JournalStone's 2011 Warped Words: 90 Minutes to Live [Paperback]

Joel Kirkpatrick (Compiler)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 16, 2011

This anthology is dedicated to Rocky Wood who has been diagnosed with ALS.  All of the proceeds from sales will be donated to Mr. Wood to be used to purchase much needed medical equipment.

From the very best of our 2011 Short Story Competition, we bring you stories with two common themes: a timed demise and a lock of hair. Our authors have combined those two elements in wickedly inventive tales that we are proudly adding to our Warped Words Anthology series. JournalStone Publishing presents thirteen new additions, from thirteen authors, in our five favorite genres. Strange tales spawned from Fantasy and Young Adult, as well as our time honored Horror, Sci-Fi and Paranormal themes.

Thirteen divergent tales of horror, desperation, panic, helplessness-even glory. You will feel the weight of time as these poor characters feel it, and you will wonder...

Who will survive? Who will have a choice?

The results are stunning. You will be squeezed till you cannot breathe in the silence of space. You will lie waiting for death in a tropical haze. A city will crumble as you seek your escape and demons will come to party in your favorite nightspots. Join us as we peek into these very dark places...but keep your eye on the clock. Someone has but.....

Ninety Minutes to Live!

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Contributors:  John La Rue, Brad Carpenter, Bruce Golden, Jeffrey Wilson, Jasmine June Cabanaw, Brett J. Talley, Timothy Miller, Bill Patterson, Peter Orr, Nu Yang, JG Faherty, David Perlmutter, Jennifer Phillips

John La Rue lives in Washington, D.C. with his fiancée, and writes frantically for a living. He has been called "one of the great science fiction writers of his generation," mostly by his mother.  This is his first published work, though he promises more will be available sometime between now and the inevitable robot uprising.

As a child, Brad Carpenter terrorized his little sister by telling scary stories right before bedtime. He judged his story-telling ability by the frequency of her nightmares. Twenty years later nothing has changed. Brad is currently hard at work writing his first novel. He lives in Los Angles with his wife and baby girl and, of course, Penny the Wonderdog.

Novelist, journalist, satirist, Bruce Golden's short stories have been published more than 100 times across nine countries.  Asimov's Science Fiction described his second novel; "If Mickey Spillane had collaborated with both Frederik Pohl and Philip K. Dick, he might have produced Bruce Golden's Better Than Chocolate." You can find more of Golden's stories in his recently published collection Dancing with the Velvet Lizard on his website.

Jeffrey Wilson has worked as an actor, a firefighter, a paramedic, a jet pilot, a diving instructor, a Naval Officer, and a Vascular and Trauma Surgeon. He also served two tours in Iraq as a combat surgeon with both the Marines and with a Joint Special Operations Task Force. He has published short stories, won fiction competitions, and his first novel, THE TRAITEUR'S RING, was released this year by JournalStone. His novel THE DONORS will be available the summer of 2012. Jeff and his wife, Wendy, are Virginia natives who, with children Emma, Jack, and Connor, now call Southwest Florida home. 

Jasmine June Cabanaw is an author and professional dancer. She combines her passions by writing dance history articles for gildedserpent.com. She is also a features writer at Juxtapoz magazine. Jasmine has worked as a freelance writer for ten years, with publications in various newspapers, websites, and magazines. Jasmine was included in JournalSstone's 2010 Warped Words for Twisted Minds and is thrilled to be a part of 90 Minutes to Live.

A native of Alabama, Brett J. Talley received a philosophy and history degree from Alabama U. before moving to witch-haunted Massachusetts and Harvard Law School.  Brett is the author of That Which Should Not Be, winner of JournalStone's 2011 novel contest.  He has been published several times in the 'Absent Willow Review', and his short story, 'The Substance of Shadow', won their 2011 short story contest.  Brett likes puppies and dragons and Alabama football.  He rarely eats cucumbers.

Timothy Miller has worked at a farm, a meatpacking plant, a pickle factory, a casino, and a rowdy nightclub as a bouncer.  Currently employed as a repair technician for a large telephone company, he writes in his spare time and has several short stories published in print and on the web. His biggest fans, his family, spend many frigid Wisconsin nights in their home, listening to his stories and encouraging him despite the nightmares.

Bill Patterson  West Point, '82 alumni, has been interested in writing science fiction ever since college.  The author of one commercially successful CAD software book, Bill was a magazine columnist in the same area.  Bill brings his love of language to science fiction in his work.  He and his wife of 28 years, Barbara, live with their two sons in Central New Jersey.

Peter Orr has been creating stories in his head for as long as he can remember, and has recently found out just how satisfying it is to actually write them down.  He lives with his fiancée, who acts as his de facto editor and audience-in-chief.  In his day job he is a barrister, and through that job and the situations he encounters he has come to realize how strange life can be."

Nu Yang resides in Southern California, although she is a Midwest girl at heart. She is the editorial assistant with The Log newspaper and Editor and Publisher magazine as well as the assistant editor with New Myths, an online speculative magazine. She has been published with Three Crow Press and Hic Dragones. Nu is a 2006 graduate of the Odyssey Fantasy Writing Workshop and a June 2009 graduate of the Writing Popular Fiction Master's program at Seton Hill University. When she's not writing, she sings karaoke, watches too much television, and daydreams about demon hunters, supernatural monsters, and the occasional love story.

