Our Writer in Residence Finishes His First Draft

Summary

The Book Case: Episode Summary – "Our Writer in Residence Finishes His First Draft"

Release Date: August 14, 2025

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of The Book Case, hosts Kate Gibson and Charlie Gibson delve into a heartfelt conversation with their Writer in Residence, J. Ryan Straddle. This episode not only celebrates Ryan’s significant achievement of completing his first draft but also explores the profound personal journey that shaped his latest novel. Additionally, the hosts shine a spotlight on Words Bookstore in Maplewood, New Jersey, highlighting its unique mission to support individuals with autism.

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Celebrating Completion: Interview with J. Ryan Straddle

[01:25]

Kate and Charlie open the discussion by introducing J. Ryan Straddle, a prolific author known for works like Kitchens of the Great Midwest, The Logger Queen of Minnesota, and Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club. As Ryan’s Writer in Residence, the Gibsons have been closely following his progress on his fourth novel over the past year and a half.

Completion of the First Draft

At [02:05], Kate shares her excitement:
"I'm very excited to say that he is finished with his first draft and taking notes from professionals in the industry and is in the edit phase."
Ryan responds at [07:03]:
"I finished on June 18 and then immediately hit the road on a family road trip starting in Ohio and driving to California. But yeah, wow. It feels really good."
He reflects on his disciplined writing schedule:
"I would work until 1 or 2 in the morning. I would take two naps during the day..." ([07:35])

Crafting a Personal Narrative

Ryan's latest novel is deeply personal, inspired by his late mother, who passed away at 55. He writes from the perspective of a character loosely based on her, incorporating elements of food and her role as a lunch lady to infuse his signature culinary themes. At [02:58], Kate elaborates:
"It's from one character's point of View, the character is loosely based on his mom... There's always that taste of food in Jay Ryan's writing."

Character Development Challenges

Creating a character who starts at age 55 presented unique challenges. As Kate explains at [02:58]:
"Writing a character that starts at the age of 55 proved to be a unique challenge for Jay... he needed to write those experiences out even though they never appeared in the book."
Ryan adds at [09:48]:
"I wasn't sure if I could keep that tone going... a really optimistic, hopeful story and a story that to me was pretty funny as well."

Emotional and Therapeutic Process

The novel serves as a therapeutic endeavor for Ryan, mirroring the grief therapy process he discovered:
"I felt like I got to that point in the grief process where my heart's open to it in a different way." ([20:17])
He likens the experience to writing a letter back to his mother, finding solace and fulfillment in giving her character a vibrant, continued life.

Structural and Thematic Choices

Ryan opted for a sequential writing approach, starting at the beginning and maintaining a single point of view throughout the novel. This method differs from his previous works and has allowed for a more focused and fulfilling writing experience:
"I stuck with the same character every chapter. And that was tremendously fulfilling." ([13:47])
He acknowledges the need to streamline characters during the revision phase, aiming for a tight narrative that avoids redundancy.

Future Steps and Revisions

With the first draft completed, Ryan is poised to enter the revision phase. He plans to incorporate feedback from his agent, Ryan's notes, and collaborate closely with his partner, Brooke, who provides critical early-stage feedback:
"She's got an MFA in theater. She's a really sophisticated storyteller and has a great... she’s really funny and very brutally honest." ([17:04])
Ryan anticipates dedicating the next few months to refining his manuscript, aiming for a polished second draft post-Labor Day.

Engaging the Audience

In a charming segment of rapid-fire questions towards the episode's end, Ryan shares personal anecdotes and insights, further endearing him to listeners. For instance, upon completing his draft, he enjoyed a quiet moment with a glass of wine:
"I cracked open a bottle and had a glass of wine and sat in the dark before I fell asleep." ([24:29])
He also emphasizes the importance of pre-orders:
"Pre-orders... tell booksellers to carry the book... helping them with that achievement in their career." ([25:13])

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Spotlight on Words Bookstore: Empowering Through Books

[30:27]

Transitioning from the literary achievements of Ryan, Kate and Charlie highlight Words Bookstore in Maplewood, New Jersey, owned by Jonah and Ellen Zemilius. This community-centric bookstore not only thrives commercially but also plays a pivotal role in supporting individuals with severe autism.

Mission and Impact

Jonah explains at [34:33]:
"We realized that there really weren't good employment opportunities... we wanted to get back and help."
Words Bookstore employs and trains autistic individuals, providing them with valuable skills and integrating them into the community. Ellen's nonprofit, True Professional, further extends this mission by offering foundational training for direct support professionals working with special needs individuals:
"It provides foundational development for direct support professionals here in New Jersey." ([37:00])

Operational Excellence

Despite increasing demands, Jonah attributes the bookstore's success to empowering staff:
"I've been tied up with some other things and letting our talented staff run things more. And miraculously, things are doing better." ([32:42])
Their approach emphasizes community ties, exceptional customer service, and creating an inclusive environment for both employees and customers.

