About Sonny Kohet

Crafting Stories from a Life of Adventure

Sonny began writing fiction late in life.

During the 2020 Covid lockdown in Beijing, Sonny completed the Start Writing Fiction course from Future Learn. Two exercises from week two were to describe a writing space, and to imagine a character.

These two exercises became the first chapter of this book, as Sonny continued writing. The simple exercise in a writing course became a series of five character-driven stories focused around the life of the main character, Judy Vernon.
Experiential travel, living in different countries, and working in remote and unusual locations, through seven different careers, has introduced Sonny to a range of unusual characters, broken people, and misfits who fuel the characters he brings to life in his writing.


Any feedback, comments, suggestions, observations, or questions can be directed to sonny@sonnykohet.com.

“I found the creative process, creating a world and a life that people and an ensemble of characters existed within, to be fascinating.”

Sonny Kohet

Sonny Kohet on Maintaining Suspense and Reader Interest

Crafting Complex Characters from Personal Experiences

I don’t think the course altered my writing style, but it inspired me to keep writing because I found the creative process, creating a world, and a life that people, and ensemble of characters existed within to be fascinating.

As to what turned the book into a series, basically I finished the first book, and wasn’t done. I found the story continuing into a second book.

I later did another course through Coursera, and I needed to write another book to fit the parameters of the course. That was the third book, at least I thought it was, but it became the fourth book as I wrote another to fit between the second and third books.

In many ways, the books wrote themselves, with characters often taking themselves in directions I didn’t intend. Minor characters sometimes became major characters.

It was when I joined editing groups such as Scripophile and Critique Circle that my writing style improved and moved from business style writing to novel style writing.

Judy is a composite of three people. All of my characters are based on a person I have met during my life. Sometimes they are composites, sometimes I have based two characters on one person. And sometimes they are directly based on a single person.

Working in remote, island, and foreign settings tends to attract a lot of misfits who don’t quite fit into society for various reasons. When living in a third world country, people, on medication to stabilize them, tend to self-medicate in the absence of consistent medical care, with interesting and sometimes disastrous results. Barely functional alcoholics live on a diet of cheap and nasty booze.

I was working security in one resort, when two of the staff who’d been incarcerated at one time in their lives came to blows over who’d done the harder time.

It began as part of an exercise to describe somewhere a writer might find inspirational to work, and a second exercise to describe a person. So, she sat in a café and described a man she saw out the window, and then he dies of natural causes.

I didn’t want to follow standard plots and themes, which is why he wasn’t murdered. I am making a statement about the world, where no one is essentially a bad person, no good versus evil, just ordinary people. I tried to maintain interest by having her peel the layers of his character back like an onion, changing her opinion of him as she did.

Everything we read or watch these days, TV, Movies, Books, and News is focused on negatives. On people being selfish or with evil motives. This exists, but when we focus on the negative, it’s what the world becomes.

My characters are good people, as all people basically are. Some of whom have made mistakes in their lives, but it is about people breaking free from their past and building a positive and productive life for themselves.

All of my characters and their natures are based on real people, or real genders doing real things. Some people have difficulty accepting the reality of people’s actions if such actions are outside of their reality.

For example, in one book I have a woman who fantasizes about raping another woman. Some people have an issue with this because ‘women don’t rape.’ But a former girlfriend of mine was raped by a woman. This is different that being raped by a man, but it is still rape.

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What Readers Are Saying

Discover the heartfelt praise and insights from readers captivated by Sonny Kohet’s evocative storytelling. Join the conversation and see why Judy Vernon’s journey resonates with audiences.

It is a masterfully crafted novel that follows Judy Vernon, a freelance journalist, as she becomes entangled in the mysterious life of Frank Farrington after witnessing his final moments.
As Judy delves deeper into Frank’s past, she finds herself emotionally invested in the lives of those he left behind, including his partner Billy and ex-wife Miriam, while also navigating her own complex relationships and bisexuality.
With a deliberate pace, the novel expertly weaves together elements of mystery, personal discovery, and moral dilemmas, exploring themes of grief, redemption, and the unpredictable nature of human connections.
Through Judy’s multi-layered character and the raw, messy relationships she forms, the book raises poignant questions about the control we have over our lives and the impact of unresolved pasts on our present, making for a beautifully written and thought-provoking tale.

The Shining Star
The Shining Star

Review on "In Death As In Life"

Once again Sonny Kohet has skillfully woven a cast of complex character lives together with his easy to read style.

Broken Promises Broken People, delves into the most vulnerable pieces of each character’s lives. Then goes about rebuilding and healing their souls as they become part of Judy Vernon’s circle of friends. While each character evolves, no topic goes unturned: race, age, religion and sexual orientation all add a rich texture to this provocative story that might have you questioning where your morality lies.

Bonus if you’re a foodie. 😋 The tasty descriptions will leave your mouth watering and have you reaching for your cookbook.

Pick this one up today!

Chris Redd
Chris Redd

Review on "Broken Promises, Broken People"

In Death As In Life is a gripping tale that follows Judy Vernon. First off, I genuinely enjoyed this character and felt she was well developed. I appreciate how well the author was able to tell his story, focus on Judy and intertwine story beats for other characters as well. I found myself not only invested in Judy but also the supporting cast. I’ve always been intrigued by a large assembled cast and was quite pleased to read a story that seamlessly integrated multiple characters with vastly different backgrounds. This is a very good read and highly recommended!

Christian Green

Review on "In Death As In Life"

When Frank Farrington, a stranger, collapses and dies in front of Judy, the last thing she expects is to see him again whenever she visits her favourite cafe. In exploring Frank’s past, she delves into her own. This is a meticulously written paranormal redemption saga, highly character-based, about intertwined relationships, and finding hope when someone close to you has gone. The revelations are subtly life changing for Judy and the novel explores the theme of finding a way to keep promises after death.

Lucy Lyons
Lucy Lyons

Review on "In Death As In Life"

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