A Reader's Journey into Writing
Born and bred in the American midwest, Ben cut his story-teeth on Ducktales cartoons and episodes of a brand new radio drama called, Adventures in Odyssey.
From a young age, Ben was a voracious reader. He still owns all the Hardy Boys mysteries that his Grandfather bought for him at an auction. Ben’s personal record was reading three of them in one day.
But soon Ben’s appetite for stories grew bored of books written for his grade level. He started looking for stories that would keep his interest. This was when he discovered Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, which led to other old books by authors such as Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, and Nathaniel Hawthorne.
When Ben watched the original Star Wars trilogy on VHS, he discovered a new love of story – stories told as movies. He decided, like many young boys under the influence of Star Wars, that when he grew up, he wanted to be a filmmaker.
So Ben saved up $1,000 and bought a Hi8 video camera. He made short movies using claymation, G.I. Joe’s and willing friends. But his imagination outpaced his resources and abilities with his camera. Ben decided to focus on writing screenplays as a way to realize his filmmaking dreams. He outlined a feature, and wrote several short screenplays.
In the early 2000’s Ben completed a short horror screenplay called Dark Bear. He invested a large sum of money into a computer, editing software, and a camera to shoot the short film. Unable to find a child actor to play the lead, the project was scrapped. But you can still read the screenplay here.
Since then, Ben has turned his attention back to the written word to build stories that combine the excitement of high-concept movies with the deeply moving characters and themes of literature. Ben thinks of his writing as Star Wars meets Victor Hugo.
Personal Journey
Ben was raised in a Christian home. While he was young, he sometimes resented it, but now sees that it was a gift from God. At a young age Ben made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. As an adult he came into Reformed teaching. He now understands that God’s work in his life deserves all the credit for his salvation, even his own ‘decision’.
Ben has been married for over two decades to his beautiful wife, the first girl he ever dated. They are blessed to be parents to eight children, and still reside in the American midwest.