Ben Burgess Jr is the author of the award winning novels
"Monster", "Wounded", the poetry book "Times Have
Changed and Life is Strange" and the new novel "Love and
Happiness" He is an active performer of spoken word poetry. Ben Burgess Jr
uses his love of writing to inspire and influence youths to strive for what
they believe in, and to never give up on their dreams. His poetry book
"Times Have Changed and Life is Strange" and his novel
"Monster" are currently used in schools on the lower east side of Manhattan . Ben Burgess
has a BA degree in Business Management, and a MA degree in Educational
Leadership. He is the proud father of his daughter Jaelynn and is active in
trying to improve urban neighborhoods and communities.
Imani: Pink Noire is
please to have talented writer, Ben Burgess, Jr, this week to The Lounge –
welcome. So, Ben, when did you discover writing was your talent?
Burgess: When I was in 8th grade, I read Richard Wright’s “Native
Son” When I read that book, I felt that it was life changing for me. I knew
that I wanted to one day write something that could have the same effect on
people. While in 8th grade, my English teacher Mrs. Marcus gave the class a
poetry assignment. My poem was on basketball. I don't remember what I wrote,
but I remember my teacher was blown away by it. She encouraged me to keep
writing. She was one of my most influential teachers, and I promised her if I
ever wrote a book, I would write a poem about the Holocaust for her. (She was
Jewish, and had family that were survivors.) My dream was to publish a book. I
continued to write throughout high school and college. My college professors
told me I had talent as a poet and writer, so I decided to go to lounges that
had open mics to perform my poetry. Hearing people cheer for me and appreciate
my words, inspired me to keep writing. My first published book was a poetry
book titled “Times Have changed and Life is Strange.” I wrote a poem for Mrs.
Marcus titled “Holocaust”, keeping my promise. The poem “Ugly” from “Times Have
Changed and Life is Strange”, is the poem that inspired me to write my first
novel “Monster.” I reflected on my life, and felt it would be a good story that
would teach and possible change people’s lives the way Richard Wright’s “Native
Son” had done for me.
Do you have a
particular writing process? I know some authors rely on outlining, while others
– like me – go with the flow. So do you have a preference?
I write whenever I have time or as soon as I have an idea. I
have a Samsung Note 4 so if an idea comes to mind, I literally write it down or
use the voice memos to record my thoughts and write them out when I get time. I
try to write something every day, even if it’s only paragraph. I’m a huge
perfectionist so I’m constantly editing and re-editing while I’m writing. Once
my project is completed, I edit again to try to make my work the best it can
be. When I’m writing, I can have music or a movie playing in the background,
but I totally zone out and focus on writing. I turn the internet off when I’m
working on my laptop because honestly, I usually end up looking at Facebook or
checking out stuff on ESPN. To include my daughter in my writing process, she
puts her desk next to mine while I’m writing and practices writing her letters
and/or doing her homework.
Now, your
award-winning novel, Monster, is well-loved by the literary community. Tell us
the premise of this story and its main character, Ken Ferguson.
My story begins with my main character Ken Ferguson, a guy
in his twenties that is put through the wringer growing up in a dysfunctional
family. As an adult his heart and ego are ripped to pieces when his girlfriend,
the one he thought was "the one", emasculates him and dumps him for a
bad boy. Ken begins his transformation. Fueled by anger, and tired of being the
“nice guy”, Ken drowns himself in one-night stands, threesomes, affairs with
married women, and sleeping with one conquest after another. He adopts the
philosophy of having no commitment and no attachments, but meets his match with
Ashley, a girl that makes him want to stop his promiscuous ways. Ashley turns
out to do even more damage to his ego and his heart, wounding him deeply. With
his philosophy reinforced, Ken spirals out of control and becomes a MONSTER.
Sleeping with and mistreating random women he meets at bars and clubs, Ken uses
sex to forget about his insecurities, his anger, and his sadness. He becomes a
predator that uses and abuses women to no consolable end.
Kenny from “Monster” is me. Ninety percent of “Monster” is
real. Of course some situations and characters had to be changed, but for the
most part, getting to know Kenny is like getting to know me. My “Ken” character
is based off my past. After enduring some pretty interesting experiences, I
believed that "Monster" is a story that can benefit everyone and a
story that needed to be told. I was inspired to write it to teach people and I
hope others will learn from my mistakes. The poem “Ugly” from my first
published work “Times Have Changed and Life is Strange”, is the poem that
inspired me to write “Monster” I reflected on my life, and felt this would be a
good story that would teach and possible change people’s lives. I wanted
people to learn that:
- Every action has a consequence- It can be good or bad, but there is a result for everything we do.
- We need to take time to truly heal emotionally and mentally after a break-up. If we don't we are bound to bring that pain into future relationships.
- We need to be conscience of our actions. We never know the effects they can have on other people.
- In order to move forward in life, we have to learn to let go of negativity, and to forgive ourselves.
What inspired you to
write this book?
At first, I was working on another novel which has now
turned into my next novel “Love and Happiness” when my co-workers asked me to
write a book with a Lesbian protagonist. At first I thought it wouldn’t be
possible since I wasn’t a woman, I knew nothing about being Gay or the LGBT
community. My co-workers decided to take me to a Lesbian bar. (They took me to
the Cubbyhole, which is the first bar I mentioned in Wounded.) After going
there with them and talking to the women, I decided to work on the book. To
make the book feel as authentic as possible, I did a lot of research. I
interviewed fifteen women and five couples, to hear their thoughts, feelings,
and philosophies about being a Lesbian, and life. I also used one of my family
members as a basis for my character development, so I felt personally invested
into creating “Samantha”
Usually, I don’t ask
this of my guests, but your book cover for Monster is pure genius. Who came up
the concept – your graphic designer or you?
I came up with the concept of the cover. I wanted the cover
to let readers know what they were getting themselves into which is why I have
the words “Sex, Love Deceit, Betrayal, and Pain” displayed on the cover. I
wanted the cover to be “Dark” yet appealing. Sexy, yet not too over the top. I
felt having the guy on the cover, hinted that the protagonist was African
American, and the shadow was a metaphor that his actions were devilish.
Another wounded
character is Samantha Miller from you other book aptly named, Wounded. How did
you develop this character? Is it based from a real person, or just real life?
Samantha is my favorite character from Wounded because I
wanted a tough, outspoken protagonist that had a lot of depth. I wanted her to
be “layered” meaning that there are a lot of elements to her character.
Samantha has a tough demeanor, but she is also suffering from PTSD due to child
molestation, she’s a stripper, a lesbian, and she has so many stresses and
struggles in her life. I wanted her to also be able to show that she could be
naïve, loveable, and humble. I feel that all of these things makes her a
survivor and makes her feel more human to the readers. I based Samantha off of
some of my friends and one of my family members. I wanted a name that was
feminine but could also be turned masculine (Samantha= Sam)
Ken Ferguson,
Samantha Miller, and Karen from your upcoming novel, Love and Happiness, all have some sort of embattled
spirit. What makes these characters important and why should readers care?
When I write, I never write characters that are completely
“The Good Guy”. Why? Because in life whether we want to believe/accept it, we
are not always “The Good Guy” I make my characters flawed because I feel
readers connect better and see themselves in the characters or are realistic
and believable.
Now let’s switch
gears: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received since becoming an
author?
There will be lots of times when you want to give up. There
will be times when people will talk bad about your book or sales might be low.
Never give up. Believe in yourself and believe in your work. Listen to
critiques and push your pride to the side. It doesn’t matter how great of a
writer you believe you are, you can always improve. There will be those who
will not be fans of your writing, but you should never give up. Keep improving
and learning your craft. Edit and re-edit. (*always have your books
professionally edited. You want people to take your book seriously and not feel
that it is amateurish.) Learn from your mistakes, take classes and read other
authors. Research the industry. Two of the most important things to do are: 1.
Find a credible editor and 2. Promote, promote, promote. You have to put your
heart and soul into your work. While it will be hard and you will go through
trials and tribulations, in the end it’s worth it when your book is
entertaining people and it’s successful.
We all have that
special person(s) that helped shape our craft. If they were here now, what
would you say to them?
That person for me would be author Eric Jerome Dickey. To
him, I would say “Thank you for influencing me to become a writer.” In the
bonus section on my new book “Love and Happiness”, I actually made a poem in
honor of him.
What’s your next
project(s)?
My next project is called "Love and Happiness" It
is a sort of spin off from "Monster" based off a character named
Karen that was one of Ken's clients in that book. A sample for "Love and
Happiness" can be found in the back of "Wounded" *All of my
books are connected in some way. For example in "Wounded" Ron is
friends with Dr. Andrews. They were in the same Fraternity and roommates. Also
the characters Will and Lou make a cameo in "Wounded" they are in the
next book "Love and Happiness" I like all of my books to share the
same universe.
And finally, Pink
Noire will begin a series call, Def:Hope (Definition Hope) to share stories of
inspiration based on these simple four letters. So briefly, tell us your hope.
How has these four letters helped you?
The word “Hope” is very big for me. I hope my books will be
successful enough to be adapted to film. I hope I inspire other minorities to
become authors. Having hope helps you to dream and aspire. Without those two
things goals can’t be accomplished.
Thank you, Ben, for
this interview. I had a blast. If readers would like to know more about your
work, where should they go online?
Facebook Fan page: https://www.facebook.com/BenBurgessJr
Email address for fans to reach me: AuthorBenBurgessJr@gmail.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ben_Burgess_Jr
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