Texas novelist

David Layton Fleming

Fourth-generation Texan, writer, teacher, pastor, and father with roots deep in the San Marcos area. His fiction is shaped by Texas, faith, and a half century in Big Bend.

New book

Days of the River Rider

A river rider patrols the Rio Grande during a cattle quarantine. A Big Bend story of duty, trouble, and hard country.

Praise for Days of the River Rider

“Original, exceptional, deftly crafted . . . an inherently fascinating and truly memorable read from start to finish.”
— James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, Midwest Book Review, Library Bookwatch, June 2026

Available here:

Amazon TCU Press

Novel

Border Crossings

A border novel set in the tense years after the Pancho Villa raid.

Available here:

Amazon TCU Press

Novel

Summertime

A coming-of-age novel set on a drought-stricken farm in the 1950s.

Available here:

Amazon TCU Press

Anthology · novella contribution

Careless Weeds

Includes David L. Fleming’s novella “The Sun Gone Down, Darkness Be Over Me.”

Find a copy:

Amazon WorldCat

Calendar

Readings and signings

Public dates will be posted when readings, signings, or launch events are announced.

Calendar

David Layton Fleming beside a Days of the River Rider book display

“Original, exceptional, deftly crafted, and set against the stark beauty of Texas’ Big Bend country in 1943, Days of the River Rider by David L. Fleming is comprised of a compelling blend of historical western fiction with a classic western storytelling style that makes it an inherently fascinating and truly memorable read from start to finish.”
— James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, Midwest Book Review, Library Bookwatch, June 2026

“An absorbing, warm, loving story.”
— Books of the Southwest

“Fleming writes beautifully.”
— Denton Record-Chronicle

“The novel has a lovely ring of truth.”
— The Houston Post

“An impressive work on the old theme of leaving innocence behind.”
— Larry L. King

“Builds toward the last desperate and climactic scene.”
— Elmer Kelton