Petit Morts Books

Asking for help can be a challenge for even the best of us, and so it's doubly intimidating for quiet, introverted Tommy Roth. An online exchange leads to a meeting with a psychic who assures Tommy that his naturally subdued aura is to blame for his timidity. Blue and violet tones are out, and shades of yellow and red are in! Of course it's a bunch of baloney, and to make it worse, the intimidating shop clerk overheard the whole conversation. Just when it seems like Tommy's life can’t get any more dreary, a colorful character drops out of the sky. Nathan's so vivid, he seems to good to be true. Is he? Novelette, approximately 40-50 pages or 14,000 words Petit Morts Indulge your sweet tooth with five deliciously weird tales by Josh Lanyon and Jordan Castillo Price! A storefront. You've never noticed it before. It's small, unassuming, and yet there's something about it that draws your eye. And the aroma drifting out, rich and dark, so enticing. How could you have overlooked it? It must be new. So why does it look like it's been there for ages? And the chocolatier behind the counter...certainly you'd remember him. #1: Hue, Tint and Shade by Jordan Castillo Price Yellow is as yellow does. #2: Slings and Arrows by Josh Lanyon It's a fine line between "secret admirer" and "stalker". #3: Moolah and Moonshine by Jordan Castillo Price If you ever go to France, watch out for those ticklers. #4: Other People's Weddings by Josh Lanyon Pulling off the perfect wedding can be murder. #5: Spanish Fly Guy by Jordan Castillo Price I held my nose I closed my eyes...I took a drink.

Rust. Cabbage. A vague sour odor of spoiled milk. No, that's not the smell of the dumpster behind Sweets to the Sweet—it's Emmett Russo's horrible house. Everyone told him a home was a great investment, but the market went bad, he discovered a bunch of hidden problems, and now he owes more on his mortgage than the old Kansas farmhouse is worth. If that's not bad enough, his best friend Rosemary just landed a fabulous new job…in Paris. The Paris. And Emmett doesn't know if he can face his horrible house without her. Emmett longs to jaunt away with Rosemary, but how can he fly with his albatross of a house dragging him down? Enter tall, strapping Sam Kowalski, who's rumored to be "good with his hands."  Emmett's not accustomed to airing his stinky secrets to just anybody, but Sam seems determined to help him out…and together they discover there's far more hidden in Emmett's horrible house than a bunch of weird smells. Novelette, approximately 40-50 pages or 14,000 words Petit Morts Indulge your sweet tooth with five deliciously weird tales by Josh Lanyon and Jordan Castillo Price! A storefront. You've never noticed it before. It's small, unassuming, and yet there's something about it that draws your eye. And the aroma drifting out, rich and dark, so enticing. How could you have overlooked it? It must be new. So why does it look like it's been there for ages? And the chocolatier behind the counter...certainly you'd remember him. #1: Hue, Tint and Shade by Jordan Castillo Price Yellow is as yellow does. #2: Slings and Arrows by Josh Lanyon It's a fine line between "secret admirer" and "stalker". #3: Moolah and Moonshine by Jordan Castillo Price If you ever go to France, watch out for those ticklers. #4: Other People's Weddings by Josh Lanyon Pulling off the perfect wedding can be murder. #5: Spanish Fly Guy by Jordan Castillo Price I held my nose I closed my eyes...I took a drink.

JP McMahon cruises into the small, oceanside town of Brightside hoping to score a bed for the night and a few dollars to fill the Miata's gas tank. He discovers that cell phones and Internet are non-existent, and that without access to matchmaker sites and Craigslist, the local newspaper's personal ads are booming. He cooks up an unlikely scam, a foul novelty concoction called Spanish Fly. He also finds an unlikely accomplice in Ryan, the quiet local kid at the copy shop with a flair for designing irresistible labels. Spanish Fly proves popular--almost too popular--and JP suspects his luck is about to turn. But that "little voice" inside tells him to stick around Brightside just a tiny bit longer.... Novella, approximately 60-70 pages or 18,000 words Petit Morts Indulge your sweet tooth with five deliciously weird tales by Josh Lanyon and Jordan Castillo Price! A storefront. You've never noticed it before. It's small, unassuming, and yet there's something about it that draws your eye. And the aroma drifting out, rich and dark, so enticing. How could you have overlooked it? It must be new. So why does it look like it's been there for ages? And the chocolatier behind the counter...certainly you'd remember him. #1: Hue, Tint and Shade by Jordan Castillo Price Yellow is as yellow does. #2: Slings and Arrows by Josh Lanyon It's a fine line between "secret admirer" and "stalker". #3: Moolah and Moonshine by Jordan Castillo Price If you ever go to France, watch out for those ticklers. #4: Other People's Weddings by Josh Lanyon Pulling off the perfect wedding can be murder. #5: Spanish Fly Guy by Jordan Castillo Price A new twist on liquid courage.

