Author Archives: authorbengarrido
The American Morality Trap
I should warn you up front, this is a trap. I intend to attack your beliefs. I hope to cause you discomfort. I am going to exploit your beliefs. If, when you finish reading, your stomach is tied up in little knots, I will consider that a victory. Most of my audience, according to the […]
The Benjamin Franklin Effect
The Benjamin Franklin Effect You Are Not So Smart The Misconception: You do nice things for the people you like and bad things to the people you hate.The Truth: You grow to like people for whom you do nice things and hate people you harm.Benjamin Franklin knew how to deal with haters.Born in 1706 as […]
An Open Letter to Mohsin Hamid
Dear Mr. Hamid, I would like to start by saying that you are my favorite living author and that, since Carlos Fuentes’ death in 2012, you are facing very little competition. Indeed, your novels, short stories and essays are some of the biggest influences on my own writing. I sometimes quasi-seriously feel that, when my own books […]
Racing Videos
Hey all, here are the videos I made about racing the Daewoo. I’ve decided to post them oldest to newest. Hopefully there will be many more in 2014.
A Decision of Immense Importance, A Choice of Incredible Significance, A Coded Reference to My Own Indecision.
Friends, I’ve got two books started and I haven’t decided which one to buckle down on next. I could, of course, really think about what makes more sense for continuity, consider marketing and ponder the milieu. However, doing so would require me to take time from valuable tasks like watching season two of Justified, stalking […]
Kindergarten
This is an excerpt from “Price Fixing,” a novel I intend to pursue soon. If you’d like me to focus on this novel next, please vote here. Kindergarten – My first real, fully formed memory concerns a game of tag. I wasn’t even playing, I don’t think – perhaps someone had just tagged me out. Regardless, […]
Excerpt From The Nepotist
Below is a sample of what’s coming. This particular excerpt comes from a novel I’ve planned. If you’d like me to work on this novel next, please vote here. A Warm Welcome I stood by the door and looked through the high temperature glass into the chamber. The man had been no more than 50 […]
Easter Eggs for Readers of The Blackguard
Dear Reader, Have you ever come across a really good scene and wanted to know where the author got the idea? Have you ever gotten the sense that there’s a symbol or reference you’re missing? I certainly have, which is why I’ve always enjoyed footnotes in books and why I’ve included virtual footnotes in your […]
The New Year’s Sacrifice
This is a short story from Chinese author Lu Xun, who happens to be one of my literary heroes. While not well known in the west, he is widely considered the father of modern Chinese literature. Perusing his body of work, it is easy to tell why. New Year’s Eve of the old calendar1 seems after […]
The Fish Market
If you look over my home page, it says I’m the author of three books – The Blackguard (available in April), The Book of Joshua (available in October) and The Potency (available in July). This isn’t strictly true. There’s a fourth book called The Cult of Benedict Arnold that I began as a 19 year-old […]
Ben Garrido's Author Page 