Perfect Bound | 63 pages |
These are stories of hope amid the Zoloft and bar tabs that cushion our crumbling lives. |
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| With Charactered Pieces, Caleb J. Ross presents a varied world of familial discord, one where a dead fetus evokes more compassion than its mother (“Charactered Pieces”); where two brothers offer the destruction of a family legacy as a birthday gift for their aging father (“My Family’s Rule”); where one brother’s love of Holocaust documentaries pushes his family through the aftermath of his assumed suicide (“The Camp”). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charactered Pieces peels away the superficial armor of public life to reveal the flaws beneath and treats those perceived weaknesses not as hidden sources of pain but as reasons to celebrate life. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Praise “These stories change you, and not just a little bit. Try to forget them, tell yourself they’re not true, but it’s no use. Whether you want them to or not, they’re going with you.” -Stephen Graham Jones, author of |
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| “Ross claims that his characters are not drawn from real people and yet these stories—about a jewelry saleswoman with a fetal leg growing out of her belly, a man who drinks the blood of a dead camel, or a budding Holocaust documentarian who dies in a mysterious incident involving a coat hanger—sound eerily similar to my own life. Chances are you’ll find yourself in here, too. Wicked, weird, and wonderful.”
-Tim Hall, author of How America Died (Undie Press) |
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| “While there is weirdness in these stories, not to mention biblical allegories and tales of suicide and the holocaust, what lingers is an underlying thread about the impact parents, fathers in particular, have on our lives whether through their presence or more often their absence. Ultimately, the stories are like a collective punch to the chest, though none more so than An Optimist is the Human Personification of Spring which caused me to lose my breath for a fleeting moment as I sat on the train and still haunts me even as I write this.”
-Ben Tanzer, author of |
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| “Evoking a novel by Chuck Palahniuk or a film by Darren Aronofsky, Charactered Pieces is a multifarious patchwork of despair. From the misshapen protagonist of the title story to the gruesome climax of “The Camel of Morocco,” this collection is among the most profound and disturbing artifacts of our time.”
-Daniel Casebeer, editor of Pear Noir! |
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| “Oft fragmented in the post-modern style, Charactered Piecesis best read the same way you eat an elephant: one bite at a time. For those who enjoy the works of Kurt Vonnegut or Dave Eggers, this book is for you. If you only have time for one with your morning coffee, read “Refill”. Then come back and fill up on more.”
-Gloom Cupboard, Allie Dresser |
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| “…a celebration of characters who are cursed. With life…Whether destructive, apathetic, misshapen or addicted, the characters in this collection continue to chug forward like damaged locomotives that refuse to derail. Their power, it seems, is in their imperfections, and Ross shows us, without a doubt, he is a master of tragedy made gorgeous…Stark, vivid, and yes, often unsettling, Charactered Pieces grips you and won’t let go, pulling your eyes through the dark smudges of humanity’s rifts with a terrifying, skillful grace…Beneath the rubble of their lives, the characters in Charactered Pieces know who they are, and Ross challenges us to forsake them. But we cannot, for they are us.“
-Mel Bosworth, author of |
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| “These stories contain normal people crushed under the wheels of circumstance and the weight of guilt. The characters within are far beyond damaged– they are wrecked. Busted parents and screwed up kids; scarred, ruined, and weighed down with ten tons of remorse and pain wrapped in cancerous silence. Like individual flaws in the same junk diamond, they share some unspeakable pain in one way or another. But all this hurt isn’t dreamt up for the author’s detached amusement, or for the titillation of some nihilistic reader– this is a bid for communion where it is needed most. In each story the characters’ struggles are the result of some long-incubated despair, intimate and undeniable as a deathbed rasp.“
-Oxyfication.net, Jason Kane |
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| “Ross’ writing unfurls characters and plot with patience, allowing the layered meanings to filter from words into consciousness and realization. His prose is compact, dense with meaning, eloquent in its brevity. He crafts stories that are powerful, accessible, and unsettling enough to draw the reader in with curiosity about how these lives will play out, prompting the imagination to extend the implications long after the final word has been read.“
-Present Magazine, Pete Dulin |
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| “This collection of stories is one of the best I’ve read in a long time. The short form has always been my preference. I admire when a writer can take us immediately in and then release us in short duration. When it works, it is exhilarating. Caleb J. Ross delivers this.”
