The Starving Years by Jordan Castillo Price

The Starving Years

Imagine a world without hunger. In 1960, a superfood was invented that made starvation a thing of the past. Manna, the cheaply manufactured staple food, is now as ubiquitous as salt in the world’s cupboards, pantries and larders.

Nelson Oliver knows plenty about manna. He’s a food scientist—according to his diploma, that is. Lately, he’s been running the register at the local video rental dive to scrape together the cash for his exorbitantly priced migraine medication.

In a job fair gone bad, Nelson hooks up with copywriter Javier and his computer-geek pal Tim, who whisks them away from the worst of the fiasco in his repurposed moving truck. At least, Nelson thinks the those two are acquainted, but they’re acting so evasive about it, he’s not sure how they know each other, exactly. Javier is impervious to Nelson’s flirting, and Tim’s name could appear in the dictionary under the entry for “awkward.” And with a riot raging through Manhattan and yet another headache coming on, it doesn’t seem like Nelson will get an answer anytime soon. One thing’s for sure, the tension between the three of them is thick enough to cut with a knife...even one of those dull plastic dealies that come in the package with Mannariffic EZ-Mealz.

The Starving Years first chapter on JCP Books

Release date: 3/5/12

Series: Standalone
Length: Novel - 96,000 words - 320 page PDF
Cover artist: Jordan Castillo Price - see larger cover
ISBN: 978-1-935540-43-4

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This story originally ran as a free serial read in my newsletter, JCP News. The editorial changes were significant enough that I've replaced the free version with the polished for-sale version in the interest of having only the best version of the story available. Thanks for reading!

-Jordan