The always awesome Lori over at The Next Big Book Blog is constantly coming up with cool ways to combine writing/reading with general interest topics like food and booze. Just last week she had me over for a series called Would You Rather in which she asked me a series of questions, all following the would you rather _____ or ____ format.
12. Would you rather be forced to listen to Ayn Rand bloviate for an hour or be hit on by an angry Dylan Thomas?
Getting hit on by Dylan Thomas would be quicker, so I’ll go that route.
Families were important then, and they were important not because the children were useful in the fields to break corn and hoe cotton and drop potato vines in the wet weather or the help with hog butchering and all the rest of it. No, they were important because a large family was the only thing a man could be sure of having. Nothing else was certain. If a man had no education or even if he did, the hope of putting money in the bank and keeping it there or owning a big piece of land free and clear, such hope was so remote that few men ever let themselves think about it. The timber in the county was of no consequence, and there was very little rich bottom land. Most of the soil was poor and leached out, and commercial fertilizer was dear as blood. But a man didn’t need good land or strands of hardwood trees to have babies. All he needed was balls and the inclination.
Ross doesn’t exactly ever do normal. His characters are flawed in ways that everyone really is, but he puts a little extra stank on those flaws. And he addresses those flaws with a blunt honesty that makes the reader just a little more uncomfortable. Like a lover that just won’t quit, when you think you’ve found some equilibrium with his particular brand of weird, he twists the knife just once more.
and
Yes. That’s a Caleb J Ross story. He’s a weird little man and I love him for it. His stories don’t always fit, but they’re good, in that sore thumb sort of way. Always. He’ll never be Jonathan Franzen, all literary and boring in some classically trained New Yorker bullshit manner, and I appreciate that. That’s what I want, the weird and the circus sideshows, the fantastic and brilliant.
Also, I love that he included #FCJR as a post tag.
Definitely buy The Booked. Anthology. Steal pennies from a wino, if you have to. But at least read the wino a story from the book. I recommend “The Removal Kind.”
Okay, we aren’t doing the work for you. But we are giving you a pleasant bump. Not as in cocaine. Unless you’re writing a book about cocaine. Perhaps a family of W.A.S.P (“pleasant”) take to cocaine to help them through their rigid dinner conversations, most of which painfully circumnavigate the 8 weeks pregnant daughter (another “bump”…). It works. For a while. Until the son, Tommy Fitzgerald, brings a friend to dinner. This friend, unbeknownst to the W.A.S.P family, happens to be the son of the city police chief and may be the baby’s father. A Pleasant Bump is a story of a family finding ways to bond in unlikely places, and of the law that tears them apart.
There’s one idea for you right there. See, that was easy.
What to expect: a low key hour of laughing about ridiculous plot concepts that no sane person should ever try. However, IF a person (sane or otherwise) does use one of the ideas generated during the show, and a finished novel comes of it, then prizes will be given. We aren’t sure what yet, though we do anticipate some amazing.
[schema type=”event” evtype=”LiteraryEvent” url=”https://plus.google.com/u/1/events/crlmds91qda9s92b18uihjvnqf4?authkey=CKPEmJfUkJGrUQ” name=”NaNoBraSto – National Novel Writing Month Brain Storm by BookTube LIVE” description=”Join Caleb J. Ross (calebjross), Sarah Jane Connor (MotherEffingBooks), Liz Vallish (ElizzieBooks), and perhaps a few other guests as we extemporaneously formulate a collection of absurd, humorous, and most certainly weak, plots for your NaNoWriMo novel. What to expect: a low key hour of laughing about ridiculous plot concepts that no sane person should ever try. However, IF a person (sane or otherwise) does use one of the ideas generated during the show, and a finished novel comes of it, then prizes will be given. We aren’t sure what yet, though we do anticipate some amazing.” sdate=”2013-10-16″ stime=”08:30 pm” edate=”2013-10-16″ duration=”01:00″ ]
I was incredibly happy to see this wonderful video book review posted today by YouTuber/BookTuber MartheBozart. Not only did she enjoy the book, she also noted a couple of specific parts of the book that I myself am particularly proud of. Very little in this world feels as nice as the rush of pride that comes over an author when a book works as intended. Thank you MartheBozart for reading and for the wonderful review (and for liking Stranger Will enough to pass along the book to a friend!).
