Layne Fargo
Author Interview - Layne Fargo
Author of The Favorites
She might not have a famous name, funding, or her family’s support, but Katarina Shaw has always known that she was destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating—and each other—to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating the world with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style, and roller-coaster relationship.
Until a shocking incident at the Olympic Games brings their partnership to a sudden end.
As the ten-year anniversary of their final skate approaches, an unauthorized documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha, claiming to uncover the “real story” through interviews with their closest friends and fiercest rivals. Kat wants nothing to do with the documentary, but she can’t stand the thought of someone else defining her legacy. So, after a decade of silence, she’s telling her story: from the childhood tragedies that created her all-consuming bond with Heath to the clash of desires that tore them apart. Sensational rumors have haunted their every step for years, but the truth may be even more shocking than the headlines.
Author Interview - Layne Fargo
Author I draw inspiration from:
Taylor Jenkins Reid has been a huge inspiration to me, both the way she writes complex female characters and her impeccable worldbuilding (which is a term we usually associate with sci-fi or fantasy but it’s just as crucial for books set in the “real world”). I love all her books, but THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO in particular inspired me to push myself further as a writer.
Author Interview - Layne Fargo | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
On the living room sofa with my pit bull snoring next to me and my cat trying to sit on top of the pages so I’ll pay attention to her instead
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Scarlett, the heroine of my book THEY NEVER LEARN, cause we would not be stuck in that elevator for long. She’s got backup plans for her backup plans, so I’m sure she’d have us out of there in no time.
Author Interview - Layne Fargo | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
There wasn’t a single moment for me. Honestly, it was a years-long process of being in denial before finally admitting to myself how much I’d always wanted to be an author.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
I’m definitely a physical book girlie. I prefer hardcover for nonfiction because I usually underline a lot and hardcovers hold up better. For fiction, I have a slight preference for paperbacks, especially if I’m reading on the go — but I also love grabbing books as soon as they come out (and lying to myself that I have time to read them), so I tend to buy hardcovers more often.
The last book I read:
HUNGERSTONE by Kat Dunn, which is a sapphic (well, more sapphic) CARMILLA retelling. I loved it! Gothic and sexy and full of salient points about how threatening women’s desires, sexual and otherwise, are to the patriarchal world order.
Author Interview - Layne Fargo | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
I write on the computer — usually my laptop for drafting, my desktop for editing (with two monitors, underrated writing hack). I also recently got one of those reMarkable e-ink tablets, which is fantastic for handwritten brainstorming but syncs to the cloud so I don’t have to keep track of lots of random notebooks and pieces of paper.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Nina Zenik from Leigh Bardugo’s SIX OF CROWS books. We’d eat waffles, trade plus-size shopping tips, and just generally be chaotic bisexual babes together!
Author Interview - Layne Fargo | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
A librarian or archivist — which is what I went to grad school for, but then I graduated in the midst of the 2008 recession and couldn’t find a job in that industry so ended up working in tech instead. Looking back, I’m glad it worked out that way, because my profound boredom at that tech job was what led me to finally pursue writing in a serious way.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
The 1990s, I’m a Goth girl at heart and I love a flannel shirt!
Place I’d most like to travel:
Italy, for the art and the scenery (and the pasta and the gelato…). I went there in college for a few days on a backpacking trip, but would love to return now that I can afford a real hotel instead of a hostel.
My signature drink:
I don’t know that I have one (unless black coffee counts?), but I’m a big fan of any ginger beer-based mocktail.
Favorite artist:
Jenna Blazevich, a badass feminist artist who runs a shop called Vichcraft here in Chicago. I’ve bought several pieces from her, but my favorites is the print I have in my office with the Margaret Atwood quote “Before, I was not a witch. But now I am one.”
Number one on my bucket list:
My number one life goal right now is to buy a house, preferably a Victorian-era one with all the vintage details still intact. I’m still a long way off from having enough money to do it, but that doesn’t stop me from obsessively browsing Zillow and drooling over properties in my neighborhood!
Find more from the author:
About Layne Fargo:
Author Interview - Layne Fargo
Layne Fargo has a background in theater, women’s studies, and library science, so it’s only fitting that she now writes deliciously dramatic, unapologetically feminist stories for a living. She’s the bestselling author of the novels THE FAVORITES, THEY NEVER LEARN, and TEMPER, as well as co-author on the YOUNG RICH WIDOWS series, and her work has been translated into over a dozen languages. Layne lives in Chicago with her partner, their pets, and an ever-expanding collection of books she’s definitely going to read before she dies.
