Larry Benjamin. Wordsmith. Writer. Author.

Welcome to Wednesday Briefs―a blog hop where authors post 500-1000 words of free flash fiction every week.  In both my novels, Unbroken and What Binds Us , I introduced young men who fall in love and explored the resulting romance. In this flash fiction piece, "Revelations," I wanted to explore the process of falling in love in reverse. Feel free to share the story using the share buttons at the end of the story, or leave a comment telling me what you think. Revelations Jason walked into the bathroom, and  and retrieved his dopp kit from under the sink . He placed it on the counter. Opening the medicine cabinet, he caught his reflection in the mirror, and stopped to look at himself. He ran a finger over his bare upper lip. He still hadn’t grown accustomed to his new look. He’d had a mustache since he was nineteen. Now, his upper lip looked naked and vulnerable, as naked and vulnerable as he felt much of the time lately. No longer young, not yet old, he occu...

I once told a group of “creatives”—graphic designers and writers—that I see the world in words.   Readers often ask me not so much about the inspiration for my stories but about how I come up with the words in my descriptions. The answer is simple, the world around me is what I describe in my writing, and I see the world in words. When it comes to personality types , I am ESFP (Extravert, Sensing, Feeling, Perceiving) which means I look at things and I see what they could be, which explains why we bought two old houses. Actually, now that I think about it, it also explains quite a few ex-boyfriends; I saw possibilities, I saw what they could become given enough time and money, though in the case of the aforementioned ex-boyfriends, there wasn’t enough time or money in the world to rehab that group of losers. But I digress… This ability to see possibilities also figures into my writing because when I see something that inspires me, I see not always what is physically in ...

Welcome to Wednesday Briefs―a blog hop where authors post 500-1000 words of free flash fiction every week. This week I am posting my very first flash fiction.  My first book, What Binds Us, spanned ten tears, My third, Unbroken spans forty years, so for me writing flash fiction, a short-short was quite a challenge, Clocking in at 763 words, I give you "Sahel." Feel free to leave a comment , letting me know what you think of "Sahel." Sahel “I do not like her,” my mother said. “Who?” I asked. “This foreign girl. This Sahel .” She spat the name like it was poison in her mouth. I was bewildered by her hostility, her venom. *** Waiting for the light to change so I could cross, I stared at the row of dilapidated houses—some with porches newly painted bright colors, others, lacking hope, were shrouded in their original dusty brick and crumbling brownstone—all squeezed together and leaning to the left as if in defiance of the hill on which they sat, ...

This week I am giving over my blog to G Philly magazine who cast the spotlight on me for Black History Month. In partnership with  Philadelphia Black Gay Pride , every day throughout the month of February we will spotlight one of the most important black movers and shakers in the city. Today, local author Larry Benjamin. Read the original post on G Philly's blog here: Spotlight: 7 Questions With Gay-Romance Novelist Larry Benjamin