J.B. Garner's Blog, page 25

Starving Interview: Lori Alden Holuta, Author of The Flight to Brassbright

Good morning and good Friday, my cuisine hearts!  It’s time once more to serve up a steaming hot review as well as spend some time in the kitchen with the chef behind the meal.  Today, we break bread with Lori Alden Holuta, author of The Flight to Brassbright, book 1 of The Brassbright Chronicles!  Let’s get down to it!

Please introduce yourself to my literary foodies!

Hi! I’m the support system for a cast of characters who can’t reach the keyboard without my help. The ‘real world’ insists I go by a name though, so I use the one on my driver’s license. That’s handy for reference in case I have an identity crises.

Do you do any work outside of the writing kitchen? Any non-work interests?

I spend my weekdays at a big-ten university helping students find jobs on campus, paying the bills, and eating all the jelly donuts in the staff kitchen.

When I’m not writing or hiding in the ivy-plastered halls of academia, I’m often… cooking! I’m addicted to sites like Yummly and the Food Network and I do a lot of experimental cooking. I host Kitchen Parties for myself and my cat named Chives. We set up the iPad, stream a movie and have a great time throwing food around.

I’m also a crafter, and I have the hot glue gun to prove it. Oh, and I socialize with other local Steampunks in the Mid-Michigan area and attend cons as I can, so I spend a lot of time assembling costumes and trying on hats.

What is your latest dish to be served up? Are there any past pieces of literary cuisine you think we should take a bite out of?

I’d love it if people grabbed a copy of The Flight To Brassbright. It’s my first novel. It sets the stage for just about everything else I’m writing. I have two more novels in rewrites that I hope to have published very soon – soon being a relative term meaning ‘as life allows’. At this moment, I’m also participating in NaNoWriMo, writing two novellas that delve into the backstories behind two of the characters introduced in The Flight To Brassbright.

What made you want to put on the chef’s hat and whip up your own books?

The voices in my head demand it. Besides that, I’ve loved writing since I was a young kid. I started with whimsical poetry that my teachers always seemed to think was good enough for the creative writing books my grade school produced. I wish I still had those. I’ve always dreamed of being published. I want something of me that’s still on people’s bookshelves long after I am gone.

Do you have a genre or specialty or do you dabble? Why?

Victorian era comedic steampunk. That’s a genre, right? Lighthearted Young Adult books are what I enjoy writing. Books with heart and adventure and a lot of silly stuff, that’s my style.

Style! Every literary chef aspires to have their own unique one! What do you think sets yours apart and why?

My puns! My sense of whimsy. My characters are usually happy, and their problems get solved by the end of the book. There’s already plenty of dark-fiction in the Steampunk genre, and I don’t feel inclined to do that sort of writing. I think there’s room for fun and joy-of-life in Steampunk.

Even the best of us find inspiration in the dishes of others. Do you have any literary inspirations, heroes, and influences?

Absolutely. Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris have created the characters of Eliza Braun and Wellington Books in their Ministry of Peculiar Occurrence series. I can’t get enough of them.

Then there’s Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate and Finishing School series. I love Gail. Besides being my favorite role model, she’s a very nice woman who I’ve been lucky enough to meet. She’s shared meaningful, useful advice with me.

And I can’t forget Shelley Adina and her Magnificent Devices series. What a hoot. Shelley’s not afraid to go over the top, sometimes quite literally. I’m looking forward to meeting her at AnomalyCon in Denver next year.

There’s many authors that truly amaze and inspire me, but I’ve chosen to highlight these, since I feel we’re all writing in a similar sandbox, so their inspiration has a direct impact on me.

Let’s get into the meat and potatoes: the art and craft of writing itself! Do you have a preference of points-of-view when you write?

I write in either first person or third person. Second person is just creepy. First person is great for exploring a character experiencing a change in their life. Third person is great for action adventures, I think.

Sparse or wordy, how do you like your descriptions served up? Are you a Hemmingway man or do you like some saucy adjectives with your nouns?

Put it this way: A friend once nicknamed me ‘The Wall Of Words’. I like words. I love eye popping descriptions, I like fanciful wordplay. Words are amazingly fun toys to play with.

Picking off the menu of base literary conflicts, what’s your favorite and why?

Internal conflict. I enjoy watching my characters find their way through life and grow in the process.