Community Integration

The Gibsons praise the Zemilius family for their dedication:
"Bookstores should always give back. And they give back in a bigger way than most." ([31:38])
Their store operates within a larger community framework, including a specially designed movie theater for those with sensory issues, fostering a supportive and understanding environment.

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Conclusion

This episode of The Book Case masterfully intertwines the celebratory completion of J. Ryan Straddle’s latest novel with the inspiring narrative of Words Bookstore’s commitment to empowering individuals with autism. Through heartfelt discussions and thoughtful insights, Kate and Charlie Gibson provide listeners with both literary inspiration and a glimpse into meaningful community work. Whether you're an avid reader or someone passionate about inclusive community initiatives, this episode offers valuable perspectives and heartfelt stories worth exploring.

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Notable Quotes:

• Kate Gibson on Jay’s accomplishment:
  "I'm very excited to say that he is finished with his first draft and taking notes from professionals in the industry and is in the edit phase." — [02:05]

• J. Ryan Straddle reflecting on writing schedule:
  "I would work until 1 or 2 in the morning. I would take two naps during the day." — [07:35]

• Jay Ryan Straddle on therapeutic writing:
  "I felt like I got to that point in the grief process where my heart's open to it in a different way." — [20:17]

• Jonah Zimilis on bookstore success:
  "I've been tied up with some other things and letting our talented staff run things more. And miraculously, things are doing better." — [32:42]

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Stay tuned to The Book Case every Thursday for more journeys through the literary world, featuring inspiring authors, tastemakers, and independent bookstore owners.

Transcript

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

An official message from Medicare.

[Charlie Gibson]

I'm saving money on my Medicare prescriptions.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Maybe you can save too. See if you qualify for Medicare's extra help. It pays.

[Charlie Gibson]

To find out, go to ssa.gov extrahelp.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Paid for by the US Department of.

[Kate]

Health and Human Services.

[Charlie Gibson]

Well, hello there. It's the bookcase with Kate and Charlie. I'm Charlie.

[Kate]

And I am Kate. And hello. Happy Thursday to all of you out there in listening land.

[Charlie Gibson]

Kidding around a couple of weeks ago about our being the official podcast of the National Hockey League. And somebody actually said to me, you weren't serious, were you, that you're the official podcast of the National Hockey League. I said, no, we were kidding around. But we are the official podcast of Betty Crocker's cake mixes.

[Kate]

But I think we should make a pitch here. I think we should make a pitch NHL. We are great for the penalty box. We are a great penalty box podcast. Just saying.

[Charlie Gibson]

She looked at me like I was nuts. But, you know, if we could get on any or every Betty Crocker cake mix box as the official podcast, we might be doing better than we are. Who knows?

[Kate]

We're apparently also open to being sued by both major sports organizations, product placement, and Betty Crocker. So, you know, if anybody's feeling litigious today.

[Charlie Gibson]

Well, I was feeling we were more trying to get bribes. We're in the market for bribes.

[Kate]

Also. Very much on the up and up.

[Charlie Gibson]

Anyway, if you've been listening to the podcast for the last year and a half and you better have been listening, absolutely. You know that the writer Jay Ryan Straddle, who wrote Kitchens of the Great Midwest, he wrote the Logger Queen of Minnesota. He wrote Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club. He has written a series of very successful books. And we asked him, since Kate knows him and is a good friend, we asked him if he would be our writer in residence. And for the last year and a half, he was just starting his fourth novel. And for the last year and a half, we've been checking in with him on occasion as he goes through writing his fourth novel. And.

[Kate]

And I'm very excited to say that he is finished with his first draft and taking notes from professionals in the industry and is in the edit phase. He wrote me, I think it was last week and said, I'm done. And I went woo hoo with lots of O's at the end because I'm so this has really been a labor of love for him. He wrote it sequentially. It's from one character's point of View, the character is loosely based on his mom, who he lost at 55, who had just started to become a writer herself at that time. And, of course, it's got the angle of food. She's also a lunch lady. So there's always that taste of food in Jay Ryan's writing, which I love so much. And this one, I think, was not just a labor of love because it was so deeply personal, but I think it was a labor of love, because if you were listening from the beginning, and again, you should have. I love that we always work at admonishment in there.

[Charlie Gibson]

Right, right.

