BOOKS
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AND SO I TOOK
THEIR EYE
In Guatemala they believe in the ancient Mayan saying “an eye for eye”, and after a poor Guatemalan woman was raped on the black sand beaches of the Pacific coast, a local murdered the man who did it and left him rotting for all to see.
When a man is murdered on the black-sand beaches of Guatemala it sparks a sequence of life-changing events across the globe. Involving an interlinked group of people, from an egotistical yoga instructor down in the deserts of Mexico to a Syrian refugee landing on the beaches of Greece, a murderous pastor in the jungles of Bolivia to an Italian suit maker living under the shadow of his illustrious father, these stories tell of arson, murder, assault and love. Each driven by the old saying 'an eye for an eye', they discover what happens when justice is taken into your own hands, and ultimately, what it means to be human.
And So I Took Their Eye is an interlinked collection that explores social power – looking at those who challenge it and those who abuse it due to sex, race, class or wealth. With a focus on immigration and the refugee experience it discovers the lengths people must go to to be accepted into a place. It is influenced by Shehan Karunatilaka's Chinaman, Rodrigo Fuentes’s Trout Belly Up and the writing of Fernanda Melchor.
Stories have also been individually published in numerous international publications, which you can explore here.
The full collection will be published by Bridge House Publishing in July 2025.
BLACK
SAND
Ben is currently working on his debut novel, Black Sand.
On the black sand beaches of Guatemala’s Pacific coast, a small village is shaken by a mysterious death that fractures its close-knit community. As grief gives way to suspicion, long-buried secrets and painful truths resurface, unraveling the fragile fabric of a once-unified village.
Set against a backdrop of relentless economic and social upheaval, Black Sand chronicles a decade of transformation as a quiet fishing village becomes Guatemala’s foremost tourist destination. Told through the voices of eight interwoven characters—locals and outsiders alike—the story spans the lives of hotel owners, Mayan weavers, yoga teachers, and street cleaners, each grappling with the ripple effects of change. The tragedy forces them to confront not only the circumstances surrounding the man’s death, but also their complicity in the village’s transformation.
Black Sand captures the disruptive forces of tourism, political corruption, and Western expansion on a rural village struggling to hold onto its soul. From street brawls to armed resistance, fractured families to unbreakable bonds, it is a searing exploration of capitalism’s impact and the enduring fight to resist it.
Above all, Black Sand is a profound meditation on belonging—to a place, to a people, and ultimately, to oneself.