Thriller author D.W. Layton chats with me about his new political thriller, Otello’s Oil — A Saga of Blood & Oil.
Bio:
As a young man Layton was greatly influenced by James Michener’s The Drifters. Thus, after graduating from college he traveled the world. A vagabond. He ran with the bulls in Pamplona. He stomped grapes with his feet in Greece. He pulled giant crab pots off the floor of the Bering Sea.
After law school he attended Cambridge University in England where he obtained an advance degree in international law. After Cambridge he moved to Washington, D.C. where he worked in and out of government for over 35 years. During his career he practiced international law all over the world; often representing governments in disputes with other governments before the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.
Layton has always been interested in the arts, appearing in two operas at the Kennedy Center as a supernumerary, while also raising three sons.
He and his wife split their time between homes in Florida and the South of France.
Welcome, Layton. Please tell us about your current release.
Espionage meets opera in this gripping tale of murderous intrigue and heart-pounding suspense.
The U.S. Secretary of State is in a loveless marriage. She has invited the Oil Minister of Kuwait to dinner in Georgetown followed by opera at the Kennedy Center. In Act III of Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello, a shot is fired, but no one hears a thing. The Minister slumps in his seat. Blood oozes from his chest. The Secretary is only inches away. Was she the target? Was she in love with her guest?
Elliot Jones is a Special Agent with the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service. He is tasked with leading the investigation. A cross between Sam Spade and Jack Ryan — Jones won medals for shooting at the Summer Olympics.
He soon discovers that the Oil Minister was in the crosshairs of a global battle among the super powers for energy.
Winner, Literary Titan Gold Book Award, Best Fiction
Winner, Global Book Awards, Best “Thriller-Espionage”
2025 Distinguished Favorite, Independent Press Awards
Finalist, American Writing Awards, Best “Thriller”
Finalist, Chanticleer International Book Awards 2024 “Global Thriller” Award
What inspired you to write this book?
I have appeared in operas at the Kennedy Center and I have practiced international law all over the world for close to 40 years. These and other experiences allow me to write political thrillers that are grounded in real places and real events. Not unlike the way Tom Clancy approached storytelling.
What exciting project are you working on next?
My current release, Otello’s Oil, is the first book in a two-part “Saga of Blood & Oil.” I am hard at work on Book II of the saga, which is tentatively entitled “St. Crispin’s Eulogy.” In Book II of the series readers will learn, among other things, that the Kuwaiti Oil Minister was not the only person killed on St. Crispin’s Day (i.e., October 25) by forces aligned with the global fossil fuel industry.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
As a lawyer I have litigated international trade and other disputes all over the world. A successful litigator must be able to write at a high level. In addition, before I wrote my first novel, I had written hundreds of law review and other articles that were published in a variety of prestigious journals and other publications. Thus, in 2023, when I started writing fiction, I knew I could “write.” What I wasn’t sure about was whether I could write fiction and produce stories worth telling.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I definitely do not write full time. Endless interruptions, including the demands of clients. How do I find time to write? It’s not too hard. I love working. I am happiest when I am in my office behind my computer listening to music.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I’m not sure I have a “quirk” — interesting or otherwise. I will say, however, that I generally write with two computers in front of me. One on which I compose the novel. Another on which I conduct research on everything from the floorplan of a building to the latest technology on weapons and listening devices.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
To understand me is to understand that competitive sports were just about everything to me from age seven to my last year of college. I was, for example, the quarterback of my high school football team. My choice of college my freshman year had more to do with my athletic interests than it did my academic interests. I played football and baseball in college, including Division I baseball at the University of Washington my junior and senior years.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I hope you like Otello’s Oil and I hope you will keep an eye out for the sequel — St. Crispin’s Eulogy.