[Kate]

But writing a charact that starts at the age of 55 proved to be a unique challenge for Jay, because, as he said, I wanted to write a character who'd already experienced a lot of the world, but then I had to figure out what those experiences were, and I needed to get them set in my head. And in a lot of cases, I think he needed to write those experiences out even though they never appeared in the book. His goal was to hand in a very tight first draft, and so he did a lot of writing that was just to shape the Clay of Peggy. The name of his. I think that's still the name of his main character in his head. Because at 55, you've already had tragedy, you've already had. The chances are, you've already had love, you've already had loss. And those things make you who you are. They very much shape, you know, who you are at 55 is a hell of a lot different than who you were at 15, and. Unless you're me. But he needed to do a lot of writing to figure out his starting point, which was a really interesting process to go through with him and to discuss with him as well. And now he's got a first draft, and I'm so happy for him.

[Charlie Gibson]

Can I talk now?

[Kate]

No.

[Charlie Gibson]

Okay. I just, you know, I thought I'd throw in a thought here or there.

[Kate]

No, no, no, no.

[Charlie Gibson]

It is interesting. It has been fascinating watching this process go on when he started. And it was my understanding that he was going to try to write his mom's fictionalized possible life from the age of 55 on for quite some years into her into her adulthood and older age. But as you'll hear in this discussion, when he got to it, and as he's written it, he only toes a year or a little less than a year in your life for a reason that he said is tied to a specific date, a specific plot point. I can't wait to read the novel. Because we have felt, and I hope all of you who have heard the podcast with Jay Ryan feels sort of part of this novel, that we have gone through the experience with him. It has not been easy. As Kate alluded to, he's been writing for a year and a half to get this first draft. Now you can talk.

[Kate]

It's great. We just sort of throw to each other solos. You know, you can't see our boxes that we do the video at home, but it's just. I'll do the jazz hands and throw to you. But, you know, I had lunch with a dear friend of mine today who's a manager at Barnes and Noble, and we were talking about how magical Jay Ryan's writing is. And I said, oh, I'm so excited, because next week we're gonna be putting together this show in which he's finished his first draft. And she goes, does it have Minnesota in it? And does it have food? And I thought, yes and yes. So we checked those boxes. And then when I described to her the basic plot of the novel, as I understand it, she was like, oh, I can't wait to read that. And I can't wait until he comes into one of our stores to talk to our customers. I've known Jay since college. He is warm, he is giving, he is open. And I think this has been an interesting process for him, too, sort of, you know, as he rounds the bases, checking with us and holding himself accountable through the bookcase, and will end up on the COVID No.

[Charlie Gibson]

My turn.

[Kate]

Did you see my jazz hands were there to.

[Charlie Gibson]

No, I didn't see it.

[Kate]

No jazz hands. No jazz hands.

[Charlie Gibson]

There's a couple of things you should know about this. It'll make the conversation more understandable. First of all, you'll hear references to Ryan. Ryan is his agent and a very close friend and gives him notes that he considers very valuable. And Brooke is his partner, the mother of his. Of his son, and she's one of his first readers. But oddly enough, he's had a bunch of people read the book, and she's only read half of it. So, anyway, with all that as preface, and the novel yet does not have a title, as you'll hear. Here's our conversation with J. Ryan Straddle.

[Kate]

J. Ryan Straddle, our great writer in residence. I love checking in with you. You know this. And I'm really excited because when we exchanged text messages, you told me what?

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

I'm done with my first draft.

[Kate]

Yes. Yes. Okay. Okay. So tell me when you finished. Did you finish where you thought you would finish and how does it feel?

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Yeah, I finished on June 18 and then immediately hit the road on a family road trip starting in Ohio and driving to California. But yeah, wow. It feels. It feels really good. I haven't felt like this, writing a draft since my first novel, Kitchens of the Great Midwest. And it's strange now that I've spent more than a month not working on it because it was such a huge part of my life for a year and a half in the last month or so I was working on it, I'd say at least 10 hours a day.

[Unknown]

Wow.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

I would work until 1 or 2 in the morning. I would take two naps during the day. One nap was between 8 and 9pm and then I'd make coffee and stay up till 2. Yeah, it was on a really unconventionally divided and annoying schedule to my family, but I finished it in time for the trip, sent it out to people, including my agent, Ryan. I've heard back from most of them at this point and I get the second round of Ryan's notes on Wednesday and then I start my revision.

[Charlie Gibson]

You said I haven't felt like this since I finished my first novel. Kitchens of the Great Midwest, defined for me like this.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

I had a real clarity of vision. Again, I wrote a short first draft. As in it's under 500 pages, it's under 400, it's about 330. So yeah, I wrote a really tight first draft for me based on the idea I had at the outset and I stuck with it. And I felt like I'm just writing for me and my mom. I'm just writing the story like I. Like I did with that one and trying not to please anyone else. Something I didn't have in the back of my mind this time was an editorial voice or a. Or a known marketplace I'm writing for. As fortunate as that situation is, it was liberating to feel like this is just me shouting into the void again. Like a stranger, like a complete unknown, Like a rolling stone. Yeah, it just felt like, oh, that's me, like back busking again, you know. So, yeah, overall I felt tremendously optimistic when I finished this one. I felt like I told a story that I don't see a lot of right now. Like a really optimistic, hopeful story and a story that to me was pretty funny as well. Like. Like a. It's not unserious, but it's more light hearted. Like I've described in the past a hero's journey starring a working class 55 year old woman who goes on a bit of a caper and has a great time. And that, to me, was delightful to write and read especially.

