Beautiful, Mysterious and Bizarre: M/M Horror & Urban Fantasy by Jordan Castillo Price
JCP News
Issue 28 - April 15, 2010
C O N T E N T S
SPRING THINGS
It's spring in Wisconsin, which means snowing one day, eighty degrees the next, and then snowing again.
In my imagination, I have a lovely kitchen garde... though in my reality, I typically don't get anything planted until late June, I forget about it and let it get overgrown with weeds, and then the earwigs swarm in and eat everything.
This year, my reality was different! I actually got my lettuce planted when I was supposed to for my region--in April!
I'm impressed. (I will probably still ignore it and let it get swamped by weeds...but maybe I won't. Maybe I can have me-time now that I'm not struggling to do two jobs.)
Hooray for my new, different reality. I like it.
PSYCOP & MORE AT ARE
All Romance eBooks now carries JCP Books titles!
PACKING HEAT
I've been podcasting for a couple of years now. Writers, tune in for encouragement to keep your butt in the chair. Readers, curious about the process? Have a listen!
RECENT EPISODES
Packing Heat 96:
Multiples
How can the visual concept of "multiples" translate to a writing concept?
Packing Heat 97:
Order in the Court
The order in which you place your phrases makes a huge difference!
Packing Heat 98:
Go, Flow
How to get into flow - and what are binaural beats?
Packing Heat 99:
Educate Yourself
How important is a degree? How important is a formal class structure? How much can you learn on your own? It's important to stretch and not keep reiterating the things you already know.
Freee!
Who's won the latest freebies from JCP?
RJ won an ebook for opening the March issue of JCP News.
S7anna won a copy of Hue, Tint and Shade on the Dancing Dove blog.
Jordan on the Web
Catch-all Site: JordanCastilloPrice. com
Official Channeling Morpheus Site
From Zero Hour
Ernest took a few careful steps in, then began to dig through his pockets for an LED to get a better look at the room's dark, murky corners. The bloated wooden supports of floor felt slightly spongy, like moss, but beneath that slight give, it seemed it was still solid enough to hold him.
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So this author walks into the Apple Store and…
Oh, wait, I'm not telling a joke! No, really not telling a joke because the hard drive on my art computer just went kaput. I have suspected all year something was wrong with it, and in a way it's a relief. I've been archiving, installing, praying to the computer gods, all to no avail. Having the hard drive be unequivocally dead is quite helpful. It means I was able take it in and say, "Look, it doesn't start, and it's making a clicky noise," rather than the vaguer complaint that I thought it just wasn't acting right.
Since I wanted to make lemonade out of the lemons Life was pinging at my head, I asked if they could upgrade my drive rather than replacing it, and strangely enough, the Apple Store was not able to do that, only replace like for like. However, they told me how to get to an independent computer repair store who could do that for me, "probably for the same price."
How nice of them! So they sent a strapping young lad to carry my computer back out to my car, I headed over to the other repair place, and it turned out they could double my hard drive capacity for $150 less than the Apple like-for-like repair!
Hot damn!
So when life hands you lemons, do your best not to freak out. I remained calm, and now my computer is spiffier than ever. (Okay, I was really in shock, but don't tell the repair guy.)
xxoo
Jordan
P.S.
The iPads are cute as can be. If you're a proud, new iPad owner, look me up in the iBooks app. I may have a few older shorts listed that are new to you.
P.P.S.
If you're in the Midwest, don't forget I'll be at Odyssey Con in Madison this weekend. Come say hi!
Friday 10:30pm - Drac to the Future
Saturday 11:30am - Madison Vampire Coven reading (I'll probably do something from Hemovore)
Sunday 2:30pm - Ebooks
Petit Morts now at ARe
For those of you who prefer to shop at third-party distributors, Petit Morts series 1 is now for sale at ARe.
#1: Hue, Tint and Shade by Jordan Castillo Price
Yellow is as yellow does.
#2: Slings and Arrows by Josh Lanyon
It's a fine line between "secret admirer" and "stalker".
#3: Moolah and Moonshine by Jordan Castillo Price
If you ever go to France, watch out for those ticklers.
#4: Other People's Weddings by Josh Lanyon
Pulling off the perfect wedding can be murder.
#5: Spanish Fly Guy by Jordan Castillo Price
I held my nose I closed my eyes...I took a drink.
Available now from JCPBooks.com and Allromanceebooks.com
Vote for your Favorite Plot
For those of you who've recently signed up for JCP News, the concept is this: I run a free, serialized story every month, and the first story will soon be coming to a close. I'm going to write the next story to order based on the results of a series of reader polls. This is poll #3.
Participation in last month's character poll was fabulous! The number of responses actually exceeded what I'm able to access as a free member…however even as the numbers climbed, there was a clear favorite, with the second and third place characters tied at every juncture.
Looks like I'll be writing a love triangle! (I probably couldn't have had a more dramatic result if I'd planned it, ha ha.)
Without further ado, here are the characters you've selected to star in our next story.
#1, our protagonist, with 30% of the vote: Nelson Oliver is an idea man—his overtaxed brain spews forth so many ideas, in fact, that he pays the price with debilitating migraines. He wouldn't have it any other way. Headaches are transitory, he figures, but stupidity is permanent.
Tied for #2, our potential love interests, each with 26% of the total vote:
There's still good in the world—Javier de la Rosa is sure of it. Everyone has his burden to bear; some burdens are just more visible than others. He was beautiful…once.
