Layne Fargo Books In Order
Book links take you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.Publication Order of Standalone Novels
Temper | (2019) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
They Never Learn | (2020) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Young Rich Widows | (2022) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Favorites | (2025) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Layne Fargo has a Master’s degree in library science and theater. She has been a member of the Chicagoland chapter of Sisters in Crime and is a Pitch Wars mentor. Layne also co-created the podcast Unlikable Female Characters.
Both of her graduate degrees have nothing at all to do with her writing career. All of her writing education comes from different craft books that she has and reading the work of those people who are more talented than she is.
She wrote her master’s thesis on the female gaze and burlesque.
During the course of her research, she learned about twirling tassels, and attended a burlesque pageant held in Las Vegas. Fargo also snuck into her old school’s theater building in the middle of the night so that she could do a topless pinup photo shoot. Fargo still hopes to use any and all of this in one of her books someday, but for now it is simply fun to talk about at different parties she goes to.
She has been writing since she was a little kid. She used to write storybooks about animals, before turning to nerdy fan fiction. She did not truly try writing a novel until the year 2012, when she did NaNoWriMo for the very first time. This was the kick in the pants she needed to get over her own perfectionism and just finish a draft.
This is after a life of loving books more than anything in the world. For quite some time she had wanted to write a novel of her own, but convinced herself it was much too daunting. After she began submitting her first novel to literary agents, it took her some time to admit to herself she was interested in making a career out of writing, rather than just treat the whole enterprise as a for fun hobby only. The switch in mindset for her just kind of snuck up on her and she cannot remember exactly when it happened.
She has a full-time job, working at a data company as a Knowledge Manager, allowing her writing to give her a much needed creative outlet for her in her off duty hours. She does not like relying on her writing for all of her income, and feels much freer to write truly what speaks to her.
Fargo believes like her two careers feed each other in some interesting ways. Her Type A and super-organized corporate side is able to help her meet her writing deadlines. Her own creative story-telling capabilities help her come up with some innovative solutions when she is managing different projects for her employer.
Fargo’s debut novel, called “Temper”, was released in the year 2019, and the novel is from the mystery genre. It is also considered feminist psychological suspense.
Fargo began writing her first released novel “Temper” in the year 2016. “Temper” started out being inspired by real events at a theater company in the city of Chicago. The more she did research for it, the more she found far too many other stories of this same kind of abuses of power and manipulation, in both the arts industry and other places.
She has given up on some previous projects, almost gave up on “Temper” more than once. That being said, she has never thought about giving up on writing stories, though. She received more than one hundred rejections on the first manuscript, but this just gave her the motivations to improve her skills and keep on going. Especially when agents would take the time out to send her personalized rejections.
After she queried the first novel she wrote off and on for an entire year, she shelved it. Right when she finally gave up on the first manuscript, she came up with the idea that later became “Temper”. She is convinced that everything unfolded exactly like it should.
Fargo finds that she has to come up with a Spotify playlist anytime she comes up with a new idea for a book. Figuring how a book should sound helps her clarify the world and the characters, basically everything involved in the story.
Despite her efforts to put together a schedule or routine to write, nothing has ever stuck, and she just attempts to write when she has got the time.
She does outline her stories before hand, but things wind up changing during the writing and revising processes.
“Temper” is Fargo’s second completed manuscript, but she also has got few projects in various stages of completion on her hard drive.
She feels that if she could tell her sixteen year old self anything it would be to not be afraid of failing. Despite wanting to get all As in life, she has learned quite a bit through rejection and failure. She would not be the person or writer she is now without any of these experiences.
“Temper” is the first stand alone novel, which was released in the year 2019. After struggling in the Chicago theater scene for many years, ambitious actress Kira Rascher is finally able to get the role of a lifetime. What is the catch? Starring in “Temper” means she will have to work with Malcolm Mercer, a volatile director that is known for pushing his actors past their limits, both on the stage and off.
Kira is certain that she will be able to handle Malcolm, but the co-founder of the theater, Joanna Cuyler, is another story altogether. Joanna believes Kira is a threat, to her twisted relationship with Malcolm, to her own thwarted aspirations as an artist, and the shocking secret she has kept about the upcoming production. While opening night draws closer, Kira and Joanna begin to realize that Malcolm’s dangerous extremes aren’t anything compared to what they are capable their selves.
This is an addictive, edgy, and fiendishly clever story of power, deceit, and ambition. The book is a timely, heart-in-your-throat psychological thriller that is sure to leave anybody who reads it breathless. Readers fly through this riveted and eagerly turn the pages to find out what comes next, all while it messes with your head and gets under your skin. Fargo is able to keep a scalpel-like control over these characters, even as they are out of control.
Book Series In Order » Authors »