[Kate]

Does it surprise you, though, how lighthearted it ended up? Like, it sounds like that was almost a surprise to you.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Yeah. I wasn't sure if I could keep that tone going. There are a lot of reasons in the world and in my personal life to not feel so lighthearted. And so much of working on this book was keeping that part of the world separate from my creative process and not looking at the news, not internalizing it if I did, and not thinking about writing as a referendum on that. Thinking, like, what's the best story I can tell with this person? And just sticking with that. As I said, my last segment with you two, I'd started meditating earlier this year and that's helped. That process definitely felt like, to me, like a, for lack of a better term, a flushing of the toilet.

[Kate]

I love that. Yeah, I was going to remind you of that term because I think it's a brilliant. A mental flushing of the toilet. I think that's great. That's exactly what that is.

[Charlie Gibson]

When we first started talking to you, before you'd actually put word one on paper, you talked about the fact that you wanted this book to be an idea of what your mom's life would have been like had she lived past the age of 55.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Charlie Gibson]

When that original idea came to you and where it stands now, how close are those two?

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Wow, that feels like more of a North Star to me now, like a post that I have over the desk as opposed to a realized objective. I feel that's in the book. That's in the spirit of the book. Not as much the letter. But yes, if this series of circumstances happened to my mom, she would have had a riot. I can honestly say that it's spelled out that way in its own way. But as the character became a little less like my mom, partially so I could take some liberties with her, it got a little more free range than I think my mom would have been up to. But, you know, she was still surprising me. I would say that the circumstances and decisions that meet this character could have happened to her and she might have reacted much the same way. And so, yeah, maybe on second thought, Charles, I think it might have ended up being close to that intent in the end. All I know is that she was the reader I was writing for throughout that even at points where I was thinking, well, this isn't necessarily her, or something she would do, I was still writing for her as an audience, I.

[Kate]

Know that one of the challenges we've talked about when you've come on the show was starting a book with a character that was already fully formed by life experiences, and that you did a lot of writing that you didn't use just to get you to fully form that character in your head. Given all of the challenges that you had to meet in order to write this character, do you think you'd do something like that again? Or are you like, no, next time I'm starting from birth.

[Charlie Gibson]

But as you explained to us, you were writing to get your mom up to the age of 55 so that you would have that meter of her life in your mind.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Yeah, yeah. In actuality, what ended up happening is I picked up this character shortly after she turned 55 and spelled out that first year of her life. Two things I did very different than in my previous three books. One of them was I wrote sequentially. I started at the beginning and finished at the end. I've never done that before. The second thing was I stuck with the same character the entire time. There were moments where I thought, oh, I'm gonna bring in her daughter Megan as a POV character or this friend. It ended up not happening. There just was no space for it, and I didn't need it. I just stuck with this character every chapter. And that was tremendously fulfilling. So by those notions, those choices, this book is already quite a bit different structurally and in tone than my previous three. That said, for fans of my work, the setting and the main character will be very familiar. And I also felt like, you know, I want to write a good old fashioned novel that's just one character, one point of view.

[Charlie Gibson]

You said a couple of things interesting. Number one, you said it takes place in nine months.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Yeah.

[Charlie Gibson]

This just takes her from 55 to 56.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Yeah, yeah. Most of 55. Yeah. There's a reason it ends at nine months. I would have gone a full year, but there is a plot point that is pinned to a date on a calendar, and I knew I was going to end on that date, and that's not quite a full year. And so I just.

[Charlie Gibson]

I thought, as I've envisioned this as we talked over the months, that you were going to take her, you know, from 55 on for some period of time.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Oh, you're not wrong, Charles. Initially, I did think that. I thought, this will go as long as it has to. And then early on in the process of writing, a plot point developed like a B story that had a heart Out. I'll put it that way. And I thought, okay, that'll. That'll keep me disciplined, because I know I'm going to overwrite it. If I write to that date, I'll stop there and see and reassess. And then I got to that point in June, and I thought, no, this is good. I don't think I have to. I mean, I could, but that would be another book now. Yeah.

[Charlie Gibson]

So this book, as you say, envisioning your mom's life as it might have been after 55, when she died, does this character have a son who's a writer?

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Oh, a character has a son who's an actor in New York. Yeah. So he fudged same amount of job security. Exactly. Right, right, right. Yeah.