Watch the review below. Also, be sure to check out MartheBozart’s channel and other social profiles via the links below. After all that, you’ll probably want to buy Stranger Will, right? I’ve made it easy for you. Just click over to Amazon (or your online book site of choice) now.
And just when I thought it couldn’t get better over at YouTube, I happen upon another video review, this one from RachelLovesBooks. This one was uploaded in July, but somehow I completely missed it. Watch below:
Me: Author of 5 books of fiction, creator of funny video content, Twitter following cultivator, YouTube personality, crowd pleaser, book seller, and proponent of the Oxford comma.
You: Publisher looking for an author who knows all about platform building, book selling, and people pleasing. Dollar signs turn you on. Command of the English language turns you on more.
Lovely to meet you, publisher. Up front, I must admit to a bit of a situation. My publisher and I recently separated. Please, don’t assume this split is indicative of our relationship. We had a lovely relationship, actually. Unfortunately, due to matters beyond our control, the publisher has closed its doors completely. As of September 12, 2013 I am officially single.
I know, you’re wondering, “why should I take a chance with you?” It’s a fair question. Allow me a few lines of ego with which to highlight the value I bring to this burgeoning relationship.
[divider3 text=”How important is your career?”]
Very:
2,300+ copies (eBook and print combined) of I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin moved since original publication
40+ stories and non-fiction articles published online and in print (full list)
20+ interviews with and articles about me published online and in print (full list)
Bachelor of Arts, English Literature with a focus on Contemporary American literature and the American short story from Emporia State University. Minor in Creative Writing with a focus on Fiction, postmodernism, and metafiction.
I’m embarrassed by all the kind people in my life. Please, meet some of these kind individuals:
This could be yours. No prenup required.
“Brilliant…one of the most amazing fiction concepts I’ve ever read.”
Rayo Casablanca, author of 6 Sick Hipsters and Very Mercenary re: I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin
“In I Didn’t Mean to Be Kevin, Caleb J. Ross writes fearlessly, never shying away from the wild, insane places where his fertile imagination leads him.”
Joey Goebel, author of Commonwealth and Torture the Artist re: I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin
“A stirring novel, this extraordinary work plays upon the reader’s willingness to suspend disbelief and turns it on its ear… Covering ground similar to the works of Sherman Alexie and Chuck Palahniuk, this is an author worth keeping an eye on.”
Publisher’s Weekly re: I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin
“Here’s hoping some of that mainstream audience can pull their heads out of their asses long enough to read Ross, and then be gloriously horrified.”
Paul Tremblay, author of The Little Sleep and No Sleep Til Wonderland re: I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin
“With As a Machine and Parts Caleb J. Ross continues to stake his claim as his generation’s Watcher.”
Ben Tanzer, author of You Can Make Him Like You and My Father’s House re: As a Machine and Parts
“This is an original—unlike anything you’ve ever read before.”
Rob Roberge, author of More than They Could Chew and The Cost of Living re: Stranger Will
“Just like a Palahniuk novel, Stranger Will reads volatile: it could go any way. Caleb J. Ross leads you with a wry smile into dark places, but by the time you realize it’s too late. You will follow him anywhere.”
Alan Emmins, author of Mop Men: Inside the World of Crime Scene Cleaners re: Stranger Will
“Evoking a novel by Chuck Palahniuk or a film by Darren Aronofsky, Charactered Pieces is a multifarious patchwork of despair. From the misshapen protagonist of the title story to the gruesome climax of “The Camel of Morocco,” this collection is among the most profound and disturbing artifacts of our time.”
Daniel Casebeer, editor of Pear Noir! re: Charactered Pieces
“These stories change you, and not just a little bit. Try to forget them, tell yourself they’re not true, but it’s no use. Whether you want them to or not, they’re going with you.”
Stephen Graham Jones, author of Demon Theory and Ledfeather re: Charactered Pieces
All I ask, publisher, is for just one date to prove myself. If anything, at least it’s a guaranteed free meal, right? Contact me via the Contact Page.
The always awesome Lori over at The Next Big Book Blog is constantly coming up with cool ways to combine writing/reading with general interest topics like food and booze. Just last week she had me over for a series called Would You Rather in which she asked me a series of questions, all following the would you rather _____ or ____ format.
