Will Green: Is Larry Benjamin your real name or pen name?
Larry Benjamin: My real name is Lawrence but everyone calls me Larry except my father, so yes Larry Benjamin is my real name.
Will Green: That's simple enough. Is there any reason you didn't go with a pen name instead?
Larry Benjamin: There are a couple of reasons actually. My writing tends to be very emotional and although I write fiction I draw on my experiences. In my personal life I advocate always bringing one’s authentic self and living out loud so, to me, adopting a pen name seemed like hiding. Second, I wanted to use my real name to make sure all those kids in school who thought it was okay, who thought it was fun, to bully the skinny sissy boy who was always reading or bent over a notebook furiously scribbling, got a message from me: You may have damaged me but you didn’t break me.
Will Green: Excellent Larry, those are a couple fantastic reasons not to got with a pen name. I hope those who picked on you get that message loud and clear. Tell us about your books that you have available.
Larry Benjamin: Right now there’s just the one, What Binds Us which is my debut novel from Carina Press, scheduled to be released March 19. Next up is a collection of short stories, tentatively titled Damaged Angels. And I’m just starting work on my next novel.
Will Green: March 19th that's a great day, it's my second daughter's birthday. She's going to be five so What Binds Us is bit out of her range right now. What can you tell us about your next project?
Larry Benjamin: Damaged Angels is a collection of short stories written over several years so you can really see my growth as a writer, I think. Damaged Angels is very different to What Binds Us. The stories in the collection were written during a dark period in my history and give voice to the invisible, those conspicuously absent from mainstream fiction: the drug addicts and hustlers, the mentally ill, the confused and the men who fall in love with them, all of them bravely trying to make a place for themselves in the world of normal men.
Will Green: Writer growth and progress through the dark times of your life, sounds like a hell of a combination a lot of people could be interested in, including myself. Does it read like a journal? Or is it how you said, a series of short stories?
Larry Benjamin: It doesn’t read like a journal; it’s a series of stand-alone stories that have similar themes. They’re intensely emotional stories with lots of imagery. One story is written as a series of letters and is loosely based on the Stations of the Cross; it gets really interesting because there is a “resurrection” after which the letter writer continues writing. Another story’s main character is a drug addict. His addiction is portrayed as a “starving infant screaming to be fed.” As he sinks deeper into his addiction his “child” becomes “a woman wise in the ways of men. A sullen dark eyed temptress in a black lace peignoir controlling not with tears and threats of tantrums but seducing with come hither looks thrown over a bony brown shoulder.”
Will Green: Well I’m sold. The imagery sounds incredible. Where do you get the information for your books?
Larry Benjamin: I like to think it’s all made up but, like most writers, I think my work is formed of my experiences—whether it’s actual day-to-day living or my inner, secret fantasy life.
Will Green: I like that “inner secret fantasy life.” I think we can all relate to that life. What was the most surprising thing you've learned since you started writing?
Larry Benjamin: For me the writing is a solitary practice so from that perspective it’s relatively easy, but I was surprised by the work required for the business of writing—the editorial process, connecting with readers. Oh yeah, and I learned how absolutely crucial a good editor is to the process and to make the book the best it can be.
Will Green: It's an amazing process to go from a recluse with only your inner voice to talk to in the writing process and then stepping out and connecting with all the different parts of the marketing side. Just don't get distracted with marketing or that second book may never get written.
I think good editors can be some wild animals.
Larry Benjamin: Haha. I don’t know that Rhonda would like being called a wild animal. Seriously you’re right. It’s very easy to get sidetracked by the marketing aspect and forget that your real job is to write.
Will Green: I’m sure there is some kind of beast lurking deep down inside Rhonda. Lol.
How long does it take you to write a book?
Larry Benjamin: What Binds Us took a year to write—and that was writing at night, at odd moments during the day, on weekends. I work a regular full time job that’s pretty demanding so I write a lot during “stolen moments.” Damaged Angelstook longer because I wrote those stories as they came to me with no intention, at first, of linking them together in a single offering.
