E. A. Coe Discusses‘The Other Side of Good’ with Michael Beas in an Exclusive Interview

E.A. Coe’s bestselling book ‘The Other Side of Good’ is one of those books that grabs you, and keeps you enthralled from beginning to end, making it a must-read. Coe is a brilliant writer, who creates compelling plotlines, and intriguing characters who venture into the gray of life while taking readers on an adventure that no doubt will leave them wanting more. 

In ‘The Other Side of Good’ Theo Jackson proposes a donation to the city for a new youth center, the mayor sends Theo’s childhood friend, police officer Denton Jones, to negotiate the terms. Denton’s efforts inexplicably make him a target for a corrupt city official, but a dishonest bureaucrat is the least of the city’s problems. Theo uncovers evidence of an international criminal organization facilitating human trafficking in the city. Repulsed by the crime, Theo enlists an unlikely coalition of clergy, law enforcement, and criminals to try to stop it. 

If you want to find out what happens, and you know you do, pick up a copy of this rather brilliant read. Recently Coe took some time out of his very busy schedule to talk about his work, and what’s coming next. 

Congratulations, your book ‘The Other Side of Good’ recently became a bestseller. What was that success like for you on both a professional and personal level?

The achievement was gratifying but also inspirational. To reach a bestselling level on Amazon validates the possibility and provides an incentive to work hard to make the experience happen more frequently.

There are many aspects to the writing process and for some people having fun is also part of the mix. What is the most fun or joyful part of writing for you?

I enjoy writing fiction for the exhilarating control it gives me over my characters and the situations they encounter between the front and back cover of a book. Real-life can be unfair, but fiction doesn’t have to be. I have the power to freely reward the good guys and punish the bad ones. If this sometimes doesn’t present life as it is, it at least provides a glimpse to how it could be.

You have had a very diverse work-life. You are a former United States Naval aviator and career businessman, both of which were very successful. Did either or both of those careers help you when you started writing?

Positive communications skills, whether they be in speaking or writing, are an important tool in just about any professional. I “started writing” well before beginning any careers and honed the tool through practice during them. Transitioning from executive correspondence to fiction was a shorter leap than if I had begun writing from scratch in retirement.

1. Theo Jackson and Denton Jones are both very intriguing in their own ways. What or who was the inspiration for these characters which take readers deep into the adventure you have created?They, like nearly all the characters in my stories, are amalgamations of diverse people I have met in life. Part of the enjoyment of writing fiction is dissecting the different personalities and characteristics of those you have known to create new characters you invent. Denton Jones came to The Other Side of Good from out of my first novel, Full Count. In that book, he had a supporting role as a colorful character on a college baseball team, and readers loved him. The history I created for Denton in Full Count, as a youth who grew up in the tenements of Cincinnati, established the necessary time and location for The Other Side of Good. It would be natural for someone associated with such an inner-city environment, like Denton, to have childhood friends who made more nefarious career choices, like Theo.
   
   I am sure your fans are dying to know. Can you tell us about the new book you are working on, and when readers can expect it to be released?

   While I was waiting for TOSOG to go through the publishing process, I started writing a novel tentatively titled, “Pedaling West.” It’s a COVID-19 era story about a young woman who loses her job and her fiancé all in the same week during the opening months of the pandemic. To “reset” her life, she decides to embark on a cross-country biking journey from Virginia Beach to Mendocino.

   She is unaware she has information relating to her former boss’s plan to embezzle awarded COVID relief funds that could incriminate him … which makes her a target. The story cycles between a drama involving the bad guys chasing her and a travelogue of an idyllic trip across America.

   My wife and I took the same trip as the fictional biker in November … only in a nice car and staying in good hotels. We traveled on no interstates using only rural roads … and we had a blast. The trip changed the story, too. I hope to complete the story this summer.

   To find out more about E. A. Coe and ‘The Other Side of Good’ head on over to Amazon.