What do you think is more important to your recipes, plot or characterization? Why?

Characterization! If I’m not invested in a character, why should I care what happens to them?

We all know that the first taste means the most! What do you do to get that first bite hook with your readers?

That first taste is a challenge. I probably rewrite my opening paragraphs more than any other part of a story. I try to drop the reader into my protagonist’s situation, and give them just enough information to get them wondering what will happen next.

The most important of questions: Cake or pie?

Boston Cream Pie. That means I get BOTH. Nyah.

Finally, if you could give one piece of advice to aspiring literary chefs out there, what would it be?

Stop plotting and dreaming in your mind and pour it out into a document. If your story only lives in your brain, how can I read it too? Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. The worst that can happen is you’ll learn what doesn’t work, and then you can improve. As long as your book is trapped in your head, you won’t improve or grow.

Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

jbgarner58:

Passing along another nice review by a colleague. Enjoy!

Originally posted on astrangersguidetonovels:

Title: The Rest Of Us Just Live Here

Author: Patrick Ness

My Rating: 4.00

Goodreads Rating: 3.81

Summary ( Goodreads ): 

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs.

A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

Cover: 4/5

The cover really has some big quirky factor and what initially drew me to this book at the book store.

Review:

This book was totally different from what I expected it to be. I guess that’s what the book…

View original 844 more words

Writing Is A Bad Habit: No Bad Guy, No Problem a.k.a. Eschewing Traditional Antagonists

Stories thrive on conflict.  There’s conflict at the core of any novel, whether it’s immediately apparent on not.  Naturally, with the structure of conflict, we expect to find a protagonist and an antagonist, the typical dichotomy of opposing forces.  However, haven’t we all read stories and novels that we enjoy where there is no obvious antagonist, no dark lord, no cruel mastermind?  How can we explain the success of these tales if conflict is the core of a good tale?

In most of these cases, it’s easy to find the answer by examining what core dramatic conflict is at the heart of the work.  Several of these conflicts have what you could term as non-traditional antagonists, such as nature or society as a whole.  Yes, often these broad concepts tend to be focused and personified into a more distinct unit, such as a particular natural disaster or a single agent of that society, but that isn’t always the case.  It is possible to take a broader, more subtle approach to those conflicts while still maintaining a constant sensation of dramatic conflict.  Likewise, the very nature of man versus himself as a conflict gets rid of a standard antagonist by replacing that with internal conflicts.

It’s interesting to note that many tales like this don’t get rid of *all* traditional antagonists.  There may be some sub-plots with conflicts involving man vs. man conflicts and the like.  What we’re talking about is that core thematic conflict, the one that drives the whole story.  Ultimately, though, in that big conflict, we eschew a traditional direct approach to the protagonist/antagonist equation.

Another interesting point is that this serves as something of a proof of the necessity of conflict in a story.  If you dig into any well-crafted story, there will be that core conflict, that central driving point, and you will always be able to find protagonists and antagonists, even if they may not be as readily apparent as your typical Good vs. Evil slugfest.  While we can eschew the traditional antagonist, we can’t eschew antagonists entirely or we lost that needed dramatic conflict.

So what interesting ways have you seen that the author has walked away from traditional antagonists?  As always, any contributions or criticisms should go down in the comments below!

Until next time, good reading, good writing, and good luck!

Monday Musings: One Step After the Other a.k.a. My Future Writing

So, I’ve spent the weekend working at the side job and absorbing some keen advice from a cluster of my authorial friends.  Quick shout outs to J. A. Cipriano, Michelle Knight, and Lori Alden Holuta for their support and insights!  What that advice has helped me do is start to formulate a more concrete plan for the future.

I’m a man that works well with a schedule.  I thrive on deadlines and having some core structure makes me a better writer and, in general, a better person.  So creating this concrete plan is going to certainly make my life easier and my work better.

Now, what does that mean?  Well, I can go ahead and tell/tease about what is coming ahead as far as new books and writing projects.

First up, I’ve decided, once again, to put Indomitable back to being free … or as close to as Amazon will let me.  You can start on The Push Chronicles via Smashwords at no cost and, if you bug Amazon’s price matchers, you can get Amazon to bring down the price too.

