John Michael Layne writes about what happens when the systems people depend on begin to fail—and what it takes to endure when they do. His work spans post-apocalyptic fiction and practical nonfiction, grounded in human behavior under pressure, resilience, and the choices people make when stability disappears.
Raised in Green Bank, West Virginia—home to the 300-foot radio telescope and the National Radio Quiet Zone—he grew up in a place shaped by isolation, discipline, and quiet tension. After high school, he served in the United States Marine Corps before returning to Appalachia, where the landscape continues to influence his perspective and storytelling.
Layne earned his undergraduate degree from West Virginia University and is currently pursuing his Healthcare MBA at WVU. He works in corporate healthcare finance, where his experience with complex systems informs both his fiction and nonfiction.
His debut novel, Seasons of Ash, launches The Green Bank Chronicles. In By Endurance We Conquer: The Shackleton Mindset, he explores how people think and act when everything goes wrong.
