Ben Schenkman is a storyteller who delights in exploring the murky moral dilemmas of good and evil. A Connecticut native, Ben’s unique experiences and educational background—ranging from Theater to Nuclear Engineering and even an MBA—add a distinct flavor to his narratives, often set in familiar New England locales. His debut series, The Devil You Know, kicks off with My Boss is the Devil, a witty twist on the classic Faustian tale where a barista named Nick gets a devilish offer he can’t refuse. Ben's work is known for its humor and fresh take on the "deal with the devil" trope, as he delves into questions of morality, power, and redemption with a relatable, grounded style.
When he’s not writing, Ben channels his creative energy into HVBRIS, a fire-dancing troupe he manages and performs with. He’s also a self-proclaimed foodie, and his love for coffee is almost as famous as his storytelling. Ben’s journey to becoming an indie author was driven by a desire for creative control and direct connection with readers. His books have garnered praise for their engaging dialogue, humor, and nuanced characters.
Check out more about Ben Schenkman and his work on his website and Linktree to explore his literary world further.
Firefly – gone too soon or overrated?
Is it possible to say “both”? And I say this with all the love in my heart for Firefly. It was an amazing show, but it’s also overhyped to the point where I expect it’s hard to have it live up to expectations for people who haven’t seen it.
Coffee, tea, or cacao?
Yes. Coffee first, then tea later, and cacao if I happen to have some to hand. I put a lot of myself into my books, and one of the things I made sure was prominent in my first series is my love of coffee. Funny story, I used to hate coffee. One day I took a red-eye flight to Paris, then a train to Bordeaux, and before I could catch a nap I was marched with a group of people (I was joining my then-wife for the latter part of a work trip) down to a village square. The Spanish members of the team declared that it was time for coffee, and as we sat around a table the server took our orders. It went down the line, “Espresso, espresso, espresso” until it came to me and I replied, blearily, “espresso.” I added too much sugar, but caffeine was the only thing that would have saved me at that moment. From then on? I was a convert.
Favorite hangover recovery recipe?
A tall glass of water, one multi-vitamin, and an anti-inflammatory before sleeping.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
Does anyone want to be a writer? To have these ideas piling up behind your eyes and trying to fall out of your head onto the page? I joke, of course, because plenty of people want to be writers. There are just as many that are called to it. Strangely enough, I might be some weird third thing.
I always wrote. In elementary and middle school it was short stories. I even won an award for a sci-fi short lost to time and space that was entered into one of those “write a story in this little blue book during your class period” contests. In high school I was goth so it was, of course, poetry. My senior English teacher said that if I didn’t pursue some kind of writing as an adult, he’d do something terrible to me. That bit just occurred to me as I’m responding, so I guess he was right all along.
So it’s not so much that I ever wanted to be a writer, it’s that writing has always been a part of my life. Big or small, that’s varied over time.
Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
Sometimes the ideas for the books themselves come from a “what if” train of thought. My first book, My Boss is the Devil, came to me when I was working a fairly dead-end job. I said to myself, “What if the Devil offered me a job? And what if it wasn’t what I expected?” That kicked off a series of three books.
The information, at least a lot of it, comes from what I know. I’ll augment with research as needed, but I’ve got a decent basis for a lot of things rolling around in my head somewhere. The rest of it comes from conversation, either with myself or others. Bouncing ideas off my partner has been one of the best ways to come up with new ideas.
What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?
I have a day job, so it’s a lot of carving time out when I can. Sometimes I’ll write a bit during lunch breaks, but more often I’m writing in the evenings. I’ll set myself at least an hour or two each night if I can hack it. Sometimes I’m not feeling it, and I don’t force myself to write when it’s just not coming. I get time on alternating weekends when my partner sleeps in (on the other weekends I have my son, and he does not) and I’ll write for a few hours in the mornings.
When did you write your first book and how old were you?
I wrote the first third of my first book when I was about twenty-four. Then I put it away for a long time, had a lot of life happen, and picked it up again when I was thirty-four during NaNoWriMo 2014. I finished the draft at that time, then did a little querying and shelved it again until 2023. So the road to publishing my first book was a long one, and I was 43 when My Boss is the Devil finally hit daylight.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
One hobby too many, is the likely answer. I’m a foodie, and enjoy a lot of local travel to find interesting cuisine and experiences. I also manage and perform in a professional fire dancing troupe called HVBRIS, we’ve been performing for 15 years. Video games are a fun down-time activity, when I want to turn off my brain, but I’m also a relatively avid reader. I don’t read print/eBooks as often as I’d like, but consume many audiobooks in my car on the way to/from things.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
I think I was most surprised to find that I have a lot more stories to tell. My original idea for my first book was just that, an idea for one book. But when I dusted off My Boss is the Devil I suddenly had an idea for a sequel, and then a third. Then there were two more ideas for separate urban fantasy concepts, and another after that.
Creativity often breeds creativity, as long as we give it time and space to breathe. I was delighted to find that not only could I write a few books, but I had plans to write even more.
How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
I’ve written three books so far, though I’ll have another draft done before mid-November for my new concept novel.
My favorite is the third book, Too Many Gods in the Kitchen. I love my first two, don’t get me wrong, but the third book is a culmination of a lot of things. It’s the most complex that I’ve written, blending three different character’s story lines into something cohesive and entertaining.
