By Joe Puccio

It’s not unusual for those in show business to eventually get the itch to write a book. For almost as long as film and television have captivated audiences around the world, the often-extroverted performers who so vividly bring the mediums to life are frequently known for putting pen to paper to chronicle their life stories for the masses to read. Less common, though, is celebrity output in the form of fiction. Generally speaking, made-up narratives such as novels, shorts, and plays tend to get left to the professionals – the Hollywood scribes who do it so seamlessly for a living.

Ally Walker, however, has carved out a nearly 40-year career by being an unconventional maverick. And she wouldn’t have it any other way. “I think Kurt (Sutter) wanted (June) Stahl to be this sexy, crazy babe on the show, but I really glommed on to the insane portion of her character,” Walker recounted, during a recent conversation with Generation X Wire. “You always see the sexy ‘hey baby’ character. That doesn’t interest me. It never did. But playing a super intelligent psychopath did.”

Referring to her meaty role as a no-nonsense Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF) agent on the critically acclaimed crime drama Sons of Anarchy, Walker was an instant highlight on the violent FX series, as someone fans loved to hate, during her memorable two-year stint beginning in 2008. “The motorcycle gang were anti-heroes. They had a code to watch each other’s backs. But Stahl was there to take them out, no matter what, and she’d take out anybody in her way to do it. I had so much hate mail during that time,” she laughed.  “It was Shakespearian in a way. Katey (Sagal) was Lady Macbeth. If you get good writers together, that’s what you get. Hats off to Kurt Sutter.”

Regarding quality auteurs like Sutter, Walker can now add herself to the conversation. The Light Runner, released this past spring, is the multifaceted artist’s debut novel. Receiving nothing but rave reviews since hitting the shelves, the edge-of-your-seat metaphysical thriller is an amalgamation of themes, with elements of suspense, fantasy, and science fiction. “It’s genre bending and psychological. There are aspects of reality being bent but it’s not fully sci-fi with robots and AI or anything,” she explained. “It’s really a thriller and basically, a murder mystery that takes place in a psychiatric hospital. I really enjoyed writing it.”

Born in southern Tennessee to a physicist father and a mother who worked as an attorney, Walker was raised in Sante Fe, New Mexico, attending that city’s University of California branch where she earned a degree in biochemistry. During a semester at Richmond College of Arts in London, she developed an interest in the arts but still ended up finding work in the quite unglamorous profession of genetic engineering after graduating. But five years later, her line of vocation would do a complete 180, trading in DNA sequencing for the beaches of southern California as she landed her first onscreen role on the NBC soap opera Santa Barbara. “The soaps were really an amazing training ground for me,” she contended. “I worked with people like Robin Wright, Marcy Walker, and A Martinez, and they taught me things I didn’t know.”

Her foray on daytime television led to a variety of parts on popular programs such as Matlock, L.A. Law, and Tales from the Crypt, and even resulted in starring turns as Dr. Samantha Waters on the gritty Profiler, as well as on a pair of short-lived series, True Blue and Moon Over Miami. More recently, Walker steamed up the small screen as the love interest of Robert Taylor on the highly lauded A&E/Netflix neo-Western, Longmire. “I really loved that show because it was appropriate for everyone and you were really invested in the characters,” she enthused. “There was so much heart to it. And I just loved working with Robert. He’s such a good actor.”

On the heels of Walker’s initial success as an author, two sequels are already in the planning stages. “I’m just starting to think about the second one now. I have all the ideas already lined up for it,” she shared. “The first one is about losing human empathy, and the second one will pick up where it left off.”

Seemingly having already done it all, the venerable thespian names singing and a return to the theater as two items on her bucket list. And could the requisite autobiography be in her future? “I don’t know if anybody would be interested,” she joked. “I’m really grateful for everything I’ve accomplished. Sure, I’d like to write one. I think it’d be fun. Who doesn’t like to talk about themselves?”

Order The Light Runner from Amazon here.
Order The Light Runner from Barnes & Noble here.