Video Games are Real

Category: Events Featuring Caleb

  • Blog Tour Stop: Laura Szumowski, illustrator of New York Stories by Ben Tanzer. You’ll love her cartoonish style.

    Frequent readers will know that I’m a bit of a Ben Tanzer fan. He simply doesn’t disappoint. So when I was asked to make this World’s First Author Blog a stop on his recent blog tour for his New York Stories collection from CCLaP, I jumped at the chance. Equally, I’m jumping at the chance to host a stop for New York Stories illustrator Laura Szumowski.

    Laura has a style that pairs perfectly with the domestic, somewhat detached characters of Ben Tanzer’s work. Smooth lines, intense borders, unabashedly cartoonish, Laura’s work elicits a simple nostalgia, the type of times-remembered that Tanzer’s characters seem to always be chasing.

    New York Stories isn’t the first book illustrated by Szumowski. She’s the author/illustrator of a lot of cool looking books, my favorite of which is Cycling: A Guide to Menstruation. Though I haven’t read it, I can’t imagine it disappointing.

    Head over to Laura Szumowski’s site, take in her offerings, then be sure to swing by CCLaP to pick up a copy of the very limited, very handmade New York Stories.

  • Social Media for Authors and Planting a Story Seed. Slideshow fans, get ready to geek out.

    Social Media for Authors and Planting a Story Seed. Slideshow fans, get ready to geek out.

    This past weekend I was fortunate enough to have been invited to be a part of the 2012 Tallgrass Writing Workshop. This thing has been going on every year for the past 27 years; I definitely do not take lightly the privilege of being part of such a legacy.

    Aside from participating in general camaraderie, I taught two sessions. Both of which seem to have been pretty successful (despite my habit of talking WAY too much).

    For the benefit of those who were not able to attend my sessions (due to simultaneous, better sessions), I have uploaded my two original slideshows for the viewing pleasure of all. The social media one even has audio included. Neat!

    Click the links below the images to access the slideshows.

    Watch at Slideshare.net (with audio) | Watch using Google+

    SURVIVING ONLINE: Why Social Media is Not a Waste of Time for Authors

    Some writers claim that time spent engaging in social media is time wasted. But what is an author but a communicator of ideas, and what is social media but a platform for exchanging ideas (primarily by text, I might add). This session will focus on how the entrepreneurial author, even without a book yet to promote, can use social media not just for nurturing a potential readership but for nurturing story ideas as well.

    Watch at Slideshare.net | Watch using Google+

    PLANTING A STORY: How to Grow a Plot from a Single Seed

    Author Stephen Graham Jones has said that many of his story ideas stem from misheard conversations. This session will explore the process of building an entire story from practically nothing, with special consideration given to dismantling the sham known as writer’s block.

  • Writer’s Block is Just an Excuse for Broken Storytelling

    Just live, late, late last night, a new post over at Phil Jourdan’s Slothrop blog.

    Writer’s block has nothing to do with motivation (if the story is working, you’ll have plenty of motivation). It has nothing to do with a weak plot (plenty of great books are weak on plot; The Great Gatsby is “guy moves into a house next to rich guy”…that’s about it). It has nothing to do with your own seemingly problematic writing environment (Chuck Palahniuk wrote Choke while bound up in a hospital bed; you aren’t allowed to complain). Most of the time writer’s block is simply your brain’s reaction to a weakness in your story.

    Head over to Slothrop to read the post. Leave a comment. Let Phil know how much you love the article. Maybe he will have me back.

    Also, as a bonus, this article can act as a glimpse of what I’ll be teaching for June’s Tallgrass Writing Workshop at Emporia State University. If you like the article and will be in Kansas in June, sign up for the workshop.

  • Writing a Book Doesn’t Make You an Author

    Writing a Book Doesn’t Make You an Author

    The first of my hopefully long-running contributions to Phil Jourdan’s Slothrop blog is now live. The title, Writing a Book Doesn’t Make You an Author, isn’t meant only to be an attention grabber, but is actually true. I know, truth, right. Here’s a taste:

    The role of author has transformed almost as drastically as has media distribution support system. Authors can no longer be expected to simply produce content. Anyone with $10, a manuscript, and access to the internet can get a book listed on Amazon within minutes. Rather, the role of the author is to be an active, participating member of a book-loving community—by both consuming and creating content—and most importantly by legitimizing the importance of the literary community itself to those who may not be a part of it.

