Caleb J. Ross's Blog, page 60

Limited 3 or 4 book bundle, just a few copies left in stock – all books SIGNED!

I have a box of books eager to be offloaded. I have a few copies each of I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin: a novel, As a Machine and Parts, and Charactered Pieces: stories (the updated version). Rather than sell them individually, I figure I would bundle them for a combined price that is quite a bit lower than would be the price to purchase them individually. $30 for 3 books vs. $36.90 if you were to order them individually from Amazon. Plus, the Amazon copies aren’t signed.

Even better, I also have a box full of Stranger Will proof copies (“proof” meaning they may have typos and such, but hey, that makes them all the rarer, right? These are books that publishers often use as promotional copies). For an additional $3 I’ll throw a copy into the bundle.

That’s 4 books for $33. Even better, ALL BOOKS WILL BE SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR.

Or, if you want, you can buy a proof copy of Stranger Will separately for a measly $5.

Own all of these books already? Pass the deal along to a friend. Then, go to a bar, order a few pints, and discuss the books like real sophisticated types.

Bundle Choice




3 books$30.00 USD
3 books + Stranger Will (proof copy)$33.00 USD
Stranger Will (proof copy) only$5.00 USD

3 books

1 copy of I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin: a novel
1 copy of As a Machine and Parts (a novella)
1 copy of Charactered Pieces: stories

3 books + Stranger Will proof copy

1 copy of I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin: a novel
1 copy of As a Machine and Parts (a novella)
1 copy of Charactered Pieces: stories
1 copy of Stranger Will: a novel (proof copy)









Just the Stranger Will proof copy

1 copy of Stranger Will: a novel (proof copy)







Bundle Choice




3 books$30.00 USD
3 books + Stranger Will (proof copy)$33.00 USD
Stranger Will (proof copy) only$5.00 USD

How does modern Iran punish public intoxication?

According to this infographic, hanging is the suitable penalty. Why am I posting this? I honestly just think infographics are really neat. They provide amazing visual references for developing rounded (or at least culturally and historically accurate) characters. Does posting this infographic mean I am in the middle of writing about a drunken Iranian? No. Read on to learn about punishments for scolding, witchcraft, adultery, and of course, public intoxication.

(Click to enlarge)

Source: eLocalLawyers.com

What’s your reading environment? (Video Blog Ep 016)

Over at LitReactor.com a thread has been started in which visitor post pictures of their reading environments. I figured, why not make a quick, impromptu episode of the The World’s First Author Video Blog, recorded where I do most of my reading. Also, I mention my newest burgeoning love, Don DeLillo’s novel Cosmopolis, the close to finished Four Corners project, and the as-yet-unpublished new novel from Phil Jourdan.

Does your character need to know how to lift a fingerprint?

At this time, I’m not writing a character that would have any use for this information. But that doesn’t mean I can’t share the knowledge. Besides, sometimes morbid infographics can be just plain fun.

(Click to enlarge)

Source: eLocalLawyers.com

Booked Podcast invites me to talk about Chuck Palahniuk’s Invisible Monsters: Remix

The fine fellows at Booked Podcast, Robb Olson and Livius Nedin invited me over to discuss the reissue of Chuck Palahniuk’s Invisible Monsters. Here’s a bit from the episode description:

Booked reviews Invisible Monsters REMIX by Chuck Palahniuk, with special guest host Caleb J. Ross. It’s more of a book discussion than a review this episode, since this is not technically a new-new book, and there’s a good chance that lots of people listening will have already read it. So we talked a bit about the book, Palahniuk, and (of course) felching. As you do when you talk about Invisible Monsters.

Click here to listen to the latest Booked Podcast episode, featuring Caleb J. Ross.

Currently writing Phil Jourdan and Pablo D’Stair

I don’t speak enough to my readers. I’ve learned this recently. Much of the content on this blog speaks to other writers (which are generally readers, for sure), but I need to change my game a bit, I think. With that in mind, I want to start writing a bit more about my in-progress projects.

I know, I know, writing about work that isn’t finished comes across as a bit masturbatory. I’ve often been annoyed by such posts. My goal here isn’t to be annoying, though. Rather, I want to give those who are interested a peek into my projects. The primary goal is to get people excited about my work. The secondary goal is to keep my current projects top-of-mind for me so that I keep my fingers to the keyboard as much as possible. Simply put, I’ve been feeling a bit unproductive lately and am looking for a way to stay motivated while possibly at the same time helping keep readers informed.

So what’s in the hopper now? A collaboration with Pablo D’Stair with the working title of The Bettor Stories. The concept: two people at a bar make a bet: each chooses a victim for the other with the goal to get the victim to commit suicide. Whoever’s victim kills him/herself first wins. We’re in the early stages (I’ve barely started writing) but you can expect some really cool layout effects and perhaps some deep explorations of the difference between suicide and murder. This will be the first fiction collaboration ever between Pablo and myself. Long overdue, if you ask me.

The idea for the collaboration actually came to me a couple of weeks ago during a bar conversation between myself and author/intelligencio Phil Jourdan. He asked me, hypothetically, when I look back on my life 50 years from now how would I determine whether or not I’ve lived a “good” life. I responded, jokingly, that if I could get someone to commit suicide because of my writing, then I’d have lived a good life. That got my mind spinning. When I approached Pablo with a project idea based on my response, he was cool enough to play along.

Check back often to stay up to date on my progress.

Wordless Book Reviews – Mark Dunn, Adam Johnson, Steven Levy, Richard Grossman (Video Blog Ep 015)

First off, please forgive the video quality here. I was trying a new recording method, which obviously didn’t work that well.

