Featured Friday! BRM Evett
Benjamin Robert Murray Evett is an author of post-apocalyptic fiction. His first book, JOY, was shortlisted for the 2024 Rubery Book Award.
Ben came to writing later in life. He spent most of his life as a professional actor. Ben grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, then attended Harvard, where he studied Classics, but always knew that the arts were his home. He has performed all over the world – from Moscow to Edinburgh to Taipei. In 2015, he co-wrote “Albatross” – a solo performance piece based on Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. The play won two Elliot Norton awards in 2015.
A career in the theatre can be brutal at times, and in 2017 Ben discovered the joys of writing. The idea for JOY came to him while walking his dog, Spike, and a new career was born. Ben now lives in a beautiful house by a pond outside of Boston, with his wife and their new dog, Zeppo.
What’s your favourite part of the lifestyle of an Author?
I would say it’s the way it keeps your mind active. There’s always something to think about. I often wake up in the middle of the night, and when I’m working on a story, I spend that time thinking about my characters, or about a particular plot point that I haven’t solved. Sometimes that means I have to get up and write it down, but often those musings just send me back to sleep. There’s always a different world to spend time in.
What made you start writing?
I spent most of my life as a professional theatre artist —actor, director, producer. I had professors for parents, so I learned to write well, but I never saw it as an avocation. Then one night, I was walking my dog and musing about virtual reality, and the idea for my first book, JOY, rose in my mind, almost fully formed. I came home from the walk and told my wife, “I think I have to write a novel.” And so I did. Took two years, but I did it.
Is there an Author that you consider your inspiration?
Ursula K. Le Guin is probably my favorite. The way she blends beauty and sadness and looks at our world through the lens of science fiction/fantasy has always inspired me. Mark Helprin for the ebullience and joy in his wordsmithing is a big one, too.
What’s your number one tip for an aspiring Author?
Listen to the rhythm of your writing, especially in dialogue. Sentences and paragraphs, even chapters, should have a rhythm, whether it’s flowing or staccato. Make sure your characters are speaking like people, not uploading information. The rhythm of a character’s speech can define who they are and what they want. Readers want to ride the music of your story.
What type of book do you like to read and does this differ from the genre that you prefer to write?
I actually haven’t read a ton of science fiction, though I do enjoy it, and I’m trying to read more now that I’m an author in the genre. But I love magical realism, when rules are broken or overleapt to tell a deeper truth.
Which one of your characters would you most like to spend time with?
Kat Jemisen. She’s a doctor with a big heart and a pragmatic attitude. She doesn’t judge, she assesses and deals with the reality in front of her. And she’s the de facto mother (or matriarch) of the little family that comes together during HOPE. I have a great fondness for mothers.
Which book do you consider a must-read?
Winter’s Tale, by Mark Helprin. There is so much joy, hope, invention, and aching beauty in the book. I read it first when I was in college, and I keep returning to it again and again, especially when I need to believe in something.
What’s been the hardest edit that you’ve had to make? Why did you want to keep the material in?
I don’t have much of a problem “Killing my darlings.” Since my process involves constantly going back and reworking as I go through the first draft and understand better where things are going, I don’t often become too attached to anything. That said, in my book HOPE, the character of Creek began life as both deaf and non-binary. Though there is nothing extraordinary about that, I realized that no matter how much I wanted to, I did not have the capacity to give both those stories the integrity and attention they needed. I needed to choose one.
If you could live in a book, which one would it be?
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. What a marvelous, hilarious, fun place to explore!
If you could pick an Author to write your biography, who would it be?
I think I’ll go with Margaret Atwood here. The clarity of her prose and her depth of perception into human life can really capture the essence of a person.
Is there any conflict between what you want to write and what you think your readers will like?
I aspire to write literary fiction that wears the clothes of science fiction. I think readers who are looking for that will respond to my writing, but in today’s algorithm-driven marketplace, I worry sometimes that my work is being offered to readers who are more focused on post-apocalyptic survivalist genre fiction. I think they would enjoy my books, but they might not choose them off the shelf.
What effect can a review have on you, if you read them at all? Both the good and the bad.
I spent my life in the professional theatre, so I’ve developed a thick skin when it comes to reviews. I enjoy the positive, especially when someone recognizes something in the book that I was particularly striving for. I think about the criticisms, and I have even occasionally revised or reformatted something based on an observation from a reader, when I realized it was a good idea.
Can you sum up your life story in ten words or less?
I have devoted my life to creating.
What’s exciting you about your next project?
My two books, JOY and HOPE, are standalone stories set in the same world and time. They have some overlap, but can be read in any order. My next book, LOVE, will bring all my protagonists together. I’m really looking forward to seeing how they interact.
And finally, you have one quote to be remembered by, what is it?
It actually comes from a play I co-wrote with Matthew Spangler called Albatross, which is a retelling of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: “Sometimes there is no WHY.”
You can find out more about BRM Evett and his books on his website.
Zealot Script 