It also contains some of my favorite chapter art. My partner, Kat, does the drawings for my chapter art and they’re delightful. This particular one makes me giggle every time I see it.
Do you have any suggestions to help someone become a better writer? If so, what are they?
Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
Not as much as I’d like! I love hearing from readers. It gives me such joy to know that they’re enjoying the books. What I hear the most is about the dialogue and humor. People love the snappy dialogue and banter, as well as the comedic tone a lot of the book is written in.
One of my favorite pieces of feedback talked about the second book, and that it was their new “favorite pride month read” which was amazing. I try to include diversity in my characters, and especially in the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, but in a way that is natural. Characters don’t have to be stereotypes, they just exist as they are. I have gay characters, and transgender/non-binary characters, and it’s not to hit anyone over the head with any of it. They just exist, because they’re just people.
What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry?
This is an interesting question, given all the scandals in both traditional and indie publishing lately. Sometimes it’s hard to separate “demoralizing” from “unethical”. It feels like traditional publishing shouldn’t be this hazing ritual people put themselves through, but here we are.
There are a lot of unethical practices in publishing, from stealing intellectual property from querying authors, to outright plagiarism and theft. The biggest one right now, however, I feel is generative AI in the publishing industry. Generative AI companies have come out and said, outright, that their large language models (LLMs) don’t work if they can’t scrape up gobs of copyrighted material for training their models. That means that generative AI is almost always going to be theft, when used to generate art.
Gen AI isn’t an artist, it only spits back the most likely result of what you’re asking for. It doesn’t have to be right, or good. But the prompt writer isn’t an artist, and neither is the algorithm. So in producing “art” using generative AI, it’s theft from the countless hours, pages, canvases, etc of the artists who produced what was then scraped into a database for AI training.
Does a big ego help or hurt writers?
I think a big ego hurts most people, writers included. To be a writer you have to have a thick skin, because the world is full of unkind people who will judge your art (whether they’re your audience or not). But a big ego might help you not care about the criticism, but it will keep you from incorporating constructive feedback into your work. Art is ever-evolving, and we need to have some humility to be able to continue growing as artists and applying valid criticism to our work.
What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
I am friends with a lot of authors at this point. Even better, I was invited to a local Discord for MA and CT writers, and that turned into the best collaboration I can think of. We’re actually operating as an indie press (https://caffeinatedterrierpress.com) and pool our talents helping each other with our work.
We’re coming out with a winter themed anthology, hopefully by Christmas, 2024. I’ve had so much help from these folks, and it’s been a delight working together to form a community.
So a big shout out to David Niemitz, Ashton Bush, Tal Good, Laurie Neilsen, and the rest of “The Pen is Mightier” Discord, and CTP.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you building a body of work with connections between each book?
Both? Both. Both are good. I want each book to come to its own end, without a cliffhanger. Additionally, I try to give enough background material without overloading the reader, so that if they picked up the second or third book they’d still be able to mostly follow along with the story.
Is it better if they read Book 1 first? Yes. Will they be able to read Book 3 without the first two? Mostly yes.
Are you traditionally or self published? Or both? Do you feel there are advantages to one over the other?
I’m self published, and pretty proud of that. "Trad pub" is worse than it has ever been, as far as finding an agent or publisher to take on a project. The market is highly saturated and the slog to be traditionally published is long and arduous.
I decided I didn't have time to waste. I'm in my early forties, and sat on the project too long as it was. I wanted my work out there, to get my book into people's hands, so I decided to take a risk and self-publish. I joined a number of online communities, got involved in that local author's group, and had some covers professionally made. Starting in early 2023, I was ready to publish by the end of the year. Just before new years, I hit the button on Kindle Direct Publishing, and my book went live.
Self publishing isn't better or worse than traditional, but it's a different risk. You're taking all the responsibility on yourself. You're your own agent, marketer, social media consultant, and ad manager. But it's worth it, if you want to get your book into the hands of readers.
If you want to release a number of books in rapid succession, you have to go self-published. No publisher is going to publish three books within a 12 month period like I’ve done in 2024.
What is the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything?
42
What does literary success look like to you?
It’s simple, in my case. Literary success is having people read my books and, when they’re the right audience, enjoy them. I’m not here to make money, though that would always be nice. I get enjoyment from having my books out there in the world and seeing people’s eyes light up when they read them (metaphorically, of course).
What do you have coming next?
Well, as of October 15, 2024, my third book and currently the last in that series at the moment, was published. The next thing coming, hopefully by mid November, is the audiobook of My Boss is the Devil. Read by the author, I’ve narrated and produced it myself. I’ve got a background in theater so I hope people enjoy it.
Other than that, I’m out of material that’s “ready to go” so I’m on to new projects!
I’m working on my newest urban fantasy concept, exploring urban fantasy through a lens of indigenous myths in Connecticut. As of the end of October, 2024, I’m mostly through the first draft.
Once I’m done with that draft, I’m putting the manuscript down and writing another separate concept that explores urban fantasy with a Jewish main character (I’m Jewish, myself). I don’t see a lot of Jewish protagonists in fantasy, in general, and this felt like a fun project.
After that I’ve got another book in my “The Devil You Know” series. The concept is percolating away in the back of my mind, and I’m taking notes.
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