    Head over to Slothrop to read the post. Leave a comment. Let Phil know how much you love the article. Maybe he will have me back.

    Also, as a bonus, this article can act as a glimpse of what I’ll be teaching for June’s Tallgrass Writing Workshop at Emporia State University. If you like the article and will be in Kansas in June, sign up for the workshop.

  • Story Seeding and Social Media, I’m teaching both at the Tallgrass Writing Workshop in June.

    Story Seeding and Social Media, I’m teaching both at the Tallgrass Writing Workshop in June.

    I am honored to have been asked to teach a couple of sessions at the 2012 Tallgrass Writers Workshop at Emporia State University in June.

    If you will be in the Emporia area, you should register. Let me manipulate your mind to reflect my morbid desires. THE POWER!!!!

    I’ll be teaching:

    PLANTING A STORY: How to Grow a Plot from a Single Seed

    Author Stephen Graham Jones has said that many of his story ideas stem from misheard conversations. This session will explore the process of building an entire story from practically nothing, with special consideration given to dismantling the sham known as writer’s block.

    SURVIVING ONLINE: Why Social Media is Not a Waste of Time for Authors

    Some writers claim that time spent engaging in social media is time wasted. But what is an author but a communicator of ideas, and what is social media but a platform for exchanging ideas (primarily by text, I might add). This session will focus on how the entrepreneurial author, even without a book yet to promote, can use social media not just for nurturing a potential readership but for nurturing story ideas as well.

    Other workshop faculty include Thomas Fox Averill, Thomas Fox Averill, Linda Apple, Max McCoy, Jim Hoy, Cheryl Unruh, and Annie Wilson

    See full details at the Tallgrass Writers Workshop website or by downloading the workshop brochure.

  • New story, “The Lipidopterist,” read live at The Meshuggah Cafe, recorded by Booked Podcast

    New story, “The Lipidopterist,” read live at The Meshuggah Cafe, recorded by Booked Podcast

    The fellows over at Booked Podcast are gents in the truest sense of the word. By that I mean they are whimsical placcards on the bathroom doors of bar restrooms. Also, they happen to be amazingly active participants in the podcast and reading communities, so much so that they are dedicating many future episodes of their podcast to live readings as recorded during the 2012 AWP Conference in Chicago, IL.

    Though my reading, done at The Meshuggah Cafe in St. Louis on February 28th, wasn’t officially part of the AWP Conference (which started February 29th in Chicago), the entire week blends for me into a single mess of drink, friends, and drunk friends.

    This recording captures the first time I had read “The Lipidopterist” out loud in front of an audience. All-in-all, I think it worked.

    Have a listen, then check out Booked Podcast for more. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you will never miss an episode.

    Lastly, head over to Amazon to buy “The Lipidopterist,” why doncha? It’s even available for FREE if you have that Amazon Prime thing.

  • Booked Podcast. Noir at the Bar. The Velvet Podcast.

    Booked Podcast. Noir at the Bar. The Velvet Podcast.

    I’ve been non-stop busy the past few weeks. I feel as though I’ve done nothing, as my to-do list never shrinks. But somehow, as I look back, all that I felt never happened, is done. Here’s a few things:

    The wonderful Robb Olson and Livius Nedin at Booked Podcast did a full episode about my work, splitting time with my two newest books, I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin and As a Machine and Parts. The things these guys say, it makes me blush colors of red never before blushed by humans. Listen to the full episode now, and be sure to stay to the end to hear Mlaz Corbier say awesome things about my awesome socks.

    Pablo D’Stair and I recorded another episode of The Velvet Podcast. We talked about one my recent tweets:

    [blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/calebjross/status/158648828218707968″]

    I hope to have the episode edited and posted within a week. As always, taking with Pablo is a true joy. I hope the listener gets as much from the episode as I got from recording it.

    I’ll be reading in St. Louis as part of the Noir at the Bar series at the Meshuggah Café on February, 28th. The next day, I’ll be at the AWP Conference in Chicago just hanging out. Head over to the Facebook event page for more info. You should be there.