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Easter Eggs, you know, those hidden references in movies, books, websites, and more that aren't necessary but are damn fun in a treasure hunt sort of way. I planted a few (13 to be exact) in my newest novel, I Didn't Mean to be Kevin. In this, part 4 (of4), I reveal references to Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club) and Geoffrey Chaucer (The Canterbury Tales). After watching, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel to stay updated on new videos

Easter Eggs, you know, those hidden references in movies, books, websites, and more that aren't necessary but are damn fun in a treasure hunt sort of way. I planted a few (13 to be exact) in my newest novel, I Didn't Mean to be Kevin. In this, part 3 (of4), I reveal references to Joseph Heller (Catch-22) and F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby). Eleven down, two to go   After watching, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel to stay updated on new videos

Easter Eggs, you know, those hidden references in movies, books, websites, and more that aren't necessary but are damn fun in a treasure hunt sort of way. I planted a few (13 to be exact) in my newest novel, I Didn't Mean to be Kevin. In this, part 2, I reveal references to T.C. Boyle, Steve Aylett, Craig Clevenger, Brian Evenson, Will Christopher Baer, Octavio Paz, and Flannery O'Connor. Seven down, four to go. After watching, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel to stay updated on new videos

Easter Eggs, you know, those hidden references in movies, books, websites, and more that aren't necessary but are damn fun in a treasure hunt sort of way. I planted a few (13 to be exact)  in my newest novel, I Didn't Mean to be Kevin, not on the assumption that some reader would be thrilled by a find in one of my books, but because the concept actually worked well with the theme of the novel. The theme being that people need validation. Jackson, the narrator, validates himself as a person by telling crazy stories to strangers. I, as an author, validate myself by telling you about all the cool books I've read. Two down, eleven to go. After watching, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel to stay updated on new videos

Does giving away your books lead to more readers, and in turn, more fans? A few weeks ago I conducted a pretty in-depth study regarding the effectiveness of a Goodreads.com book giveaway in which I found that 93% of entrants had never heard of me and 88% planned on reading my books. Couple that with 51% of entrants signing up for my email newsletter, and the giveaway was well worth the two books I sacrificed. Science must be repeatable, right? A couple of weeks ago I ended yet another giveaway. The Setup I listed a 2 copy giveaway for I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin to take place between 3/14/2012 and 3/31/2012. During this time the giveaway received a total of 378 entries. After the giveaway was closed for entries, I sent a 9 yes/no question questionnaire to 222 entrants. 156 entrants could not be sent the questionnaire, either because I know…

A beautiful few words from reader Frank Edler: "These are fairly short bursts of that unique domestic fiction that Ross not only has a penchant for writing but also executes to a level that could earn him the moniker of 'Father of Domestic Fiction'. If another writer tells stories quite like this, I do know know of him or her...Once again I walk away from another of Caleb J. Ross' work with an uneasy feeling. ..The author is brilliant at looking at a tender moment and peeling away the layers to reveal the disturbing grotesque. We connect with it because under all our facades lies a bit of that same ugliness to some degree or another. I must now venture forth into his longer works, STRANGER WILL and I DIDN'T MEAN TO BE KEVIN....I can not wait to have my emotions unsettled a little bit more." Read the full review…

UPDATE: The results of this annoying link test can be found by clicking here (If you got to this page via an annoying social media or blog comment link, keep reading. This is all for the sake of science.) I’m a data nerd. I’ve gone record stating such, and I’ll go on record again. Something about seeing charts and graphs and trending lines and mapping the effect of X to Y and…let me pause to catch my breath a bit. I am fresh off a really successful Goodreads.com user study thing, so I’m itching to get back to the spreadsheets. So why tell you this? I am going to conduct a week-long test of sorts that will probably be a bit more intrusive than most of my other studies. I’ve noticed a lot of incessant product whoring on forums, blog post comments, and social status updates. You know the kind:…

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