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Recent Campaigns: Project Updates!

We’ve been working hard on fulfillment our three most recent successful crowdfunding campaigns: Aim For The Heart: Queer Fanworks Inspired by Alexandre Dumas’s “The Three Musketeers,” Many Drops Make a Stream by Adrian Harley, and To Drive the Hundred Miles by Alec J. Marsh.

Aim For The Heart: Fulfillment of this Kickstarter campaign is now complete; we updated the Kickstarter to this effect two weeks ago. 95% of backer orders have been shipped; the remaining few, we are waiting for information from the backer. We anticipate the e-book becoming available through our webpage and distribution network in January, and we also hope to be able to offer print options as well.

Many Drops Make a Stream by Adrian Harley: You may recall that fulfillment was delayed on this campaign as a result of an error in the initial production run of the enamel pin. I’m pleased to report that the replacements have been manufactured and are on their way to us now! Delivery is estimated for Friday, December 8th. We’ll be aiming to fill purchaser orders over the coming weekend and to put orders in the mail on the morning of Monday, December 11th.

To Drive the Hundred Miles by Alec J. Marsh: this crowdfunding campaign is now complete, the first we’ve ever run from start to finish on our own webpage! Backer rewards went in the mail this morning (December 4, 2023) and e-books were sent to the purchasers’ e-mail address. Thanks to everyone who supported the campaign, and we hope you love your orders.

Our current campaign is Hockey Bois by A. L. Heard; we are aiming to raise $2,800 by December 10th and we’re about half-way to our goal as I type this. Love what we do? Don’t forget to check it out!

Our next crowdfunding campaign is slated for launch on Kickstarter on December 26th, 2023: Aether Beyond the Binary, an anthology of 18 short stories about characters whose gender is outside the binary exploring modern and near-modern worlds suffused with magical aether! You’re not gonna want to miss it, so be on the lookout for our campaign announcement, cover reveal, and more!

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DPP Contributor Interview: A. L. Heard

A photograph of an open hard-cover book resting on a white surface. It's sunny and bright. A blurred-out background suggests the outdoors. Text over the image reads "Author interview! Meet A. L. Heard." The Duck Prints Press logo is at the bottom middle of the image.

A. L. Heard is one of the founding members of Duck Prints Press and has been a part of our planning team since before our official inception, offering her advice and expertise to the Press since mid-2019, and she’s been an editor on our anthologies Add Magic to Taste, And Seek (Not) to Alter Me, He Bears the Cape of Stars, She Wears the Midnight Crown, and Aim For The Heart. She’s also a prolific author of stories of all lengths and in all genres, and one of the most active authors involved with the Press.

Pre-orders of the revised edition of A. L. Heard’s debut novel Hockey Bois open on December 1st, 2023!

Want to meet A. L. Heard and ask her YOUR questions? YOU CAN! Join us TOMORROW, Thursday, November 30th, at 8 p.m. Eastern time (converter) on our Book Lover’s Discord server for a very special Ask Me Anything session with the author of Hockey Bois!

A photograph of a slim white woman, shown from the shoulders up, with a forest in the background. She is casually dressed, her hair up, and large aviator-style sunglasses cover her eyes. This is an author portrait of A. L. Heard.

Author Biography: Ashley, pen name A. L. Heard, fandom name jhoom, is a 35-year-old teacher, writer, and mother of two little boys. She’s been writing fanworks since she discovered fanfiction.net back in her middle school days; the platform has changed and the writing’s improved, but Ashley ultimately still spends her free time writing about characters she adores in worlds she’d like to explore. Her first novel, Hockey Bois, was published in 2021. In between writing projects, she works as a language teacher in the Pittsburgh area, plays hockey, and plays trains with her sons.

Links: Bluesky | Instagram


How did you pick the name you create under?

It’s a combination of my [real life] name and family names, making it unique but also still connected to me.


When and why did you begin creating?

I started writing fic during middle school and went through phases where I’d write fic and original work and then long periods with no writing. I’m happy to be settled into writing on a regular basis 🙂


What’s your favorite part of the creation process?

