Telling Something Good and True

Ted is joined by Annie B. Jones, the author of the soon-to-be-released Ordinary Time: Lessons Learned While Staying Put. A book of essays, it draws on her experiences living in a small town in the area where she grew up. Those experiences include owning and running an independent bookstore, The Bookshelf, through which she also talks books, small business, and life in the South as the host of the store’s popular podcast, From the Front Porch. In one of her first interviews about her book—and yes, if #humblebrag were still a thing, that would absolutely be a Working Drafts #humblebrag—Annie talks with Ted about what it’s been like to go from bookseller and reader to the person with your name on the cover. She also shares why she chose to write essays given her well-known love of fiction, the process of titling those pieces, deciding how much of her life to include, and what just might be the frontrunner for her favorite essay in the book. In the process, Annie and Ted discover they both read what they write out loud—oftentimes to a canine companion—in order to get their words in their final form.Episode Links:Annie’s WebsiteThe Bookshelf (Annie’s bookstore)From the Front Porch Podcast (plus wherever you get your pods)