Jordan Castillo Price's Blog, page 29

JCP Buzz

In my last newsletter, I mentioned that I wanted to put together some focused groups to help me with marketing. This way, I wouldn't need to blanket the internet with "vote-click-like" type of requests, I could send them specifically to people who were interested in providing a click, a share or a review.

I ran a survey to see where people would prefer to join a group, and it was a pretty close split between Facebook, Goodreads, and a direct newsletter. I implemented a FB group since that was the easiest for me. I'm on FB several times a day. From the initial few days of running that group, I can see that many of the requests I have for my JCP Buzz FB team are pretty FB-specific, like "share this link on your page." Or "comment on this link."

Which means the GR group would be geared toward more GR-specific requests, and the newsletter would be calls to action pertaining to Amazon or LJ or other blogs.

I'd like to do the GR group but I'd need the help of a moderator who could transfer appropriate stuff from FB to GR, and I'd probably call on the group to scout out good opportunities on GR that I should be taking advantage of. I wouldn't be able to visit it as much as I do the FB group; I'd rather prioritize that time for writing.

-JCP Buzz on FB is here - let me know if you'd like to join. We're having some interesting discussions about things like reviews and marketing.
-JCP Buzz Newsletter is now an option on my newsletter form. If you're already signed up for another one of my newsletters, this form is a bit confusing, so email me at jcp.heat@gmail.com and I'll add you. I haven't sent any out yet, and I can't see creating more than one a week.
-JCP Buzz on GR needs more planning. Feel free to brainstorm ideas here or contact me directly.

Hope to see you...somewhere!

JCP News, April 2014 - on cover art and reviews

In today's issue of JCP News, I talk about putting together a JCP Street Team. Once the newsletter was launched, I was told that "street team" has the negative connotation of a virtual lynch mob that will go out and terrorize reviewers who leave negative reviews. Please understand that I wouldn't dream of encouraging my readers to do such a thing for me. In fact, I would prefer they don't engage with that reviewer, and instead leave their own authentic review. A few 1-star reviews don't sway buyers if a number of readers who enjoyed the book chime in and let others know what they liked about it.

My entire purpose in building a private group to inform about ways to help me promote my work is to minimize the need to authorspam on general social media channels where people would rather be chatting, exchanging pictures, doing memes, and generally hanging out with their online pals. And I would never consider stalking reviewers as "promotional."

Spectrums: Not Just in Rainbows!

April is Autism Awareness Month. Since I’ve been researching autistic spectrum disorders the past couple of years to write my Mnevermind series, the concept of “autism awareness” has me reflecting: have I always been aware of autism? No, not really. Although autism was first described in 1943, people in my social circles weren’t aware of the condition until autism was portrayed in pop culture media. Rain Man is my first exposure to autism, or at least the first exposure that I’m aware of.

Looking deeper, I think that I was actually exposed to autism much earlier than that.

Remember the “weird kids” in school? The kids in which others sensed a difference, and either avoided, or relentlessly taunted and teased? I have a strong suspicion now that some of those “weird kids” were on the spectrum. While I wasn't a mean kid, I don't think I stood up for the underdogs and probably avoided them. If adult-me could go back in time and cut those kids some slack, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Instead I can only sit with my remorse and try to use it to be more compassionate now.

So, what’s this spectrum? The idea of an autism spectrum was first introduced by Lorna Wing and Judith Gould in 1979. Autism isn’t a single disorder, but rather a group of closely-related disorders that share a core of symptoms that affect communication, social skills and behavior. However, there’s a high level of variation in how each individual is affected. Some people with autism are so profoundly impacted that they may be unable to live independently. Others are less affected, and are considered to be “high-functioning.”

Elijah Crowe from Mnevermind falls on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum. He’s well educated and strikingly intelligent. He’s particularly gifted in the field of mnemography, which deals with implanted recreational memories. Despite his intelligence in certain areas, he sees other aspects of the world as operating on some mysterious rules he can never quite figure out.

