Welcome to She Wears the Midnight Crown and He Bears the Cape of Stars, two brand-new anthologies that share a common theme – masquerades – but tell different types of stories – wlw in She Wears the Midnight Crown and mlm in He Bears the Cape of Stars. These collections are the latest titles from Duck Prints Press, the indie publisher founded by fans to publish original works by fan creators, and they’re crowdfunding NOW, only on Seed & Spark!
Curious about the collections? Well, here’s a sneak peek of the works of two of our creators!
He Bears the Cape of Stars Contributor Spotlight: Tris Lawrence
Biography: Tris Lawrence has been writing since she was a child, filling notebooks with the worlds, dreams, and voices from inside her head. She declared in sixth grade that she wanted to be a writer, promptly started drafting her first novel in seventh grade, and never looked back.
Tris has always been fascinated by the way people work: how their relationships fit together, how they interact socially, how they learn and discover. She has read avidly her entire life, devouring mysteries, romances, science fiction, and fantasy novels, and as an adult still loves all of these genres, as well as reading YA constantly. Her favorite stories center on people who are learning or discovering new things, and coming-of-age stories top that list, which is how the school of Pine Hills University came to be. She wants to share stories of people who are learning how to relate to each other, how to adult, how to college, and how to just be. She hopes to share stories about diverse characters with representation of everything she wishes she could have read growing up, and she hopes that these stories will touch the lives and hearts of those who read them.
When not writing, Tris is a wife, a mother (to two children, a cat, and a dog), a knitter, a system administrator, a black belt in taekwondo, an avid reader, and a music aficionado. Sleep, she claims, is optional.
Links: Facebook | Pillowfort | Tumblr | Twitter
Story Title: Delta
Teaser:
Ellis tried to imagine any of the people at work playing the game. Maybe someone down in IT, or one of the folks in Marketing… he couldn’t imagine any of the executives he worked with, or the financial people. On the other hand, he supposed no one would expect him to play, either. While Ellis would bet money that none of the people he worked with—or the other parents and teachers he had to deal with for his family—played Delta, he could be wrong.
It’s a risk I’m willing to take. Delta is the only place I feel like me. I spend so much time feeling uncomfortable in my own skin, I just want to have something here to remind me every day that I’m still me under the hood. I feel real in Delta. More real than reality. I want to be able to see the ink and have that touchstone for myself.
Ellis cleaned up his office, neatly stacking papers for tomorrow and writing out a list of tasks that needed to be done first thing. He responded to the one email that came in, then shut down his computer for the day. Anyone else who needed him here could wait.
Sasha’s message came in just as Ellis was retwisting the low bun in his hair. He stuck the hair pin in to hold it in place, then looked at his phone.
You don’t feel real?
She Wears the Midnight Crown Contributor Spotlight: Annabeth Lynch
Biography: Annabeth Lynch is a genderfae (she/they), bisexual author who writes mostly queer stories, preferring to write marginalized characters finding love. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, daughter, and two very overweight cats.
Story Title: Silver Secrets
Teaser:
“How did you know it was me?”
Kanna shook her head. “I will always know you. You are the one thing that is never lost to me.”
Thalia’s eyes were still bright with unshed tears when she leaned into Kanna, their lips brushing. “You always were too smart for your own good,” she whispered against Kanna’s mouth.
Kanna pulled away, putting her hands on Thalia’s cheeks. “I need you to tell me right now. You didn’t do this, did you?”
“What? Of course not. How could you think that?” Thalia gasped, eyes wide.
“I don’t. But if you did, you can’t lie to me. I need to know now. Before the cops get here and start looking. I will always protect you unconditionally. You know that.”
“You saw me through my mask, can you not see me through my words?”
There was a long pause as Kanna stroked her cheeks. After a moment she said, “I see you, Thalia.”
Intrigued? You should be! But, if you want to read the rest of these stories you’ll need to back our campaign, running now through July 14th, 2022!