Ask the Author: Ken Goldstein
Answered Questions (5)
Ken Goldstein
Every conflicted moment in business provides a powerful foundation for the stories I write. Deals are about numbers that sometimes add up but often don’t, leading emotionally charged individuals to bend them in utterly strange ways.
Deals are unpredictable because human beings are unpredictable. No outcome in the workplace is fully predictable, there is always a mystery of resolution and that provides me with endless material.
Just when I think I’ve seen it all I am surprised by greed, power, manipulation, or impossibly uncontainable technology. When I think about my next book, I envision the core mystery as less about how the algorithm works and more about why anyone believes they could make sense of it. As they say, stay tuned to this channel for more impossibility.
Deals are unpredictable because human beings are unpredictable. No outcome in the workplace is fully predictable, there is always a mystery of resolution and that provides me with endless material.
Just when I think I’ve seen it all I am surprised by greed, power, manipulation, or impossibly uncontainable technology. When I think about my next book, I envision the core mystery as less about how the algorithm works and more about why anyone believes they could make sense of it. As they say, stay tuned to this channel for more impossibility.
Ken Goldstein
He sat in the dark cell all too alone, wondering what sick logic had caused him to believe he could ever fly under the radar with so many undermining choices. He had been taught expertly by a master of the trade, a boss like no other, whose haunting words so many decades ago only now rang true: “If you live long enough, you become what you most fear.”
Ken Goldstein
Hi Karen,
Mostly I was inspired by reading a lot as a child and in school, almostly constantly buried in books since I wasn’t very good at sports. As I grew into my teenage years, I was lifted to increased levels of introspection by the power of words. Plato, Shakespeare, Lenny Bruce, The Beatles, and Tom Wolfe all made me a firm believer that words in our lives mattered and could change the world.
When I took my first shots at the craft as a very young writer with plays and musicals, the encouragement I got from teachers and friends helped me overcome my fears that I would never be as good as the writers I admired. Once I got past those levels of self-doubt, the feedback from audiences and readers continued to drive my passion for improvement. I found that a combination of humor, irony, extreme emotional pressure, technical explanation, and philosophy could become a voice that was my own.
I actually blogged about this recently. You can read more here:
http://kengoldsteinauthor.com/2018/07...
Today it’s all about hearing from people like you. If one of my stories has an impact on someone’s thinking or inspires them intellectually or emotionally, I am fired up and on the job.
Thank you for your thoughtful question.
Ken
Mostly I was inspired by reading a lot as a child and in school, almostly constantly buried in books since I wasn’t very good at sports. As I grew into my teenage years, I was lifted to increased levels of introspection by the power of words. Plato, Shakespeare, Lenny Bruce, The Beatles, and Tom Wolfe all made me a firm believer that words in our lives mattered and could change the world.
When I took my first shots at the craft as a very young writer with plays and musicals, the encouragement I got from teachers and friends helped me overcome my fears that I would never be as good as the writers I admired. Once I got past those levels of self-doubt, the feedback from audiences and readers continued to drive my passion for improvement. I found that a combination of humor, irony, extreme emotional pressure, technical explanation, and philosophy could become a voice that was my own.
I actually blogged about this recently. You can read more here:
http://kengoldsteinauthor.com/2018/07...
Today it’s all about hearing from people like you. If one of my stories has an impact on someone’s thinking or inspires them intellectually or emotionally, I am fired up and on the job.
Thank you for your thoughtful question.
Ken
Ken Goldstein
This Fight Is Our Fight by Elizabeth Warren
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Crossing the Street by Molly Campbell
Valley of the Gods by Alexandra Wolfe
The Attention Merchants by Tim Wu
The Upstarts by Brad Stone
The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Crossing the Street by Molly Campbell
Valley of the Gods by Alexandra Wolfe
The Attention Merchants by Tim Wu
The Upstarts by Brad Stone
The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis
Ken Goldstein
My third book is a full scale novel set in the worlds of tech business and pop music, with some unexpected side trails into spiritual matters that have long been on my mind. There will be good guys and bad guys, and as is my usual, sometimes you won't be able to tell the difference. I am wrapping up the final draft and copy edit, and the title will be announced this summer. Advance reader copies will be available in the fall of 2017, and the book will be published in hardcover and as an ebook in March 2018.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more