Second, the future!  For those of you who are diligent blog-followers, you know that I’m already working on a brand new book in a brand new series.  Expect a call for alpha readers to show up on this page tomorrow.  If you’re a fan of The Push Chronicles or Three Seconds to Legend, don’t despair, there’s plenty more to come there too!

Next in the writing block will be the next volume of The Push Chronicles, with writing to begin at the start of next year (once I get some of my time back!).  There are folks who have wondered and asked how the world looks to the Pushed and they will find out in the next book!

It may seem odd to folks that I am waiting to work on the next book of 3StL with it being picked up by a publisher, but that’s the reason why there.  There are still two more books already written that need to be reedited and rereleased.  Add to that the possibility of editors and revisions altering bits of plot or story that may affect the fourth and subsequent volumes and you can see my reason for delaying.  That being said, there’s more books coming, at least another three, so be patient!

Is there anything you’d like to see roll out of Starving Author/Reviewer LLC?  Let me know!  Until next time, good reading, good writing, and good luck!

Free novella for Halloween!

jbgarner58:

I always try to keep an eye out for stuff from my fellow authors. Here’s a free novella today from Susanne Valenti. Enjoy!

Originally posted on susannevalenti:

Today my novella Cut Glass will be free on Amazon kindle! You can get you copy herefor FREE! Did I mention that it’s free? Lol

Starving Review: Renaissance by Timothy A. Freriks

Renaissance by Timothy A. Freriks (Amazon, Goodreads)

One of the high points of my work for Starving Reviews LLC is that I always get a new variety of meals out of the pantry.  While I’ve dined at the table of political thrillers in the past, this one adds a swirl of alternate histories and time travel to spice the mix up.  Of course, we all know that adding new spices to any recipe is there’s always a chance that the new ingredients screw up the meal.  Is Renaissance an example of that or does it pull off the blending to make a better whole?

Before we answer that question, let’s review the Starving Review rules:

I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the genre
I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible

Overall, yes, I’d say so.  There is an interesting core premise to the supernatural/science fiction elements mixed in with the main thriller course, something that binds the whole meal together into a harmonious meal.  An interesting point that makes this repast different from many other alternate history books is that there is never a starting history that is identical to our own.  At first, this seemed a bit unusual, but it, like most other plot threads, comes together in the end.

There is a lot of meat to enjoy here.  The core political mysteries and the power games played form the largest part of the plot and conflict, and they are all handled with a great deal of care and research.  History buffs, such as myself, might be slightly thrown at first, but once your tastebuds acclimate to that important fact above (the starting history isn’t exactly our own), things fall into place and the rest of the ride is quite smooth.

The finale, as well, is well-cooked and blends the hanging threads together into a nice chocolate pudding, leaving just enough left-overs to tease a possible sequel.  Along with a properly staged plot and excellent researched ingredients, the chef works in a solid, clean style, something important to keeping all the plot threads and character viewpoints clean in the third-person alternating style Mr. Freriks employs here.

There is only one real flaw, at least in my eyes, and that’s in the characters.  While there are no cardboard cutouts on display, at least along the major cast, there is a certain element of stereotypes mixed liberally in, especially with the antagonists.  There is an attempt to turn away from stereotypical villaindom, as well as several steps to try to put the morality of the situation on its head, but they ultimately ring hollow.  Add to that a few head-scratching moments of odd decision making by the protagonist (which I can’t really explain without SPOILERS) and a strange lack of representation among the cast and the characterization and cast feel a bit off.  It’s not a deal-breaker but it still worms its way into my consciousness.

To sum things up, Renaissance is a tasty treat of alternate history mixed with political thriller that only sours a tad on the character front!  If you love political thrillers or enjoy alternate history tales, you would do well with picking this one up, especially with the strong chance of a sequel.  If these aren’t your genres of choice, you may still want to give this a look, but check out the previews first before committing.  All in all, a solid read.

FINAL VERDICT: **** (A tasty treat of alternate history mixed with political thriller that only sours a tad on the character front!)

Starving Interview: Timothy A. Freriks, Author of Renaissiance

Good morning, friends!  It’s time once again to open the pantry, pull a fresh dish to review, and bring in that dish’s chef into the kitchen to have a few woods.  This week, we talk to Timothy A. Freriks, author of Renaissance.  Let’s see what’s on his mind!

Please introduce yourself to my literary foodies!

