About the Author

“My lifestyle has fed my writing. While uneducated, and certainly unskilled at the process, I am falling in love with this journey and hope you find this entertaining. We all gotta escape reality from time to time...”

— Wayland Long

 James Wayland Long was born in 1965 in Olney, Texas.  He was raised in Decatur, Texas by self-employed parents that preached work ethic, drive, and integrity.  College educated in Stephenville, Texas at Tarleton State University, Wayland traveled the country throughout his younger years, developing and showing cutting horses in the National Cutting Horse Association, earning 2 NCHA World Championships, 2 NCHA Reserve World Championships, and was the youngest person ever inducted into the NCHA Hall of Fame.  After his last World Title in 1989, Wayland went to work for himself, building up his own business, 2L Custom Trucks, that he still operates today.  Wayland has been with his wife Carrie, for over 30 years, they have 3 children, Libby, Abby, and Binion.  As he has skidded sideways into his middle aged years, Wayland's focus has been on God, family, and his ranch north of Weatherford, Texas.

Long’s first release, 4 Counties - The Story of The Last King of Texas was met with immediate approval and fanfare.  The hardbacks were sold and distributed on social media and developed a cult-like following.  It skyrocketed up the charts of Amazon Kindle, an unusual phenomenon for a first-time, self-published author.

The follow-up sequel, 4 Counties - The Last Bus to Balmorhea was a runaway best seller and climbed the Kindle charts even quicker than the first and by this time, Long had captured the attention of the big publishing houses and literary world. Comparisons to McMurtry and Kelton and McCarty became common and combined sales of his first two novels expanded his readership even further.

The third and last installment, a prequel-style novel he called 4 Counties - Crossin’ The Brazos was met with critical acclaim and solidified Long as one of the country’s hottest contemporary western writers.  Readers had became attached to main character Kenny Wayne Harris and hated to see the tale come to an end.

Wise County Line, the pilot novel of his long awaited new series, has already been lauded by critics as pure Texas noir and promises to move the writer even further into the upper-echelon of his craft.