And young—barely fifteen years older than Nelson. Way too young to be called bà ngoai…grandma.
Nelson smiled at her grimly. She would’ve hated that picture—maybe. Or maybe she would have just acted like she hated it because everyone else expected her to be the stern one, the grownup.
Tuyet and Bobby joined Nelson by the streetlight where he stood between Tim and Javier. They found a spot beside Tim, even though that meant walking around Nelson to avoid falling in beside Javier. The eye patch freaked them out…that, and the whole idea that he was involved with both Nelson and Tim. Bobby and Tuyet somehow managed to drop the subject whenever Nelson brought it up. No doubt they wanted him to settle down into something relatively “normal” with just Tim. But while they would always have a place in Nelson’s life, it was still his life to live.
The Deputy Mayor said something generic about pulling together in a time of tragedy. Nelson supposed there were only so many ways to acknowledge that losing your loved ones sucked. It occurred to him that it would be possible to create a program that would generate a condolence speech for any occasion—and that if he were able to come with the phrases, Tim could probably write an app that would recombine them.
Nah, that’d be morbid.
Nelson tuned in. Preciousness of life, cherishing our loved ones, blah-blah-blah. Seriously, it did sound like it had been generated by some kind of platitude generator. Javier nudged him with an elbow. No doubt he’d now developed multilingual telepathy and had just heard Nelson’s mind wandering. Nelson turned to reply with a look of wounded innocence, and it took him a moment to make sense of the thing in Javier’s hand being extended to him. A handkerchief. How weird, and old-fashioned, and foreign…and somehow, classy.
As Nelson took it, he realized his eyelashes felt damp. He scrubbed at them briefly and then crammed Javier’s handkerchief into the pocket of his blazer…which also belonged to Javier. He sighed.
Once his hand was free, Javier slipped his fingers into the spot his handkerchief had just occupied, and squeezed. Goosebumps raced up Nelson’s arm. On his other side, Tim, who was as sensitive as a tooth whose enamel had all been worn away, interlaced his long fingers with the fingers on Nelson’s free hand. Then he shivered, as if the goosebumps had raced through Nelson, and onto his skin.
Somehow, as if he could pull strength from their very touch, Nelson forced himself to open his ears, and open his heart, and listen, really listen, to the Deputy Mayor’s words. To be grounded, fully and completely, in the moment.
To be alive.
-end-
About the Author
Jordan Castillo Price lives in rural Wisconsin where fascinating giant rolls of alfalfa dot the fields at harvest time. She has also had the privilege of seeing cheese made, which prompted her to put the two together and come up with alfalfa-cheese known in this story as manna.
Click to connect with Jordan in the following places:
jordancastilloprice.com
JCP News: Jordan’s monthly newsletter
Facebook: Jordan’s fanpage - PsyCop fanpage
Jordan’s LiveJournal blog
About this Story
The Starving Years was written serially, with the readers getting to vote about the course the story would take. It kept me on my toes, no doubt. Readers seldom pick what I think would be the obvious choice, so I can’t be too attached to the voting outcome. While I care about the story’s destination, I need to be pretty darn flexible about how we’re all going to arrive there!
What turned out to be particularly valuable was a little box I began adding to the voting form for “additional comments.” It was through that feedback that I really got a sense that readers were invested in the characters and the story, and that they were eager to get their installment every month.
I didn’t start out with the idea of having a love triangle within the story. The worldbuilding with the new food source and all the societal ramifications it would entail seemed complicated enough! But when I had readers vote for what type of characters they’d prefer for their leading men, there was a tie for second place…so I brought both Javier and Tim into the mix.
I’m so glad I did.
What I like about the way they developed is that they’re all so similar in certain ways. They’ve all got a very strong personal sense of right and wrong, a sense of integrity, and they’re all very capable, all very smart. And yet they’re so different and distinct from one another.
With food devalued, the economy is totally wonky. Gourmet coffee is a paltry $2 per cup while Nelson’s migraine meds cost two grand. And, of course, there’s the scrambling anti-woman governmental attempt at population control that’s necessary without starvation to cull the herd. You might spot other small ways in which the readily available, cheap food source made the the storyverse veer off from our current reality.