[Kate]

Same health care plan.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Absolutely. Yeah. Still renting until his late 30s. Yeah. Y. Yeah, absolutely.

[Kate]

You said something interesting, because I want to get into. I want to talk a little bit, too, about notes, but you said something interesting, which is, you know, you're going to have to eliminate some characters, and, you know, you're going to have to merge some. Can you define what that means and how you do it?

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Oh, wow.

[Kate]

Merging.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Yeah. When I read through the book again, after taking almost two months off, I'll have a clearer sense of which characters duplicate each other in terms of their aims and their purpose. I fight this imperative all the time because my mom had a lot of friends, and I want to demonstrate that. But narratively, when you tell a story, you can't have too many people that are too similar to each other. And not to say that my mom's friends were terribly similar to each other. They're probably just more like each other than most characters in this book are, and maybe most books are. So I look back and I think, well, you know, maybe I can have two instead of three, and then the two that are left have more to do. Now, that said, I do know there are places I want to fix and make better, and I know there are too many characters, and I'm going to have to either merge some or take some out. But that's true of all my first drafts. All in all, like, once again, I invited too many people to the party, and now I have to call the fire department and have them come in and say, hey, fire chief, can you tell me which five can go?

[Kate]

So you send it out how? First of all, Brooks read the whole thing?

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Not yet. He's only read the first half so far, so we need to have her read the second half soon. Maybe this week or next Week. I mean, I'm not going to probably send it back to Ryan until after Labor Day. We'll see how quickly I work on the notes. But it'll be most of the month of August. I'll be rewriting it, so maybe closer to that. I'll go over it with her often. I read it aloud to her. I guess Richard Ford does that, too. And then, you know, she's got an MFA in theater. She's a really sophisticated storyteller and has a great. A really wonderful amount of experience in drama and storytelling and acting and so. And she's really funny and very brutally honest. Yeah.

[Kate]

Yes.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

So she is. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I told us. I look forward to reading to her, but I'm also always a little nervous, which is good. She's never gonna just pat me on the back and say, great job, kid. She's gonna say, all right.

[Charlie Gibson]

Does she see it for the first time when you read it to her, or does she read it herself?

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Yeah, I mean, I'll give her the opportunity to look at a hard copy if she wants, but mostly she wants to hear it.

[Charlie Gibson]

So you told us long ago that this fictional character based on your mom, after she passed away, her name was Peggy Johnson.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Yeah, that's the character's name.

[Charlie Gibson]

Is that still there?

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Yeah.

[Charlie Gibson]

Is that still there?

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Sticking with that for now. Like, we'll see. But, yeah, that's. That's. That's been it. Yeah.

[Charlie Gibson]

And do you have a title?

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

No. No, I have no idea. No idea. The bad title is Lunch Money. That's, like the, you know, title that I don't want, but just sort of stuck in my head.

[Charlie Gibson]

Like, does that bother you that you don't have a title to the book yet?

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

It's getting there. Generally, no. And not at this point. Ask me in six months. Yeah.

[Kate]

All your.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

By then, hopefully, I'll be forced to take someone else's idea. Yeah, we'll see.

[Kate]

But all your titles have had a sense of place in it.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Yeah.

[Kate]

Are you feeling like you'll need to do that again?

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Great question. I don't know. This one isn't as married to a specific location. I mean, there are specific locations that are celebrated in the book that are really delved into, but not quite in the same way. Like, setting isn't a character as much as this time. I mean, I don't feel this story could take place anywhere else besides the two places. It does. But that said, it's not quite a. It doesn't loom as large as a character, as. As it has in my past three books.

[Kate]

And you referred to this as your first draft.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Yeah.

[Kate]

How much work do you anticipate having to do on your tight first draft to get to your second draft based on Ryan's first set of notes? Or do you not know how much more work you have to do until you get everybody's notes in?

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Probably the latter. I would say at least a month or two. Yeah. Working every day on it. Yeah. Yeah, we'll see. I don't think it's as crazy as the last two books where after the first draft, the consensus was, well, kid, there's a novel in here somewhere.

[Charlie Gibson]

It's a personal question, but this is a very personal novel in that you have based this character on what your mom's life would have been had she lived past the age of 55.

[Kate]

And you had her voice in your head.

[Charlie Gibson]

And you had her voice in your head.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Yeah.

[Charlie Gibson]

When you put it down, having finished the first draft or at any point, did the thought go through your head, mom, I've done it, and I hope I've done you proud.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Yeah. I'll put it this way. My first novel, my first published novel, Kitchens of the Great Midwest, felt like a letter to my mom. And this felt like the letter back.

