About Me

I’m a post-apocalyptic fiction author, blogger and content creator. I was raised in Green Bank, West Virginia — in the long shadow of the 300-foot radio telescope and inside the 13,000-square-mile quiet zone that still shapes how I hear the world. Like most kids from a small town, I couldn’t wait to leave; I joined the U.S. Marine Corps after high school and spent several years in California and beyond before returning to the mountains that made me.
Since then, my career has taken a few surprising turns: ski instructor, truck driver, coal miner, helicopter mechanic, website designer and marketing professional. Today my 9-5 gig is in corporate IT and finance for a major health-care system. (I’m what Esme would call a ‘clocker’, but you’ll have to read Seasons of Ash Book 1 to get that reference) Those jobs gave me hands-on skills, diverse perspectives, and plenty of stories — the exact material I bring to my fiction.
Everything I write has a thread of something I’ve lived. My novels are rooted in the unique rhythms of life in Appalachia, and driven by real choices — family, faith, duty, and the price we pay to stay human.
If you want a behind-the-scenes look at research, chapter previews, and the occasional song, sign up for my newsletter or follow along on social media. Thanks for stopping by — I’m glad you’re here.
— John Michael Layne
johnmichaellayne.com