Will Green: A year is a long time, but considering it was with "stolen moments" I can see why. I like that by the way. I'm sure there are lots of stolen moment writers out there.
Who or What inspires you to write?
Larry Benjamin: Different things inspire me to write. For example I was in a meeting one morning―a rather dull meeting, so I was bored―and a woman arrived late. She was from Finland, thin and fashionable, altogether arresting. I started taking notes to describe her; she became an exotic bird in my description and I then tweeted the description. That’s typical of me: I tend to write when words pile up inside me and I need to write them down to clear my head.
Will Green: Haha now that’s great! I can relate to that situation. We had a company wide meeting not too long ago, the CEO was droning on and on, so I imagined and wrote down the beginning of a zombie attack. The head of IT didn’t survive...too bad.
Have any of these mini writing moments of yours made it into your stories?
Larry Benjamin: Oh yeah lots of them. I like to take snippets of conversation or actual events and build on them, twisting them into something else so I get an outcome I can work with. A zombie attacking the head of IT. Hmmm I think I’d turn him loose on the Help Desk. Or maybe Customer Service at Verizon.
Will Green: You would have to ship that zombie to India to have him get Customer Service at Verizon. Now would we really want Indian zombies running around...no probably not. Haha. We could talk about zombies all day, but we should probably move on.
What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?
Larry Benjamin: Well, I still write by hand, usually in a composition notebook. But because I write all day long, I often write on scraps of paper, napkins, the margins of books I’m reading. I literally have a whole box of loose papers that became What Binds Us. Also, I tend not to plot my stories in advance. I have an idea at the beginning and an endpoint in mind, then I create characters and write trying to weave everything together until the story is told.
Will Green: I’m starting to think writing is a bit of an obsession of yours. Which is always a great thing for an author. Again I really like how you do things...storing scraps of notes and what not and eventually taking all those little pieces of thoughts and putting them together. You’re sort of a seat of the pants writer.
Larry Benjamin: Haha. Actually you’re probably right—I’m obsessed. It’s funny you picked up on the fact that I’m probably obsessed with writing because my Goodreads blog—shameless plug here—touched on that very topic last week.
Yeah, I’m definitely a “pantser,” probably why it can take me a long time to write a story. I just sort of sit around and write randomly and the story begins to tell itself.
Will Green: Ha there you go then, it must be true. I assure you I did not look at your Goodreads blog before this interview...I should probably subscribe to it since you have tid bits like that.
What book are you reading right now?
Larry Benjamin: James Baldwin’s Just Above My Head
Will Green: Do you like it so far? Would you recommend it?
Larry Benjamin: It’s a great book. I love his writing, his voice—he’s one of the few writers whose books I own where you’ll find I’ve highlighted text. But man this book is LONG. Nearly 600 pages. If I could speak to him, I’d say, “Really James! 600 hundred pages?”
Will Green: Ah Ha see that's a perfectly good reason why printed books are still relevant. Sure you can highlight in a digital book, but it's just not that practical.
The only way I can get into a book that long is if it's an epic fantasy story. The big one now is Game of Thrones. Those books are massive. One book could easily be broken into three smaller ones. The same goes for Just Above My Head, 600 is a lot to take, why not go with two 300 page books? Would it seem less relevant if it was shorter, doubt it. I plan to do a guest post onParanormal Wire about this very subject in the near future. Be sure to watch for that.
Who is your favorite author and why?
Larry Benjamin: F. Scott Fitzgerald because he not only told wonderful stories but he was such a visual writer and he could create an entire world for you to inhabit.
Will Green: Do you have any recommendations from him?
Larry Benjamin: Hands down, The Great Gatsby. The Last Tycoon. And his short fiction—fabulous.
Will Green: His short fiction too? Alright I'll have to dig into him a little deeper.