The brainstorming and playing around with a new story and characters, where everything is still possible and I haven’t had to commit to any particular plot point.


Describe your ideal creation space.

An office that’s well lit with an endless supply of tea or coffee or snacks, with no distractions or extra noises except birds. Either that or a brewery or cafe with background noise.


What are your favorite snacks and/or drinks to consume while creating?

Tea, coffee, and baked goods (cookies, scones, that sort of thing)


What’s one thing (style, genre, etc.) that you think you’ll never do, and why not?

Epic fantasy – they’re awesome stories but I don’t have the creativity/brain for a large scale world and magic system like that.


Short Stories A. L. has published with Duck Prints Press:

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Small Business Saturday SALE on duckprintspress.com!

A text graphic over a watercolor-esque background of light rainbow shades. The text reads: This Saturday, November 25th, celebrate Small Business Saturday. Below this text is the American Express 'Shop Small' logo, then the word at, then the Duck Prints Press Logo that reads Duck Prints Press, is edged on the left and bottom by duck prints in rainbow shades, has the Press duck mascot Dux standing on the right, and includes the Press slogan 'We Print Diversity' at the bottom. Additional text below this reads: Newsletter Subscribers will receive a Coupon for 25% off their entire purchase made on November 25th!

This Saturday, November 25th, is Small Business Saturday! Looking to shop small this holiday season? Check out Duck Prints Press, the fan-created independent small press that publishes the (usually extremely queer) original work of fanauthors and fanartists. We’ve got great gifts for the queer book lover in your life, including anthologies, short stories, merchandise, and more. And, of course, we’ve got lots of adorable merch featuring our adorable Dux mascot, too!

What have we got? Well, what are you looking for?? We have…

A graphic over a background of rainbow colors in watercolor splotches. Text at the top reads: Now available at duckprintspress.com/shop. Below this is an array if items with accompany labels: "art prints" with two examples, "Print books" with DPP anthologies "He Bears the Cape of Stars," "She Wears the Midnight Crown," and "And Seek (Not) to Alter Me," "Shirts" with three examples, two of which are t-shirts and one of which is a hoodie, "Stickers and Magnets" with a citrus slice with rainbow segments and a Dux with a mustache, devil horns, devil tail, and trident, and "Enamel Pins" with an owl, raccoon, crow, fox, moose, and wolf pin, and also a woman in a crown and a man in a cape. At the bottom of the graphic, text reads "...and MORE!"

BEST YET?

All newsletter subscribers will receive a coupon good for 25% off their ENTIRE PURCHASE made this weekend! So if you’re not a subscriber yet, there’s no time like the present!

And while you’re at it, make sure you follow us on the social media platform(s) of your choice! Also, come read with us on our Book Lover’s Discord Server. Want to support indie queer publishing all year round? Back us on Patreon and get awesome rewards!

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Progress on Fulfillment for Duck Prints Press Crowdfunding Campaigns

We’ve got three crowdfunding campaigns currently in the midst of fulfillment, and we wanted to take a moment to post about our progress on each of them!

Aim For The Heart: Queer Fanworks Inspired by Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers

Our most recent campaign on Kickstarter, to fund Aim For The Heart, ended on July 15th, 2023. After some print challenges revealed in the proof copy of the book, we had to make some fairly extensive tweaks to the manuscript, and getting that completely set has taken a fair amount of time. But we’re there now – the book is done and printed, and we’re just doing some final preparation on the e-book and backer data in anticipation of packing and shipping everyone’s orders this weekend, November 18th and 19th!


Many Drops Make a Stream by Adrian Harley

We were 100% on track to fulfill Many Drops Make a Stream orders within the next week or so…and then the enamel pins arrived, after 6 or so weeks in production, with an error that makes them undistributable (the poor tiger part of Droplet has no stripes on her back and hind legs!). Everything else for this campaign is ready to go, and the pin manufacturer has been very receptive to our issue and is rushing replacements for us, but we’re still at least a few weeks from having them even if they’re expedited – manufacturing enamel-ware takes time, and they have to ship from China.