Now I’m off to enjoy some chicken bodies.
-special thanks to Diane Williams for helping me craft a plausible Manhattan setting, and Felix Duarte for his IT advice-
Voting Results
The Starving Years was written to order in Jordan’s monthly newsletter, JCP News. Each month readers were allowed to vote on the story’s evolution. Here’s a roundup of the voting:
Nelson, Javier, Randy and Marianne have just elbowed through the riot and they’re lurking in the alleyway.
Chapter 3 - Whose point of view should we proceed from?
45% Javier’s
55% Nelson’s
0% Marianne’s
What about Randy? Should they take pity on him and bring him along?
61% Yes, it’s the right thing to do
39% No, he made his bed, let him lie in it
In Tim’s apartment, they discover cell phones and land lines are all dead. Nelson’s tucked in to Tim’s bed dreaming medicine dreams and Randy wants his dentist.
Chapter 6 - What next?
79% Stay put and figure out a plan
3% Go out for supplies as a group
18% Split up into smaller groups
Javier gives Tim the flash drive and worries that Tim saw him kissing Nelson.
Chapter 7 - What should happen next?
23% I’ll bet they’re getting hungry - let’s see some manna.
51% How can Tim possibly resist cracking open that memory stick—even with Randy and Marianne in the room?
26% Expose Tim as the Voice of Reason. It's fun to watch him squirm.
They give manna to the hungry neighbors while Tim snoops through some Canaan Products files.
Chapter 9 - What should they do about the dirty cyber chat?
9% Tim should mention it
16% Javier should mention it
13% Nah, just let them keep dancing around it
63% Let it come to light in a spectacularly embarrassing way that neither Tim nor Javier wanted
Nelson gets the call that Tuyet is missing and they troop over to his apartment. Kevin’s checking the morgue.
Chapter 12 - Should Tim make his move on Nelson?
50% Go for it, Tim!
29% Come on, no one's THAT awkward.
21% Other (eg. Do it discreetly, Tim?)
On the way back from the morgue, the cops uptown begin herding traffic into a trap and they take refuge at Javier’s family’s construction site.
Chapter 15 - If someone should happen to get past the flirting stage in the next part of the story, who should it be? And with whom?
(This was an essay question, not a multiple choice. A few samples…)
• Tim is obviously ready to jump out of his pants with pent up desire for Nelson, so I think that maybe it should be him. Having said that, it might also be fun to see all three make a move at the same time.
• I’m totally digging Javier and Tim but my gut it telling me that anyone getting it on with Nelson would be hot! Are three-ways not an option?
• I’m also wondering about a threesome to begin but really prefer only two in the end. I th
ink I would prefer seeing Tim and Nelson together eventually, but some form of threesome to begin with.
• It seems to me that Javier doesn't seem to be too bothered about whether he hooks up with Tim or Nelson. Sooo, let's have them all break through the flirting stage together and have a lovely awkward threesome.
Tim, Nelson and Javier come to an…arrangement.
Chapter 17 - In what manner should some shit hit the fan?
9% Some rioting people break into the construction site
52% Thanks to the memory stick, Tim hacks into Canaan Products' mainframe
17% They pick up a television broadcast on Alejandro de la Rosa's nice computer
22% Tim is exposed as the Voice of Reason (a few of you picked this before but we didn't use it back then. Maybe now is a good time)
Chapter 24 - Just a spot to leave me a comment as I started wrapping up the story
• Whoa, Jordan, this is getting dark. And surrealistic (Nelson's dream). I can see how it's all starting to connect.
• Damn cliffhangers! :D I want it to end because of the suspense, but then I do not want it to be too abrupt... they only just sort of figured out what is going on, not what to do about it... but it is your story and so I trust you!
• Really loving this story...Actually I never read anything of yours that I didn't like. I can't wait to see how you resolve all of the various story lines. Just keep in mind.....I love HEAs. I hope you can manage to do it!
