Ed Kociela

Author Ed Kociela has a knack for taking his readers behind closed doors.

He has taken readers into the home of a family victimized by the nuclear fallout of the Cold War Era nuclear blasts at the Nevada Test Site in “Downwinders…the play,” opened the doors to the frightening secrets locked away within a fundamentalist Mormon polygamous cult in “plygs” and "plygs2," and walks you backstage to hang out with some of the biggest stars in rock ‘n’ roll history in “It Rocked! (Recollections of a reclusive rock critic).”

The book includes intimate looks at such musical giants as George Harrison, Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, The Beach Boys, Peter Frampton, KISS, Foreigner, Journey, BB King, Frank Zappa, Willie Nelson, Carlos Santana, Dick Clark, and many others who he interviewed, worked with, and got to know as a rock critic for the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner and music industry publicist.

"Plygs" is the culmination of his 16-year career as a newspaper reporter, columnist, and city editor for The Spectrum, a Gannett newspaper located in St. George, Utah, which is located about 45 minutes from the community along the Utah-Arizona state line upon which his novel is based.

"Plygs2" is the much-anticipated sequel to "plygs." It completes the story of religion gone awry in the dusty barrenness of two small towns located along the state line between Utah and Arizona. It is the resolution of a story about a family torn apart by the demands of a demented prophet who controls every aspect of their lives by demanding they follow his word or face eternal damnation.

Like the first book, ‘plygs2’ is also about love, lust, and greed and the heartbreaking loss of innocence that test the characters’ courage and will.

“The first book was a primer on the lifestyle and beliefs of a group of fundamentalist Mormons," Kociela says. "This one pulls back the layers and exposes the vulnerabilities of a family forced to choose between its religious beliefs and belief in each other.”

"Downwinders," was one of only three presented for a series of readings by the Utah Shakespeare Festival's "New American Playwright Series" in 2005. Kociela has also written two screenplays.

He is an acclaimed writer whose work has bridged many aspects of the media world. As a newspaperman, he won numerous awards from the Associated Press and Society of Professional Journalists. He now works as a freelance writer and weekly columnist for STGnews, an online news outlet.

His career includes newspaper, magazine, and broadcast experience as a sportswriter, rock critic, news reporter, columnist, blogger, and essayist. Over the years, his work has been featured in myriad publications ranging from the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Herald-Examiner to US magazine and GOAL!, the magazine of the National Hockey League.