Monster

Award-winning author Ben Burgess, Jr. explores the man behind the player in this Urban novel about a man trying to find the love he lacks for himself in all the wrong ways.

Tormented as a child for being dark-skinned and the son of a womanizer who deserts his family regularly, Ken Ferguson longed for that feeling of being loved. He promised himself that he wouldn’t be a manipulating, deceitful man like his father, but after he is cheated on and dumped by the girl he thought he would one day marry, he begins his transformation. Fueled by anger and tired of being the ＂nice guy,＂ Ken drowns himself in one-night stands, threesomes, and affairs with married women, sleeping with one conquest after another. His philosophy is: No commitment, no attachments.

He meets his match with Ashley, a girl who makes him want to stop his promiscuous ways. But Ashley turns out to do even more damage to his ego and his heart, wounding him deeply. With his philosophy reinforced, Ken spirals out of control. Sleeping with and mistreating random women he meets at bars and clubs, Ken uses sex to forget about his insecurities, his anger, and his sadness. Will Ken learn to let go of his heartbreaks, or will he be consumed by them and continue to be a Monster?

Ben Burgess, Jr. is the author of the award-winning novels Monster, Wounded, Love and Happiness, Daddy’s Girl, and Black and White. He is an active performer of spoken word poetry. Ben uses his love of writing to inspire and influence youths to strive for what they believe in and to never give up on their dreams. His novels Monster and Wounded are currently used in schools on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Ben has a BA degree in business management and an MA degree in educational leadership. He is the proud father of Jaelynn and Jaclyn, and he is active in trying to improve urban neighborhoods and communities.