That said, because we have everything else, we will be doing some distribution shortly: namely, for people who also backed Aim For The Heart, if we can save them shipping money by combining their orders, we will do so and refund the difference in shipping cost – combining the book shipping for these individuals, and then forwarding them their pins separately, will be a big savings for them.

For everyone else, we will prepare everything we can, and as soon as we have the pins we will distribute everything. If it looks like we will not have the pins before the December holidays start, we will send out everything BUT the pins, and send out pin orders alone subsequently. We appreciate everyone’s patience as we make sure that y’all get items of the quality and accuracy that you deserve!


To Drive the Hundred Miles by Alec J. Marsh

All of the merchandise for To Drive the Hundred Miles has arrived, and it looks great. We’re almost done repackaging it and preparing it for distribution. The proof of the book arrived last week, and we’ve reviewed it and made a few necessary tweaks; we re-submitted those files to the printer yesterday, and are awaiting their confirmation so we can sign off on production of the full print run. Once it’s in the print queue, our best guess is that it’ll be roughly two weeks before it arrives at our door. At that time, we’ll be able to get everyone’s pre-orders turned around pretty quickly.


Thank you everyone for your orders with us! We’re excited to bring all three of these large projects to a close, and get amazing books into all of your hands!

And keep your eyes open, because there’s more to come – the re-release of A. L. Heard’s Hockey Bois, revised and reprinted, will open for pre-orders on December 1st, and our next Kickstarter campaign for the anthology Aether Beyond the Binary will be launching on December 26th. We also expect to run a Kickstarter campaign in February for Tris Lawrence’s Twinned trilogy, and we’ve got more in the pipeline after that! So make sure you follow us on social media, subscribe to our newsletters, back us on Patreon for sneak peeks and backer-exclusive extras, and leave us reviews on Goodreads or Storygraph!

Want one or more of these books, and/or the merchandise that goes with them, but missed out on the campaigns? Don’t despair – the books and leftover merch will become available during this coming winter! So be on the look out!

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Merchandise Release Day!!

A graphic over a background of rainbow colors in watercolor splotches. At the top, there's the Duck Prints Press logo and rainbow duck prints, and beside that a header reads "Merchandise Mass Release Day! Now available at duckprintspress.com/shop." Below this is an array if items with accompany labels: "art prints" with two examples, "Print books" with DPP anthologies "He Bears the Cape of Stars," "She Wears the Midnight Crown," and "And Seek (Not) to Alter Me," "Shirts" with three examples, two of which are t-shirts and one of which is a hoodie, "Stickers and Magnets" with a citrus slice with rainbow segments and a Dux with a mustache, devil horns, devil tail, and trident, and "Enamel Pins" with an owl, raccoon, crow, fox, moose, and wolf pin, and also a woman in a crown and a man in a cape. At the bottom of the graphic, text reads "...and MORE!"

Have you wanted Duck Prints Press logo merchandise? Have you missed one of our past campaigns and want to get some of the items? Have you been eying Patreon extras we’ve made and wanted to get your own? Have you wished you could get one of our past anthologies IN PRINT? Well, then – YOUR TIME HAS COME!

Today, Duck Prints Press is celebrating Merchandise Mass Release Day! We’ve gathered up leftovers from past campaigns, seconds and lightly damaged merch, and forged a relationship with Printify to provide print-on-demand shirts and other merchandise we can’t, for various reasons, keep in stock. The result is THIRTY-ONE new merchandise items available in the Duck Prints Press store!

Offerings include:

Print Books (Lightly Damaged Seconds):

Art Prints:

Enamel Pins:

Stickers and Magnets:

Clothing:

Kitchenwares:

Stationary:

Or, want some a grab bag of lightly damaged seconds? We’ve got that now – get your Seconds Grab Bag to get two random stickers, one random enamel pin, and one other item (such as a key chain, patch, or bookmark!)

And all of this is in ADDITION to the other great merchandise we already offer!

