Part two of what may be the most interesting dialog I've ever had with another human being (I've had plenty of good ones with dogs) is now live at the Sunday Observer. Pablo D'Stair and I talk all sorts of shop. In his installment we talk about a world without context, the reader as an audience, music, and more. Seriously, and I'm not just saying this because I'm involved, there is some damn good stuff going on here. Read part two, here. Then, be sure to read part one as well.
Increasingly, one of my favorite things is dialogue(ing) with Pablo D'Stair. He's the sort of arm-chair thinker/drinker, literary critic type that I get on well with. Recently, he and I had yet another email back-and-forth, this one for the Montage section of the Sunday Observer ("Sri Lanka's English Newspaper with the largest circulation"), where we wax on about genre vs. literary writing, the sound of language, what constitutes success, and more. Dare I say that this series is perhaps our most interesting dialogue yet (though, I reserve the right to someday find hidden genius in our past discussions). Head over to the Sunday Observer now get all icky with Pablo and Caleb sticky.
...Phil Jourdan is a damn good runner-up. Here he reads a page or so from my story "Click-Clack" which a lot of people seem to really like (both the story and Phil's voice).
After watching, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel to stay updated on new videos
This one has been in development for awhile and is getting closer and closer to seeing print. I hope, anyway. While I wasn't able to put something together to contribute to the collection (the editor approached me; I originally intended to, but life got crazy so I couldn't do it...not literally crazy, not crazy enough to be appropriate fodder for this anthology...just metaphorically crazy). Add this to your RSS reader and keep an eye out for it. Based on the website, it appears we've got writing from the following authors to look forward to: Bryan Howie, Rebecca Jones-Howe, Dakota Taylor, Jessica Taylor, Kenneth Goldman, Liana V., Nicholas Wilczynski, Josef Van L., Richard Thomas, Renee Asher, DWG, Bradley Sands, Rachel Cohen, Sam Jackson, Martin Garrity, Cristiana Zanelli, and Sarah Davenport with Traci Foust, author of Nowhere Near Normal: A Memoir of OCD, writing the introduction. I don't know most of these authors, but I soon will.
When I told Ryan that for the blog tour stop here I would write a bit about my own strange affection for convenience stores/gas stations he, in more eloquent words, told me I was crazy. Well, perhaps I misrepresented him. His actual words: “I like the nostalgia factor. I like the smell of gas but I'll tell ya, the nostalgia goes away when you work there.” Perhaps so. But if the work experience is anything like that of Code for Failure’s narrator, then I’d say nostalgia is but one type of memory you’ll come away with. This guy gets laid like a disembarking Hawaii tourist. The novel is less a single, cohesive story and more a collection of vignettes all related to the narrator’s job as a gas station attendant cum oil changer, or gas station attendant cum to married women and teenage girls, as the case may be. Back…
The always wonderful Kristin Fouquet offers some kind words about As a Machine and Parts over at La Salon Annex: Reminiscent of Metamorphosis and Flowers for Algernon, Caleb J. Ross takes us inside the mind of a man who is transforming. This man, Mitchell, experiences a slide from human to machine. This transformation coincides with the deterioration of his relationship with a much older lover, Marsha...Although I place As a Machine and Parts on the shelf alongside Charactered Pieces and Stranger Will, I will continue thinking about this book for some time. But perhaps my favorite line, just because I'm glad this particular referent story hit home with another writer: As writers, we must always wonder what is derivative and how many words we can truly call our own. Read the full review. Then, buy As a Machine and Parts. And while you are at it, round out that Amazon free shipping deal and grab Fouquet's incredible, Twenty…