How The Favorites Author Layne Fargo Skated Onto the Bestsellers List

On a breezy Chicago afternoon, the sun blazes through the window of a bustling café. Layne Fargo joins me in a quiet corner as a hip-hop song hums on the overhead speaker. She's cloaked in an all-black ensemble, accented by a sleek leather jacket, cat-eye glasses and a bold red lip. It's effortlessly edgy and a reflection of the stories she writes: gritty, unapologetically feminine and timeless.

(Image courtesy of Katharine Hannah Photography)

"My work's always gonna have a sexy, kind of trashy feel," she admits. "I've started to say that I just want to write Layne Fargo books. That's it."

If you've read her latest effort, The Favorites, you'll know exactly what she means.

Described as a modern retelling of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, the novel recounts a sweeping, tumultuous romance of an Olympic ice dancer and her childhood love-turned-partner. Woven between each chapter are scathing confessionals from their peers, culminating in the juicy documentary "The Favorites: The Shaw & Rocha Story."

 

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But compared to its competitors in the fictional landscape, Layne's storytelling grips you with a distinct blend of nail-biting cliffhangers, addictive tension (dramatic, psychological and sexual) and toxic relationships.

The drama you'll discover in The Favorites, however, isn't a total figment of Layne's imagination. The competitiveness of ice dance—and figure skating, in general—has notoriously fostered nefarious, even criminal, activities. Perhaps you'll link its sabotage scandal scene to the clubbing-gate of Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. Or, you'll associate the rivalry of its lead couples with the decades-spanning battle for gold between Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, and Meryl Davis and Charlie White. (Layne proudly aligns with the Virtue-Moir partnership, which was a primary inspiration for Katerina Shaw and Heath Rocha).

(Image courtesy of Random House)

As a longtime figure skating enthusiast, Layne knew that the culture of the sport would take center stage, rather than being relegated to the background.

"I wanted it to be as detailed as possible. That was a lot of fun for me to make it feel as realistic as I possibly could," she recalls. "In researching this book, I read memoirs, watched interviews and read interviews from skating magazines. I followed a lot of skaters on social media. It was helpful to see their training and how they are off ice, outside of the competition."

Research is an inherent part of the process for Layne, who previously studied theater in college and later worked as a dramaturg.

"There's always a theatrical element to my books. My first one is set in a theater company, and the second one has a theater subplot," Layne explains. "I keep saying skaters are ultra-competitive theater kids. But [studying plays] has an important influence on my approach. Before I write the scene, I figure out the dialogue and stage directions."

 

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In its first draft, The Favorites even existed in screenplay format.

"No one should read that first draft," she says with a laugh. "But it was incredibly helpful to realize where they are in their space. What are their relationships? Who's saying what? Because I have that playwriting background, it made it easier to make the voices sound as distinct as possible, even without an audiobook."

(Image Courtesy of Katharine Hannah Photography)

Regardless, you won't want to miss The Favorites' audiobook experience. It boasts a rich cast, including Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir. Its paperback edition features an excerpt from Heath's perspective, read by Nope actor Brandon Perea, Layne's personal fancast for the role.

In addition to hand-selecting a couple of the voice actors, Layne found The Favorites to be her most creatively directed book, thanks in part to her editor, Caitlin McKenna at Random House.

"She was the first editor I met with, and she was so passionate and appreciated what I was doing," she recounts. "She has a really cool, eclectic list of authors. It feels like she finds writers who she thinks are interesting and lets them do whatever they want, which is my dream."

As a result, Layne had a hand in nearly every part of its production. Serendipitously, she also knew exactly what she wanted the manuscript to become from the very beginning.

 

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"The submission for this book was different from what I had done before because I made a pitch document that outlined the aesthetic I thought it should have. There was a link to my Spotify playlist and a collage of images and comps. It showed editors that I understood where the book fit within the market. I've learned that I want my publisher to feel more like a business partnership, rather than viewing me as a delicate artist who couldn't handle it," adds Layne.

It's an awareness that comes with experience—and Layne has been a part of the industry for over 10 years. More than a decade ago, she completed her first book during the now-defunct National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).

(Image Courtesy of Katharine Hannah Photography)

"I don't know exactly what I was thinking, but I was having fun," she confesses before acknowledging its rejections from literary agents and revision programs.

"I was glad to have that experience because, more than likely, every author will have that point where they get rejection, disappointment and become really depressed," she continues. At the apex of her querying journey, she had a sticker-tracking system to celebrate her wins and a special ringtone to notify her when she received a response in her email inbox. "I have a very visceral reaction to that noise now, but it built character and taught me the ins and outs of the business."

 

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Now, working on the fourth book in her catalog, which is slated for publication in 2027, Layne has a greater respect for each step: "It can sometimes feel like the hedonic treadmill, where you get used to whatever's going on, so you want the next thing. But no, I will always appreciate this book and how people responded to it. It changed my life in a lot of ways."

Don't worry, though. Nearly 200,000 ratings online and a 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards nomination haven't gone to Layne's head. Her Chicago roots will forever keep her grounded, as she takes one last swig of her locally brewed coffee before finally setting off toward the CTA train.

 

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