Author’s road to writing started 20 years ago

When Robert Joseph Bevenour sat down to write a book, he never expected anyone but his family to read it.

For years, the Cedar Rapids man had gotten up early each morning to run before heading to work. When he injured his ankle, he needed a new morning activity, so he started writing down a story he'd had percolating in the back of his mind for years.

'Road to Yasukuni” is a tale of two young men - one American, one Japanese - during World War II. Bevenour wanted to portray both of them as protagonists, not enemies - men who might have been friends had they not been on opposite sides of the battle lines.

After he finished each section, he sent it to his son, an English and creative writing teacher in Texas. When the book was done, he didn't think much more about it.

That was more than two decades ago. Now, thanks to a recent encouraging birthday present from his son, 85-year-old Bevenour is preparing for his first book signing.

'He had gone to a printer and had the whole thing redone with a printed edition, hard copy, which was amazing to me,” Bevenour said. 'I couldn't believe he resurrected it. From then on, I thought I'd better follow through with this.”

Bevenour worked with Wheatmark Publishing to have his book printed. It was released this month and is for sale on Amazon, at Prairie Lights in Iowa City and at Barnes and Noble in Cedar Rapids, where he'll be signing books May 31.

He was in high school during World War II and said he has done a lot of reading and research on the conflict and many of the people involved.

'I wanted to depict the horrors of the war, which impacts both families and both nations,” he said. 'But the Japanese and Americans, instead of being treated as enemies, are treated sympathetically.”

He said he wanted to give insights into both sides of the conflict.

'It's a war story. We didn't pull punches,” he said. 'But the ending isn't, ‘Hurrah, we killed the enemy.' The ending should be a feeling of humanity.”

What's next for Bevenour and his story? Time will tell - he recently hired a screenwriting company in California to adapt his novel into a screenplay. Getting it onto the big screen is another story, but for now, the book is keeping him busy.

The first-time author retired from executive positions in manufacturing and lives with his wife, Peggy, in Cedar Rapids. He has five children and eleven grandchildren.

'I'm not interested in making money,” he said. 'I just wanted to write a novel to give to my friends and my children. It's more an act of doing something creative and producing my idea of these two people.”