Man in black shirt smiling outdoors with autumn trees in the background.

Hey, y’all! I’m Arlon.
(But my mama calls me Jay.)

I’m a Southern writer living in the Florida Panhandle, at my best when telling a story or helping you tell yours.

My debut novel, Leta Pearl’s Love Biscuits is coming out October 7, 2025 and is available for preorder now.

While you wait, subscribe to The Southerner’s Primer: Sweeten Your Life in 5 Days, a free and fun 5-day email course—full of Southern wisdom and wit—that I wrote just for y’all. (You’ll also be auto-subscribed to my free monthly newsletter, Grits & Lit.)

Hit me up directly right here.
Or make yourself at home and click around to learn more.

My limited repertoire of party tricks is best seen on Instagram @arlonjay.

View fullsize
View fullsize 𝐏 𝐑 𝐎 𝐒 𝐄 𝐏 𝐎 𝐑 𝐍 // “What a miracle it is to have people to come home to every day. To be loved. To be expected. I thought I appreciated every moment, but sitting here in the cold, I know I took it all for granted. And how could I not
View fullsize
View fullsize
View fullsize
View fullsize 🥣✨ 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲… You can officially preorder 𝙇𝙚𝙩𝙖 𝙋𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡’𝙨 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝘽𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙨! 💕 Set in small-town Alabama in 1982, this is a story about love, loss, a scandal or two—and a mama whose bis
View fullsize
View fullsize ℙ ℝ 𝕆 𝕊 𝔼 ℙ 𝕆 ℝ ℕ // “Currently, she’s the fifth wheel to a four-person conversation and only pretending to pay attention when someone notices she’s not. She absent-mindedly stirs her third martini with the toothpicked olive. ?
View fullsize
View fullsize 👙𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕤 & 𝔹𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕤: in my latest effort to keep up with cool Gen Z kids, I attempted the @garretts_library 𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓼 & 𝓑𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓼 challenge (with a gauntlet having also been thrown by @mrd_reads 👨🏻‍🏫). 🟧 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐶𝑒𝑙