Segment 1: J. Ryan Stradal’s Publishing Triumph and Process (04:42–22:16)

Big News: A Two-Book Deal at Auction

• J. Ryan Stradal announces:
  “My new manuscript, titled Next Week When Things Calm Down, sold to Atria this month in a two book deal at auction. And I'm super excited to be working with them.” (04:54)
• This is the first time Stradal has signed a multi-book deal; previously, he sold each novel individually.

The Road to Sale: From Manuscript to Auction

- The Revision & Submission Process:

• Stradal completed a strong early draft (“the best I could do at the time”), worked through two rounds of agent notes, and then the manuscript went on submission to multiple publishers before the holidays (05:12–06:16).

- What an Auction Entails:

• Multiple publishers bid by a certain deadline, and the agent orchestrates the auction, updating the author as offers and “sweeteners” come in (05:27).

- What Publishers See:

• “Complete manuscript. An early draft. …I mean there were still things I wanted to do with it, but the timing was so important.” (06:00)

Why a Multi-Book Deal Now?

• On his change of heart about multi-book deals:
  “Job security. A dad now. Yeah. In this economy? Yeah, I jumped at it. …It's also stressful. There was kind of a major thing I want to add that my editor is totally on board with, as is my agent that wasn’t in this.” (06:32–07:18)

Changing Publishers: Why Atria?

• On what drew him to Atria:
  “They're a commercial fiction publisher. They published Frederick Backman. Colleen Hoover is their big seller. ...by having that kind of golden goose in the stable, they are also able to take risks perhaps that others can't.” (07:51–08:10)
• He was attracted by their individualized marketing pitch, robust publicity, and editorial enthusiasm—not just the money:
  “They did have the highest number, too, but …the overall pitch was very impressive.” (08:53–09:04)

Editorial Fit — The Creative Matchmaking

• The Editor-Author Dynamic:

  • Authors meet editors before the auction to gauge vision and creative chemistry (09:38–10:08).
  • “I just want to see how cohesive our visions for the book are. …How would you pitch it? What comps would you use?...If all those things resonate with me, then I think we're in business.” (12:23)

• On resisting trends or editorial pressures:
  “I'm not gonna work with any editor who wants me to add sparkly vampires. …I don't want to adapt this story to fit some sort of temporary spike in reader interest.” (12:45)

Writing a Character Based on His Mother

• The Personal Connection:

  • Stradal’s latest protagonist is modeled on his late mother, channeling not only her memory but an imagined life she might’ve led after her untimely passing at 55 (03:24–03:50, 14:42–15:03).
  • “He has said in other programs that if he is not writing about his mom, he is writing to his mom. …This woman is his conscience. She is his Jiminy Cricket, I think, his artistic Jiminy Cricket.” (03:24–03:50)

• On the challenge of writing goodness:

  • “I somewhat exaggerated the most positive aspects of her personality...I more or less took the person who she was 70% of the time and made that person 100% of the time. ...I might have made her too one-dimensionally good.” (15:03)
  • Stradal aspires to deepen complexity in revisions, drawing on literary models like John Irving (15:03–16:21).

The Title: Next Week When Things Calm Down

• Origin:

  • “It just came to me when I was writing. …It came up in dialogue. It’s sort of an Internet meme.” (16:25)

• Comma or No Comma?

  • Stradal opted against a comma:
    “Because it sounds more breakneck without the comma. It sounds more frantic.” (18:13)

The Rollercoaster of Auction Day: Nerves, Family & Relief

• Pre-auction jitters:
  • “I went to bed that night totally just sweating bullets, like they’re all going to say no. …my agent, Ryan, he's so pragmatic. He’s like, they could. They probably won’t. But yes, it could happen.” (10:56)
• How Stradal coped:
  • Went to see the movie Good Fortune to distract himself (11:37).
• Receiving the news:
  • “I found out the next morning at drop off. …Ryan called me and say, I think we have a winner. Do you accept it? You know, and I said, yeah, I'll go with that deal.” (18:43)
• Midwestern understatement:
  • “I feel like I’m downplaying it now. I shouldn’t be, but I can’t tell you the relief I felt. Yeah, it was ecstatic. At least as ecstatic as I’m able to get in public.” (19:24)

The Financial and Emotional Stakes of Author Life

• On finances between books:
  “I threaded the needle like, I can pay our mortgage next month, and then I'm out of money. Like, this book sale came at the exact right time. It couldn’t have come one month later.” (20:32)

• On selling a particularly personal book:
  “This is a really particularly personal. ...I have a stake in it that really goes beyond putting food on the table.” (21:13)

The Long Road to Publication

• Why does it take so long for a finished book to reach shelves?
  • The answer is somewhat mysterious even to Stradal:
    “Yeah, it's going to be another year and a half...Why so long? ...I wish I knew.” (21:49)

