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What follows is a conversation between myself and writer and Warmed and Bound editor, Pela Via. Why? We like chatting about ourselves. Or, read a much prettier version at Pela's blog.

Pela Via: Thanks for talking to me again, Caleb. You are one of the hardest workers in contemporary fiction; I always love a chance to corner you into a long, stifling conversation. Are you as prolific as you seem?

Caleb J. Ross: Prolific is a term that seems appropriate at first, but really a better way to say it would be "got lucky all at once." Stranger Will and I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin, the two 2011 novels, were both written a few years ago, each a year or so apart. And the novella also to be released this year, As a Machine and Parts, was written even later than the novels. This is all to say that I spent about eight years writing the books, but the one year release schedule implies otherwise. I'm actually quite the disappointment.

PV: Hardly. Your short work is everywhere. Do you plan to release any books in 2012?

CJR: As for 2012, nothing is contracted yet. But I have plenty to write.

PV: What do these two novels represent in your writing career?

CJR: The books both deal with parenthood, but from opposite angles. Stranger Will is about a parent not wanting his child. IDMtbK is about a child wanting nothing more than to have a parent. IDMtbK was written later, and I see it as a reaction to Stranger Will; it is both a personal goal (as in "now, let me see if I can to the opposite of what I just did") and a reader-based goal (as in "I had better show readers that I'm not as crazy as Stranger Will would imply").

PV: Do you feel more official this year, as a writer? I know it's not your first book, but Stranger Will is your first published novel. Has it helped your ego?

CJR: The ego has taken a bit of a stroke, for sure. What makes me feel the most validated with Stranger Will is that I have a lot of strangers commenting on the book. With Charactered Pieces, my first book, I would say about 70% of the readers knew me personally. With Stranger Will that number seems significantly different.

PV: I'm frightened of reaching that place where my work is just barely popular enough to be reviewed by non-friends (and consequently panned).

CJR: I wouldn't worry about having strangers review your work. I've found that the panning is about the same with strangers and friends. The difference being that friends tend to critique you as a person along with the work ("Wow, I can't imagine you writing something like this") whereas strangers tend to focus on the work itself.

PV: Interesting. So does it sting a bit more, then, when it comes from friends, if they have a complaint? Does it feel like they're speaking to your general ability as a human and writer?

CJR: Most of my friends who read early drafts are writers themselves, so I understand that all intentions are good. That said, it can still sting. But the sting is more because of my passion for the work rather than my relationship to the reader.

This entire post is pulled from the Warmed & Bound book site, written by editor Pela Via. If she didn't already have the words, I swear this could have come from my fingers verbatim (though with less Caleb Ross praise; I try to subdue the ego as much as I can): It was this time last year I sent out the first anthology emails. If I remember right, first to JR Harlan, begging for his story “Love,” and to Craig Clevenger, with more unsubtle begging. Then others, Richard Thomas, Gordon Highland and Caleb Ross, asking for publishing advice and whether they liked various titles—one a play on the well-loved existing phrase: The Velvet warms and binds. I don’t know what happened between then and now. But this photo, and rumors of other people to be similarly inked, tell one part of it better than I could. The idea of a…

Today , NOO Journal is kind enough to post an interview that author Nik Korpon did with me a few weeks back. NOO is too good to me. Click here to read the interview. Also, don’t forget that if you comment on all guest blog posts, you will get free stuff. See all tour stops here

You don't want to hang out with family this July 4th weekend anyway, right? For a limited time, through July 7th to be exact, Otherworld Publications is offering all five titles from their "Brat Pack" authors at $0.99 each. That's one penny for every moment of regret you'll have reading this rubbish. Stranger Will by Caleb J. Ross $0.99 Kindle Nook Smashwords Stay God by Nik Korpon $0.99 Kindle Smashwords Out of Touch by Brandon Tietz $0.99 Kindle Smashwords Transubstantiate by Richard Thomas $0.99 Kindle Nook Smashwords We are Oblivion by Michael Sonbert $0.99 Kindle Nook Smashwords TOTAL $4.95

Apparently there are a couple of Advance Reader Copies of my forthcoming book, As a Machine and Parts floating around out there, giving bad names to bookshelves across the country. One landed in Ben Tanzer's filthy mitts (creepy refection in the image above is actually Nik Korpon, however). Having the man behind You Can Make Him Like You and My Father's House say such nice things about my book makes me all crazy inside. His words, as he might say, have changed my life (that is a comment on the title of his own blog, This Blog Will Change Your Life, not a comment on Ben Tanzer's ego). His words, not mine: "There was once a Marvel comic book called "What if..." and in it Uatu the Watcher, a bald sage-like character with an enormous head spun speculative tales of alternative versions of the Marvel Universe you thought you knew.…

Kristin Fouquet, author of Twenty Stories, which I loved, has written a very nice review of Stranger Will. But the center of her review shouldn't be the review itself. She offers a snippet of her own life, one which shares thematic similarities to Stranger Will. From the review: With ease, Ross seems to dare you to turn the page. Chapter Eighteen is gut-wrenching. It reminded me of footage of Shias parading while flogging themselves. The children used soft, harmless cat-o-nine tails to emulate the self-flagellation they would later truly and painfully enact in their maturity. Ross is not so gentle with his children characters demonstrating their faith nor does he coddle his readers. His writing is fearless. The courageous reader will not be dissatisfied.

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