About John
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"I began my writing and acting careers late in life. It’s never too late to fulfill a dream as long as you’re willing to take chances and invest in yourself."
With 20 international literary awards to his name, John Layne has mastered the art of bringing authenticity to both page and screen. His journey began in sports journalism, writing for national magazines and online publications, but his true calling emerged in crafting gritty tales of the American West and contemporary crime fiction.
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Layne's debut novel, Gunslingers: A Story of the Old West (2018), captured the 2021 International Best Book Award in Western Fiction, setting the stage for his acclaimed novels Red River Reunion and Return to Canyon Creek. Drawing from his years as a police detective, Layne's latest thriller, A Rude Reception (2024), garnered the International Impact Book Award in Crime Fiction, proving his storytelling prowess spans genres.
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Not content to limit his creative reach, Layne ventured into screenwriting and acting, co-adapting Red River Reunion for the screen and penning award-winning scripts including "A Dark Destiny" and the series pilot "Just Before Midnight".
His on-screen presence has graced major productions including "1883," "Walker," "Yellowstone," and "Landman."
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When not crafting his next compelling narrative or appearing on screen, John resides in North Texas with his wife Elizabeth and their mischievous dachshund Murphy, where real-life adventures continue to inspire his stories.
Interview Q/A
So... ever had to solve a real crime while in the middle of writing a fictional one? (Talk about life imitating art!)​
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I began writing A Rude Reception while a full-time police detective. There were numerous “real crime” investigations my fellow detectives and I were charged with solving, while Bison Police Chief John Garrison waded through his maze of West Texas crime. For those fans wondering, I did not include any of those real investigations into A Rude Reception, although a few cases from my past experience did influence the book’s storyline.
Your characters get into some crazy situations - any of them inspired by real-life "well, that just happened" moments?​
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Absolutely! One of the joys I have in writing is the moments when I’m able to incorporate personal experience into my characters' actions, thoughts, or behaviors. I occasionally utilize both good and bad recollections and attach them to my characters. That allows me to become that character and understand them better.
Your writing spans both Western and Crime fiction. What draws you to these genres, and how do you find they intersect in unexpected ways?​
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The Western genre is my passion. I grew up with parents who loved Western films and television shows, so I had constant exposure to the genre. I also loved to read and chose both Western and mystery books as my prime reading material. Since I was living the police life, I wanted to escape that for a bit and I focused on old-fashioned “cowboy” stories. Once I completed my “Luxton Danner” western trilogy, I was ready to dive into my law enforcement life and write crime fiction.
Can you take us behind the scenes of writing A Rude Reception? How much of your own detective experience shaped this story?​
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A great deal of my law enforcement experience shaped A Rude Reception and its protagonist John Garrison. For instance, Garrison retired from the Houston Police Department. While I did not retire from HPD, I began my career and spent many years with that department gaining the most influential experience of my career. A few incidents that Garrison and his officers are involved in are influenced by events I either witnessed or was directly involved in throughout my career.
With your novels winning multiple international awards, what do you think makes a Western or Crime story resonate with today's global readers?​
I​ believe the current popularity of the Western genre is directly related to the current world we live in. People are bombarded with so much excessive technology, information, and political noise that returning to a simpler time and place provides a respite in daily life. The saturation of other genres also plays a part in the Western Renaissance. Even though the fantasy, science fiction, and superhero genres remain popular, they’ve overloaded the industry for the last two decades creating a desire for something different in film and print.
From cop to author to actor - what's the most ridiculous costume change you've had to make in a single day?​​​
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After trying on three or four ties with the wardrobe production assistant, I finally made it out to meet with the wardrobe supervisor who took one look and ordered an assistant to retrieve another four or five ties for me. After going through those the production supervisor finally settled on one as the final call to go to the set rings out. After all of that, my tie wasn’t even visible in my scene!
We've got to know: has anyone ever recognized you from TV while you were deep in "writer mode" at a coffee shop? (You know, the messy hair, caffeine-fueled, typing-furiously look?)​
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I wish! I’ve had several people stop at my table during my book signing appearances and blurt out “Hey I’ve seen you!” I can’t say I’ve been spotted in a crowd yet. Still working on that level of popularity!
From detective to novelist to actor – what inspired this fascinating career evolution, and how does your law enforcement background influence your storytelling?​
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This is a great question, and I really don’t have a definitive answer. As a police officer and detective, I found myself in front of a camera and or microphone quite often. Unlike most officers who shy away from the spotlight, I found I enjoyed it. I’ve always been interested in writing and fascinated by authors and filmmakers who could blend a story. After years of talking about writing a book or saying, “I’d love to try acting,” I finally did something about it. First, I participated in a novel writing class which directly led to my debut novel Gunslingers: A Story of the Old West, then a few years later I enrolled in acting classes and the rest is history!
Having written both novels and adapted them for screen, how does your approach to storytelling change between these two mediums? Does your acting experience influence how you write characters?​
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I learned very quickly that adapting a screenplay from a novel is a momentous task, especially when you’ve written the novel. Having to cut so much from the book is excruciating. On the other hand, I love writing a story directly into a script. For me, I like to write a short film or a pilot script and then expand it to a full feature. My acting and just being on the set of films and television series provides invaluable insight into the characters and the scene creation.
Working on productions like "Yellowstone" and "1883", what insights have you gained about bringing the modern and historical West to life that influences your writing?​
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I believe the "Yellowstone" and "1883" productions are in a class by themselves. Just being on these sets and observing the actors, directors, and production crews was a learning experience all its own. Witnessing these productions influenced my script writing and film production more than my novel writing. My Western series is more reminiscent of the classic films of the 1940s and 1950s and books that date back to the dime novel era.