So come on over to our webstore and get your dux on! Literally! With clothes and merch from Duck Prints Press!

Want to get the same great stuff, just – cheaper? Every backer on Patreon gets a coupon that can be used on their purchases from duckprintspress.com! Come support Duck Prints Press monthly AND get great discounts on awesome merch. Winning!

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7 Stories for Genderfluid Visibility Week!

This week is Genderfluid Visibility Week, so the Duck Prints Press rec list contributors present: 7 of our favorite stories with genderfluid characters! Note that, in a lot of settings, it wouldn’t make sense for these characters to label themselves with the words we use now, so it can be challenging to identify characters who are genderfluid. For several of the characters on this list, their gender identities are open to interpretation, and while the Press contributors who suggested these books have interpreted them as genderfluid, it would also be valid to interpret these characters as (for example) non-binary or trans. If you read these books and didn’t feel the character was genderfluid – we support you! But they spoke to us as examples of genderfluid characters, and so we’ve included them.


Dreams Bigger than Heartbreak by Charlie Jane Anders

They’ll do anything to be the people they were meant to be — even journey into the heart of evil.

Rachael Townsend is the first artist ever to leave Earth and journey out into the galaxy — but after an encounter with an alien artifact, she can’t make art at all.

Elza Monteiro is determined to be the first human to venture inside the Palace of Scented Tears and compete for the chance to become a princess — except that inside the palace, she finds the last person she ever wanted to see again.

Tina Mains is studying at the Royal Space Academy with her friends, but she’s not the badass space hero everyone was expecting.

Soon Rachael is journeying into a dark void, Elza is on a deadly spy mission, and Tina is facing an impossible choice that could change all her friends lives forever.


Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

In Norse Mythology, Gaiman stays true to the myths in envisioning the major Norse pantheon: Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning; Thor, Odin’s son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods; and Loki–son of a giant–blood brother to Odin and a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator.

Gaiman fashions these primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds and delves into the exploits of deities, dwarfs, and giants. Once, when Thor’s hammer is stolen, Thor must disguise himself as a woman–difficult with his beard and huge appetite–to steal it back. More poignant is the tale in which the blood of Kvasir – the most sagacious of gods – is turned into a mead that infuses drinkers with poetry. The work culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and rebirth of a new time and people.

Through Gaiman’s deft and witty prose emerge these gods with their fiercely competitive natures, their susceptibility to being duped and to duping others, and their tendency to let passion ignite their actions, making these long-ago myths breathe pungent life again.


Heaven Official’s Blessing by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

A GOD FALLEN, A GHOST RISEN 

Born the crown prince of a prosperous kingdom, Xie Lian was renowned for his beauty, strength, and purity. His years of dedicated study and noble deeds allowed him to ascend to godhood. But those who rise may also fall, and fall he does–cast from the heavens and banished to the world below. 

Eight hundred years after his mortal life, Xie Lian has ascended to godhood for the third time, angering most of the gods in the process. To repay his debts, he is sent to the Mortal Realm to hunt down violent ghosts and troublemaking spirits who prey on the living. Along his travels, he meets the fascinating and brilliant San Lang, a young man with whom he feels an instant connection. Yet San Lang is clearly more than he appears… What mysteries lie behind that carefree smile?


She Wears the Midnight Crown, an anthology of sapphic masquerade stories, specifically “Are you in love with the squid?” by D. A. Hernández

She Wears the Midnight Crown features 17 stories of wlw characters exploring their relationships as they develop, grow, and change during (literal or figurative) masquerades! Our contributors have stretched their imaginations to present innovative stories exploring what a masquerade can be…and, of course, tell rich, engaging tales of wonderful queer folk finding love, companionship, acceptance, the queer platonic relationship of their dreams, or the found family they deserve. The collected works feature characters in all the colors of the Pride rainbow, queer and genderqueer, and these diverse individuals inhabit worlds ranging from science fiction settings where everyone must be masked to breathe, to fantasies where no one wears a literal mask but everyone shows the world a false guise, to iterations of the real world where some people lean into deception.


Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland

It is 1937, and Laura Ann Langston lives in an America divided—between those who work the mystical arts and those who do not. Ever since the Great Rust, a catastrophic event that blighted the arcane force called the Dynamism and threw America into disarray, the country has been rebuilding for a better future. And everyone knows the future is industry and technology—otherwise known as Mechomancy—not the traditional mystical arts.

Laura disagrees. A talented young mage from Pennsylvania, Laura hopped a portal to New York City on her seventeenth birthday with hopes of earning her mage’s license and becoming something more than a rootworker.

But four months later, she’s got little to show for it other than an empty pocket and broken dreams. With nowhere else to turn, Laura applies for a job with the Bureau of the Arcane’s Conservation Corps, a branch of the US government dedicated to repairing the Dynamism so that Mechomancy can thrive. There she meets the Skylark, a powerful mage with a mysterious past, who reluctantly takes Laura on as an apprentice.

As they’re sent off on their first mission together into the heart of the country’s oldest and most mysterious Blight, they discover the work of mages not encountered since the darkest period in America’s past, when Black mages were killed for their power—work that could threaten Laura’s and the Skylark’s lives, and everything they’ve worked for.


The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

A lone human ambassador is sent to the icebound planet of Winter, a world without sexual prejudice, where the inhabitants’ gender is fluid. His goal is to facilitate Winter’s inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the strange, intriguing culture he encounters…

Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction.


Alanna: The First Adventure, by Tamora Pierce, as well as all the books in the Song of the Lioness series

From now on I’m Alan of Trebond, the younger twin. I’ll be a knight.

And so young Alanna of Trebond begins the journey to knighthood. Though a girl, Alanna has always craved the adventure and daring allowed only for boys; her twin brother, Thom, yearns to learn the art of magic. So one day they decide to switch places: Thom heads for the convent to learn magic; Alanna, pretending to be a boy, is on her way to the castle of King Roald to begin her training as a page. 

 But the road to knighthood is not an easy one. As Alanna masters the skills necessary for battle, she must also learn to control her heart and to discern her enemies from her allies.


We would love to read more stories with genderfluid representation – tell us about the ones you’ve read!

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It’s Bisexual Visibility Day! Come See Duck Prints Press’s Bisexuals!

Earlier this week, we celebrated the start of Bisexual Awareness Week by sharing 18 books we’ve read and loved that include bisexual characters. Today, we aim to bring visibility to some titles that aren’t as widely known: our own! We’ve got three anthologies, two novels, and five short stories that feature explicitly bisexual characters. Learn all about ‘um now!

To Fill My Cup by Violet J. Hayes

“Here, Grandma, let me get you a stool.” Talia hurried to bring one from the other side of the island and helped her settle down into it. “Do you want a fresh cup of coffee?”

“No, dear, I’m fine.” One by one, her grandmother picked up each sweet potato. Her fingers were stiff with arthritis, the knuckles swollen. Talia wondered if she could get her plain gold wedding band off even if she wanted to. She turned each potato in her hands, murmuring as she did so. Talia knew she was doing math to calculate the number of servings, but it gave the impression of a sorcerer muttering an incantation.

I think my grandma might be a witch, she texted Rachael, and was surprised when her phone rang a moment later. “Hey, Rach.”

“Hey.”

It only took that single word for Talia to know something was off. “What’s wrong?”


Add Magic to Taste with contributions by 20 authors; five of the stories include bisexual characters

For Add Magic to Taste, 20 authors have come together to produce new, original short stories uniting four of our absolute favorite themes: queer relationships, fluff, magic, and coffee shops! Our diverse writers have created an even more diverse collection of stories guaranteed to sweeten your coffee and warm your tart.


A Mutual Interest by Alec J. Marsh

Tirsa stopped arguing with Jeromy after they reached the outskirts of the city, and by the time they’d made it to open countryside she had fallen asleep, snuggled against the window of the jeep under his coat. He didn’t mind her arguing, not exactly, but she was arguing against her own best interests. She deserved a weekend off.