Driven. Intense. Arrogant. Tim Foster has heard it all. Ask him if he cares—he doesn't. The world might be going to hell in a handbasket…but he'll do his damndest to stave off disaster.
This month, I'm going with a different type of poll so that I won't have limits as to how many of my responses I can see. I should also be able to publish pretty results. (I had no idea Google Docs had this capacity! Google Docs really surprises me every time I find out about a new feature.)
We'll pick out our plot this month based again on the types of stories you said you enjoyed in poll #1. Take into consideration the protagonist and the love interests, and then pick your poison!
Like last month, I've hidden the plot points you voted for in white text after each synopsis. You can reveal them by hilighting them.
The Starving Years
In 1960, a superfood was invented that ended world hunger. But now the second generation of post-foodies are exhibiting startling side effects that no one could have anticipated. (Superpower/Murder)
Loaner
The body is little more than a shell, or so our hero was raised to believe. When he discovers the ability to lend his body to spirits, he finds it difficult to feel detached about the escapades of his flesh. (Paranormal/Kink)
The Revenge of Marie Curie
Running the machines that punch gears for the ubiquitous cranial telegraphs—Cray-Tels for short— isn't for the faint of heart, but workers at Bond & Co. are falling to a catastrophic number of accidents, and their mortality rate just keeps climbing. (Paranormal/Murder/Steampunk)
Skewed
Murder is at the top of most peoples' bad-lists…but, really, don't some people just have it coming? Our hero didn't set out to be a vigilante. It just kind of happened. And it feels so…damn…good. (Murder/Kink)
The Void Above
Wilhelm Booth was the first man to travel to the moon. Unfortunately, while the Void Carriage made it back to earth intact, Wilhelm did not. And now everyone working on the Void Project is dreaming the most extraordinary dreams. (Steampunk/Superpowers)
I'm not sure how many more chapters of Zero Hour remain, two, maybe three. Then I'll get started on our new, grand experiment! This poll, however, will close at the end of April—so get your vote in!
Tic Tac Teazer
This month's puzzle includes last month's solution!
Click the puzzle for a printable PDF.
Create a path from start to finish that intersects the star. Part of the path is made of Xs and part is made of Os, changing from one to the other at the star. It's your job to figure out which part is which! You may move horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Good luck!
Zero Hour - Chapter 28
(click here for whole story starting at chapter 1)
Though Ernest and Will must have known, on some level, how large the city was, it was still a shock to draw close to the ancient architecture and feel the tall, crumbling edifices looming over them.
"Unless you're jumping up and down on a weak spot," Charlie advised, "I think you should be safe enough if you keep to the sidewalks and streets. But don't just go dashing into any of these buildings. The floors might not hold you."
"What about people?" Ernest said.
"People?" Will dragged Ernest behind the wreck of an old billboard and pitched his voice to a harsh whisper. "Did someone show up on the scans?"
"No, nothing like that." Not yet, he thought. "It just seemed like a possibility."
click here for the rest of chapter 28 (worksafe)
PsyCop Paperbacks:
PsyCop: Property (Paperback, contains Body & Soul and Secrets)
PsyCop: Partners (Paperback, contains Among the Living and Criss Cross)
Camp Hell: A PsyCop Novel
PsyCop Ebooks:
Among the Living - PsyCop Book 1
Criss Cross - PsyCop Book 2
Body & Soul - PsyCop Book 3 (2nd edition, 10/23/09)
Secrets - PsyCop Book 4
Camp Hell - PsyCop Book 5
Thaw PsyCop Short 1.1, FREE!
Striking Sparks PsyCop Novelette 2.1
Many Happy Returns PsyCop Short 2.2
Mind Reader PsyCop Short - PDF ebook, FREE!
Stroke of Midnight PsyCop Short, FREE!
Petit Morts Ebooks:
Hue, Tint, and Shade
Slings and Arrows by Josh Lanyon
Moolah and Moonshine
Other People's Weddings by Josh Lanyon
Spanish Fly Guy
Channeling Morpheus Ebooks:
Payback
Vertigo
Manikin
Tainted
Rebirth
Heaven Sent: a Channeling Morpheus Short
Sweet Oblivion Ebooks:
Brazen
Snare
Fluid
Swarm
Elixir
Channeling Morpheus Paperbacks:
Channeling Morpheus for Scary Mary (Paperback, contains Payback, Vertigo, Manikin, Tainted and Rebirth) - Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.co.jp, Flipkart, Amazon.ca
Other Stories:
Sympathy a standalone contemporary romance - novelette
Hemovore a vampire thriller - novel
The Art of Dying paperback - novella anthology with Josh Lanyon
The Art of Dying ebook - novella anthology with Josh Lanyon
The Serpent in the Garden - m/f short
Starlight (PDF ebook short) more formats at Smashwords
Verdant (PDF, HTML, Mobi, Lit) more formats at Smashwords
The Voice (PDF, HTML, Mobi, Lit) more formats at Smashwords
Kindred Spirits (PDF ebook short) more formats at Smashwords
Kindle Editions:
The PsyCop series, including the Crash shorts Striking Sparks and Many Happy Returns, can now be purchased in the Kindle Store
Many Happy Returns
Starlight 
Kindred Spirits
Striking Sparks
Verdant 
The Voice
Any of the mobi ebooks on JCPBooks.com will also work on the Kindle!
Email me at jordan (at) psycop (dot) com
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JCP News • Jordan Castillo Price • PO Box 153 • Barneveld, WI 53507