The Arsonist follows a man seeking redemption who has lost his home, career, wife, and children and seeks to change the course of his life at a new job at the world’s largest bank. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

In many ways, the inspiration for writing The Arsonist was my own life. I had been fired after a 13-year career in global finance and had pivoted to working on sustainability and climate but had struggled to make progress even though I’d come close to a few big bangs. I was soon going to lose my house, and I got the ‘last’ chance of a lifetime to work on climate for the world’s largest asset manager. It didn’t pan out, and the ways in which I was rebuffed both cold and dramatic seeded many of the plot elements and crystallized my view of how Wall Street would not only fail to solve but also capitalize on the climate crisis. There’s also a fair number of true stories in The Arsonist, like the Running with the Bulls.

What were some of the emotional and moral guidelines you followed when developing your characters?

I felt that whatever ‘side’ the character fell on, they should be complete. The best and worst among us have elements that are antithetical to their primary drivers. True to real life, these dichotomies are the sources of conflict that forge us, through our decision making. So, I tried to stay true to that where the opportunity afforded itself and to ensure that the characters stood up to the tests of reality.

As far as morality, one sage bit of wisdom I received from a long-time advisor was that the good guy can
never solve the problem by killing. It seemed nuanced to me when she said it but now, I see it as a larger truth and statement on where our storytelling may have led us awry, so I’ve tried and will try to stay true to this. To solve the problem, the protagonist must find another way then resorting to killing.

Do you think there’s a single moment in everyone’s life, maybe not as traumatic, that is life-changing?

I think there are multiple moments in life that afford us the opportunity for change and those changes can be large or small, subtle or profound, but they can all be important for our journey. For me, art and nature became a release value from pressure and stress, and they evolved into a way of living, passion, and ultimately mission to live presently and express myself through various artistic mediums. Eventually, I became more attuned to larger catalytic moments, like the death of my father, and smaller ones, like the infinite appreciation of watching a bee hover through the air drunk on pollen. Life is happening all around us, everywhere there is beauty; we just need to remember to look. This has been a profound realization that has changed me deeply and made me more satisfied, even in troubling times.

What is the next book you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?

I’m working on the sequel to The Arsonist, titled The Bombmaker’s Apprentice set principally in Savannah, Georgia. With the characters that survived The Arsonist firmly established, readers can expect a more fast-paced thriller packed with political corruption, more on the unfolding climate catastrophe, and a dangerous southern dynasty with, dare I say, nuclear ambitions. This book should be out in early 2025 by my best guess.

I plan to release a companion podcast for the Cal Minor books called the Wall Street Diaries that will initially contain some satirical writing and other stories from Cal Minor’s early life. This is an entertaining way to expand the world I’ve created through Cal, and I hope to evolve it in more interactive ways, including commentary on real-world and real-time corruption, greed, and excess.

I’m also writing a book on mindfulness, movement, and music and the inspiration for my ten-year journey to the present, called now, 100 Steps to Here and Now. Readers can stay in touch with all these projects and interact with me at KenCoulson.com.

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