What kind of music do you listen to and why?
Larry Benjamin: I listen to all kinds of music—country, classic disco, dance. I tend to like loud, powerful music with strong lyrics. Right now Adele is a favorite. And Celo Green—his music is amazing and his lyrics really tell a story. I love words and both artists write songs with beautiful words.
Will Green: Those two are very very popular right now. I’m sorry to say I haven’t really given them a chance. Maybe I’ll give them another shot. What about TV, what holds your attention?
Larry Benjamin: I don’t watch a lot of TV. Even as a child I was never much into it. I preferred reading or making up stories in my head. Right now I watch Glee! (religiously), The Amazing Race, Modern Family and Happy Endings.
Will Green: Really? So many people watch Glee, that show is something my wife and I just can not get into.
Do you think not watching much TV as a kid is the reason for some of those dark times in your life? If you had TV would you have been out and about like you were? I guess we can speculate about the what ifs all day, but what is, is what is, can’t change it now.
Larry Benjamin: You don’t like Glee!? Man we’ll have to talk more about that later.
We HAD TV as kids—well it was black and white back then and only 4 channels but that was what TV was then. My brothers watched all the time. I mostly found it boring. The reason for the dark times in my life had nothing to do with watching TV and everything to do with bad dating choices.
You’re right. I don’t spend a lot of time looking back or dwelling on things I can’t change. I just pour it all into my writing.
Will Green: Glee just doesn't work for me, that sing songy jumping around choreographed stuff.
It's good you found an outlet for all that negativity in your life. Keep pouring that energy into something somebody can use.
What kind of advice could you give an aspiring writer?
Larry Benjamin: Tell the stories that are inside of you that you need to tell rather than stories you think people will want to read. But above all, believe in yourself and don’t stop writing.
Will Green: Thanks for taking the time for talking with me Larry and thank you very much for the advice. Too many people think too much about what others want to read.
Larry Benjamin: Will thanks so much for having me. I really enjoyed talking to you.
Larry Benjamin: My real name is Lawrence but everyone calls me Larry except my father, so yes Larry Benjamin is my real name.
Will Green: That's simple enough. Is there any reason you didn't go with a pen name instead?
Larry Benjamin: There are a couple of reasons actually. My writing tends to be very emotional and although I write fiction I draw on my experiences. In my personal life I advocate always bringing one’s authentic self and living out loud so, to me, adopting a pen name seemed like hiding. Second, I wanted to use my real name to make sure all those kids in school who thought it was okay, who thought it was fun, to bully the skinny sissy boy who was always reading or bent over a notebook furiously scribbling, got a message from me: You may have damaged me but you didn’t break me.
Will Green: Excellent Larry, those are a couple fantastic reasons not to got with a pen name. I hope those who picked on you get that message loud and clear. Tell us about your books that you have available.
Larry Benjamin: Right now there’s just the one, What Binds Us which is my debut novel from Carina Press, scheduled to be released March 19. Next up is a collection of short stories, tentatively titled Damaged Angels. And I’m just starting work on my next novel.
Will Green: March 19th that's a great day, it's my second daughter's birthday. She's going to be five so What Binds Us is bit out of her range right now. What can you tell us about your next project?
Larry Benjamin: Damaged Angels is a collection of short stories written over several years so you can really see my growth as a writer, I think. Damaged Angels is very different to What Binds Us. The stories in the collection were written during a dark period in my history and give voice to the invisible, those conspicuously absent from mainstream fiction: the drug addicts and hustlers, the mentally ill, the confused and the men who fall in love with them, all of them bravely trying to make a place for themselves in the world of normal men.
Will Green: Writer growth and progress through the dark times of your life, sounds like a hell of a combination a lot of people could be interested in, including myself. Does it read like a journal? Or is it how you said, a series of short stories?