Just because Dominic Mann personally lacks beauty doesn’t mean he can’t appreciate it. His keen eye has made him one of the most celebrated and sought-after photographers in Nashville. The grand re-opening of the Cypress Mansion is an event for Nashville’s truly elite, and Dominic is the official photographer of the evening. Not that he’d need that excuse to introduce himself to up-and-coming singer Johnny Palomino and grab a few shots…but it doesn’t hurt. Dominic hopes to take his flirtation with Johnny to the next level at the Cypress Mansion tea, where they’ve arranged to meet. But what greets Dominic in the mirror the next morning is such a shock, he’s almost late for the party. No one at Cypress Mansion is acting like they notice anything different. Or do they?

When he hung his brand new psychology degree on the wall, Jason Harvey had imagined working at one of the many hospitals or clinics in Melbourne. The want ads, however, hadn’t cooperated. Now Jason finds himself facing the newly bereaved across the counselor’s desk of the Newlin Funeral Parlour. Certainly all people deserve sympathy and patience in their time of loss, but Jason’s current client has him at wit’s end. What’s worse, the deceased has included a bizarre request in her final wishes: that her passing be commemorated…with chocolate. Things start looking up for Jason when amicable young Fred takes over the funeral coordination duties from his sour aunt, but despite their best efforts to honor the departed in the manner she’s requested, they find the memorial service sliding inexorably out of control…. Novelette - 12700 words

Dying with dignity. Passing on one’s own terms. Approaching the end in a caring, nurturing atmosphere. There are plenty of reasons people check in to Hospice House…but Eddie Flynn’s just there for the morphine. Eddie’s lung capacity is down to 15%, he’s in continual pain, and he’s constantly burning up with fever from the infection he just can’t shake. Given his physical condition, he’s baffled to find himself fawning over the hot guy stocking the vending machines. Eddie figures it’s futile to even flirt with someone, considering how little time he’s got left. But there’s something about the guy with the name “Chance” embroidered on his coveralls that he just can’t stop thinking about—not only for Chance’s naughty smile and bedroom eyes. It seems Eddie’s somehow ended up with Chance’s pen. Novelette - 14300 words

Slide off the black satin ribbon, dig deeper into the box, and discover another decadent layer of divinely sinful indulgence. Australian novelist Sean Kennedy joins Josh Lanyon and Jordan Castillo Price for five more uncanny gay tales starring Chance, the enigmatic chocolatier, in Petit Morts 2: Food of the Gods. This collection is a sequel to Petit Morts 1: Sweets to the Sweet. Stories included: Pretty Ugly by Jordan Castillo Price Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...usually. Sort of Stranger Than Fiction by Josh Lanyon They always say to write what you know. One Less Stiff at the Funeral by Sean Kennedy Chocolate makes everything better. Even a eulogy. Critic's Choice by Josh Lanyon It was a dark and stormy night. No, really, it was. Wishink Well by Jordan Castillo Price You can't get something for nothing.

Love is not for the faint of heart. Mild-mannered Trevor accompanies his Gran Elsie on holiday at a luxury resort in Majorca, hoping for some rest and relaxation under the dazzling Spanish sun. But they didn’t count on arriving in the middle of Flamenco Week. Instead of massages and siestas, they find noisy builders and tacky theme parties. Trevor has a choice to make: put up, or shut up—and finding the nerve to complain to the staff, the mysterious Chance and imperturbable Hunter, is far from easy. But the impromptu assertiveness training comes in handy when he catches the eye of the manager’s son, Alejo. There’s someone for everyone—even Trevor—providing he finds the courage to stand up for what he wants. (Novelette length story - 16,150 words)