-Kristin Fouquet, author of |
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“Much like the scratch-n-dent jewelry of the title story’s namesake, these flawed characters make their way through the treacherous literary terrain of Ross’s imagination, blasted by sandstorms and demolition crews, derided by their families and coworkers, wracked with guilt, and and seeking redemption in the fleeting margins between their text and your thumb. As seen under the cruel magnification of a loupe, these defects are but facets, however, and Ross’s sales pitch emphasizes the sentimental value in knowing their complete selves.” -Gordon Highland, author of Major Inversions |
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| “Ross delivers exactly what you have come to expect from him: smart layers of fiction with thematically related elements. We see attention to strange details…and we see sick things that on occasion seem nudged into the foreground from where they stood, poised in the periphery…The pairing of innocence with tragedy and the parental dilemma forms- at least to me- the subtext of the “Charactered Pieces” stories. Thinking back to what I have read, Ross is at his best here. This book is a true credit to him.”
-Full of Crow, Lynn Alexander |
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“The stories don’t change you because they cause you to rethink how you’re living in some great respect. You’re not forced on with issues that want you to decide whether or not to have an abortion, or pick a side when it comes to same sex marriage. They don’t beat down your door demanding that you give all of your belongings to charity. You’re presented with life and the ability to deal with what you’re dealt. Now put down what you’re doing, read, and start to live. Really live. Because if these people can, so can you, we all have Charactered Pieces in us.” -Blinding Loud,Sean P. Ferguson |
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“The prose is punchy and has a great rhythm to it, especially when the stories are told in first person. Ross nails his character’s voices, so you can feel yourself sitting in a bar and hearing the grim tales first hand. “Charactered Pieces,” “The Camp,” and “An Optimist is the Human Personification of Spring” — the best of the stories where you can’t help being drawn into the lives of the narrators — are worth the cover price alone.” -Ken Wohlrob, author of The Love Book |
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| “…by far the best short stories I have read in the past few years. Seriously. I was blown back.”
-DeLeon DeMicoli, author of White Belts and Lick Me |
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| “Bottom line and up front: Ross has got some serious talent. That much becomes obvious on the first page and with each successive one. In “Charactered Pieces,” Ross plays doctor on the reader, either by tugging on the heart strings or twisting the knife in your gut. Each story has an intended effect, whether it’s a nostalgic longing or an uncomfortable self-awareness to our flaws, and Ross showcases his ability with succinct accuracy and haunting wordplay. These are the kind of stories you think about long after you’ve read them.”
-Brandon Tietz, author of Out of Touch |
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Blog Orgy Tour oh9-ohohoh10
Why a blog tour? The concept seems fun. I’m going to make stops at various personal and writing-related blogs, offering posts about Charactered Pieces, about me, and about writing in general, that will both promote my chapbook and honor the integrity of each blog I visit. These aren’t gimmicky advertisements. They are cleverly disguised advertisements. Where are the tour stops? Great question, hypothetical reader. [...] visit the dedicated Blog Orgy Tour page for all the stops. Also, as a bonus for die-hard groupies, some guest posts will contain notes regarding specific stories from Charactered Pieces. There are seven stories (eight if you count the acknowledgments, which is written in a story-like way), so there are seven author notes to track. A full list appears at the bottom of the dedicated page. |
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About the author
Charactered Pieces is his first sole-author bound book. However, he has been published widely, both online and in print. Visit his official site for all of the exciting details. www.calebjross.com |
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Caleb began writing his sophomore year of undergrad study when, tired of the formal art education then being taught, he abandoned the pursuit in the middle of a compositional drawing class. Major-less and fearful of losing his financial aid, he signed up to seek a degree in English Literature for no other reason than his lengthy history with the language. Coincidentally, this decision not only introduced him to writing but to reading as well. Prior this transition he had read three books. One of which he understood.Sightings
| Blank und Questions Asks – Caleb J Ross, author of Charactered Pieces: stories | |
| Mel Bosworth reads the opening of CHARACTERED PIECES (10/9/09) for “Mel Bosworth Reads Things” | ArtJerk.net fills Charactered Pieces preorders with ACID cigar smoke as part of the fake Lungs for Readers program |
[...] PREORDER HERE, at the OW Press Charactered Pieces page. [...]
