The Belmar Series - Collected Trilogy
Meet Jimmy Hanlon. It’s summer, 1987. Image is everything in his Jersey Shore hometown. Jimmy hasn’t kept up. An overweight grandfather in his late forties, he’s lost a cancerous larynx, and on top of that, A.I.D.S. has spiked fears of anyone with a questionable sexual history. In a search for companionship, he encounters a blur of bars, prejudice, familial and romantic love, misogamy, and lies. Throughout his redemptive summer, Jimmy’s empathy reveals how individual compassion trumps social mores and why a heart’s yearning owes no explanation.
Buy the Trilogy on UnsolicitedPress.comIndividual trilogy books also available.
Beat the Blues
From Mick Bennett, author of The Belmar Trilogy, comes a new insight into the lives of those of the Belmar
region. Beat the Blues focuses on the lives of Katie Kline and Ronny Hopkins.
Katie Kline, a hip, introspective eighteen year old, spins classic blues records and reads Susan Sontag.
Rebellious next-door neighbor Ronny Hopkins loves everything about her. A Polaroid photo launches them on
a tempestuous, romantic odyssey stretching from the Kent State shootings to the first iPhone. They
discover human hearts seldom rest. Regret and resentment derail them—while Katie is lambasting Nixon and
trailing John and Yoko for the Village Voice, Ronny is notching saves and sex partners on his Jersey Shore
lifeguard stand. But sometimes memories can become realities, and after twenty years, a reunion offers
hope. Old and new love letters, dog napping, zany fisticuffs, tattooed millennials, and renewed passion
have them scrambling for one last chance...
Take the Lively Air
In TAKE THE LIVELY AIR, a minor traffic collision escalates into a confrontation between two families haunted by their pasts and apprehensive of their futures. Rage and regret butt heads against the background of America’s toxic cultural climate. But saner voices discover that human frailties are best viewed through the microscope of compassion, and our common humanity must be acknowledged to make way for our futures.
Buy on UnsolicitedPress.com"Take the Lively Air is a thoughtful and realistic portrait of modern families. Bennett is unafraid to take on tough and touchy subjects with empathy and honesty. With prose as vibrant as its New Jersey beach setting, the simmering tension will have readers flipping pages. More than a family drama, it's an examination of the complexities of excavating buried grief and regret, and a map for how to move forward."
Meagan Lucas, author Songbirds and Stray Dogs, and Editor-in-Chief of Reckon Review.
"Take the Lively Air is a powerful tale of overlapping lives, the intersection of past and present, and ghosts who reside all too easily in the hearts of the living. Mistakes made, lingering doubts, and relentless remorse weave through the narrative like a ragged strand of missed opportunities and chances. Bennett gives us a fine novel that shows how compassion triumphs over rage, and kindness always saves the day. "
Anne Leigh Parrish, author of an open door
"Crafted with just the right details, understated humor, and empathy, Take the Lively Air is a simple yet startling novel. Out of a single incident—two headstrong men colliding their cars in a seaside New Jersey town—emerges a universe of multilayered characters and interconnected truths. Bennett reminds us that everybody has a story, and that some of those stories lead to healing."
Jay Kristensen Jr, author of Light in Rosadero
Messes We Made
Coming in September 2026...
Pushcart-nominated Mick Bennett’s characters deal with unexpected conflicts: a senior citizen tap dances his way into a hot date and a mugging, estranged young lovers unexpectedly reunite at a mental correctional facility, and a father nearly comes to blows with his nineteen-year-old son the night before the wedding. Stories appear in chronological sections—Maturing, Adulting, and Aging. In this eighteen-piece collection, Messes We Made captures both quiet victories and silent defeats.