Eight year-old Yohei Sakakura, living in Hell's Half Acre, T.H., finds his days haunted by Da Manapua Man. Local legend says Da Manapua Man is as old as time and steals away young children only to grind them up into the delicious sweet meats he sells to tourists. But is Da Manapua Man the true embodiment of evil Yohei's friends say he is? Or is there something more to his story? From the author of "Kelland" comes a macabre story of a boy, his family and a frightening being known only as Da Manapua Man.
Author
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. His first foray into Hollywoodland was as a casting assistant on the feature films Trip to Spirit Island and Martians Go Home. He then graduated to Casting Associate and worked for three years on the NBC hit series Night Court as well as the short-lived series Walter & Emily, Good & Evil and The Linda Lavin Show. As a film and television Casting Director he was responsible for the principal casting of such fine (ahem!) feature films as Death Ring, Evil Obsession and Flipping, as well as the television series Ned & Stacey, Malcolm & Eddie, Likely Suspects, Murder in Small Town X and a string of unsold pilots. Outside of casting, Bens has been many things: a film producer, a file clerk, an altar boy, a bartender (still makes killer martinis), a boy scout and, for a second-and-a-half, an actor. As an author, Bens' short fiction has appeared in Cemetery Dance, Dark Discoveries, The Egg Box, Outsider Ink, Scared Naked, HeavyGlow, Bleeding Quill, Twisted Tongue, Velvet Mafia: Dangerous Queer Fiction and Chick Flicks. His debut novel "Kelland" was awarded the 2009 Dark Quill Award for Best Small Press Chill. Currently, Bens marks time working for an historic Hollywood film studio as a paralegal in the new media division. He lives in the Los Angeles area with his ever-patient husband. When not writing, he can generally be found driving around smoggy Los Angeles, singing along with the radio to Van Halen, Def Leppard or The Smashing Pumpkins, and day-dreaming about living full time in Hawai‘i. Learn more about Paul at www.paulbens.com