I am Tim Freriks. I have read books ever since I knew there were books. The worlds they took me to seemed more real than anything I was living in. But, reality being what it is, I think the big challenge in life is to find that kind of excitement and reward by writing and living your own story. Failing being able to custom-create a life, you can invent stuff and write fiction. My first career was as a musician, creating musical environments. Then I became an architect and created spatial environments. Then real estate development to build the physical environments, then two software companies that where designed to create simulated training environments. I guess creating environments is just my thing and fiction is the natural outgrowth.

Do you do any work outside of the writing kitchen? Any non-work interests?

Non-work? What’s that? When I sold the business and retired three years ago, it was a vacuum into which rushed all sorts of things. However, the primary interests are making my family (and dog) happy and writing stories about people in exciting made-up worlds, escape-to worlds that make readers happy, too. When my wife retires we will travel in the RV and find other adventures (that I will probably write about). But that’s not work.

What is your latest dish to be served up? Are there any past pieces of literary cuisine you think we should take a bite out of?

My newest, Mrr, is now available on Amazon. It is a complex but terribly enjoyable science fiction story. But there is something else: a strange thing happened one day while working on the sequel to Renaissance. A sentence popped into my head and I just had to type it down. When the frenzy was over, I had created a young woman, a remarkable young woman, with whom I’m afraid I have fallen in love. That book will be named Julia and it is chicklit. Crazy.

What made you want to put on the chef’s hat and whip up your own books?

I love to read books that grab me and engage in the stories. I found that I wanted to take characters in different directions, however, so I starting writing my own stories. It’s weird: I don’t consciously write; it’s more of reading a great story as it appears on the monitor. Usually, I have no freaking idea what’s going to happen next. I write because I really want to know how it turns out.

Do you have a genre of specialty or do you dabble? Why?

Renaissance is complex weave of story lines based in the political thriller genre. Sorta. There’s some romance and military and time travel and just a bunch of things in the pot. Mrr is a science-fiction love story that has bad guys and good guys and an ending that you will not believe. I’m working on Roland which is a historical novel set around 1800. And then there’s Julia … chicklit. I’m basically all over the place. I just love stories.

Style! Every literary chef aspires to have their own unique one! What do you think sets yours apart and why?

I don’t know if my style is terribly unique, but I respect writers who can tell a story that makes sense and flows well and moves around to create interest without boring the reader to death. I try to make my work easy to read while being challenging and engaging. I like humor, too; I’m a really funny guy and I just sometimes write stuff that makes me laugh, so I leave it in.

Even the best of us find inspiration is the dishes of others. Do you have any literary inspirations, heroes, and influences?

I think Harry Chapin (the songwriter) was one of the finest writers of all time. He never wrote a novel, but he could say things with a short sentence that would take other people a chapter to accomplish. Steven King does that, also. I am mesmerized by his style: so smooth and visual and efficient. He keeps the story rolling and weaves so many threads together that the tapestry you end up with is truly marvelous.

Let’s get into the meat and potatoes: the art and craft of writing itself! Do you have a preference of points-of-view when you write?

I never write in first person. It’s just easier to create visualizations with a narrator.

Sparse or wordy, how do you like your descriptions served up? Are you a Hemmingway man or do you like some saucy adjectives with your nouns?

I hate writers that string a bunch of cute adjectives together to make it sound flowery at the expense of moving it along. The art is in putting ordinary words together to create powerful visuals and emotions and story lines that captivate the reader’s imagination. Every sentence is like a brick in a wall: every new brick should be supported by a brick that was placed earlier and should also prepare to support a brick that will be set in place later.

Picking off the menu of base literary conflicts, what’s your favorite and why?

Bad guys/good guys. Evil/Good. Win/lose. Love/loss/love. You know, the basics. They work.

What do you think is more important to your recipes, plot or characterization? Why?

Probably plot. I love to create simultaneous story lines that integrate as the book moves forward and finally comes together into a massive and satisfying climax. Of course, characters have to be real and engaging. So, it all works together.

We all know that the first taste means the most! What do you do to get that first bite hook with your readers?

Give them something to get excited about, to care about and question. When they ask: “damn, where is this going?”, I’m pleased.

The most important of questions: Cake or pie?

