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Posts By Caleb J. Ross

began writing his sophomore year of undergrad study when, tired of the formal art education then being taught, he abandoned the pursuit in the middle of a compositional drawing class. Major-less and fearful of losing his financial aid, he signed up to seek a degree in English Literature for no other reason than his lengthy history with the language. Coincidentally, this decision not only introduced him to writing but to reading as well. Prior this transition he had read three books. One of which he understood.

Craig Wallwork, author of the aptly titled Craig Wallwork blog, takes over with this stop, letting me rest for a day. But lucky for you, you beautiful groupie, Craig's post may just be better than all of mine combined. At least my ego thinks so. Click over to Craig's blog to read a stunning review of Charactered Pieces. This thing make me blush every time I read it (and I read it more this is probably healthy). Here's a taste (read the whole thing at Craig's blog to know what he means with the swimming analogy): It is a great achievement for any writer to see their work in print, but to produce a piece that could, given time, be a significant bit of storytelling of our age, is awe-inspiring. For personal reasons I am indebted to Caleb for allowing me to read his work. Like the boy of twelve…

@Fictionaut, I've started a profile. I'm still not entirely sure what the site is all about. But it has the word "fiction" in the url, and I like fiction. @JMWW I'm interviewed. We talk about fatherhood, stories, and the reasons behind my lack of manliness. @everywhere, all installments of my AUTHOR NOTES series have been posted. Click here for a full list. The AUTHOR NOTES are a series of posts that contain specific extra information about each of the stories in Charactered Pieces. When I get a die-hard fan, this will please him. @Prospero's Books in Kansas City, Charactered Pieces is now for sale. If local, go there to support this fantastic bookstore. 1800 West 39th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64111 { Directions } phone: 816.531.WORD · email: info@prosperosbookstore.com

Today is a special day in the Blog Orgy Tour. Not only is this the first stop of the new decade, but it's a unique stop in that I have a brand new story to offer. The story, "Legs Unwilling," is one of the most disturbing stories I've ever written. And between this story and an older story, "Petty Injuries," I might have the makings of a collection of stories built around mentally disabled children. How's that for a feel-good read? I'm quite glad to have Rotten Leaves post this story. The editors, Axel Taiari and Christopher Dwyer are fantastic writers themselves. Stick around the site and check out the other offered fiction. The Blog Orgy Tour is winding down. But damn good things are still to come. See the dates, here.

The easiest characters are those with baggage included. OPRAH READ THIS > OPRAH, READ THIS is a collection of stories that each leverage the name-recognition of other writers to impart a meta-layer of interpretation. These are fictions. The writers are not. Here, we explore the overlap. This collection will be live for 11 months: January 2010-November 2010 Writers include: Mel Bosworth/Henry Miller Chris Deal/Chinaski/Charles Bukowski Christopher Dwyer/Jane Austen Paul Eckert/Kurt Vonnegut Gordon Highland/Stephenie Meyer Nik Korpon/Dexter Morgan Caleb J Ross/Sarah Palin Kevin Sampsell/Mary Gaitskill Richard Thomas/Stephen King Nathan Tyree/Tao Lin xTx/Stephen King

Today is another double-header, sending me from the literary and artistic haven for poets, writers and artists known as Troubadour21 to the subterranean bloke's room populated by Bukowski, Kerouac, Carver, and Waits known as Bukowski's Basement (I think Bukowski contributes more than is 1/4 of the rent to get his name on the sign). At Troubadour21, a full story from Charactered Pieces is posted. This one called "Refill," which originally appeared in the now defunct Green Muse Review. This story is a personal one, semi-autobiographical, yet despite what that description implies, it isn't boring. Over in Bukowski's Basement, I talk a bit about my secret dream of being a barstool stereotype. It's not secret anymore. The post also acts as the final installment of my Author Notes, this one about the non-fiction piece, "A Chinese Gemini." Fitting, the piece spends some time in a bar. The Blog Orgy Tour is…

Today, I stop at Nicholas Karpuk's blog, which consists of a series of posts tagged "Cartoon Hell," that comment on a cartoon DVD from a $5 collection called “150 Cartoon Classics." You have no idea how much this idea excited me when I first heard about it. So, to be able to add a bit of cartoon talk to his blog is an honor. There, I talk about how Ren & Stimpy inspired the cover design for Charactered Pieces. And just for fun, check out this playlist featuring Tex Avery's most well-known cartoons. As a child, I absorbed Looney Tunes cartoons. Avery's "[Blank] of Tomorrow" newsreel satires were my favorite (as evidenced by an earlier post here).

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