A Pandemic Novel
LADWP: Late in 2020, LADWP Retiree Ben Alirez wrote a short story about the pandemic, and the story was published in Survival: Tales of Pandemic, an anthology published by the High Desert California Writers Club, to which he belongs.
“It was my intention to see the short story become a full-length novel,” he tells Alive! “Well, I’m happy to say that after 20 long months, I have finally completed it.”
Well done, Ben!
Writing it “was quite challenging, certainly equal to anything I’ve ever undertaken while working in the City,” he continues. “But it was a labor a love from start to finish.
“Without question, writing continues to give me that sense of purpose I lost after retiring. And the fact that I can share messages of hope through my writing is just another way I can continue to be a civil servant (of sorts).”
Ben retired from the LADWP in July 2018 with 33 years of City service.
The book is available on Amazon. Ben hopes to also offer an e-book in the near future.