Dear Second Acts;

I’ve recently started a pretty serious relationship with a younger man. He doesn’t always get my pop culture references. This can be disconcerting sometimes, but his youthful vigor and stamina and all-out lust for life more than make up for it. The only real problem is that he is obsessed with video games. He’s a junior partner at a law firm, for goodness sake, but when he slides into his favorite armchair, in front of his precious console, he slips into a sort of trance, transforming into some kind of preteen zombie killer, Green Beret, or vigilante maniac. I mean, how many first-person shooting games must one man master? He’s totally unreachable for two hours every night. I like that it gives me more reading time, but I’m starting to have fantasies about the black and white, digitized author photos on my Kindle.

Game Almost Over in Schenectady

Dear Game Almost;

Everybody needs down time, so attempting to ban his electronic passion is not advised and is probably impossible. However, two hours a night is a big slice of bupkis. How about this: give him one hour and then ask him politely to cut out the digital carnage. If excessive shoot-em-up-itis persists, go stealth under the radar and sidle over to his joystick. If he doesn’t respond, you may have to take your own yearnings to the next level by putting down the Kindle and taking up some extracurricular gaming of your own.

Cynthia

By Cynthia Amas of Second Acts Dating Service
This “advice” column is the result of art overtaking life. When author Julia Dumont created her leading lady, Cynthia Amas, for her Second Acts novels, she had no idea how domineering her character would become. Cynthia, a man-challenged matchmaker, insisted on writing her own dating advice blog. Julia tried to explain that fictional characters don’t usually write advice blogs for real people, but Cynthia was undaunted. The result is not your average dating blog, but it’s just as funny, irreverent and delightfully crazy as Cynthia.  Should you take her advice? Read on and decide for yourself.