What the hell does that mean? Boxers or briefs? I don’t get it. If you mean “real” food, if I could get a pizza cake, I’d probably buy it.

Finally, if you could give one piece of advice to aspiring literary chefs out there, what would it be?

There are basics to learn, like clarity of scene changes, character POV, creating the setting, and a whole lot more. Learn those; it’s like a skeleton: if you have a strong framework, you can build beautiful people or ugly people just by adding the meat. Some writers add the meat well, and some don’t. I have come to believe that most great writers just “have it” and no amount of training can make you a Steven King. Don’t give up, but if it isn’t working, don’t be afraid to try something else. That’s probably awful advice, but I spent five years of my life thinking I was the world’s greatest jazz trumpet player. I wasn’t, and no amount of practice was going to make me good enough. But, if you DO have it, do not be afraid to just keep writing. Pretty soon, somebody will agree with you.

Book News: New Projects and A Strange Plea a.k.a. My Apology, No Comedy Title Today

No alumni Starving Interview today, folks, though I hope to rectify this next week!  Instead, we present an offer of new things in the future, followed by yours truly begging at your feet like a kicked puppy.  AWESOME!

Right, let’s start with the less embarrassing part.  My latest writing project, the start of a brand new series, has actually begun.  There is a lot about this new book that stray away from the works I’ve done in the past, but I think that will give this series a unique place in my portfolio.  I think it’s too early yet to start dropping teasers and such, but if you’re a fan of fantasy mystery romance post-magical-apocalypse LGBT dramas with film noire and cyberpunk influences, you’ll want to read this one.  If that giant pile of mish-mash appeals to you, then feel free to contact me directly via e-mail (jbgarner58@gmail.com) or through any social media and we’ll see if you want to take the plunge to be an alpha/beta reader!  Otherwise, expect the first full blown teasers, as well as the rough drafts of the first few ‘chapters’, next month.

Now we can go to the pathetic part, yay!  Well, it’s not too pathetic.  I honestly hope this comes across as something of a heartfelt request as opposed to some kind of emotional blackmail, but we’ll see how it goes.  Just know that, if you like, you can brush this off as simply another indie author loosing his/her mind and ignore it.

I started doing book reviews for my fellow authors for purely selfish reasons.  Wanting content to attract people to my blog, to see my own books, I figured reviewing others was a good way to get my name out there.  However, as I think many of the alumni reviewees and long-time readers can attest, it didn’t stay that way.  I felt a desire to give back to the community that had helped me along the way, given me advice, and needed another voice, a voice willing to read practically ANYTHING.

When I got my first thank you for a deeply critical review, one that asked me for more help and insights off-the-record, I knew then that I really was contributing back.  That was sixty-some reviews ago and that good feeling has sustained me to the point where, often, I do more work for other authors and for my reviews than my own work.  Crap, that could be emotional blackmail, couldn’t it?  Still, it’s been said so moving on …

What my work as a reviewer has NOT done is pulled people in to look at my own writing.  Many seem to love my writing articles, love my reviews, and want my advice, but very few seem to want to click the My Books link, or the Patreon link, or anything that might help sustain the work I do.  I know, why should anyone?  I’m, in essence, still quite the small fry when it comes to this sort of thing.  What right would I have to ask, yet alone expect, anyone to do that sort of thing?

I don’t.  No one does.  What I do want to ask is for anyone who has put up with this meandering scrawl to be open to new genres, to not ignore an indie author’s work just because they are indie, and to consider taking up the reviewer’s pen yourself, even if it is for just a few books you particularly enjoy or loathe.  If you decide one of those is one of mine, great, but if it is for ANYONE, it’ll make me feel better about my own lot.  It would be a positive thing pushed forward and that’s always a win, even if it doesn’t put lunch money into my pocket.

Anyway, let’s put that in the past and move on.  We will have a fresh Starving Review served up for you tomorrow!  Until then, good reading, good writing, and good luck!

Writing Is A Bad Habit: It’s Like Something Out of a Cheesy Novel! a.k.a. Lampshade Hanging

Last week, we talked about embracing tropes and archetypes, as well as a little bit about how to use them properly.  In the further past, we specifically spotlighted reconstruction and deconstruction as means to that end, but there are other ways to make tropes acceptable and endearing to your readers.  Get ready for some interior decorating, friends, as we hang some new lampshades on everything!

