Benbow, Dave

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Benbow, Dave

PERSONAL: Male. Education: Graduate of the University of Texas, Austin.

ADDRESSES: Home—Los Angeles, CA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Kensington Publishing Corp., 850 Third Ave., New York, NY 10020. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Actor in television series, including Dallas, Baby Boom, Days of Our Lives, and The Young and the Restless; creative director for both Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger, Beverly Hills, CA.

MEMBER: Screen Actors Guild.

WRITINGS:

Daytime Drama (novel), Kensington (New York, NY), 2003.

Male Model (novel), Kensington (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor of the novella Out of Bounds to the anthology Man of My Dreams, Kensington (New York, NY), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS: Dave Benbow is an openly gay writer who also worked as an actor in daytime soaps. His first novel, Daytime Drama, features a gay couple, one out, one not, who are actors in a television series. Tom Baker, reviewing the book for Lambda Book Report, wrote that in addition to his use of "red-hot gay sex," Benbow is a "consummate storyteller…. What makes his sex scenes so compelling is that they are about two men connecting in more than just a physical way."

The novella Out of Bounds is Benbow's contribution to the anthology Man of My Dreams. In this story, he draws on his own experiences in creating Wade, who is a victim of bullying, and whose friend, Colt, is a gay football hero. As adults they meet again and discover a mutual attraction, but Wade, now a realtor, is out, while Colt, a National Football League star, is just beginning to exit the closet. A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that when the men reconnect, Benbow "illustrates his skill in crafting high-charged sex scenes,"

Another of Benbow's careers comes to the fore in Male Model, in which the author draws on his experience working in high-fashion retail in Beverly Hills for such well-known names as Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger. The novel takes place in a Rodeo Drive atmosphere, with handsome, married fashion executive Cameron Fuller involved in a relationship with younger window dresser Blake Jackson. When Cameron launches a new fragrance line, Blake becomes its spokesperson. Cameron's wife, Suzette, learns of her husband's affair with Blake, and is soon discovered dead after a drunken fall from a window. Other characters—both gay and homophobic—as well as family complications, extend the plot: Suzette's dead twin brother, Stanton, had once been Cameron's lover, and her father, Silas, blamed Stanton's death on Cameron, then pushed and paid for the marriage of Cameron and Suzette while keeping secret Cameron's relationship with his new wife's twin.

A Publishers Weekly reviewer called Male Model a "frothy fairytale (with an edge)," while Booklist critic Whitney Scott dubbed the novel a "charming, fast-paced page-turner." Lambda Book Report writer Gary M. Kramer noted the "electrifying" sex scenes, including the one that takes place on a boardroom table. "Benbow delights in having his characters consummate their passions whenever the mood strikes, which, of course, is as often as possible," wrote Kramer, adding: "while the book is erotic, and trashy (in a good way), it is not simply erotica. Benbow has more on his mind than just writing sex. He gives an insider's view of the retail industry, offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what drives the look and style of a designer."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, 2004, Whitney Scott, review of Male Model, p. 1697.

Lambda Book Report, June-July, 2004, Tom Baker, review of Daytime Drama, interview with Benbow, p. 6, and Gary M. Kramer, review of Male Model, p. 7.

Publishers Weekly, February 9, 2004, review of Man of My Dreams. p. 59; May 31, 2004, review of Male Model, p. 46.