Origin Story is my new livestream series on Leanne by the Sea. I’m talking with writers about the places they’re from, their beginnings, and their journeys to where they are today.

My guest on September 8th at 12 p.m. noon Pacific Time is author Arlon Jay Staggs. Arlon is the author of Leta Pearl’s Love Biscuits, the 2026 IBPA Book Award Winner for Fiction: Romance and for Best New Voice in Fiction. Leta Pearl’s Love Biscuits is “[a] laugh-out-loud romp with a smidge of Southern magic, Leta Pearl’s Love Biscuits confirms that true love—like the best biscuits—takes some heat to rise.” I love this book, and I can tell you, Leta Pearl’s Love Biscuits is as delicious as a slice of my mamaw’s pecan pie. Yum! I hope you’ll join me for the September 8th episode of Origin Story.

More about Leta Pearl’s Love Biscuits: It’s 1982 in Bailey Springs, Alabama, where secrets aren’t just whispered-they’re baked right into the biscuits. Trudy has kept her head down since high school, when her unexpected pregnancy and marriage to star-quarterback Jimmie Beaumont scandalized the town. A few years later, after Jimmie’s tragic demise, folks still haven’t forgiven her and blame her for his death. Now engaged to a blue-blood politician, Haskel Moody, Trudy’s back in the spotlight-especially after taking a job teaching chemistry to save his campaign for mayor. As Trudy encounters old high-school ghosts, she also confronts Coach Shug Meechum, whose laid-back charm and infuriating grin incite more than just her frustrations. Meanwhile, Trudy’s mother, Leta Pearl, has been giving some chemistry lessons of her own-slipping her mysterious love-inducing biscuits to men in town to advance her own agenda. In Bailey Springs, football, tradition, and appearances often mean more than truth. So, when secret recipes are uncovered, and new desires collide with a long-buried tragedy, Trudy must decide if she’ll play by the rules or risk everything for the life she wants. A laugh-out-loud romp with a smidge of Southern magic, Leta Pearl’s Love Biscuits confirms that true love-like the best biscuits-takes some heat to rise.