Lampshade Hanging (or lampshading for short) describes the technique where a writer helps smooth over any egregious stretches of the reader’s suspension of disbelief or excessive trope use by calling it out directly in the narrative.  It can be a simple nod to the situation to a specific call-out of the trope and the genre of the narrative.  This is a time-honored technique (it’s good enough for Shakespeare; it’s good enough for you!), but to use it well, we have to understand why it works.

First, it can provide a sense of honesty, a connection between writer and reader, about the stretch of reality in the situation.  By approaching the breach of reality or the excesses of the trope with a self-deprecating, up-front face, the author brings himself down to the same level as the reader as both acknowledge that, sometimes, books have to be a bit crazy to make everything work and it’s best to accept and enjoy it.  The author isn’t trying to hide their plot holes or flaws.  Instead they are pointing them out actively and acknowledging their own flaws, a truthfulness many people may appreciate.

Secondly, it reconnects the trope or reality breach in a direct way BACK to the real world.  Let’s be frank.  Many things happen in the real world that we can’t directly explain.  Life really is strange and there are plenty of strange people, the very people who are the foundation for the tropes we use in our writing.  How many times have you said in real life, ‘Wow, I can’t believe that happened!’?  Probably a fair bit, I’d wager.  When something crazy happens in a book and your characters do that very thing, it makes the event suddenly far more believable, simply because it reminds us of the uncertainty of our own reality.

So we know why it works, so how do we mess up lampshading?  The simplest way is to use too many lampshades in a single work.  If you find yourself needing to call out too many excesses in a row, it means you’ve lost track of the narrative and you’re leaning on lampshades to make up the slack.  Lampshading only works when done sparingly, to deal with that one or two breeches or over-the-top tropes you absolutely need to make the story work, not as an excuse to go hog-wild.

Also, it’s important to note that the best uses for lampshading are for dealing with disbelief issues or tropes, and not so much for true plot holes.  Yes, sometimes they can help soothe over sudden deus ex machina and the like, but simply putting a fringed pink shade over a gaping plot hole won’t do.  It only makes you look like someone desperately trying to disarm critics instead of being honest with your readers.

What are your thoughts on lampshade hanging?  Do you have any anecdotes, thoughts, comments, or criticisms?  Leave them in the comments!

Until next time, good reading, good writing, and good luck!

Monday Musings: Why So Mad, My Brother? a.k.a. Rage Quitting, Competition, and Video Games

So this past weekend, I had the chance to participate in the Street Fighter V beta testing, reliving my passions for fighting-based video games born in my youth going to Atlanta arcades.  I had a lot of fun with it, learned a few things about myself, and had my share of success and loss.  It’s competition.  That happens.  No one wins every game!  However, it also let me experience (something I have seen before but never really pondered) one of the most unique phenomenon to competitive online video games: the rage quit.

In essence, it is the online equivalent of taking one’s ball and going home.  When the rage quitter is outmatched and loosing a game, even at the moment of their defeat, he/she literally breaks the internet connection.  In many games, this prevents the game from granting rewards for the winner’s victory and penalties for the quitter’s defeat.  This zero-sum solution was chosen by most games as a nod that they expect most disconnects to be legitimate, caused by internet outages or connection issues, not upset losers pulling their network cables.

Now, one could consider this to be a purely calculated move, an effort to preserve one’s online standings and ranking.  In some cases, this may be accurate.  In most cases, though, it’s purely ego-driven.  Why do I think that?  Because these guys still rage quit when there’s no consequences.  You know, like in a Beta of a game where no records are being kept.

Why haven’t we seen this before, in previous competitive sports and activities?  Well, we have, of course, but never really to the extent you see it online gaming.  It comes down to the combination of anonymity of the online world combined with the ease of the exit.  All it takes is a button press or two or popping a cable free to slip out of a loss with no consequences, preserving a fragile ego with a great unlikelihood of ever running into or being recognized by your victim again.

In time, online gaming will put into place more ways to identify and punish rage quitters, but there will always be people who can’t accept loss and will do anything to duck it.  In the end, fortunately, they only hurt themselves.  By focusing so much on covering up defeat, they loose their chance to learn from that defeat and get better.

Well, we’re back to literary cuisine on Wednesday!  Until then, good reading, good writing, and good luck!