Longmire author makes prison stop

RAWLINS, Wyo. (AP) – The  author of the Longmire novels made an interesting stop on his book tour Friday – with inmates at the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins.

Craig Johnson met with a packed house of inmates who had read his novella Spirit of Steamboat, which was the 2014 One Book Wyoming selection.

Johnson has visited all four Wyoming correctional facilities this year, along with all 63 state libraries. The author lives in Ucross, a small town 25 miles from Sheridan.

Johnson specialises in murder mysteries and told the Rawlins Daily Times that he enjoys talking with inmates.

“”Many of them have more than just a glancing blow of the stuff I write about,” Johnson told the newspaper Friday at a book-signing stop at a coffee shop in Rawlins.

“They’re not bad people – they’ve just made bad choices or were unfortunate,” he said. “It’s great they have the chance to do something different – not only to read, but contemplate the idea of writing themselves.”

Johnson’s novels about fictional Absaroka County Sheriff Walt Longmire have been made into the Netflix television series Longmire. Last month, Netflix ordered a fourth season of the show.

Johnson said he believes he plays a part in shaping people’s perceptions of Wyoming.

“When you love a place, you definitely don’t want to over-romanticise it,” Johnson said. “I want to make it as real as it possibly can be, with both the good and bad.”