Of all the job-related superlatives that can precede one’s name, “New York Times Bestselling Author” has to be right up there with the best of them. (Maybe right behind “United States Ambassador to Fiji” and “TGI Fridays Employee of the Month”.) And it’s one our guest this week, J Ryan Stradal, has been hearing ever since his debut novel, Kitchens of the Great Midwest hit the NY Times bestseller list in 2015. That was soon followed by the national bestseller The Lager Queen of Minnesota in 2019, and we catch him just as he has put the finishing touches on the manuscript for his third novel. 

We chat with J Ryan about his process as a writer, the numerous driver’s tests he failed as a teenager, and what a “good day” looks like for someone who’s done nothing but write fiction for 12 hours. We also talk a bit about some of the financial realities of being a writer and he delivers one of the best lines anyone has ever said on the podcast: “Trust me, there is nothing the world needs less than your novel.” 

It’s a warm and wide-ranging conversation with the writer of warm and whimsical books. Give it a listen! And then of course…get #BackToWork. 

• J Ryan's Website
• J Ryan on Twitter
• Kitchens of the Great Midwest
• The Lager Queen of Minnesota

J Ryan's Recommended Summer Reading: 

• Shoulder Season (by Christian Clancy)
• Four Dead Horses (by KT Sparks) 
• The Music of Bees (by Eileen Garvin)