Jordan Castillo Price's Blog, page 79

Funeral Home field trip

Because enough is never enough...and because I was feeling a little uninspired, like I needed to refill my well with some more experiences...I decided to get myself down to Cress Funeral Home in Madison, which is featured in lots of "Weird Wisconsin" type guides for the gigantic taxidermy collection in its basement. Here's an article from Roadside America. I suppose I've always been intimidated because you're supposed to make an appointment, but I called and there wasn't a funeral today, so t...

Readers Speak

Do you read the forums on Amazon? There's a very interesting discussion about the democatization of the slush pile. I love that it's contrary to all the "doom & gloom" that the press is predicting over the rise of self- and small-publishing. The actual readers are saying, yes! Give us a sample and we're happy to try an indie rather than whatever Big Publishing wants to stuff down our throats.

Here's the thread!

And by the way, Sleepwalker is doing unexpectedly well over there on ol' Amazon! YAY!

Tornado Damage at Old Wisconsin

An F-4 tornado is one of the main supporting characters of Sleepwalker, so tornadoes have been on my mind lately. Oh, plus that siren blaring at me last night. I streamed some weather radio and found the worst of the weather was already east of me, said, "Yay, I'm safe," and left it at that.

Well, it's never that easy, is it? Old Wisconsin, a beloved historical site, was hit.

It sounds like the damage is mostly downed trees in the parking lot, and no one was hurt.

Sleepwalker hits the shelves!

Midnight Shifts, Taxidermy and Murder

Daniel Weber ("Web" to his friends) was a promising young biology student on the fast track to a prestigious grad program. That was a year and a half ago. Now he's working a dead-end security job and living in his cousin's two-flat. Thanks to the mysterious George, he's got gaps in his memory too big for his pocket notebook to fill.

Jesse Ray Jones is the taxidermist who's trying to help the Faris Natural Sciences Center secure the MAHPS Grant, a funding t...

And now, over to you

In "we like to live dangerously" news (referring to myself in the royal "we") we've gotten rid of the satellite TV just in time for tornado season. So last night I was recovering from a marathon day of typesetting and editing, when between thunderstorms, I noticed a yellow light shining into the house beneath my bedroom shades. I looked into the kitchen. A yellow light was shining through my skylight, too. I stood under that and looked up. The whole sky was yellow.

(When you read Sleepwalker, ...

Names that are common nouns

Help, F-list!
I've been searching for a name that's also a common noun...you know, like Bob. Or Matt. But a nicer name, like River. But not River, that's goofy.

Can you guys blast me with all the word-names you can think of? (They don't actually have to be nouns. Sly is a good one.)

Packing Heat 108: Obvious Opposites

Packing Heat is a podcast I've been putting out since 2007. My goal is to help other writers stay motivated, and to encourage them to take their writing to the next level. You don't need special gadgets to listen; Packing Heat plays in your browser, like YouTube. Or you can subscribe (and leave me glowing feedback) at iTunes!

Yay!

I’ve finished Zero Hour, the story that took shape in Packing Heat #5. I’m leaving the first draft up for readers to enjoy for free, and I’ll be producing it as...

The Zero Hour finale is here!

The June 2010 issue of JCP News is live -- and it's the Zero Hour Finale!
Wrap your head around topics such as:

Is Starting Better Than Finishing?
According to psychologists, our brains may think so.

The Future is Here And it is daunting!
(AKA another reason why I love Post-Its and want to marry them)

Sleepwalker
Coming this week, June 20, to JCP Books, LLC

Ticking Down to Zero Hour
My thoughts on the story and the writing process

Drum roll, please...
Thirty months in the making, the Zero ...

Review: I Fell in Love With a Zombie

I Fell in Love with a Zombie by Sean Kennedy


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
As with Tigers & Devils, what made this story a delight to read, and will make it a re-read for me, is Jay's character voice. I love that he runs the gamut from desperate to survive, to pleased with himself for figuring out how to hotwire a car, to disgusted with himself for his first sexual encounter in ages, to hopeful (eventually.)

The atmosphere and setting very zombie-movie-like, so zombie movie fans will definitely enjoy...

Snags and delays

Those of you who follow my newsletter know that I was planning to release Sweets to the Sweet, the print collection of Petit Morts #1, tomorrow. Unfortunately, the 6/10 release date has proved to be overly optimistic on my part. I'm thinking it will be out there in ink and pulp closer to the end of the month.

I suspect the mailman made off with my proof. ;-)

I will send a "quick link" email to those who've requested it when the book comes out. And I'll crow all over the Internet, of course.