Benjamin Stevenson is an award-winning stand-up comedian and author. His first novel, Greenlight, was shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction, and published in the USA and UK. He has sold out shows from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival all the way to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has appeared on ABCTV, Channel 10, and The Comedy Channel. His latest novel is the electrifying new thriller Either Side of Midnight.
Benjamin Stevenson is on the blog today to answer our Ten Terrifying Questions – read on …
Benjamin Stevenson (Photo by Monica Pronk).
1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?
I was a Canberran through school and university, before moving to Sydney to pursue my creative passions!
2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?
12) A writer – A natural wish-list for a voracious reader.
18) A stand-up comedian – I’d performed at the Melbourne Comedy Festival the year before and loved all the people, the travel, the atmosphere. Putting words out on a stage for an audience response was scratching that ‘writer’s itch’ in a way. My resume and uni-courses at the time would say ‘Engineer’ though.
30) Writer by day/Comedian by night – In the end I chose both of my wish-list careers, and scrunched them together.
3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?
That oysters are disgusting.
That the American The Office was not as good as the English one.
4. What were three works of art – book or painting or piece of music, etc – you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a writer?
Book: The Broken Shore by Peter Temple – that mood, that environment, that teeth-rattlingly good dialogue, that crisp prose. It showed me all the things a crime novel could be.
Music: ‘Lux Aeterna’ – this sounds wanky but it’s actually the orchestral music from the film Requiem for a Dream and you’d recognise it from every action-movie trailer ever. It is dramatic as hell, and gets me in the mood to write big scenes. I also listen to ‘Hello Zepp’ which is the doomy score from the Saw films when I am writing the ends of my novels, to fit the mood of a big twist.
Film/TV: I adore films by the Cohen Brothers, especially Fargo and the resultant TV series. In terms of incredible character development, gripping plots, no shortage of suspense or action, and lashings of black humour and crackling dialogue – I’d say it’s a big influence. See also the films: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang or The Nice Guys for the same reason.
5. Considering the innumerable artistic avenues open to you, why did you choose to write a novel?
I work collaboratively on many of my projects, and a novel is the one thing that I sit down and write myself, front cover to back cover (of course with the contributions of incredible editors). So it’s exciting because I am putting myself on the page directly.
But it’s also a form that has no boundaries. There’s no budget, there’s no time frame, there’s nothing you have to adhere to other than what you want to write and what comes out of your brain. Of course, there are genre and publishing conventions in getting it on shelves, but the act of writing it is infinite – and if it’s good enough, those conventions will move.
6. Please tell us about your latest novel!
After a television host shoots himself on a live broadcast, his brother doubts it was a suicide. But how can it be murder when there were one million witnesses, all watching the tv show?
Not only a whodunnit, but also a why-and-how-dunnit, it’s a complex mystery that takes place behind the scenes of a bustling television studio.
7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?
I hope they get some entertainment and find it exciting, and I hope they feel it’s a refreshing type of crime novel with a unique crime and a surprise climax.
I’ll also be honest and say that there’s a certain vanity where I just want people to think I’m clever.
8. Who do you most admire in the realm of writing and why?
I have a few: Stephen King, for the pace at which he pumps out new and original stories and isn’t afraid of crossing genres in pursuit of a good story; Jane Harper, she revolutionised Australian crime writing and I genuinely think people like myself may not be published without her paving the way; Stuart Turton, he’s only written one novel but he is ballsy, confident, and writes complex, insane, genre-busting mysteries and I admire his risk-taking.
9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?
I am very lucky that I get to write my books, so my genuine ambition is just that I get to continue writing them. I’d like to do a couple of writer’s festivals when the world reopens, and hope to maybe get a top-ten book on the charts in the future.
10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?
There’s nothing wrong with putting something in a drawer. Just because you wrote it now doesn’t mean that it defines you. Start something new.
And don’t kill the dog.
Thank you for playing!
—Either Side of Midnight by Benjamin Stevenson (Penguin Books Australia) is out now.
For a limited time only, if you order a copy of this book, you’ll receive one signed by Benjamin Stevenson!
Either Side of Midnight
Limited Signed Copies Available!
How can it be murder when the victim pulled the trigger?
At 9.01 pm, TV presenter Sam Midford delivers the monologue for his popular current affairs show Midnight Tonight. He seems nervous and the crew are convinced he’s about to propose to his girlfriend live on air. Instead, he pulls out a gun and shoots himself in the head. Sam’s grief-stricken twin Harry is convinced his brother was murdered. But how can that be, when one million viewers witnessed Sam pull the trigger? Only Jack Quick, a disgraced television producer...
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