Getting a signed copy of a book isn’t always easy. Though, sometimes, it’s incredibly easy. Behold, another unscripted account of how I managed to get a copy of a book signed by its author. In this episode, I discuss the long, arduous path to acquiring a signature by Caleb J. Ross.
As I get more and more into this YouTube channel thing, I’m starting to understand more about the YouTube community. One thing I’ve noticed is that when channels hit subscriber milestones (100 subscribers, 500 subscribers, etc.) they do something special as a way to say thank you. So, I’m going to do just that.
I currently have 75 subscribers. Once I hit 100 subscribers I am going to give something away to one randomly chosen subscriber. What will that giveaway be? Not sure yet, but I promise it will be good and it will be made by my very own hands. I generally err on the side of handmade slipcases and a copy of one of my books, but who knows, maybe I’ll do more.
Here’s how it will work:
I anticipate item #2 above will go something like this: If you are a subscriber AND you comment on the giveaway video, I’ll assign a number to your comment and use a random number generator to do the ugly work for me. Then I’ll reach out to you with the good news.
Considering I’ll have only about 100 subscribers during the contest, your chances are damn good that you will win. Many channels with 500+ subscribers do giveaways, too.
Also, don’t think of this as charity for me. You’ll be subscribing to get amazing weekly(ish) videos containing book reviews, book skits, and other bookish buffoonery.
Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/user/calebjross
And PLEASE, share on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and all the rest if you feel so compelled.
Thanks to Gordon Highland for bringing this Charactered Pieces review to my attention. Generally my ego is a pretty good magnet for the rare praise floating around out there. And of course, super thanks to Dakota Taylor and Insomnia Press for the kind, kind words.
“Charactered Pieces is on par with…early novels by Chuck Palahniuk. The difference is, Palahniuk sucker punches the reader with his prose and knocks your teeth out, leaving you bleeding and cheering. Caleb is a little more sneaky. Charactered Pieces spikes your drink and has you in someone’s trunk before you even know it…One of the most moving and diverse pieces of work I’ve read in years.”
Read the full Charactered Pieces review here.
And if you are so bold, find links to buy Charactered Pieces here.
A couple of nights ago I was invited to be the interviewee on an episode of the burgeoning and fun Books and Booze podcast. This, episode 4, has me chatting books with Renee Pickup and Dakota Taylor, sans books or booze in my hands, unfortunately.
We talk a lot about my books, of course, but we get larger issues such as the implied cultural relevance of books that we (Renee, Dakota, and myself) don’t necessarily assume are good (ahem…50 Shades of Grey…) but must strike a unique chord if they are selling so well. We don’t always have to agree with cultural shifts, I suppose. But we’re all interested, it would seem, in the idea that mass consumption of a product must mean that product has some relevance beyond the aesthetic (but if now, doesn’t wide aesthetic appeal still say something about a culture).
Anyway, it was tremendous fun. Thanks to both of them for killing an hour with me. Click over this is amazing podcast episode to listen (or use the player above). Better get over there quick, too; Books and Booze only keeps the latest 2 hours of its programming live, meaning in 2 more interviews, my interview will no longer be available!
After more than a few (a few+2) questions regarding the paperback availability of my first story chapbook Charactered Pieces, I’ve decided to do something with the distribution rights I’ve been squatting on for a couple years now. Why the squat? Laziness, mostly.
Re-available for your tactile reading pleasure, Charactered Pieces: stories is now back in print. Right now, it’s only at Amazon, but the rest of the internet stores should catch up within the next couple of weeks.
Spread the word. Tell your friends that the too-orange book with the weird hermaphroditic foot penis thing is now holdable in their very hands. Get the paperback version here: http://www.amazon.com/Charactered-Pieces-Caleb-J-Ross/dp/0615622135/
I did it. I broke down and created an official Caleb J. Ross author page on Facebook. I’ve been averse to doing this for a while, primarily because I want to avoid perceived ego as much as possible (well, as much as a guy with a self-titled website can do), but also because I don’t want to bombard people with duplicate content posts. The logic being that until the official author page gains traction, I would have to post updates to both the author page and my personal page in order to curb anybody missing out on my genius (see, no ego there). Nobody needs double Caleb.
So, here’s what I propose:
It has been a while since I’ve had a short story to whore out to the world. While I’ve been busy bombarding poor souls with news of my 3 recent book releases, I haven’t had much to say in the way of short stories since…well, since September, if you can count my non-fiction piece “Denis Johnson Almost Drank My Pee” as a short story at Dark Sky (though “short story” implies fiction, and the Dark Sky piece isn’t). Anyway, my story “The Lipidopterist” is now available as a Kindle story over at Amazon.com. I recently read this story in St. Louis at the Meshuggah Cafe. The reactions were quite good, I must say.
I believe it is also part of the Kindle lending library thing, or at least will be shortly. Still, though, it’s only $0.99. Fork over the coins!
Available now from the fake publisher Viscera Irrational. Buy. Read.
