Layne Fargo is the bestselling authors of propulsive novels exploring power, ambition, and the complexities of female relationships. In addition to her writing, Layne was a Pitch Wars mentor and co-creator of the podcast Unlikeable Female Characters, where she discusses the bold, complex women who defy societal expectations in fiction. Her latest release, The Favorites, is a razor-sharp contemporary that revolves around the competitive world of ice skating. Layne lives in Chicago, where she continues to craft gripping, unapologetic stories.

The Favorites explores obsession, power, and the complexities of female ambition. How did you approach crafting such intense, morally complex characters, and what draws you to these themes in your writing?

It always surprises me when people talk about how morally gray my characters are because they just seem… normal to me? I wouldn’t know how to write a nice, morally pure person if I tried. (Which probably says something about me that I should discuss with my therapist rather than in this interview!) All my books are about ambition in some way, because it’s something I’m constantly wrestling with in my own life. I’ve always been ambitious and driven, but I also have a chronic illness, so often my body simply cannot keep up with the ambitions of my mind. Learning to deal with that frustration (and actually let myself rest) has been crucial to creating a sustainable writing career, though it’s now and forever a work in progress.

Your writing is known for its sharp prose and psychological depth. How do you balance plot, character development, and suspense to keep readers engaged?

Plot and character development are so symbiotic to me, since characters’ choices should drive the plot, and moving through the trials of the plot is what ultimately causes them to grow. That part of writing feels very emotional and intuitive, while creating suspense is more technical: holding back information as long as you reasonably can, speeding up or slowing down the pace to create certain reactions in the reader, and so on. My first couple of books were thrillers, and I think writing and reading widely in that genre helped me learn a lot of techniques I can now put to good use no matter what genre I’m writing in. And as for psychological depth, I am blessed to be married to a therapist who is (almost) always happy to help me brainstorm about my deeply messy characters!

The publishing world can feel just as cutthroat as the one you portray in The Favorites. Have your own experiences in the industry shaped how you write about ambition and competition?

I’m a big believer in being friends with your professional rivals. In fact, I think that’s the only way to thrive in a cutthroat, competitive industry. I can be jealous of other authors (and I am, all the time!) while still genuinely respecting them and cheering on their successes. With Katarina and Bella in The Favorites, I wanted to write a female friendship that’s competitive without being stereotypically catty. I don’t see that a lot in media, but it’s the norm in my personal life — and in the skating world too for that matter! Many of the top skaters train together and are friends off the ice even though they may have fierce rivalries on the ice.

Many writers struggle with self-doubt, especially when tackling bold or unconventional stories. How do you push through creative fear and stay true to your vision?

First of all — and oh how I wish this weren’t the case! — no matter how many books you write, it’s always going to be terrifying. You’re always going to doubt yourself, second-guess your ideas, think about throwing your hands up and quitting. The more you accept that, though, the more you can ride the waves of fear instead of getting sucked under. I know a big wave of fear is on the way if I start getting super worried about what other people think. That’s when it’s time to step away from the internet and be alone with my thoughts (easier said than done!). I try to tell myself: ah yes, I’m back here again, but I’ve gotten through it before and I will this time too. Even if writing never gets easier (sigh…), with experience you will develop better coping strategies.

What inspired the dynamic between the main characters, and how do you think it reflects real-life creative industries?

I first had the idea to write about ice dancers during the 2018 Olympics, when Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir broke the internet with their sexy, gold-medal-winning Moulin Rouge program. That performance was so fun and swoony, but because I love mess, it immediately got me thinking about how challenging a partnership like that must be day-in and day-out. It’s like a weird cross between a creative collaboration, a sports team, Hollywood costars, and long-term marriage. You’re together practically 24/7, in Tessa and Scott’s case from the time they were little kids, and even if you’re not romantically involved, the public expects you to play up your chemistry for publicity. I can’t think of any other industry where a dynamic quite that strange and complicated exists, so I knew it would make for a juicy story.

What drew you to figure skating and what did the research look like for this project?

I’ve been a figure skating fan my whole life, so writing this book was the perfect excuse to completely nerd out about the sport for years on end. A lot of my research was focused on getting the details right — not only the rules of ice dance but what it feels like to be an elite competitor, psychologically and physically. I read a lot of athletes’ memoirs, watched documentaries and footage of old competitions, and combed through the archives of U.S. Figure Skating’s official magazine, which was a total gold mine! I’ve read a number of skating books that get details wrong or simply gloss over them, and I wanted to do everything I could to capture the skating world as accurately as possible. Reader reactions have been really funny, because people who are not into skating are way more likely to say the drama in the book is over-the-top and unrealistic, while skating insiders tend to be like, yep sounds like an average Tuesday at the rink.

Power and influence play a huge role in The Favorites, especially among women. Do you think the way we write and talk about female ambition is shifting in literature?

Honestly, I might have answered this question very differently before November 5, 2024. We’re seeing all this backlash against women’s power, autonomy, and even basic humanity at the moment. I choose to believe (because otherwise I’d probably spend all day every day face down on the floor crying) that this is a temporary setback before we take a huge leap forward toward true equality — the death throes of traditional patriarchy, if you will. But either way, it’s more important than ever to use art to explore what’s possible, to depict women and other marginalized people claiming their own power without apology.

You’ve had success across multiple areas in the literary world, from writing to Pitch Wars mentorship. What’s one piece of industry advice you wish you’d known when you were starting out?

You will never, ever feel like you’ve “made it.” The goal posts keep moving. I remember when I got into Pitch Wars I felt like, yes, I’m in, I did it! But then of course I wanted an agent, and then a book deal, and then another book deal for more money, etc. etc. Like Katarina in The Favorites, I’m always going to want to get to that next level — which isn’t a bad thing! But if you want to be ambitious without being miserable, the key is to celebrate every little win along the way, rather than waiting until you reach some big milestone to allow yourself to feel happy and/or satisfied. Because spoiler alert: you won’t be satisfied. You might be happy for like two seconds, but then you’ll start obsessing over the next thing.

Your books have been praised for their cinematic quality. Do you think about screen adaptation possibilities while writing, or does that come later in the process?

Oh, I definitely think about it! I’ve got full dreamcasts for all of my books, and I tend to draft in almost a screenplay-esque fashion, writing dialogue and basic stage directions first and then filling in aesthetic details later. I have to say, though, that when I was writing The Favorites it seemed almost unfilmable to me, because of the technicalities of ice skating and the span of time the story covers. Luckily some people in Hollywood who are far smarter than I am about such things got ahold of the book and had a clear vision for how to adapt it! (Nothing official to report yet, but it has been optioned for television.)

If you could give just one piece of advice to writers working on their first novel, especially those who want to push boundaries in their storytelling, what would it be?

Develop your creative intuition, and listen to it. I know a lot of authors and other artists who get caught up in worrying that someone else will make something similar to their work, or even steal their ideas — but if you’re listening to your intuition and creating truly authentic work, work that only you could write, then you don’t have to worry about other people. And in my experience, the work itself will turn out much better too.

The Favorites by Layne Fargo

Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha rise from turbulent childhoods to become world-renowned ice dancers, their electric chemistry captivating audiences. But a shocking incident at the Olympics ends their partnership, leaving unanswered questions and fueling years of speculation. Now, as a documentary threatens to rewrite their story, Kat finally breaks her silence, revealing the passion, ambition, and betrayals behind their meteoric rise and devastating fall—proving that the truth may be even more sensational than the rumors.

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