Teddy Jones on Borger’s Boomtown Corruption and the Origins of Far from Uncertain

Welcome to a new season of award-winning Hill Country Authors Podcast, sponsored by Stoney Creek Publishing. In this podcast, Hill Country resident Tom Fox visits with authors who live in and write up the Texas Hill Country. Host Tom Fox welcomes back Teddy Jones to talk about her new book, Far from Uncertain One: Woman’s Life of Crime and Other Righteous Deeds. Teddy’s book is inspired by a woman found near death in a ditch in Jones’s prior book A Family of Good Women. Jones explains Borger’s 1926 oil boom, resulting lawlessness (gambling, illegal liquor, prostitution), entrenched corruption, and the governor’s declaration of martial law after the district attorney was killed, with Texas Rangers and military restoring order; Borger then faced the Dust Bowl and the Depression. She describes using a dual timeline to connect historical events to contemporary relevance without being heavy-handed, developing complex characters through observation informed by her nursing background, and weaving research (including local theses and books) into the narrative. Jones previews her next novel, Rise to the Occasion, set in fictional Jackson Pond, Texas, and shares her website and social media. Key Highlights Origin of Frankie Borger Boomtown Chaos Martial Law and Aftermath Dual Timeline Structure Building Real Characters Resources Teddy Jones on Stoney Creek Publishing Far from Uncertain One: Woman’s Life of Crime and Other Righteous Deeds Social Media Instagram X Bluesky Threads Podcast Cover Art Nancy Huffman Fine Art Tom Fox Instagram Facebook YouTube Twitter LinkedIn