Larry Benjamin: It doesn’t read like a journal; it’s a series of stand-alone stories that have similar themes. They’re intensely emotional stories with lots of imagery. One story is written as a series of letters and is loosely based on the Stations of the Cross; it gets really interesting because there is a “resurrection” after which the letter writer continues writing. Another story’s main character is a drug addict. His addiction is portrayed as a “starving infant screaming to be fed.” As he sinks deeper into his addiction his “child” becomes “a woman wise in the ways of men. A sullen dark eyed temptress in a black lace peignoir controlling not with tears and threats of tantrums but seducing with come hither looks thrown over a bony brown shoulder.”
Will Green: Well I’m sold. The imagery sounds incredible. Where do you get the information for your books?
Larry Benjamin: I like to think it’s all made up but, like most writers, I think my work is formed of my experiences—whether it’s actual day-to-day living or my inner, secret fantasy life.
Will Green: I like that “inner secret fantasy life.” I think we can all relate to that life. What was the most surprising thing you've learned since you started writing?
Larry Benjamin: For me the writing is a solitary practice so from that perspective it’s relatively easy, but I was surprised by the work required for the business of writing—the editorial process, connecting with readers. Oh yeah, and I learned how absolutely crucial a good editor is to the process and to make the book the best it can be.
Will Green: It's an amazing process to go from a recluse with only your inner voice to talk to in the writing process and then stepping out and connecting with all the different parts of the marketing side. Just don't get distracted with marketing or that second book may never get written.
I think good editors can be some wild animals.
Larry Benjamin: Haha. I don’t know that Rhonda would like being called a wild animal. Seriously you’re right. It’s very easy to get sidetracked by the marketing aspect and forget that your real job is to write.
Will Green: I’m sure there is some kind of beast lurking deep down inside Rhonda. Lol.
How long does it take you to write a book?
Larry Benjamin: What Binds Us took a year to write—and that was writing at night, at odd moments during the day, on weekends. I work a regular full time job that’s pretty demanding so I write a lot during “stolen moments.” Damaged Angelstook longer because I wrote those stories as they came to me with no intention, at first, of linking them together in a single offering.
Will Green: A year is a long time, but considering it was with "stolen moments" I can see why. I like that by the way. I'm sure there are lots of stolen moment writers out there.
Who or What inspires you to write?
Larry Benjamin: Different things inspire me to write. For example I was in a meeting one morning―a rather dull meeting, so I was bored―and a woman arrived late. She was from Finland, thin and fashionable, altogether arresting. I started taking notes to describe her; she became an exotic bird in my description and I then tweeted the description. That’s typical of me: I tend to write when words pile up inside me and I need to write them down to clear my head.
Will Green: Haha now that’s great! I can relate to that situation. We had a company wide meeting not too long ago, the CEO was droning on and on, so I imagined and wrote down the beginning of a zombie attack. The head of IT didn’t survive...too bad.
Have any of these mini writing moments of yours made it into your stories?
Larry Benjamin: Oh yeah lots of them. I like to take snippets of conversation or actual events and build on them, twisting them into something else so I get an outcome I can work with. A zombie attacking the head of IT. Hmmm I think I’d turn him loose on the Help Desk. Or maybe Customer Service at Verizon.
Will Green: You would have to ship that zombie to India to have him get Customer Service at Verizon. Now would we really want Indian zombies running around...no probably not. Haha. We could talk about zombies all day, but we should probably move on.
What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?
Larry Benjamin: Well, I still write by hand, usually in a composition notebook. But because I write all day long, I often write on scraps of paper, napkins, the margins of books I’m reading. I literally have a whole box of loose papers that became What Binds Us. Also, I tend not to plot my stories in advance. I have an idea at the beginning and an endpoint in mind, then I create characters and write trying to weave everything together until the story is told.
Will Green: I’m starting to think writing is a bit of an obsession of yours. Which is always a great thing for an author. Again I really like how you do things...storing scraps of notes and what not and eventually taking all those little pieces of thoughts and putting them together. You’re sort of a seat of the pants writer.
