Author Archives: authorbengarrido
I’m a Featured Author
The Blackguard, and by extension, yours truly, is the featured attraction at my publisher. Much thanks to Lucky Bat Books for helping me so much. http://www.luckybatbooks.com/2014/08/ben-garrido/
Epic Delicacies of Korea
Since legends of my kindness are are told from the shimmering seas of Berlin west to the deserts of Brasilia, north to the snow capped peaks of Nebraska and South to the sweltering rainforests of Patagonia, since my genius shines benevolent inspiration upon physicist and taxidermist alike, since all men of women born sing […]
The Blackguard is Official
Eleven years, thousands of hours and enough time grimacing at mutilated notebooks to scare off an entire congregation of nice old ladies. The Blackguard, my first novel, that monster collection of revisions and one-more-things and insecurities – it’s done. I hope you take a moment to consider the new release on amazon.com. If you wish […]
The Making of The Blackguard
I was 23 years-old when I sat down in a Starbucks in Sparks, Nevada, opened a notebook I’d stolen from the air conditioning wholesaler where I worked and wrote the first scene of what would become The Blackguard. From a broad, plot-centric point of view, The Blackguard covers an isolated community of white supremacists trying to fight […]
Critique Groups: Ego, Etiquette, and Expectations
Originally posted on San Giacomo's Corner:
Hello, all you budding authors. Have you been shying away from joining a critique group? Maybe you’re apprehensive about showing your work in public. Perhaps you’ve written a chapter, a poem, or a short story, and only your spouse and best friend have read it. Their reaction was…
The John Galt, Zombie Hunter Fantasy
Let’s do a quick compare and contrast. I’ve got two hyper-famous basketball players in mind. Player A, from his highschool days on, has been known for teamwork. I don’t mean this in the sense of some nauseatingly inspirational cliche either, I mean there are articles by people with PhDs analyzing Player A’s abiding psychological […]
Antagonizing Critters in the Woods
I think that maturity, in many respects, is overrated. That is why, when I have the opportunity to poke, prod and otherwise antagonize wild animals, I consistently ignore mature concerns like “that critter will bite/poison/melt your face” in favor of the more elemental, more natural “oooh, shiny” mindset that has immediately preceded most of my […]
My Friends’ Wedding
Two of my best friends recently got married and, since I’m an irritating showboat writer and insufferable bore fairly frequent public speaker, I felt it necessary to speechify at the reception. Here, then, is the result of my best efforts to explain one of the healthiest, happiest relationships I’ve ever seen. In order to properly describe […]
Elected Dictators
Just seven years ago, we had a major push towards what was then called the Unitary Executive. This Bush era doctrine (actually older, but that’s not important for this discussion) holds that the president is entirely in control of all executive functions. It is, in essence, a way to undermine the separation of powers. Rove […]
Osama bin Laden, A Retrospective
I teach a class on English-American culture at Mokwon University. I wrote the textbook, I chose the topics, I designed the curriculum – this class is as much mine as any class can be. What’s interesting is that, even with all this design and predetermination, I learn something new almost every lecture. Today, my students […]
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