Here’s a snippet from Mnevermind 2: Forget Me Not that shows how overwhelming the world can be for people on the spectrum. Elijah trying to back out of a date with Daniel, but when Daniel persists and says he was really looking forward to it, Elijah changes his mind.

I wasn’t sure anyone had “looked forward” to doing anything with me lately. Knowing that Daniel had been anticipating our time together made my mood shift, just a little at first, but then with more momentum as it lightened, and my hopeless resignation gave way to curious neutrality, and then, as I mentally reiterated that he was “looking forward” to our date, optimism. “Anyway, I’ll go.”

“To the expo. With me.”

“Yes.” I thought for a moment, until I remembered the cause of my recent slide into discouragement. “But the oil light on my dash is lit.”

“There’s a Quick Lube down the street. We can hit that on our way to the Alliant Center, unless you think it’s something more serious…or I could pick you up.”

Choices—and I liked both of them. If Daniel picked me up, it would feel more like a “real” date…by which, I suppose I meant a date between a man and a woman, which I should probably reassess, since dates shouldn’t need to be gender-specific to be objective. Then I thought of being able to tell Tod I’d handled the oil change myself, which was even more appealing. “I think I’d like to stop at the Quick Lube. Is it quick, really, or is that just the name? Do they service Hondas? Will they need to see my title and registration? Do I need an appointment? Can I pay with my debit card?”

“I think you just, uh…it’s really no big deal.”

Maybe not to Daniel, who understood how things worked by discerning seemingly invisible signals. To me, it was a very big deal.

Leave a comment on LiveJournal if you’d like to win a Mnevermind ebook (The Persistence of Memory or Forget Me Not, winner’s choice!) I’ll pick a winner April 30.

IMPORTANT LINKS

Read more posts on autism and win more prizes at RJ Scott’s April Autism Blog Hop.

Find out more about Mnevermind at JCP Books.

No Good Deed Goes Uninsulted!

I was pulling out of a parking lot when an old rummy walked up waving his arms for me to roll down my window. Since I didn't think I was about to be carjacked, I rolled it down a smidge and listened while he breathlessly gasped out a story about ran out of gas and needs ten dollars. Since I wasn't born yesterday I know this is just his weird story and I'm sure he hasn't run out of gas, at least not today. However I'm probably a hell of a lot better off than him, and I have some change in my cupholder. So I say, "I'll give you all my change," and hand it to him, about 50 cents, and say, "I hope this helps."

(Here's the funny part)

He ROLLS HIS EYES, and says, "Well, it's a start!"

Dude...I literally gave him ALL my money other than the twelve cents that stuck to the bottom, and he rolled his eyes at me. HAHAHA!

Among the Living, French translation

It's the official launch date of Parmi les vivants (Among the Living, in French!) I actually got excited and jumped the gun, and sent out the direct email yesterday since all the sales channels were in place.

Early reviews are fantastic. Blue-moon.fr says: "The anti hero par excellence...A story that should not be missed, especially as the work of translation is flawless."

Here are some descriptions and links (including Thaw, the sweet and romantic ice skating flash fic):
Parmi les vivants PsyCop #1 (French)

Victor Bayne, la moitié psychique d’une équipe PsyCop, est un médium gay qui préfère de loin passer inaperçu que de faire des vagues.

Son ex-partenaire prend sa retraite et au cours du pot de départ, Victor a une aventure avec le beau Jacob Marks, l’un de ses collègues non-psychiques (également baptisés « Raides ») d’un arrondissement voisin. Il semble que sa chance pour le moins incertaine ait enfin commencé à tourner. Mais c’est justement à cet instant qu’un serial killer décide de faire surface. Ce dernier a le pouvoir de se métamorphoser, prenant ainsi l’apparence de la personne la plus sexy au monde suivant les goûts de chaque témoin.

Résoudre des meurtres est un jeu d’enfant quand on peut demander « kikafékoi » aux victimes, mais ce tueur ne laisse aucun fantôme sur son passage.

