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It Is Good to Be Bad
In a future where surveillance rules and institutions tighten their grip, Christopher Martin-Olsen tries to outmaneuver the system without losing his soul. Author E.E. Linsen joins us to unpack this morally charged, high-stakes thriller and the real-world dilemmas that inspired it.
Welcome to this edition of Newsgram!
Today I’ve got a work of fiction for you — and it hits surprisingly close to home. It’s set in a world where technology is running full steam ahead, surveillance is everywhere, governments are watching more closely than ever, and major institutions have become ruthless.
Sound familiar? Yeah — me too.
And in the middle of all that, there’s a man named Christopher who is about to rewrite the rules.
It all begins when opportunity knocks loudly, and he decides to seize it.
The book is titled It Is Good to Be Bad: Chronicles of the Guild by E.E. Linsen — or as we get to call him, Eduardo.
Linsen - One defining moment in the book is pretty much at the beginning, when he has to decide whether to stay firm to his principles, or to cave and do something that is pragmatic, very profitable for him, but he will betray the principles under which he was raised. And he decides to do what he feels is right. Because if he doesn't, and things don't go right, he's left with nothing. So, that puts him literally with a shattered future, into the need of doing something new. And that is the starting point of the story.
We all face moral dilemmas, and the choices are rarely easy. We lean on instinct, experience, upbringing; all the invisible stuff that shapes who we are.
Linsen - So, yeah, I have four kids, and I tried to teach them exactly that. And, and to be honest, when we talk about this topic, everybody agrees that we should do what is right. But when you're confronted with the urgencies and surviving needs, you know, you tend to negotiate principles for it with surviving, right? And this dilemma really measures people, right? How far you, you have to be pressured before you cave, right? And this is the main character who is like my hero, right? And it's what I would like, not just to see myself, but I would like my kids really to, to behave. And well, that creates a lot of tensions and emotions. And this is life.
The book is fiction, which always makes my job tricky because I don’t want to spoil anything but here’s the setup: The main character, Christian, is tasked with finding a solution to a major problem – one that involves laundering large sums of money in ways that are legal but discreet. And yes, I did just say “laundering money” and “legal” in the same sentence.
Linsen - Laundering money is a concept that is used, usually misused. So it is a very broad term laundering money. So when you are asked to implement or structure transactions, and I've been a banker for many years, right? That's a topic that I am familiar with. And what you do is enable those transactions to flow through the system legally, but undetected, you create an enormous powerful situation in which you can remove comfort zones from very important people, normally government, regulators, partners, whatever, right? And that circumstance forces different parts of the society to react against the main character. And I try to portray the different views of these different people, right? And they have arguments against the main character. And I try to make them logical and I would say persuasive in their stances, because we all see the problem from different angles. And at the end, well, the main character has wins and losses. And well, the story evolves to an end that I believe is quite satisfying, although it's not perfectly successful for everybody.
Eduardo spent more than 40 years in international banking, so he knows a few things about “enabling transactions”. He’s been a CFO, COO, and CEO at some of the most prestigious American and European financial institutions but turning all that experience into fiction? That took some discipline.
Linsen - When I wrote the book, at the beginning, I started with a small project and it grew in its complexity as I was developing this story. When I finished it, I didn't like it. So I have to edit it all from scratch again, because I found it to be too technical, probably trying to show off myself as a presumptuous expert in the financial world regarding how to trick everybody, right? So that's not the purpose. So I scale it down totally, right, to make it, you know, more normal talking. And when I finished, I was pleased.
Eduardo brings sharp judgment, strategic thinking, and decades of real-world experience to the page and all of that adds depth and complexity to the story.
But Christopher doesn’t carry the narrative alone. He’s supported by two loyal childhood friends and a wise godfather, all balanced against a diverse cast of villains. Eduardo says that writing this group of characters was one of the most enjoyable parts of the whole process.
Linsen - Let me tell you, there's a big temptation every now and then to inject your own thoughts and try to look smart and overeducated when you write and to contain this and wear the shoes of each of the characters when they speak or when they behave. And it's amazing, okay.
So from what you’ve heard so far, you can probably see why I would summarize this book with three simple words: principles, courage, chess. Every decision hits one of those three notes and the stakes only get higher as the story moves forward.
Linsen - I hope that you enjoyed the book. I did it with great passion and interest. And if you do so, I'm sure that the second book will keep the same sort of appeal because it's an in crescendo type of evolution of the story. So let's see. I'm really looking forward to seeing the reaction from the public.
The book is clever, suspenseful, and unsettlingly plausible. Yes, I borrowed that phrasing from the online description, but honestly, I couldn’t come up with anything better. It’s the first installment of a planned trilogy…and maybe even a movie someday.
Linsen - There is a producer right now looking to eventually make it a movie or a TV series, because the story lends itself easily to this sort of project.
I hope it does! It Is Good to Be Bad is a razor-sharp thriller that reminds us that when the world is stacked against you, and you are trying to remain principled it's not necessarily about being good-it's about being good at being bad.
