From being told he would never be a novelist to writing more than 30 bestselling books, Ace Atkins shares the failures, mentors, and risks that shaped his career. A candid conversation about discipline, storytelling, faith, and why honest criticism matters more than praise.

CHAPTERS:
0:00 – “One of the worst students I ever had”
1:14 – The manuscript that started it all
3:33 – Football, discipline, and creative toughness
10:36 – Journalism as training for fiction
15:52 – Quitting a safe job to write novels
24:50 – Creating Quinn Coulson and the modern South
31:04 – Taking over Robert B. Parker’s Spenser
40:17 – Writing Don’t Let the Devil Ride
43:07 – New novel: Everybody Wants to Rule the World
51:49 – Sustaining creativity after 30+ books
59:48 – Faith, conviction, and skepticism
1:02:00 – Family, honesty, and final reflections