VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

From Dennis Milam Bensie (Chapter 1 from Shorn: Toys to Men) Novelist James Jones enlisted in the Army and left his hometown of Robinson, Illinois in 1939. His experiences during the attack on Pearl Harbor inspired his first published book, From Here to Eternity . For his second book, Some Came Running , he used Robinson as the backdrop. This semi-autobiographical novel centers around a failed writer named Dave Hirsh, orphaned as a child, who comes home after serving in World War II to a fictionalized version of Robinson (renamed Parkman, Indiana) to find family divisions, sexual repression, and other unsavory vices. The book was described as shrill and bitter by its critics. The 1958 Oscar-nominated film was a scandal when it played at the Lincoln Theater, a few blocks away from Jones’ childhood home.   My dad was a local hero similar to characters in any of James Jones’ war themed novels. He returned home to Robinson from the Korean War allegedly the most decorated s...

Dennis Milam Bensie grew up in Robinson, Illinois where his interest in the arts began in high school participating in various community theatre productions. Bensie’s first book,  Shorn: Toys to Men was nominated for the Stonewall Book Award, sponsored by the American Library Association. It was also a pick in the International gay magazine The Advocate as “One of the Best Overlooked Books of 2011″. The author’s short stories have been published by Bay Laurel, Everyday Fiction, and This Zine Will Change Your Lifeand he has also been a feature contributor for The Good Men Project. One Gay Americanis his second book with Coffeetown Press and it was chosen as a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the Indie Excellence Book Awards. He was a presenter at the 2013 Saints and Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans. Dennis lives in Seattle with his three dogs.   VS: Dennis, I want to thank you for being my...