New novel by Artist Cafe Utica's owner available on Amazon Kindle

Internet Bravado,  the latest self-published novel by Artist Cafe Utica’s owner and head writer Jess Szabo, is now available for purchase through Amazon. 

The novel follows members of the same crowd of Utica musicians, writers, and academics from previous novels through the issues that people face today. In Internet Bravado, Utica musician and teacher Quin Sartini, his friend the Psychology professor Victor James “Jay” Parisi, and their family, friends, and romantic partners deal with the cultural phenomenon of “canceling” or shunning, those whose behavior fails to meet certain standards. 

Internet Bravado was inspired in part by a YouTube video by creator “Laowhy86.” In the video, channel owner and host Matthew Tye shares the story of a real-life college professor who was removed from his classroom for using a common Chinese word that some people thought might sound similar to an American racial slur. The word in Chinese merely translates to “that.” 

This latest work is the sixth self-published novel by Jess Szabo. In addition to her other novels, Jess is also the author of nearly all of the material added to the library of free articles here at Artist Cafe Utica, and the educational short story “Pershing Papers,” a constantly evolving series of scenes written to help her Composition I and II students at the university where she serves as a faculty member strengthen their skills in written communication and academic writing. 

Jess holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theater and a Master of Arts in Literature and Creative Writing. But her education in the arts began in early childhood, when her grandmother, artist Helen Toth, working in fabric and ceramics, taught her the importance and value of art by creating everything from plush toys to lifelike statues while Jess watched, convinced her grandmother had magic hands. Around this same time, Jess’ father, Larry Szabo, taught her to read and to sing. 

In addition to promoting Internet Bravado, Jess is currently hard at work on novel number seven, version number eight of “Pershing Papers” and more articles for the library here at Artist Cafe Utica. 

She lives in her adopted hometown of Utica, New York. Utica is also the home of the love of her life,  her fiancé, Utica musician  Lou Santacroce and most of their family, which includes Artist Cafe Utica mascot, Callie. 

Purchase your copy of Internet Bravado by clicking on the image in this article or stopping in the “bookstore” on your next visit to Artist Cafe Utica dot com. 

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