Today we’d like to introduce you to JE (Jerry) Sutton Jr.
Hi JE (Jerry), thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Jacksonville, FL. I grew up on the Northside and moved to the Riverside area when I got married in 1996. I have always been a voracious reader. My mother loved books and encouraged reading from an early age. She would never refuse to buy me a book that I wanted. In my youth, I would tell myself stories and act them out to amuse myself, writing small fan fiction stories in my early teens. Later in life, I tried several times to write, but could never quite get past the idea stage. After working for more than 30 years in the insurance services industry, primarily in technology roles, a series of events allowed me to fulfill my dream of becoming a writer. After reading Karen Hao’s The Empire of AI, I was reminded of a detective story I had thought about writing almost ten years ago. Returning to that idea, I wrote a short story called The Digital Witness, about an insurance analyst who receives a mysterious package containing an advanced artificial intelligence entity. Together with Layla, he embarks on a mystery about her origins and why dangerous people are trying to find her. I later turned this short story into my first novel, The Failsafe Program. I self-published the novel in November of 2025 and just published a follow-up adventure featuring Alan Harrison and Layla titled Cybernetic Resonance. After decades of dreaming about writing, I finally unlocked my desire to tell stories. The books have received a good response from a small but growing audience. I am working on my third novel, and my wife and I have launched a podcast called The Co-Authored Life, which details my writing, our interests, and how we collaborate in our lives.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The struggle was in convincing myself I could actually write the story. Once I got started on the short story in September of last year, it all just started tumbling out, and I learned to just sit down and write. Having written two and a half novels now, I find my skills getting stronger with each effort. And while I don’t claim to be an expert in this field, I feel like I might be one day. For now, I just keep trying to tell my stories to people who want to read about them.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Finally being able to tell the stories I have always wanted to tell is such a liberating feeling. The fact that there are people who enjoy them is quite humbling. Now I am working on improving my writing and stretching my abilities to be more accomplished at the profession. I think I have a gift for telling stories, but the technical aspect of writing is a work in progress.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Having grown up here, I take far too much about Jacksonville for granted. My wife moved here from Michigan in 1995, and through her eyes, I could rediscover the beauty of the city. It is a small town with big aspirations. Living in Riverside, the St. John’s River is never far from my mind. I love the way the city folds in around the water. There is nothing I particularly dislike about the city, though I do wish we had more options for the arts. I love what we do have; I just love the larger entertainment venues that cities like Chicago and New York have, and want that for my hometown.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jesuttonjr.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesuttonjr/
