Scene of the Crime with Author Layton Green!

Layton Green

Layton Green is the author of two books featuring former diplomatic security agent Dominic Grey. I've had the pleasure of reading the first, The Summoner, so I was very happy when he said yes to my interview!

If you'd like to know more about the author, here are a couple of links for you:

Layton Green's website

Layton Green on Facebook

Now let's get to the fun part, shall we? On to the interview!

What was the very first book you remember reading and loving? What makes that book so special?

As a child, the first books I loved were The Hardy Boys series, which were just great fun and always took me on a new adventure.  As an adult, the first novel that truly took my breath away, both as a great story and as a work of art, is The Magus by John Fowles.  It remains my favorite novel.

[I used this particular cover because that's the edition I read and loved!]

Outside of your writing and all associated commitments, what do you like to do in your free time?

Tier 1: being with my family, reading and traveling.  After that, it would be trying new restaurants, practicing Jujitsu, playing sports (soccer, beach volleyball), hiking, learning languages, board games, seeing good flicks, and a few other things.  I'm a bit of a dilettante.

If I were to visit your hometown, where would you recommend that I go? (I like seeing and doing things that aren't in all the guide books.)

The Everglades

I don't really have a hometown, but I'll speak to South Florida, which is where I live now.  I'd suggest touring a hand-rolled cigar factory on Calle Ocho, alligator and bird watching in the Everglades, having drinks at a Tiki Hut by the beach in Hollywood, and eating fresh seafood at Alabama Jack's, which is a floating barge on a swamp canal just before Key West.

You have total control over casting a movie based on your life. Which actor would you cast as you?

Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford.  Not because he in any way resembles me or my life, but because he's Indy!  And Hans Solo!  And how cool would that be!

Who is your favorite recurring character in crime fiction?

Tough question.  I'll give you two opposites: Dave Robicheaux (James Lee Burke) and Harry Dresden (Jim Butcher).

Name one book that you've read that you wish you had written. What is it about that book that made it come to mind?

The Magus by John Fowles.  I am simply awed by its genius: plot, dialogue, setting and atmosphere.  It's set on a remote Greek island, and I read it on my first trip to Greece.  It's a mind-bending, quasi-supernatural coming of age story that I can read over and over.


What did you do the first time you saw one of your books on a shelf in a bookstore?

The first time I saw my book on a shelf in a bookstore, I told the person next to me (a stranger) that I wrote it and talked them into buying it.


I don't know if you've seen it, but I love Parnell Hall's video about book signings. What is the most unusual experience you've had at a book signing or author event?

I was speaking and signing books at a book conference in Florida (the Emerald Coast Writer's Conference, which rocks).  I was speaking about Intellectual Property law for writers (I'm an attorney), and a woman wanted to know whether, if she revealed intimate details about a certain Mexican drug cartel (which she apparently had firsthand knowledge of) in a nonfiction work, she could be sued for defamation or invasion of privacy.  I said, "Lady, you might have bigger things to worry about than a lawsuit."


The way some people talk, the only way to read now or in the future is with some sort of electronic device, like my husband's Nook. What is your opinion of eBooks, and how will they affect you as a published author?

I will be forever grateful to ebooks, as they started my career. Ebooks are a great way for new authors to find an audience, and as a reader, I liken it to iTunes: I have sampled and found a plethora of new authors and musicians I love due to a wider range of availability.  I don't think it's any easier to gain an audience on Kindle or Nook than it is in traditional publishing (assuming you're published), but it really gives overlooked authors a chance to get their work out there and prove its value, as well as those authors who don't fit neatly within publishing paradigms, or those who simply want total control over their works.

On Sale Now!

Thank you so much for spending this time with us so we could get to know you a little better. May Dominic have many adventures, and your book sales do nothing but increase!

Layton Green's latest Dominic Grey novel is available now for your Kindle.

The Summoner by Layton Green

Title: The Summoner
Author: Layton Green
ISBN: 9781456546861
Publisher:  Createspace, 2011
Paperback, 332 pages
Genre: Thriller, #1 Dominic Grey
Rating: B
Source: the author

First Line: The only thing Dominic Grey knew for certain about the disappearance of William Addison was that it was the strangest case to which he had ever been assigned.

Dominic Grey, a Diplomatic Security special agent in Zimbabwe, is assigned to investigate the case of a U.S. diplomat who has disappeared in front of hundreds of onlookers while attending a religious ceremony. Helping Grey in the investigation are Nya Mashumba, a Zimbabwe government liaison, and Professor Viktor Radek, an expert on cults. The course of his investigation leads him into the dark and violent heart of an ancient religion, and one of its priests-- a man seemingly able to perform the impossible. From the moment their search began, the lives of all three are in grave danger.

Although The Summoner got off to a slow start for me, the pace gained speed in the last half as did my enjoyment. Dominic Grey is an interesting character whose childhood spent living with an abusive father has made him reluctant to form attachments to others. Grey has a strict moral code that he refuses to relax for anyone, and that doesn't make him a favorite with his superiors at the embassy.

One of the reasons why I found the book to be slow at first is that Grey is told not to do anything without Nya Mashumba's approval or presence-- and Nya's concept of keeping in touch and being punctual leave much to be desired. Professor Radek also disappears on his own business and cannot be reached. Since I have about as much patience as Dominic Grey, it felt as though I spent the first half of the book cooling my heels in a doctor's office.  However, once Nya's motivations are made clear, the floodgates of plot and character opened, and I couldn't read fast enough.

The setting of Zimbabwe was oftentimes heart-breaking, the ancient religion was downright scary, and Green's main characters of Grey and Radek are two that I want to meet again.

As a matter of fact, the second Dominic Grey book, The Egyptian, has been released today, and for this weekend only the author is selling the eBook versions of both The Summoner and The Egyptian for 99¢ apiece. This is a marvelous opportunity for all you folks with eReaders to discover a good new writer at very little cost!