When author Paul G. Bens, Jr., was crafting his first novel, he knew little more than the story he wanted to tell, the themes of loss and betrayal to be touched upon, and the beginnings of the characters who would soon populate Kelland. He never knew that when he first sat down at his keyboard and created Minh and Toan Ngo -- who, along with their parents, escape from Viet Nam near the end of the war -- that the brothers would come to represent the heart and soul of the story.
Combining elements of horror and mystery with current events, Kelland actually centers on four unique story lines: Minh, Toan, a little boy named George, and Melanie, a mother reeling from a recent tragedy in her life. Each of them meets Kelland, an enigmatic stranger with the power to expose all the secrets of their lives, and the common thread tying all the divergent stories together.
The diversity of characters was important for Bens--given what some might view as controversial subject matter--so that the story of a whole group of people who have been largely forgotten in certain current events could be told. But as he wrote the novel, Bens thought that little eight year-old George, a character facing very adult situations and with whom the author identified, would have the most resonance with readers. Bens admits, quite proudly, that he was very wrong on that front.
When friends and colleagues read an early draft of the novel, the author quickly found out that Minh and his younger brother Toan were the characters those first readers fell in love with. "There is something about their brotherly bond that just drew people to them," Bens explains. "They are so close at the beginning of the novel, and grow so terribly distant and cold toward one another as they age, that I think readers were wondering what could have come between them. What could have happened. And they rooted for them to come together again, to repair that relationship. Maybe it touched a nerve, something broken in their own sibling dynamics."
So what is it that tears apart two brothers who'd been through so much? And what is it about Kelland that threatens to destroy (or mend) their bond forever? Bens isn't saying just yet. "That's the journey of the book," he says. "It's frightening and dark and sometimes brutal, but it's a universal story for many people and I'm glad that Minh and Toan are there to tell their story. To tell everyone's story, in one way or another."
Readers can find out for themselves all the mysteries of Kelland on September 1, 2009, when Casperian Books releases the novel in trade paperback format across the U.S. and Canada.
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About Kelland: Two young boys rescued from the Viet Nam war. A couple drifting apart over the suicide of their only son. A devoutly Catholic child with the voice of an angel who is troubled by visions both sacred and profane. What links these seemingly disconnected people, and who is the mysterious Kelland, so determined to expose their hidden agony? Kelland is a story about how the past transmutes the present, how lies and dark secrets divide people from those who love them, and how the truth must be confronted before the damage done can be healed. It's a journey of sorrow, of mystery and of redemption. http://www.whoiskelland.com
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About Casperian Books: Based in Sacramento, California, Casperian Books is a limited liability company dedicated to publishing quality literary and genre fiction that the mainstream publishing houses often overlook. http://www.casperianbooks.com
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About Paul G. Bens, Jr.: Born in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, far too many years ago to be honest about, Paul G. Bens, Jr., has spent the majority of his adult life in the entertainment industry. As a Casting Associate, Bens worked for three years on the NBC hit series Night Court, as well as the short-lived series Walter & Emily, Good & Evil and Room for Two. As a film and television Casting Director he was responsible for the principal casting of numerous low-budget features, as well as the television series Ned & Stacey, Malcolm & Eddie, Likely Suspects and Murder in Small Town X. Outside of casting, Bens has been many things: a film producer, a file clerk, an altar boy, a bartender, a boy scout and, for a second-and-a-
