Podcast Episode with Craig Johnson
‘Longmire’ author on motorcycles, writing, and almost losing an eye racing MX.
In January 2013 – just as Lance Armstrong was spilling the beans about his doping guilt to Oprah on national television – Henri, Jean and I were visiting the Santa Fe University of Art and Design (SFUAD). Henri was thinking of attending, so we spent a couple days touring the facility.
The campus was the location of the Greer Garson Theatre Center, which included the Weckesser Studio Theatre, a black-box performance space, a dance studio, the Claire Stewart Williamson Acting Lab, practice rooms and costume shops. The crowning jewel, however, was Garson Studios, founded in 1989 by actress and College of Santa Fe patron Greer Garson. The 27,000-square-foot motion picture soundstage facility was connected to the university's Film School, with the largest permanent green screen in the state of New Mexico.
At the time, Garson Studios had been the filming location of over 30 films, which collectively have been nominated for 20 Academy Awards, with five wins. Students from all programs were eligible to intern on films produced at Garson Studios.
It was there we saw the sound stage for the television series Longmire, a new show we hadn’t heard of at the time. Henri attended SFUAD for a year, went back to be creative for another year, and in May 2017 I watched my first few Longmire episodes after visiting my friend Chris in Colorado Springs while riding my BMW R 1150 RT to Wisconsin and back. I gobbled up several Walt Longmire novels by author Craig Johnson and watched all six seasons of the show, filmed in Santa Fe and Las Vegas, New Mexico, a town Jean and I visited on our return to California from Wisconsin.
Read “Blue-Eyed Tough Guys”
SFUAD eventually closed down in 2018, the year Henri and I met actor Zahn McClarnon — who played Officer Matthias on Longmire — at the Buffalo Chip during the Sturgis Bike Rally. Fast forward to early 2023, and after Zahn agreed to be our podcast guest I swung for the fence and asked Craig — like Zahn an avid rider who’s seen most of the West — to be our guest. He agreed, and it appears we’ve made another friend.
We enjoyed our 90-minute conversation, so much so that Craig is interested in coming back on the show to talk music. But the gist of our exchange was about the joy of motorcycling and the creative process behind writing.
Here’s a sampling:
On Motorcycles
“There's nothing that clears my head more than riding a motorcycle,” he said. “There's a focus like that comes to mind. There are so many distractions you have to deal with on a full-time basis. And motorcycles don't allow for that; they need your attention. They need your respect, they need you to be right there, right then. And there are few enough times in our lives where we slow things down to the point where you are in that moment.”
“That's why I've got five bikes down there parked in the garage, a different flavor for every day of the week,” he added with a chuckle. “It's funny because some people get worried about me riding a motorcycle. They ask ‘don't you get concerned about being out there on that motorcycle and all this?’ And I say, ‘I'm not on the 405, you know, with people who are talking on their phones or doing their makeup or lighting their cigarettes or, you know, playing with all their gadgets.’
“The nearest town to where my ranch is has a population of 25. You know what I mean? The number one thing for me to look out for is deer, as long as I keep looking for the deer in the bar ditch, I'll be perfectly fine. Just keep your eyes open, play it safe, and be a good rider. It's one of the most spectacular parts of my life. I love it. Wouldn't give it up for anything.”
On Book Writing
“Here I am on the 19th book in the series, and I'll be back out on the tour again come September,” he explained. “You're a little worried when you first start out because The Cold Dish, the very first Walt Longmire book, took me about 10 years to write, rewrite, write and rewrite and finally get to the point where I thought it could be seen by anybody.”
“And then when it got picked up by Viking Penguin, who said, ‘Hey, we need another one here in about six months.’ Um, and I was like, really? That's a little daunting at first, and you're not even sure you can do it. You really kinda have to change your mindset, but it's also just incredibly enjoyable. You really get into that mindset, the creativity involved. And you know, boy, that was almost 20 years ago and I haven't looked back. It's been straight ahead ever since.”
Straight ahead indeed. In our podcast episode, Craig elaborates on the time he almost lost an eye during a motocross race many decades ago, and how he popped it back in to stay on the straight and narrow path with Walt, Vic, the Ferg, Branch, Cady and Henry Standing Bear all these years later.
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