JG Faherty grew up in the haunted Hudson Valley region of New York. Living in an area filled with centuries-old cemeteries, ghosts, and tales of monsters in the woods has provided a rich background for his writing. A life-long fan of horror, JG enjoys reading, movies, golf, volunteering as an exotic animal caretaker, and playing the guitar. JG's first novel, CARNIVAL OF FEAR, was released in 2010. GHOSTS OF CORONADO BAY, a YA supernatural thriller, was published in June 2011. THE CEMETERY CLUB, his third novel, will be released in early 2012. His other credits include more than two dozen short stories in major genre magazines and anthologies.

David Perlmutter is a freelance writer living in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, where he has lived his whole life. His passions are American television animation (the subject of his MA thesis and a projected historical monograph), literature (especially science fiction and fantasy) and music (rhythm& blues, soul, funk and jazz.) This explains why much of his writing is as nonconventional and defiant as it is. He is challenged with Asperger's Syndrome, but considers it an asset more than a disability.

Jennifer Phillips grew up bouncing around the globe as the offspring of US embassy personnel. She is an online media analyst and has worked in politics and public relations. Her passion is fiction, both reading and writing. She always has more ideas to write about than she has time to write. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and two pets, an 18-year-old cat named Elle and a Shepherd mix puppy named Coco.

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: JournalStone (December 16, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1936564335
• ISBN-13: 978-1936564330
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,183,593 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

When not reading, he is writing. When not writing, he is reading. Author Joel Blaine Kirkpatrick lives with his lovely wife and their two boys in Southwest Colorado.

A novelist with five published works--only four of his books are available in Kindle format.

Being a fierce supporter of independent and self-publishing, Joel straddles the fence quite well in the industry. He is the current Acquisitions Director for JournalStone Publishing, and is the first contact for authors wishing to be published in the traditional modes.

His motto, which he freely shares as terribly good advice--Authors should write for themselves, then share their work.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely worth reading! January 16, 2012

By Betty-Anne Olton

Format:Kindle Edition

I received a free copy of this e-book in exchange for reading and reviewing it.

JournalStone's 90 Minutes to Live, edited by Joel Kirkpatrick, is an anthology of the top submissions to the publisher's annual Short Story contest. It includes the stories in first to third place, as well as ten additional stories divided among the different categories represented in the competition, namely horror, science fiction and fantasy.

I love a well-written short story. It's perfect for when you have just a little bit of time to devote to reading, and you want a satisfying experience. A good short story is like the perfect bite of food. For me, that means I approach a short story anthology with the understanding I will dip into it when I like or when I have the time. I started 90 Minutes to Live with that same understanding. That didn't last long. Before I knew it, I was halfway through the book and very unhappy I had to put it down at all. I ended up finishing it in two days.

The stories in the anthology had to be based around a theme, and therefore had to include two elements - a deadline of ninety minutes to live and a lock of hair. It was fascinating to see what diverse ideas arose from those two elements. Out of the thirteen stories, there were probably two which I can say I didn't particularly like. The rest ranged from wonderful to spectacular. The writing was of an overall very high standard, with authors who all know how to tell a good story, and how to leave the reader wanting more. There are authors in there whose work I will be looking for in the future.

If you are a fan of any of the genres represented here, and if you enjoy a well-written, captivating short story, you will love this book as much as I did. There's a 2010 anthology as well. I'm definitely going to be buying that one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping! December 15, 2011

By Ron Gavalik

Format:Hardcover

Nu Yang is a talented and thoughtful writer who can achieve far better 3-D imagery in a story than anything you'll see at the local movie theatre. It's with that in mind that I congratulate her and this anthology for their success in publishing. Great job!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another group of extremely talented authors December 27, 2011

By Cassie McCown

Format:Paperback

90 Minutes to Live
Compiled by Joel Kirkpatrick
ISBN: 9781936564330
Published December 2011 by JournalStone Publishing
Available Format: Hardcover, Paperback, ebook

My Rating: '''''

90 Minutes to Live is the 2011 edition of JournalStone's annual short story anthology. This year, the competing authors were given two themes that must be included in the stories: a timed demise and a lock of hair. From horror and science fiction to paranormal, fantasy and young adult, readers will find thirteen stunning tales sure to entertain. You're certain to find a favorite while you answer the question: who will survive?

JournalStone has managed to find another group of extremely talented authors for this year's anthology! I'm sure they had to turn away a few as well. I say, why not make several anthologies?!? Alas, there is only one, and it is an amazing compilation, as always. The majority of stories fall under the horror and sci-fi categories, but there are some notable fantasy, paranormal, and young adult submissions as well. Some stories will completely creep you out while others leave you guessing; some will make you cry and some will give you a case of the giggles. Either way, there is definitely something for everyone to love.

Grab yourself a copy of this fantastic anthology and finish out 2011 in a great way!