In addition to writing, Layton attended law school in New Orleans and was a practicing attorney for the better part of a decade. He has also been an intern for the United Nations, an ESL teacher in Central America, a bartender in London, a seller of cheap knives on the streets of Brixton, a door to door phone book deliverer in Florida, and the list goes downhill from there.
Layton lives with his family in North Carolina. You can also visit him on Facebook, Goodreads, or on his website (www.laytongreen.com).
A Conversation with Layton Green
Who or what inspires your writing?
Life, really. My aim is to tell as entertaining a story as possible, but also to try to make sense—or at least chronicle as best I can--everything that goes on around us, from the nature of the universe to the quotidian details that mark us as human.
When did you know you would be a writer?
Not until after I finished my first novel. I had a story I wanted to tell but no plans to be a long-term writer. Once I finished that novel, however, I sat down and said, huh. I want to do that for the rest of my life.
How long did it take you to write your first novel?
About five years for the first draft, and five more to get it where I wanted it.
What is the hardest part of writing for you?
The first fifty pages. Creating that initial milieu, forming the characters, working through the framework for the plot. The rest of it is hard as well, but I feel like once I cross that point, it’s downhill from there.
Do you have any writing rituals?
Coffee, music, butt-in-chair for eight hours a day.
Have you written any thing else?
I have a couple of standalone mystery novels, as well as an international thriller series, the Dominic Grey series, that has a quasi-paranormal X-Files vibe. Also a fantasy series that has just started.
Any advice to aspiring writers?
Stick with it, write every day, and hire a great editor.
Who are your favorite Authors?
There is a long list, but a few are James Lee Burke, Cormac McCarthy, Barry Eisler, John Hart, Murakami, and Dan Simmons.
What are your favorite books, or which book has impacted you the most?
My favorite book is The Magus by John Fowles, but there are hundreds that I love and which have impacted me both as an author and as a human being. Everything from children’s books to gritty crime to international literature.
What are you currently reading?
Sophie’s Choice by William Styron, and Afterlife by Marcus Sakey.
- kindle: 973 KB
- Print: 335 pages
- Publisher: Seventh Street Books (November 7, 2017)
- ASIN: B06VTV6STH
Written in Blood is a police procedural set in a quirky small town in North Carolina. It features Detective Joe "Preach" Everson, a prison chaplain turned police officer, who has just moved to his hometown after a decade as one of the finest homicide detectives in Atlanta. His career derailed when he suffered a mental breakdown during the investigation of a serial killer who was targeting children.
Soon after Preach arrives at home in Creekville, a local bookstore owner is brutally killed, the first murder in a decade. The only officer with homicide experience, Preach is assigned to the case and makes a shocking discovery: the bookstore owner has been murdered in exactly the same manner as the pawnbroker in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment.
With the help of Ariana Hale, a law student and bibliophile who knew the victim, Preach investigates the local writer's community. As their questions increase, a second body is found, this time eerily resembling the crime scene in a famous Edgar Allan Poe novella. Preach and Ari realize their adversary is an intelligent, literate killer with a mind as devious as it is disturbed—and that one or both of them may be his next target.
Soon after Preach arrives at home in Creekville, a local bookstore owner is brutally killed, the first murder in a decade. The only officer with homicide experience, Preach is assigned to the case and makes a shocking discovery: the bookstore owner has been murdered in exactly the same manner as the pawnbroker in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment.
With the help of Ariana Hale, a law student and bibliophile who knew the victim, Preach investigates the local writer's community. As their questions increase, a second body is found, this time eerily resembling the crime scene in a famous Edgar Allan Poe novella. Preach and Ari realize their adversary is an intelligent, literate killer with a mind as devious as it is disturbed—and that one or both of them may be his next target.
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Fascinating and intriguing mystery which is unique and enthralling.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an intriguing read for thriller readers!
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