Suffolk News-Herald

Long-time Suffolk resident and businessman Ben Plewes found his second career at a bad movie.

&uot;I was sitting through this dreadful movie about seven years ago and my mind kept running away with me,&uot; said the retired life insurance salesman. &uot;I kept wondering what would happen to the characters in various scenarios.&uot;

So Plewes, now 74, put pen to paper and brought his ideas and characters to life.

In 2000, he self-published his first book, a mystery novel called &uot;Dead Business.&uot;

In August, Illinois-based Gardenia Press published Plewes’ second novel, Oceans Apart, the story of a Japanese-American family’s trials and tribulations during World War II.

The story is loosely based on the life of a Japanese-American solider with whom Plewes was stationed during the Korean War. The soldier’s family was in a relocation camp in California during World War II.

About 160 copies of the book have been sold since its release in August, Plewes said. Locally, the book is available at B. Dalton Books, the Christian Bookstore and Brandon House Furniture.

From 2 to 4 p.m. Friday, Plewes will hold a book-signing at The Christian Bookstore on Holland Road in Suffolk.

&uot;At this stage, I don’t expect to become John Grisham,&uot; said Plewes. &uot;If I can just sell a few books, I’ll be happy.&uot;

Plewes is searching for a publisher for his third book, &uot;Fox on the Run,&uot; a mystery rich in local color that originates in Suffolk and ends in Virginia Beach.