We love to celebrate the work of our successful self-publishing authors, and we do so each week through our Self-Publishing Author Spotlight. This week we highlight self-publishing author Ben J. Cox, who has published four titles with Outskirts Press.
Ben offers readers thrilling suspenseful mysteries with three of his books while also giving us a glimpse into what made him the exciting writer that he is through his memoir. Learn more about Ben through this week’s Self-Publishing Author Spotlight.
About the Author:
Benjamin James Cox, writing under the pen name, Ben James, disliked writing until he was forced to take a writing class to enter college in 1973 
to which he quickly realized writing was a natural talent as he scored an A+ on his first paper. Since that time he has written many poems and short stories and the novels. Currently he is retired and lives with his wife, Betty in Pryor, Oklahoma but he is still plenty busy.
When Ben is not busy writing he enjoys activities, such as the President of Mayes County Writers Club, Treasurer of Pryor Creek Investment Club, being an active member of Will Rogers Toastmasters Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma and all the while he still has the energy to run five miles most days.
Insider Dreams
Insider Dreams is a 911 thriller that pulses with drama and excitement as
it follows 50-year-old computer engineer Wade Foster through the ride of his life. What Wade originally thought would be a grandiose trip across the northern most United States in his new Jaguar, quickly turned disastrous through a number of confrontations with his independent and wealthy wife of a year, Amanda Rutherford. He also faces several close encounters with Islamist radicals while experiencing a series of strange dreams he can’t explain. At the same time his oldest daughter, Megan receives a promotion and moves to New York City. Then two weeks later, when the terrorists hit the World Trade Center, Foster fears Megan may be in one of the towers.
Product details…
Paperback
5.5 x 8.5 paperback cream, 412 pages
Publisher: Outskirts Press (May 21, 2006)
ISBN10: 1598004905
ISBN13: 9781598004908
Genre: FICTION/Thrillers/Suspense
To Mama: The Long Road Home
Ben J. Cox was born in a sawmill camp on a dirt street in Waldron, Arkansas in 1943. When his mother abandoned the family in 1953 and his dad was unable to work and properly care for the children, Ben, his brother and two sisters were placed in an orphanage in Monticello, Arkansas.
In his book, To Mama, The Long Road Home, Cox attempts to reason with all that has happened and struggles to reap the best from a lifetime of both gaiety and sorrow until his mother dies in 1998.
Product details…
Paperback
6 x 9 paperback cream, 520 pages
Publisher: Outskirts Press (June 18, 2008)
ISBN10: 1432722824
ISBN13: 9781432722821
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
Tall Order
This book brings readers through a hair-raising journey into a past filled with mystery, dead ends, and plenty of detective work. As Jake Foster, a retired computer geek, begins training for the 15K Tulsa Run, he discovers a deep, dark secret along his training route, on the banks of Pryor’s Creek. It’s a horrifying secret that will change a town’s history-and his own-forever.
Jake must use every tool available to him as he begins to reveal reveals the surprising truth about lore that has remained hidden for more than half a century.
A Tall Order mixes small-town intrigue, old-fashioned mystery, and plenty of twists and turns for a page-turning experience that will leave you hungry for more.
Product details…
Paperback
5.5 x 8.5 paperback cream, 469 pages
Publisher: Outskirts Press (March 23, 2011)
ISBN10: 143276974X
ISBN13: 9781432769741
Genre: Fiction / Juvenile Fiction / Action Adventure
A Winding Road
A true poet can describe a lifetime with just a few lines.
When the Cox graduated from Tulsa University a member of the EE National Honor Society, Etta Kappa Nu, it appeared that he had done very well. But, his stint in college didn’t begin with a bang. His counselor explained that he would not need to take the college entrance exam, which included an English test, and when he failed, he was advised to still enroll but to take a writing class. It was that simple failed test that would lead to one of his greatest accomplishments – his first piece of writing titled “The Greatest Work of Art,” which was about the creation of man. That story can be found within The Winding Road along with the many poems and songs written throughout the Cox’s time spent in Oklahoma since 1969.
Product details…
Paperback
6 x 9 paperback cream, 165 pages
Publisher: Outskirts Press (April 22, 2014)
ISBN10: 1478707879
ISBN13: 9781478707875
Genre: Poetry / American / General