[Kate]

Like I got this felt like the letter back.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Yeah, like the letter back from my mom. I feel like I got to that point in the grief process where my heart's open to it in a different way. Like I'm. I was talking to a. A grief therapist named Russell Quinn at a party last month, and he talked about how he does that with his clients, how he takes them on a nine week journey where week one, they write a letter to their deceased and week nine, they write the letter back from them. And I thought, wow, Russ, you just put in a phrase how I feel about this. I didn't know about that process in grief therapy, but that's what I just did. Like, man, you just explained it for me. I felt like that, like this is her saying, you know what? If I was still around, I would want to do this. I'd want to live like this. Because I felt like she was just hitting her stride when she died. You know, she was peaking. She was the happiest she'd ever been. And I thought, oh, man, to be robbed of that, like, as her son and also as a participant in her world, as someone who loved her, as the people who did love her, know that that left an incredible gap in our lives. And I felt sitting down with that version of her was really immensely fulfilling and just sitting down and letting her dictate what this character would do in thinking about her both as a reader but also as a voice that was. That was really awesome. It was really moving too quite often to feel like. All right, yeah, let's give you some more life here and let's have a blast with it. Yeah.

[Charlie Gibson]

A good place to end. Jay Ryan Straddle, thank you very much. This has been a wonderful journey to go through this with you. And now we look forward to seeing if you got a second draft, third draft, fourth draft, and Exactly.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Yeah, yeah.

[Charlie Gibson]

And how it goes from here. Congratulations on.

[Kate]

Congratulations.

[Charlie Gibson]

Thank you so much for getting it down on paper.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Oh, thank you. Wonderful to be a part of this with you. Thanks for sharing this journey with me.

[Charlie Gibson]

All right, Jay Ryan, let me ask you to stand by for some rapid fire questions.

[Unknown]

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[Unknown]

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[Charlie Gibson]

Rapid fire questions for J. Ryan Straddle. What did you do on the evening that you completed the book?

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Mm, it was late at night. I went to bed. Yeah. I think I might have had a glass of wine. Yeah. Which as I Get older becomes less and less of a good idea before bedtime. But I, I think I just had to. Yeah, nothing special either. Just, you know, we don't have as much wine in the house like we used to as we get older too. Like it's less of a feature of our lives. But think I cracked open a bottle and had a glass of wine and sat in the dark before I fell.

[Kate]

Asleep and toasted yourself.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Toasted myself, yeah.

[Kate]

What was Brooke's reaction in the morning?

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Oh, she was thrilled. She was so happy. Yeah.

[Kate]

Oh, good, good.

[Charlie Gibson]

Does an author envision what the COVID art might be?

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Oh, I don't. I'm scared to. It's not my department. And I'm always, so far I've been absolutely beguiled by my cover art. I love my cover art. Yeah, that's a great question. I haven't envisioned it for this book.

[Kate]

I want you to get a chance because I've heard this from you before. But I want our listeners to really get a sense of why pre orders are so important. Pitch a pre order for an author because eventually you guys at home will have the opportunity to pre order this book. Why are those so important to authors?

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Well, there are a number of reasons, one of which is it gives booksellers an idea of what books are in demand. So it tells them to carry the book in the first place and quite often they carry multiple copies of it. And if more copies of the book are going out there, more people are going to read the galleys and it's a self perpetuating machine. Like if more people are reading the book pre publication, in terms of booksellers, book promoters, journalists, they're more likely to talk about it and publicize it. But in terms of pre sales too, it's my understanding that those pre sales get added into the first week of sales. So that's the book's best shot to make the bestseller lists. So if you're buying a book in advance, you're really doing that author a favor in terms of getting on one of those bestseller lists and helping them with that, that achievement in their career. Yeah, mostly it's my understanding that it tells booksellers, oh wow, we better order this, we better get this in stock. You know, we better have this available.

[Kate]

Yeah, the next rapid fire is sort of a suggestion which is because you are that accomplished, you could put New York Times bestselling author J. Ryan Straddle, but we suggest on this book you put the bookcase writer in residence to Ryan Straddle, that that goes above the fold. We think that's important.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Yeah. Oh, yeah, please. In fact, don't even put my name. Just put the bookcase. Writer in residence, like.

[Kate]

Yeah, exactly. Skip your name.

[Charlie Gibson]

How many copies does a publisher give the authority? How many freebies do you get?

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Oh, I typically get a case. Yeah. Yeah, just one. However, if you're. If you're lucky enough to have like your hardcover remaindered, then you can get more. Yeah.

[Kate]

But if, but describe that feeling. Cause I've had. We've had an author on recently who said that there's. Because I said, you know, what do you do to celebrate when you finish a book? And he said, frankly, I don't really celebrate until I open the box and I'm holding the hardcover in my hand.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Yeah.

[Kate]

Can you describe how that feels when you get those copies with the COVID art and your house?