The traffic grew thicker as they neared the army checkpoint into Kestilav Province, and Jeromy pulled to a stop. Tirsa didn’t stir, and her breathing whistled a little bit. Jeromy’s heart squeezed with fondness.


Commit to the Kick by Tris Lawrence

For eighteen years, Alaric has lived under the cloying politics of family and his Clan community. His freshman year is supposed to be a chance to explore a world where Clan and his shapeshifting Talent isn’t central to his life. But when his inner bear bursts forth during his first football game, endangering those around him, Alaric realizes that it’s not so easy to ignore his past, or his own internalized anger.

In his quest for anger management, Alaric begins to train in taekwondo, and makes new friends in both sports. He finds that he is creating his own small community, where Clan, Mages, other Talents, and even humans come together and build their own found family.

When Alaric receives news that something has happened to his brother Orson, he must return and deal with his Clan and his place in their world. He discovers that old prejudices are still strong between Clan and Mage communities, but that both may be in danger from a creature long thought to be only a legend. Alaric must figure out how to move forward and prevent a war and protect both his home and newly built communities, his found family with him every step of the way.


Bubble, Bubble by Sage Mooreland

“Punk, if you don’t get your rear end down here, we’re not going to be able to go!” Charlotte called up the stairs. “I thought you wanted to do three blocks tonight?”

There was a muffled thump, some child-friendly cursing, and then running feet. “Mama, gimme a minute! Dad’s fixing my costume!”


And Seek (Not) to Alter Me: Queer Fanworks Inspired by Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, an anthology with contributions by 16 authors and 16 artists; three of the stories include bisexual characters

In And Seek (Not) to Alter Me, 16 authors and 16 artists have come together to create an exquisite, full-color collection of artwork and stories inspired by William Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing. We encouraged contributors to stretch their imaginations, think outside the box, and put their own unique—and queer—twists on Benedick, Beatrice, Hero, Claudio, Don Pedro, and the whole gang! In true Shakespearean fashion, our creators utilize gender, sexuality, romanticism, and a host of costume changes to tell unique artworks and stories—some featuring original characters, some characters from the play—that show Shakespeare’s work in a whole new light.


A Glimmer of Hope by Nina Waters

Gregory Adalwin’s life ended the day in 1746 when his liege lord, Duke Haribert Schultheis-Königsmann, was murdered. With everything he’d spent a thousand years building in ruins, Gregory set out to wreak vengeance on those who had killed the Duke. He didn’t expect to survive. Yet, a century after completing his revenge, Gregory is somehow still breathing. He wastes his days in an alcoholic stupor, clothed and fed and housed at the sufferance of Teyrngar Gwehydd, once sworn to his service, now owed more than he can ever hope to repay. The only things that get him out of bed are the vodka that Mstislav Alkayev sneaks to him and the prospect of spending time with the beautiful pixie Yermolai Praskovya. No one remembers who Gregory is, no one knows him, and no one cares about him. After how Gregory failed his Duke, he deserves nothing more.

Or so he thinks, until someone tries to kill him, and Gregory is confronted by a stupefying question: who on earth could possibly give enough of a damn about him to want him dead?


In Which James Willoby Enjoys a Ball Far More Than One Should by A. L. Heard

It was halfway through the second dance when “the moment” finally came.

James caught sight of him at a distance, a familiar form lurking at the periphery of his vision. As he turned with the dance, James focused on that corner of the ballroom, locking eyes with none other than their host.

Haywood Keating was by all accounts a handsome man. Nearly ten years James’s senior, he exuded the type of charm and confidence only the wealthy could afford, coaxing smiles and earning admiration wherever he went. His dark suit, although perfectly tailored and pressed, was almost boring when viewed among the other gentry wearing their best, but the bright-purple cravat dotted with yellow paisley made him stand out all the same. His hair was longer these days, the dark strands beginning to curl but currently tamed; his footman must have pulled it back and fastened it with that vibrant-green ribbon that complemented his dark complexion. A sight to behold, as always.