Wow, this looks fantastic Caleb. Congratulations. And some awesome blurbs too. Buying mine right now. Very cool
Peace,
Richard
[...] CHARACTERED PIECES [...]
[...] CHARACTERED PIECES [...]
[...] CHARACTERED PIECES by CALEB J ROSS CHARACTED PIECES, the new chapbook by Caleb J Ross, is now available for pre-order. More information is here. [...]
[...] A Trench is No Place for God was an entrant in the 2008 Short Fiction Competition, has his chapbook Charactered Pieces available for pre-order from the Outsider Writers [...]
Well, I was going to pass, (just kidding) but the idea of a book smelling like cigars, that was too much to resist.
I’ll be going to the mailbox and waiting in exactly one month.
Outstanding. Congrats, Caleb.
[...] Recent Comments :. Paul D. Brazill on I Stepped Out Of A Day by Allen MastersonMel Bosworth on Caleb J Ross’s CHARACTERED PIECESAllen Masterson on I Stepped Out Of A Day by Allen Masterson .: From the OWC Community [...]
wow, caleb. very impressive. stephen and i will both be getting one. so keep an eye out for them! we can’t wait to read that VERY personal inscription!! (we are also going to get nova and vega a copy so they can look back at this point in time and see how much their uncle caleb truely loves them by the personal inscription- stephen)
[...] Buy Caleb J Ross’s Charactered Pieces: stories [...]
[...] Buy Caleb J Ross’s Charactered Pieces: stories [...]
[...] Buy Caleb J Ross’s Charactered Pieces: stories [...]
[...] his website for a full list of blog stops. Charactered Pieces: stories is currently available fromOW Press (or Amazon.com). Visit him at [...]
[...] There, I talk about how Ren & Stimpy inspired the cover design for Charactered Pieces. [...]
[...] Buy Caleb J Ross’s Charactered Pieces: stories [...]
[...] Buy Caleb J Ross’s Charactered Pieces: stories [...]
[...] Buy Caleb J Ross’s Charactered Pieces: stories [...]
[...] through the end of the year January 16th, every order of the print version of Charactered Pieces will include a free back issue of a literary journal (orders direct from the publisher only; no [...]
[...] ***though I wouldn’t mind their sales. Get to it, asterisks readers. [...]
[...] marketed my debut story collection, Charactered Pieces, with a zero-dollar budget, so I know how to spend a lot of time not writing constructive fiction. [...]
[...] beach with a cigar in one hand and a notepad in the other, getting a head-start on inscriptions for Charactered Pieces preorders, I was struck with a sense of a realized dream, a dream I didn’t really know I had until that [...]
[...] Writers Collective – on the above note, there are only 23 copies of Charactered Pieces left of the entire 150 copy print run. I don’t think there are any plans to go into another print run anytime in the near future. [...]
[...] either freshly published or contracted for publication. For me, that would be my story collection, Charactered Pieces. But another, perhaps not entirely unwritten rule, is that when crowds and drinks are involved, the [...]
[...] Goodreads and Amazon the positive reviews of Charactered Pieces keep coming [...]
[...] Le Salon Annex, Kristin Fouquet (author of the story collection, Twenty Stories) gives Charactered Pieces a fantastic review. If her collection, which is next in my to-read stack, is half as good as her [...]
[...] as part of my Blog Orgy Tour in support of my fiction chapbook, Charactered Pieces (OW Press) I head over to Lit Drift to offer a few words on what I think could be the origin of the [...]
[...] you received a refund, please re-order using the button at the following link (it is the same page as before, but the button has been [...]