Parmi les vivants in PDF, ePub and Mobi at JCP Books
For Kindle at Amazon.com, Amazon.fr and Amazon.ca
At Smashwords in PDF, ePub, Mobi, LRF and PDB

Dégel
PsyCop #1.1 (French)

En tant qu’inspecteur psi aux affaires d’homicides, Victor Bayne n’a pas beaucoup de temps à lui. Dégel vous offre un rare aperçu de sa vie en dehors des heures de service. Vous avez entendu parler de la série PsyCop, mais ne l’avez pas encore essayée ? Voici pour vous un avant-goût de Victor et de son petit-ami le séduisant Jacob, dont les regards de braise risquent bien de faire fondre la patinoire sur laquelle ils se trouvent.

Dégel in PDF, ePub and Mobi at JCP Books

Mnevermind cutting room floor

I came across a cool (and non-spoilery) cutting room floor nugget from Mnevermind. Find it in today's Saturday Snippet, as well as quick links to Forget Me Not in Paperback!

A JCP Books coupon for Mnevermind

MnevermindSpecial SavingsDiscover the haunting story of Mnevermind, a reality-bending tale of a guy, his dad, and a kindred spirit they find in an unexpected place.




















































Through March 28, 2014 save $1 at JCP Books when you buy both Mnevermind 1 and 2 with the coupon code REMEMBER.







Go to JCP Books

For all you people with nice cell phones....

Until I moved last summer, I lived in a dead zone where only one very expensive carrier worked. When I moved, I "upgraded" only the refurbished phone I bought was hinky. You'd press a 2 and it would register as an 8, for instance, completely unusable. Well, that's all squared away now, but let's just say I'm gun-shy now. Or should i say phone-shy? I hate the phone and only use it if there's no other way I can get something done.

However, I know this is not typical behavior. Other people use their phones. They even enjoy them.

In light of that reality, I re-jiggered my newsletter so it can be read on a smartphone. It won't look all that much different on computers and tablets, it'll just look like I moved the column to the opposite side. But it's rebuilt to be responsive and more useful.

Have a peek here, in March's JCP News:  http://eepurl.com/QfMAv

(the photo is a phone I found in an abandoned house a few years ago)

Am I a WHAT?

It's above 30 degrees in Wisconsin, and you know what that means: shorts. At least to the gym.

So as I was walking upstairs to aerobics class, the woman behind me exclaims, "Are you a runner??? You have such muscular calves!"

(Anyone who's ever seen me try to run would know my stamina's not the greatest...) I think I was just born with muscular calves, but it put a big smile on my face and started my day on a fantastic note anyway.

Mnevermind 2: Forget Me Not is out in ebook

Forget Me Not
Mnevermind Trilogy #2

No two people are exactly alike, but Elijah Crowe is very, very different.

Elijah is on the autism spectrum, so the tasks of day-to-day life most people breeze through are a challenge for him. His career suffered because he never got the hang of schmoozing, and now he wastes his talents teaching classes at the mall. His social circle is limited to his ex, his therapist, and a structured inclusion group at the Rec Center. The one bright spot in his life is the memory science of Mnemography.

Although he loves nothing better than devouring the latest research and tinkering with all the specialized equipment, he never clicked with any other experts in the field until he met Daniel Schroeder. Daniel runs a memory palace—he even writes his own mnems—and that shared interest alone would make him fascinating. But Daniel and Elijah met under unusual circumstances, where the statement, “I like you, and I think you like me,” held some surprising nuances.

Now Elijah suspects he’s gay, but the few prominent people in his life are less than supportive. Some are downright hostile. Elijah might not be neurotypical, but he’s plenty smart. Surely there’s some way to get people to accept him for who he is. If only he could figure out how.

(New to the series? Check out Mnevermind 1: The Persistence of Memory)

Click here read an excerpt of Forget Me Not

Available now at JCP Books in Mobi, PDF and ePub
At Amazon for the Kindle
At B&N for Nook

Paperback version coming next month