He Bears the Cape of Stars, an anthology with contributions by 17 authors; three of the stories include bisexual characters

He Bears the Cape of Stars is one of our two paired masquerade-themed anthologies. It features 17 stories exploring mlm relationships developing, growing, and changing while the characters attend or participate in masquerades!

The collected works in He Bears the Cape of Stars feature men and masculine-leaning genderqueer characters, with a spectrum of sexualities, and these diverse individuals inhabit worlds ranging from a science fiction setting where everyone must be masked to breathe, to a fantasy world where no one wears a literal mask but everyone shows the world a false guise, to an iteration of the real world where all the characters truly want is to take their masks off and show the world who they really are. Our contributors stretched their imaginations to present innovative stories exploring what a masquerade can be…and, of course, tell rich, engaging tales of wonderful queer folk finding love, companionship, acceptance, the queer platonic relationship of their dreams, or the found family they deserve.


No One Right Way by R. L. Houck

Sometime a little past 9 p.m., Rachel swanned into the bedroom from the bathroom. She paused suddenly a few steps past the doorway. Nikkōka glanced up, noting she wore the shorts-and-T-shirt combo she normally donned for bed. Her mouth was pinched with anxiety despite her confident stance.

“I am horny, and I am going to get off,” she announced.


Did you know? You can read many of these stories RIGHT NOW, and claim the others as freebies, by becoming a support of Duck Prints Press on Patreon!

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Albacon Panels Now Available!

Did you see me talking on social media about the panels we’d be participating in at Albacon and think “oh wow, I wish I could hear that, but I’m not able to attend the con so I guess there’s no hope”? Well, there IS hope – all FIFTY Albacon panels and readings are now available online for anyone who registers to attend the con as a hybrid attendee – and you can still register as a hybrid attendee, for only $15, for the next month (you can register, and watch, until October 11th).

I personally participated in two panels and did one reading – Starting a Small Press, a reading from my story in Add Magic to Taste, and Crowdfunding for Print.

We had great discussions at all three – Starting a Small Press also feature Bianca D’arc, Ian Randal Strock (owner of Fantastic Books), and Inanna Arthen (panel moderator, owner of By Light Unseen Media). We had a great chat with a lot of specifics and details related to owning and operating small presses. Crowdfunding for Print included me, Bianca, and Ian again, with Tris Lawrence (whose work with Duck Prints Press can be found here) and Alex Shvartsman contributing their expertise as well.

And, if you register, you can access all the other awesome panels and readings as well, including those featuring the guests of honor Walter Hunt and Linda Addison, the special guests Allen Steele and Dan Kimmel, and all the other con panelists!

You can register HERE if you want to check out all the awesome!

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Con this Weekend: Albacon in Clifton Park, New York!

I’ll be at Albacon in Clifton Park, NY, this entire weekend! Even better, Albacon is a FULLY HYBRID convention, so even if you can’t get to Clifton Park, you don’t have to miss out on the awesome panels and cool guests!

The entire schedule is here, if you’re curious, but I know you’re really here to know what yours truly will be up to, so here’s my schedule.

Friday, 9/8, 5 PM (yes, this is in less than 4 hours, no I’m definitely not nervous even slightly why would you think that?): Starting a Small Press panel with me, Inanna Arthen, Ian Randal Strock, and Bianca D’Arc

Saturday, 9/9, 10 AM: Reading! I will be reading from my story Knishes and Noshes, published in our anthology Add Magic to Taste.

Sunday, 9/10, 10:30 AM: Crowdfunding for Print panel with Bianca D’Arc, Alex Shvartsman, Ian Randal Strock, and Tris Lawrence (it’ll be nice to panel with a friend!)

We’ll also be vending on vendor’s row, and I’m hoping to get our virtual vending set up too, though no promises there (you can always just check out our shop!)

Tris Lawrence will be there too, helping out with vending and participating in several other panels and doing a reading, so don’t miss her things either. 😀

Some come on out to Clifton Park or join us hybrid if these are topics that interest you, and I hope to see some of y’all there!