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.
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.
Caleb is an author of literary grotesque and noir fiction dealing with domestic themes. His fiction and nonfiction has appeared widely, both online and in print. He is the author of Charactered Pieces: stories (OW Press), Stranger Will: a novel (Otherworld Publications, 2011), As a Machine and Parts (Aqueous books, 2011), and I Didn't Mean to Be Kevin: a novel (Black Coffee Press, 2012). He is an editor at Outsider Writers Collective and moderates The Velvet Podcast, which gathers writers for round table discussions on literature. Develop an unhealthy relationship with him at www.calebjross.com. Stalk him on Twitter (@calebjross). Pester him on Facebook (facebook.com/rosscaleb).