Here is another Wordless Book Reviews episode. Here I review four books using only sound effects and facial expressions. The books: Ella Minnow Pea: a Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn, Emporium: Stories by Adam Johnson, In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives by Steven Levy, and The Book of Lazarus by Richard Grossman.

Are you a pervert for seeing abstract and implied vaginas on book covers?

Sex sells. We know this. Implied sex also sells, and perhaps even more-so considering the audience for discreet sex is much wider (puritans can’t hate what they can’t define, right?).

But sometimes I’m not sure if I’m recognizing the marketing money-shot, or if I’m just perverted. Take a look at these possible vaginas and let me know if the comments.

Do Me: Tales of Sex & Love from Tin House

No need to question the intent with this one. Bibliophiliacs rejoice.

Before they Were Giants: First Works from Science Fiction Greats

It’s generally accepted that science fiction fans, at least traditionally, are sex-starved. If Dungeons & Dragons/Star Wars stereotypes have any root in truth, most sci-fi fans aren’t motivated by sex…unless that sex comes by way of a giant octopus vagina space monster.

Granta: The Magazine of New Writing. issue #110: Sex

Another obvious one (what is it with literary magazines and lack-of-subtlety?). At least this one apparently tries to imply a message by visual tension…a purse and a puss? I’d say there’s something about money being involved in sex, somewhere in this issue.

If you happen to own a mother’s purse candle (which can be purchased here), then I’m afraid your life just got a lot more Oedipal after reading this blog post. This candle store sits not far from where I live. The candle really does smell like a mother’s purse. Needless to say, I’m never reading this issue of Granta.

The Commoner: a novel by John Burnham Schwartz

Of all the covers, this one has the potential to be the most unintentional. The view from a womb perspective here probably doesn’t actually exist, the curtains are probably not of the beef variety. In fact, the bold section below (from the Amazon.com synopsis) is the only evidence that leads me to believe that not only womanhood, but the vagina itself, plays an important role in the novel, and therefore makes this cover vaginal.

It is 1959 when Haruko, a young woman of good family, marries the Crown Prince of Japan, the heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne. She is the first non-aristocratic woman to enter the longest-running, almost hermetically sealed, and mysterious monarchy in the world. Met with cruelty and suspicion by the Empress and her minions, Haruko is controlled at every turn. The only interest the court has in her is her ability to produce an heir.

 Richard Yates by Tao Lin

Here’s how much of a nerd I am. Until very recently, I looked at this cover and thought only of Rene Magritte’s bowler hat series (see below). I’ve always known that my testosterone and sex drive were both low, so it makes sense that I would see the image of a 1960 Belgium surrealist painting rather than a vagina.

Son of Man, Rene Magritte

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

This cover was never actually released. Instead, the 50th anniversary edition was toned down, though quite simply so. In fact, a single 90-degree turn and a hue alteration changed this cover from offensive to universally tame.

So, what do you think? Am I a pervert? Are you a pervert?

Wordless Book Reviews – Paul Tremblay, Chuck Palahniuk, Jose Saramago, Sam Harris (Video Blog Ep 014)

First off, please forgive the video quality here. I was trying a new recording method, which obviously didn’t work that well.

With this episode, I’ve opted for brevity. Here I review four books using only sound effects and facial expressions. The books: The Little Sleep by Paul Tremblay, Damned by Chuck Palahniuk, Seeing by Jose Saramago, and The Moral Landscape by Sam Harris.

Episode 013 Podcast: “Defend Your Work” with the Devil’s Worker, Ben Tanzer

A while ago I got together with Ben Tanzer via Skype to try out a new concept in author book discussions, one that rather than avoid tension and conflict actually confronts it head on. I call this a “Defend Your Work” episode, and I hope you like it enough for me to continue.

Though this episode is actually part of Tanzer’s (and CCLaP’s) New York Stories virtual blog tour, I recorded it originally as part of the 99 Problems book relase tour a year or so ago. Unfortunately, my participation in that tour  never materialized. I don’t remember why, but it was probably my fault.

Also, please pardon the technical issues with this episode. My recording software malfunctioned at the last minute,  forcing a less than optimal work-around. Also, the buffering audio may give the impression that I am either  interrupting Mr. Ben Tanzer or reacting inappropriately to his comments. Simply put, I couldn’t hear him all the  time. Luckily, Ben is such a well-spoken man that the less I talk, honestly, the better.

Follow along if you wish (though it’s not necessary)

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Comment 2, part 1; comment 2, part 2
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Like Ben Tanzer? Be sure to check out the limited, handmade New York Stories book from CCLaP. Also, for this part of the tour, the price has been knocked down from $75 to

$50. Not a bad deal at all.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Ben Tanzer virtual blog tour stops:

Friday, 6/15: Mourning Goats
Monday, 6/18: Caleb J. Ross
Tuesday, 6/19: Patricia Ann McNair
Wednesday, 6/20: Pete Anderson
Thursday, 6/21: Burrow Press
Friday, 6/22: Baby Got Books
Monday, 6/25: Mel Bosworth
Tuesday, 6/26: Ryan Bradley
Wednesday, 6/27: Curbside Splendor
Thursday, 6/28: Cort Bledsoe
Friday, 6/29: Another Chicago Magazine
Monday, 7/2: The Next Best Book Blog
Tuesday, 7/3: Dead End Follies
Wednesday, 7/4: WordPlaySound
Thursday, 7/5: Artifice Magazine

Visit Ben Tanzer

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