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

Oh, bizarre. It never gets old. Every time I sit down and write a novel, it feels like I'm writing my first novel again. And whenever that box of books comes, it feels like the first box all over again. Because, like, this is a. It's miraculous this exists. And to see it feels like. Yeah, like a delivery room. Yeah. I just want to put this little guy in an incubator and, you know, make sure he makes it. But no, you got to put them out in the world just like you do with an actual kid and let, let the world, you know, knock it around a little and appreciate it and let you know how you did. But yeah, before that happens, that's one of the things that's special about getting that box of books is you've got it and no one else does. It's still yours at this point. It doesn't belong to the readers yet. And I always appreciate that. And I just leave it out and so I can just look at it every day. I just put on the coffee table and it just becomes decorative. Yes.

[Charlie Gibson]

One of the things we didn't talk to Jay Ryan about. Well, we did talk to him about. We just didn't include it in the edit of the interview because it gets into the weeds a little bit. But he has not had. Does not have, I should say, as many successful novelists do, a multi book contract. He has sold each one individually and he's doing that with this one about to take it to market. And I think that's a sort of frightening idea to go through that. But if you're very confident and you've had good reception of previous novels, he's sort of excited about it. So we'll Talk to him again once the edits and revisions are done and he goes to market. Off he goes to the knocking on publishers doors saying, here's my book.

[Kate]

And he's got a real Red Hot Riding Hood aspect. He puts it in the basket with the. With the gingham and the whole bit. Yeah, sure, absolutely.

[Charlie Gibson]

Like a picnic. And I also think it's interesting how this has evolved. We didn't learn about it until this conversation, but it's evolved into a one year, relatively short period of time with this character based loosely on his mom. And so I was asking him, you know, can we go on with the Peggy, as you say her name in the novel at least now can we go on with Peggy at 57 and 58 and 59? Well, he said, I don't know. We'll see how readers respond. Anyway, it'll be interesting. We have a bookstore for you this week. It is Words, owned by Jonah and Ellen Zemilius, Z I M I L E S and it's in Maplewood, New Jersey, and it's one of our favorite bookstores because if you've been listening, you've heard us talk to Jonah in the past. It's a bookstore with a mission and a really important mission.

[Kate]

They are a wonderful family, and their son has severe autism. And they realize that in some ways a bookstore was a great place to put autistic kids to work because there's a lot of organizing, there's a lot of quiet work that goes into it that won't involve sensory overload. So they have kids who set up the chairs for the events, who put the stickers on the bags and shelve books on occasion. And it's really terrific. And they have a location at a center that helps kids with development issues get used to the real world, which we did a piece about for Good Morning America called Life Town. And they have a little town inside this warehouse where kids can get used to going to different stores and having different experiences, like a movie theater that's specially designed for those that might have sensory issues. That's one Words bookstore has a location there. And the kids are given a little bit of money and they get to walk around this town and experience real life in a very safe environment. And I just love Jonah and Ellen. I just think they're terrific people. Bookstores, I think, should always give back. And they give back in a bigger way than most. So we've been a huge admirers of theirs.

[Charlie Gibson]

They each had very successful careers going when their son Daniel, severely autistic was born, they began to realize there wouldn't be much employment opportunities for him. And so Ellen said, let's buy a bookstore. And they did. And they have run it successfully, as well as giving training to so many autistic kids. Jonah Zimillis, one of the owners of the Words bookstore in Maplewood, New Jersey.

[Kate]

Jonas Zimilys, it is so nice to have you back in the bookcase. Your store, a family affair. Let's start out by giving us some update on Word. How's it doing?

[Unknown]

Word is fantastic. Really pleased to tell you. Our sales were up 12% for the first six months of the year, and we're rocking along.

[Kate]

How many years has it been now?

[Unknown]

Exactly 17, I think. We opened on President Obama's first inauguration date so that, you know, that's how I keep track of it.

[Charlie Gibson]

The number of booksellers that we've talked to in recent days, they all say business is good. What do you attribute it to?

[Unknown]

Well, in our store, and it's funny because I've listened to some of the other folks, I attribute it primarily to me. I've been tied up with some other things. Me being less involved and letting our talented staff, Lisa, our manager, and our talented staff run things more. And miraculously, things are doing better. I don't know. You know, I'm sure that's unrelated, but I thought I'd mention that.

[Kate]

No, I mean, in some ways I think it's. We've talked to so many independent bookstores who talk about the staff being the magic, and I'm interested as to what the magic sauce is. When you sit down to interview somebody, how do you know you have a winner and that that would fit really well in an independent bookstore like yours.