The book is available now online wherever you like to shop for books. And that will do it for this edition of Newsgram From Webtalkradio.com. Thanks for listening.
https://www.amazon.com/Good-Be-Bad-Chronicles-Guild-ebook/dp/B0FJDNX4XZ
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By WebTalkRadio.netIn a future where surveillance rules and institutions tighten their grip, Christopher Martin-Olsen tries to outmaneuver the system without losing his soul. Author E.E. Linsen joins us to unpack this morally charged, high-stakes thriller and the real-world dilemmas that inspired it.
Welcome to this edition of Newsgram!
Today I’ve got a work of fiction for you — and it hits surprisingly close to home. It’s set in a world where technology is running full steam ahead, surveillance is everywhere, governments are watching more closely than ever, and major institutions have become ruthless.
Sound familiar? Yeah — me too.
And in the middle of all that, there’s a man named Christopher who is about to rewrite the rules.
It all begins when opportunity knocks loudly, and he decides to seize it.
The book is titled It Is Good to Be Bad: Chronicles of the Guild by E.E. Linsen — or as we get to call him, Eduardo.
Linsen - One defining moment in the book is pretty much at the beginning, when he has to decide whether to stay firm to his principles, or to cave and do something that is pragmatic, very profitable for him, but he will betray the principles under which he was raised. And he decides to do what he feels is right. Because if he doesn't, and things don't go right, he's left with nothing. So, that puts him literally with a shattered future, into the need of doing something new. And that is the starting point of the story.
We all face moral dilemmas, and the choices are rarely easy. We lean on instinct, experience, upbringing; all the invisible stuff that shapes who we are.
Linsen - So, yeah, I have four kids, and I tried to teach them exactly that. And, and to be honest, when we talk about this topic, everybody agrees that we should do what is right. But when you're confronted with the urgencies and surviving needs, you know, you tend to negotiate principles for it with surviving, right? And this dilemma really measures people, right? How far you, you have to be pressured before you cave, right? And this is the main character who is like my hero, right? And it's what I would like, not just to see myself, but I would like my kids really to, to behave. And well, that creates a lot of tensions and emotions. And this is life.
The book is fiction, which always makes my job tricky because I don’t want to spoil anything but here’s the setup: The main character, Christian, is tasked with finding a solution to a major problem – one that involves laundering large sums of money in ways that are legal but discreet. And yes, I did just say “laundering money” and “legal” in the same sentence.
Linsen - Laundering money is a concept that is used, usually misused. So it is a very broad term laundering money. So when you are asked to implement or structure transactions, and I've been a banker for many years, right? That's a topic that I am familiar with. And what you do is enable those transactions to flow through the system legally, but undetected, you create an enormous powerful situation in which you can remove comfort zones from very important people, normally government, regulators, partners, whatever, right? And that circumstance forces different parts of the society to react against the main character. And I try to portray the different views of these different people, right? And they have arguments against the main character. And I try to make them logical and I would say persuasive in their stances, because we all see the problem from different angles. And at the end, well, the main character has wins and losses. And well, the story evolves to an end that I believe is quite satisfying, although it's not perfectly successful for everybody.
Eduardo spent more than 40 years in international banking, so he knows a few things about “enabling transactions”. He’s been a CFO, COO, and CEO at some of the most prestigious American and European financial institutions but turning all that experience into fiction? That took some discipline.
Linsen - When I wrote the book, at the beginning, I started with a small project and it grew in its complexity as I was developing this story. When I finished it, I didn't like it. So I have to edit it all from scratch again, because I found it to be too technical, probably trying to show off myself as a presumptuous expert in the financial world regarding how to trick everybody, right? So that's not the purpose. So I scale it down totally, right, to make it, you know, more normal talking. And when I finished, I was pleased.
Eduardo brings sharp judgment, strategic thinking, and decades of real-world experience to the page and all of that adds depth and complexity to the story.
But Christopher doesn’t carry the narrative alone. He’s supported by two loyal childhood friends and a wise godfather, all balanced against a diverse cast of villains. Eduardo says that writing this group of characters was one of the most enjoyable parts of the whole process.
Linsen - Let me tell you, there's a big temptation every now and then to inject your own thoughts and try to look smart and overeducated when you write and to contain this and wear the shoes of each of the characters when they speak or when they behave. And it's amazing, okay.
So from what you’ve heard so far, you can probably see why I would summarize this book with three simple words: principles, courage, chess. Every decision hits one of those three notes and the stakes only get higher as the story moves forward.
Linsen - I hope that you enjoyed the book. I did it with great passion and interest. And if you do so, I'm sure that the second book will keep the same sort of appeal because it's an in crescendo type of evolution of the story. So let's see. I'm really looking forward to seeing the reaction from the public.
The book is clever, suspenseful, and unsettlingly plausible. Yes, I borrowed that phrasing from the online description, but honestly, I couldn’t come up with anything better. It’s the first installment of a planned trilogy…and maybe even a movie someday.
Linsen - There is a producer right now looking to eventually make it a movie or a TV series, because the story lends itself easily to this sort of project.
I hope it does! It Is Good to Be Bad is a razor-sharp thriller that reminds us that when the world is stacked against you, and you are trying to remain principled it's not necessarily about being good-it's about being good at being bad.
The book is available now online wherever you like to shop for books. And that will do it for this edition of Newsgram From Webtalkradio.com. Thanks for listening.
https://www.amazon.com/Good-Be-Bad-Chronicles-Guild-ebook/dp/B0FJDNX4XZ