Terrance Layhew
One Man’s Treasure
What better excuse could there be to spend some quality time together than a hastily planned treasure hunt in the balmy Caribbean?
Layhew is a swashbuckler all the way
DOSSIER: You describe yourself as a “Professional Writer
Amateur Swashbuckler,” and the first image on your website is of you in a bespoke suit pushing a wheelbarrow. Describe what’s really going on. Was there a murder at one of your highbrow cocktail parties, someone got out of hand, and you were dispatched to handle it? Was there an azalea emergency? What?
LAYHEW: At the advise of legal counsel, I invoke my fifth amendment right to decline commenting on the wheelbarrow or it’s contents. According to the non-disclosure agreement signed on the 11th of July 2018, I can say Suit Up! Is more than branding for me. It’s a philosophy. Sitting down to write, or finding an adventure to buckle my swash, I believe in showing up ready for the occasion. Fit for every opportunity. Bonus points for being well dressed. Right time, right place, only matters if you’ve put yourself in a position to take advantage of it.
Different genre’s, same goal
DOSSIER: Your romance novels are titled PROSE AND PROCRASTINATION and REASON AND ROMANCE. Your new follow-up, ONE MAN’S TREASURE, is a quantum leap from one genre to another … or is it? Why the shift? Did procrastination lead to romance which led to a treasure? Or are these books simply a reflection of why you wear a suit when digging up your lawn? Who’s in the wheelbarrow, Terrance?!!
LAYHEW: Is it so large a leap? I’d argue a romance novel and a treasure hunt have a similar goal. What greater treasure is there than true love? Writing romance was my way of working out romantic angst of my own, while refining the thing I enjoyed most in writing: crafting banter. Writing mood, action, and set pieces are fine, but my favorite thing in a good story are witty, smart characters, trading back and forth explosive dialogue. And as advised by my lawyer, no comment on the wheelbarrow.
Godzilla vs Monster Zero II
DOSSIER: What gave you the idea for your hit podcast, SUIT UP! with Terrance Layhew, and how did it become such a viral Internet sensation? Although The Dossier guy crashed your party wearing a tuxedo, you don’t have force guests into a Green Room where they have to go through wardrobe in order to come on, right? You should try that when you have Tim Hendricks on. He loves that kind of thing.
LAYHEW: My parents tried to dip me in the river Styx, and instead could only find a muse to bless me at birth. Ever since my first brilliant story idea, Godzilla vs. Monster Zero II (Toho, call me anytime), I have loved stories and storytellers. Suit Up! Became my vehicle to harass brilliant writers and storytellers, asking all the questions which can make my Godzilla script better (a note I’m still considering: “the purple crayon it’s written in is unprofessional”)
On being Errol Flynn
DOSSIER: Tell us more about your new adventure novel, ONE MAN’S TREASURE. You’re getting married next year, so, is this an homage to Valentine’s Day or something else with swashbuckling involved? We’re picturing you as a modern-day Errol Flynn slashing away with a pirate’s saber at an arrow-happy Cupid somewhere on the high seas. Please help set the record straight so people will click that “Buy” button on Amazon and fund the expansion of your cool bowtie collection.
LAYHEW: I’m only Errol Flynn in my wildest fantasies, which is good because I think the tights would be uncomfortable. Swashbuckling adventure stories have always been my favorite genre, and One Man’s Treasure is my stab at it.
Modern-day pirates, buried treasure, beautiful women and sword fights are superficial and delicious reasons to read One Man’s Treasure. You will also be captivated by smart dialogue, fun characters and a rapid fire plot that keeps you moving. When you write something like this set today, it’s not always easy to find reasons for characters to have a sword fight, but by golly, I managed to find ways for there to be not one, but two great sword fights.
Terrance’s greatest regret
DOSSIER: You’re probably wondering why in the world you agreed to do this ridiculous Dossier interview. Any regrets? (This is the part where you talk about how great, fun, and creative The Dossier is and how you wish you had created it instead of that hit podcast you did instead.)
LAYHEW: My greatest regret was named Genevieve. Torturous as these questions are, there is no comparison, the Dossier is leaps and bounds more entertaining and exciting. In fact, the Dossier is great, fun and creative! Wow, I wish I had thought about doing this instead of Podcasting.
DOSSIER: Calm down, T.
LAYHEW: Creativity is an incredible thing. What makes it that way comes from the individual doing the creating. One Man’s Treasure is an adventure novel with a lot of the things you would expect in an adventure novel, but made in the way only I can write it. The Dossier is amazing because of the way only you can ask these incredible questions.
DOSSIER: Do you have any news or announcement you’d like to disclose in your Dossier?
LAYHEW: I’m getting married on Valentine’s Day 2025 to the most incredible woman, a fact I’ll take any chance to brag about. Beyond this, the next book I’m working on is a historical fiction piece set in the Wars of the Roses, more swashbuckling adventure and daring romantic intrigue.
Learn more about Terrance at: Instagram | X | Suit UP Podcast | Website | Amazon Author Page