Oliver's been dumped by his date in the backstreets of London, where his Armani suit and a rich family background don't count for much. Des is waiting tables to make ends meet, reconciled to the fact that all he attracts are lame ducks and lost causes. Two different men, two very different worlds. Then Des’s cheerful generosity meets Oliver’s lovelorn confusion over a cup of coffee and a bag of sinfully good chocolates...Enter Chance, working at the Cafe Mystique under the looming presence of the London Eye, searching as always for The One, matchmaking with his own brand of sensual, sweet and shocking magic. What follows is a mix of providence, passion and good old British pounds. After all, everyone should give credit where credit’s due. (Novelette length story - 18,550 words)

Greece is full of history, so it figures that Chance’s on-again, off-again lover would find him there. Sweets to the Sweet appears in Athens during a string of riots, and the beguiling creature who now goes by the name Hunter has insinuated himself among the staff of a nearby hospital. Milo Alexakis is a member of the Hellenic Police—and with all the protests and the rioting, he’s ruing the crappy grades and crappier finances that kept him out of university and put him in the daily path of hurled insults, spit wads and cobblestones. American Dave Shaw is ruing the fact that he never managed to learn any Greek before he embarked on the world’s worst vacation, alone. Cop meets tourist in a brilliant conflagration—and amidst the molotov cocktails and burning cars, Chance finds the lure of his old flame impossible to resist. (Novelette-length story - 18,800 words)

Chance wasn’t sure he even had a heart—until he felt it breaking. Richard Hill should be grading papers, but a dilapidated roadside carnival distracts him from his clipboard full of essays on the function of the human heart. The weather is cold and the carnies are dour, but the cotton candy is good enough to lure him back for more. It doesn’t hurt that former student Joel Weaver, all grown up, is working there too—and not only is he quirky and cute, he seems to be putting off an “interested” vibe. Chance is accustomed enough to the love gig by now to get The One situated without breaking a sweat—until he finds the fates of the newfound lovers are more tangled than he’d anticipated. The only thing left to do is take the situation up with management. (Novelette length story - 18,100 words)

Wes Jackson doesn’t believe in ghosts. His Fremantle ghost walk is for entertainment purposes only—right down to the psychic medium (aka his mother) who’s always shocked to find “presences” on his tours…four times a week. If ghosts were real, the Fremantle Round House would be teeming with them. Australian convicts built the forbidding walls, and after the prison outgrew it, mental patients were locked away within its stark cells. But preternatural activity? None. Any trepidation Wes usually displays while leading his tour through the tunnel beneath the Round House is pure theatrics—until the longtime partner he split with turns up, and ghost of their relationship rears its head. Can Chance help them resurrect the spirit of their lost love? (Novelette-length story - 13,740 words)

A storefront. You've never noticed it before. It's small, unassuming, and yet there's something about it that draws your eye. And the scent drifting out, dark and aromatic, so enticing. How could you have overlooked it? It must be new. So why does Sweets to the Sweet look like it's been there for ages? And the pale man behind the counter...certainly you'd remember him. Much like love, chocolate can be rich and heady, distractingly sensual, sweet and bitter. Just ask Chance. He’s been the catalyst of many a relationship over the years, though he himself scoffs at the notion of a happily ever after. But sometimes a mere hint of sweetness is all it takes. Follow Sweets to the Sweet as it alights across the globe in twelve novelettes by Jordan Castillo Price, Sean Kennedy and Clare London. Previously released individually as the Petit Morts series, now available together for the first time in this sweeping omnibus anthology. Hue, Tint and Shade by Jordan Castillo Price Yellow is as yellow does. Moolah and Moonshine by Jordan Castillo Price If you ever go to France, watch out for those ticklers. Spanish Fly Guy by Jordan Castillo Price A new twist on liquid courage. Pretty Ugly by Jordan Castillo Price Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...usually. One Less Stiff at the Funeral by Sean Kennedy Chocolate makes everything better. Even a eulogy. Wishink Well by Jordan Castillo Price You can't get something for nothing. Happily Neverafter by Jordan Castillo Price All's well that ends well. London Eye by Clare London Give credit where credit is due. Spirits and Second Chances by Sean Kennedy The past can come back to haunt you. Loose Change by Sean Kennedy If there's one thing you can always count on, it's change. Media Naranja (Other Half) by Clare London and Jordan Castillo Price There's someone for everyone. Immortal Coil by Jordan Castillo Price Love is more than skin deep.