[Unknown]

So it's really kind of tricky, honestly. But my, our approach, and maybe this has to do with our style, is a little bit different. I mean, I've heard you talk in your podcast about your interview. We don't make it. Obviously we want people who love books and love to read, but we try not to make it kind of a quiz or a grueling kind of test their book knowledge. We're really more interested in people who are tied to the community and who like talking to people and also people open. As you know, we have a lot of special needs employees come in and we want people who do well interacting with them and are friendly and kind of have very good people skills. That's sort of what we're looking for.

[Charlie Gibson]

We've talked to a lot of booksellers who have gone into the business for various reasons. But when we talked to you a couple of years ago, I was struck that you went into the booksellers business for the most commendable of reasons. And for those who didn't hear what you had to say a couple of years ago, I'd love it if you'd go back over it. Why you and Ellen decided that you would quit successful careers and go into the bookstore business.

[Unknown]

There were really two reasons. I had just gone back and was contemplating a career change again. I'd been in law a long time before and I then was dealing. We had a son, Daniel, who has profound autism. And he was in school then, he was about 12. But we realized that there really weren't good employment opportunities, or at that time, even any kind of opportunities once you finish school. And we were concerned about it, not just for him, but for all the other autism families we knew. And we were thinking about starting some kind of vocational training opportunity for people like that. We were also very interested in giving back to the community. And right then there was a time of financial crisis and the town that we had lived in for a long time really wasn't doing well. There were lots of empty storefronts, and we felt fortunate that we had the financial ability to weather the storm, that we wanted to get back and help. So when the local bookstore put up a sign that was going out of business, Ellen came and said, you know, we ought to buy the bookstore, you should run it, and we should do vocational training for autism in it. And that's how the bookstore was born.

[Charlie Gibson]

How many kids have cycled through? How many autistic kids have cycled through?

[Unknown]

Oh, I think we had something like about 150. I've lost the number. But what we sort of decided was that, and while we do have sometimes more full time or staff of people with autism, what we try to do, we thought we could impact more people by trying to give them skills. And then either skills that they could, if they're able to use an employment grade, if they're not able to use employment, at least skills that would help them out in the community in terms of shopping and integrating.

[Charlie Gibson]

So when somebody like Daniel comes to your attention and you bring them in, how do you start them out? What in that litany of tasks that you just outlined would you have them do? How would they progress through that cycle?

[Unknown]

What it is, is we have them try different things and we see what they're good at and what their passionate interests are, and it varies a lot by their level of functioning. And again, we tend to work with people who have what's now called severe or profound autism. So a lot of them have pretty serious challenges, and we kind of see what they can do and what they like doing.

[Charlie Gibson]

Since we saw you last, you tell us that your wife Ellen, has started a nonprofit which is very much in line with the mission of the bookstore and a mission of you as a family. What's she doing?

[Unknown]

Oh, it's called the True Professional, and it provides foundational development for direct support professionals here in New Jersey. Direct support professionals are people who work in group homes for people with special needs. And it's a unique program, and it provides training and support for people who work in these group homes.

[Charlie Gibson]

And as you heard there at the end, an allusion to what Ellen is doing now, which is something that you thought most commendable, Kate?

[Kate]

I do. I think, you know, what she's doing essentially is providing training and professional support for folks that work in group homes with kids, with adults. You don't go into that because you're going to make a lot of money. It's really, in some ways, I think it's a calling to work with folks with severe development disorders. And those folks need support. They need love. They have unique issues. And so I think what Ellen is doing is really an incredible use of her talents as well.

[Charlie Gibson]

I think Jonah told us that she's trying to base training for these people on what, a Four Seasons Hotel and how they train their people to deal with the public. And Ellen is doing this trying to train people for working with people with special needs. So the Zamilys family, we love you, Jonah and Ellen.

[Kate]

And I know Saints, all of them.

[Charlie Gibson]

Yeah, thanks. Thanks to all of them. And they have a terrific bookstore there in Maple.

[Kate]

They do.

[Charlie Gibson]

We want to remind you of the people who make this podcast possible. And then our coda comes from Jay Ryan Straddle. And it comes with a plea, as you'll hear.

[Kate]

The book Case with Kate and Charlie Gibson is a production of ABC Audio and Good Morning America. It is edited by Tom Butler of TKO Productions. Our executive producer is Simone Swink. We want to make mention of Amanda McMaster, Sabrina Kohlberg, Arielle Chester at Good Morning America, and Josh Cohan from ABC Audio. Follow the bookcase wherever you get your podcasts and be sure to listen, rate and review. If you'd like to find any of the books mentioned in this episode, we have them linked in the episode description.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

If you have any suggestions for the title of the book by the bookcase writer in residence. Please send them care of Kate and Charlie. Yeah, Kate will let me know.

[Kate]

I like that.

[Jay Ryan Straddle]

She'll filter them out and let me know the best one.

[Unknown]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart choice. Make another smart choice with Auto Quote Explorer to compare rates from multiple car insurance companies all at once. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy.