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Local author publishes book of short stories on relationships

Date: 11/24/2015

LONGMEADOW – Local writer Peter Stephen Benton recently published his third book “Coming and Going” – a collection of five short stories exploring relationships between men and women.

Benton told Reminder Publications each story fits within in a different genre, including historical fiction, science fiction, fantasy and mystery.

In “The Village,” the narrator of the story and his wife visit a living museum depicting an early 19th century New England town. During this trip, he encounters an old, “but certainly not forgotten lover,” he added.

Another story involves time travel, Benton noted. “Room 24” finds happily married Brian Winslow transported to the Battle of Concord in April 1775, where he is drawn to the affections of a woman who is hauntingly familiar to him.

“He falls asleep in front of the television and wakes up to the sound of cannons and chaos,” he said.

The short story’s title comes from the hotel room in which Winslow was staying at the fictional Concord Inn, Benton said.

He noted that the Concord Inn is inspired by the real-life Colonial Inn, which is reported to be haunted.

“I stayed in the room one night – it was during a nor’easter – and I took that experience and created that story,” he added.

The third story, “Ties,” involves protagonist Joe Bradford’s emotional reunion with his old friend Molly Buckley, which creates a theme of exploring fond memories of neighborhood and childhood experiences, Benton said.

“One is about meeting an old friend and reestablishing friendship that was neglected for reasons other than good reasons,” he said. “They just realize how good friends they were and how much they missed each other.”

“Wallpaper,” is a story in which main protagonist Tom Arnett’s world is turned upside down when his wife is inexplicably replaced with an old flame after wondering how life would have turned out for him if he had stayed with his former romantic partner, Benton said.

The final story in the book, “Novelist,” sees author and protagonist Blake Shepard in a world of his own creation. He meets his imagined perfect lover and becomes involved in a thriller aboard the Queen Mary II, Benton said.

He added that the first story was written about a year ago and others are relatively new.

“One of the reasons for writing this book was I wanted to write a book of short stories,” he explained. “I’ve done two novels, and they are different. It’s a different kind of a challenge. I had these ideas that weren’t quite books and I said, ‘Let’s give ‘em a shot.’”

Benton published his first novel, “Brownstone & Ivory” in 2011, which takes place in the east village of a small New England town during the 1890s. The novel involves a forbidden romance between classes that escalates between two villages in fictional Masacksic, Mass.  

He noted the towns of Longmeadow and East Longmeadow serve as inspirations for the two villages.  

 Benton, who works as a certified public accountant, said he began writing after the age of 50 after motivation from a former professor of his from Western New England University.

“He kind of took me aside and said, ‘So, how many books have you written?’ I said, ‘None.’ And he says, ‘You know, with that talent you ought to be ashamed of yourself.’ And I just said, ‘Yeah, I guess so,’” Benton explained.

He noted that some of his literary influences include James Joyce, Charles Dickens and D.H. Lawrence.

Benton said his next book would likely be an historical fiction novel.

“I think [I write historical fiction because I’m] intrigued by the time period, what went on during that period of time, what life was like – getting as much description as possible – and really plunking people into a time period where you can take different events during that time period and weave them into the story,” he added.

A book launch event for “Coming and Going” is set for Jan. 8 at the Springfield Lodge of the Elks on Tiffany Street from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The event is free to the public and copies of the author’s published books will be available for purchase and will also be signed upon request.

“Coming and Going” is also available for purchase on amazon.com. For more information about Benton visit www.peterstephenbenton.com.