• This is such an excellent story! I'm worried about the characters, and what is going to happen with the manna. While I love the complicated relationship forming between Tim, Javier and Nelson (I would vote for a happy ending for all three of them if I could) but the world you have built is extremely engaging- I love it even if it makes me sad.
-Click to subscribe to JCP News for more original content!-
Recommended Reads
Body Art - Does everyone have a certain “type” they end up with…whether they want to or not? If Ray Carlucci’s ex is anything to go by, Ray likes his men gorgeous, rebellious, and chock-full of issues. But now that Ray is single again, he has a shot at a fresh start—a very fresh start, since his tattoo shop was gutted by repo men and his belongings can fit in the trunk of a taxi.
Ray’s shiny new chauffeur’s license lands him a job as a driver for an elderly couple on Red Wing Island. It’s a cold fall, and since the Michigan island is the summer home to snowbirds who fly south for the winter, it’s practically deserted—save for Ray’s new household and a sculptor named Anton Kopec, who works day and night twisting brambles and twine into the distorted shapes of macabre creatures. Compelling, bizarre, and somewhat disturbing…not just the sculptures, but the artist, too. Ray has a feeling Anton is just his “type.”
Despite their scorching chemistry, when a dead body is unearthed by some workers and a freak ice storm traps them all on the island, Ray can’t say for certain that his new flame isn’t capable of murder. (Novella)
Magic Mansion - Professor Topaz is tired of fending off advice that he should retire in Vegas where magicians his age have an easier time finding work.
Ricardo Hart’s career has sunk so low, he’s resorted to shaking his moneymaker at bachelorette parties.
But there’s a casting call for a new reality show called Magic Mansion that could change everything. (Novel, coming soon)
Other Stories by Jordan Castillo Price:
PSYCOP
1 Among the Living
2 Criss Cross
3 Body & Soul
4 Secrets
5 Camp Hell
6 GhosTV
Striking Sparks
Many Happy Returns
CHANNELING MORPHEUS
1 Payback
2 Vertigo
3 Manikin
4 Tainted
5 Rebirth
6 Brazen
7 Snare
PETIT MORTS (with Josh Lanyon, Sean Kennedy and Clare London)
1 Hue, Tint and Shade
2 Slings and Arrows
3 Moolah and Moonshine
4 Other People's Weddings
5 Spanish Fly Guy
6 Pretty Ugly
7 Sort of Stranger than Fiction
8 One Less Stiff at the Funeral
9 Critic's Choice
10 Wishink Well
11 Happily Neverafter
12 London Eye
13 Spirits and Second Chances
14 Just Desserts
15 Loose Change
16 Media Naranja (Other Half)
17 Immortal Coil
STANDALONE
Betweentimes
Body Art
Fire Thief
Kindred Spirits
Magic Mansion
Sleepwalker
Starlight
Sympathy
The Serpent in the Garden
The Voice
Verdant
Zero Hour: A Dystopian Adventure
Find these titles at http://jcpbooks.com
Dear reader,
We are witnessing the start of a huge shift in the publishing industry.
Before 2003, if I wrote a story that wasn’t corporate America’s idea of What Deserves to be Published, the best I could have put together was a photocopied ’zine that I distributed at whatever comic shops could be coerced into keeping a few copies on consignment.
The advent of epublishing and print-on-demand has changed that. Big time.
We’re on the cusp of a meritocracy of ideas, where books sink or swim based on what readers want, rather than what corporate marketing folks think will sell.
Every time you choose to buy from a small, independent publisher or self-published author, you’re shaping the availability of future books. By saying “yes” to the indies, you become a patron of the arts, and you ensure the author has a paid mortgage, food on the table, a decent internet connection…in short, you’re contributing directly to that author’s paycheck and making sure he or she can keep writing!
If you enjoy this book, you can make even more of a difference. Blog about it, tweet about it, post reviews, and tell your friends. The more you spread the word about the indie works you enjoy, the more support you’ll funnel our way.
Thank you very much for buying an independent book. It does make a difference.
Jordan Castillo Price
Owner, JCP Books LLC
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