Larry Benjamin: Haha. Actually you’re probably right—I’m obsessed. It’s funny you picked up on the fact that I’m probably obsessed with writing because my Goodreads blog—shameless plug here—touched on that very topic last week.
Yeah, I’m definitely a “pantser,” probably why it can take me a long time to write a story. I just sort of sit around and write randomly and the story begins to tell itself.
Will Green: Ha there you go then, it must be true. I assure you I did not look at your Goodreads blog before this interview...I should probably subscribe to it since you have tid bits like that.
What book are you reading right now?
Larry Benjamin: James Baldwin’s Just Above My Head
Will Green: Do you like it so far? Would you recommend it?
Larry Benjamin: It’s a great book. I love his writing, his voice—he’s one of the few writers whose books I own where you’ll find I’ve highlighted text. But man this book is LONG. Nearly 600 pages. If I could speak to him, I’d say, “Really James! 600 hundred pages?”
Will Green: Ah Ha see that's a perfectly good reason why printed books are still relevant. Sure you can highlight in a digital book, but it's just not that practical.
The only way I can get into a book that long is if it's an epic fantasy story. The big one now is Game of Thrones. Those books are massive. One book could easily be broken into three smaller ones. The same goes for Just Above My Head, 600 is a lot to take, why not go with two 300 page books? Would it seem less relevant if it was shorter, doubt it. I plan to do a guest post onParanormal Wire about this very subject in the near future. Be sure to watch for that.
Who is your favorite author and why?
Larry Benjamin: F. Scott Fitzgerald because he not only told wonderful stories but he was such a visual writer and he could create an entire world for you to inhabit.
Will Green: Do you have any recommendations from him?
Larry Benjamin: Hands down, The Great Gatsby. The Last Tycoon. And his short fiction—fabulous.
Will Green: His short fiction too? Alright I'll have to dig into him a little deeper.
What kind of music do you listen to and why?
Larry Benjamin: I listen to all kinds of music—country, classic disco, dance. I tend to like loud, powerful music with strong lyrics. Right now Adele is a favorite. And Celo Green—his music is amazing and his lyrics really tell a story. I love words and both artists write songs with beautiful words.
Will Green: Those two are very very popular right now. I’m sorry to say I haven’t really given them a chance. Maybe I’ll give them another shot. What about TV, what holds your attention?
Larry Benjamin: I don’t watch a lot of TV. Even as a child I was never much into it. I preferred reading or making up stories in my head. Right now I watch Glee! (religiously), The Amazing Race, Modern Family and Happy Endings.
Will Green: Really? So many people watch Glee, that show is something my wife and I just can not get into.
Do you think not watching much TV as a kid is the reason for some of those dark times in your life? If you had TV would you have been out and about like you were? I guess we can speculate about the what ifs all day, but what is, is what is, can’t change it now.
Larry Benjamin: You don’t like Glee!? Man we’ll have to talk more about that later.
We HAD TV as kids—well it was black and white back then and only 4 channels but that was what TV was then. My brothers watched all the time. I mostly found it boring. The reason for the dark times in my life had nothing to do with watching TV and everything to do with bad dating choices.
You’re right. I don’t spend a lot of time looking back or dwelling on things I can’t change. I just pour it all into my writing.
Will Green: Glee just doesn't work for me, that sing songy jumping around choreographed stuff.
It's good you found an outlet for all that negativity in your life. Keep pouring that energy into something somebody can use.
What kind of advice could you give an aspiring writer?
Larry Benjamin: Tell the stories that are inside of you that you need to tell rather than stories you think people will want to read. But above all, believe in yourself and don’t stop writing.
Will Green: Thanks for taking the time for talking with me Larry and thank you very much for the advice. Too many people think too much about what others want to read.
Larry Benjamin: Will thanks so much for having me. I really enjoyed talking to you.
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