Memorable Quotes:

• “If he is not writing about his mom, he is writing to his mom.” – Kate Gibson (03:24)
• “Job security. A dad now. Yeah. In this economy? Yeah. I feel like I jumped at it.” – J. Ryan Stradal (06:32)
• “Colleen Hoover pays your advance.” – J. Ryan Stradal, relaying another Atria author’s joke (08:10)
• “I felt like, oh wow, I’ve got a few months of work to do on this. So I was also looking for an editor willing to work with me on it. ...The editors who bid on it obviously wanted to work on it with me.” (06:36)
• “There was a danger in making this character, I might have made her too one-dimensionally good. But there’s a lesson there, and I think there’s books I can read that offer instruction on how to write a good-hearted character that’s still complex.” (15:03)
• “This book sale came at the exact right time. It couldn’t have come one month later.” (20:32)

Key Timestamps:

• 04:54 — Stradal announces the two-book deal
• 06:00 — The submission and auction process
• 07:51 — Why he chose Atria as a new publisher
• 09:38 — Editorial matchmaking and gauging creative fit
• 14:42 — The protagonist’s roots in Stradal’s mother
• 16:25 — Title genesis and meaning
• 18:43 — The moment Stradal agreed to the deal
• 20:32 — Personal financial stakes and relief

Segment 2: Bound and Vine — A Bookstore with a Mission (25:42–36:57)

Meet the Owners: Kelly and Andrew Artis

• Recently retired after 22 years in the military, Andrew and his wife Kelly decided to put down roots in Fayetteville, NC, and open Bound and Vine—a bookstore and wine bar (27:44–29:06).
• On Andrew’s support for Kelly:
  “I've never seen Kelly fail at anything she's done. ...When she said she wanted to do this...I can help you.” (29:32)

Curation and Community through Books and Wine

• On intentional curation:
  • “We have a huge military interest category...Our community of military spouses is...just amazingly diverse...constantly having to reinvent themselves and find new community...” – Kelly (30:04)
• On creating a ‘third place’:
  • “We gave up a lot of retail space for the seating. ...I really want people to feel like they can have somewhere to be and meet someone new and, you know, spark up a conversation on the sofa...” – Kelly (30:39)

Adapting and Learning

• Bound and Vine plans to learn and adapt to community needs, with a willingness to adjust their inventory and offerings after seeing what resonates (30:59–31:44).

Mission: Bridging the Military-Civilian Divide

• Building instant community for military families:

  • “We do this really quickly. So we're really good at community. We have to be. ...Why not bring that superpower to something that we want to build here so that we can be a flag, you know, on the hill for the new military spouse that gets to Fayetteville and maybe isn't plugged in?” – Kelly (32:18)
  • Kelly describes how military families forge ‘emergency communities’ upon moving, since relatives aren’t nearby.

• Broader impact:

  • “We want to expand that to the civilian community...The more exposure and the more touch points that people have to our community and that we have to feel included in the broader civilian community, I think are all great things.” – Kelly (33:30)

Opening Day Results

• The store’s grand opening was a smash, with crowds, persistent business, and staying open late (35:44):
  • “[Kelly] said, over the moon. They had such a big crowd. …They actually had to stay open an hour after their closing time on opening day.” – Charlie Gibson (35:44)

A Model for Other Military Towns?

• Kate suggests Bound and Vine could be a model for other military bases:
  • “I never thought about bookstores being a great way for military families to connect, to exchange ideas, but also to instantly build community. What a great idea.” (34:37)

Key Timestamps:

• 27:44 — How Bound and Vine began
• 30:04 — Curation philosophy and store layout
• 32:18–33:30 — Building community for military and civilian populations
• 35:44 — Report on opening week success

Notable Closing Ideas

• Stradal on the purpose of books:
  “Books, their job is not only to be an escape, but they are—even the most demanding book is still an escape. And you want to give the reader some sense of, 'I'm glad I did this.' A sense of happiness for having chosen your book.” (37:52)

Overall Episode Takeaways

• For Readers and Writers:
  Get a behind-the-scenes view of the high-stakes, uncertain, and deeply personal nature of selling a novel in today’s publishing world. The emotional labor and financial pressure are real, but so is the satisfaction when it all comes together.
• For Book Lovers and Community Builders:
  Bound and Vine offers a powerful example of how bookstores can act as essential “third places,” especially for transient or isolated populations, and how intentionality in space and curation can foster true belonging.

Recommended If You Like…

• Honest, practical insight into the business and art of modern writing
• Moving, real-life stories about literary creation as an act of remembrance
• Community-driven independent bookstore stories, especially in unique environments

(For books mentioned and more details, see episode description in your podcast app.)