As any of our followers surely have seen many, many times at this point, we ran a giveaway in January to help promote the benefits of backing us on Patreon or ko-fi monthly. The promotional event was a wonderful success – we gained 19 backers and almost $100/month in funding! On Wednesday, after the event ended, we compiled all the entries across our Tumblr, Twitter, WordPress, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Dreamwidth (we have other platforms, but those are the ones that we included in the event). We got 608 entries!
We messaged wanderingcas right away (and are sharing that she’s the winner with her permission), heard back just as quickly, and yesterday we put her copy of Add Magic to Taste in the mail!
CONGRATULATIONS to the winner, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who entered by liking, reblogging, sharing, retweeting, or otherwise boosting our post, and an enormous WELCOME to all our new backers and followers.
Feel free to drop us a note any time! We’re happy to chat, answer questions, discuss writing, talk about publishing, or just say hi!
There are only three days left to back us on Patreon or ko-fi and get a freebie – or help promote/boost our posts about the giveaway and get entries to win a print copy of Add Magic to Taste! Need a refresher on the giveaway? This is your moment!
Duck Prints Press, the Indie Press owned by @unforth, founded by fancreators to help fanartists and fanfiction writers publish their original creations, with an emphasis on works featuring LGBTQIA+ characters, needs YOU!
To help us maximize the amount of money we can pay to creators as royalties, we rely on our Patreon and ko-fi to help pay our overhead costs. In exchange for this support, we offer a bunch of cool rewards for people who choose to back us, with levels ranging from $3 to $25/month. All backer levels include access to our Discord, behind-the-scenes blog posts, voting rights on polls that decide anthology and monthly story themes, and at least one free short story per month. At higher levels, backers get exclusive merchandise, bonus stories, free selections from our book catalog, extras for supporting our crowdfunding campaigns, and more!
Become a backer of Duck Prints Press, and you get your choice of one of three two backer-exclusive extras previously only available to Patreon and ko-fi backers who also backed our crowdfunding campaigns! We have limited supplies of these extras, and we’ll send them out on a first-come, first-serve basis; once we’re out, we’re out, and we’ll never be producing more of any of these! (We’re OUT of the DPP magnets.) Or, if none of these are to your taste, you’re welcome to pick any one merch item priced $5 or less from the Merchandise section of our website. There, we’ve got bookmarks, stickers, key chains, magnets, and more! Also, all current backers will get to pick one freebie, too, as a big THANK YOU for their support thus far.
Don’t want to be a backer but want to help us spread the word? Well, have we got a giveaway for you! To encourage people to share this post, we’re offering a free copy of our first print anthology Add Magic to Taste, which features 20 sweet, fluffy, queer stories set at magical coffee shops, tea houses, and bakeries. There are only six mint, print copies of this book left, and they’re not for sale—this is the rare chance to get one for yourself!
Want help a small, fan-run independent business get more support, and maybe win something awesome for your efforts? Then enter the giveaway! You get one entry for liking this post, and one entry per reblog for up to three reblogs! We’ll also give entries for sharing our posts on other platforms (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) with the same limits (one entry per like, up to three entries for sharing/retweeting/etc.). (Note: we will NOT give entries for people making their own posts. We love when people make their own posts, but they’re too difficult for us to track for giveaway purposes).
Stuff for us, stuff for you—couldn’t be better! Don’t miss your chance: this event ends January 31st, 2023!
Want to enter?
You can get entries by liking or commenting on THIS POST, and/or you can reblog, retweet, share, or otherwise boost our posts on other platforms!
TL:DR: Duck Prints Press is a small-but-growing indie press working with fancreators. Become a backer on Patreon or ko-fi during January, 2023, and get all the backer rewards associated with the backer level you select PLUS a freebie worth up to $5. Help spread the word, get entries to win a fabulous print anthology available nowhere else!
Get involved NOW!
(For all legalese related to this promotional event and giveaway, go to this link! Make sure you check it out.)
The author MusicFren decided to post a fic they originally wrote for the Duck Prints Press Patreon to AO3, so now anyone can read it! This is a super cute story about two runaway pets becoming friends. You should check it out, and shower MusicFren in kudos.
Title: Downhill into Unfamiliar Territory
Author: MusicFren
Summary: A cat and a snake meet while on the run from their owners, and despite their differences, help each other come to terms with their upbringing.
Teaser:
“And get your dirty paws off of my tail!”
The small gray cat mews apologetically as she clambers off of the snake’s tail, slipping like a newborn taking her first steps in the world. She lands heavy in the tall grass, fur shimmering as it becomes damp with morning dew. With a shake, she sends droplets flying in all directions, a cascade of rainbows against the morning mist. Tongue flickering irritably, Sylvian shuts his eyes against the unwelcome barrage.
Duck Prints Press, the Indie Press owned by @unforth, founded by fancreators to help fanartists and fanfiction writers publish their original creations, with an emphasis on works featuring LGBTQIA+ characters, needs YOU!
To help us maximize the amount of money we can pay to creators as royalties, we rely on our Patreon and ko-fi to help pay our overhead costs. As things stand, we need to bring in about $750 a month to pay our baseline monthly expenses…and right now our crowdfunding plus monthly sales only bring in about half that. We have been, and will continue, operating at a deficit as long as necessary to get off the ground, but I’m sure it’s no surprise that if we had more money, we’d be able to do more—initiate more projects, support more authors, work with more artists, pay higher royalties, and more!
In exchange for this support, we offer a bunch of cool rewards for people who choose to back us, with levels ranging from $3 to $25/month. All backer levels include access to our Discord, behind-the-scenes blog posts, voting rights on polls that decide anthology and monthly story themes, and at least one free short story per month. At higher levels, backers get exclusive merchandise, bonus stories, free selections from our book catalog, extras for supporting our crowdfunding campaigns, and more!
We can reach our goals, and you can get lots of excellent stuff, by backing the Press on Patreon or ko-fi now! AND you’ll get your choice of a freebie if you back during the month of January!
Become a backer of Duck Prints Press, and you get your choice of one of three backer-exclusive extras previously only available to Patreon and ko-fi backers who also backed our crowdfunding campaigns! We have limited supplies of these extras, and we’ll send them out on a first-come, first-serve basis; once we’re out, we’re out, and we’ll never be producing more of any of these! Or, if none of these are to your taste, you’re welcome to pick any one merch item priced $5 or less from the Merchandise section of our website. There, we’ve got bookmarks, stickers, key chains, magnets, and more! Also, all current backers will get to pick one freebie, too, as a big THANK YOU for their support thus far.
Don’t want to be a backer but want to help us spread the word? Well, have we got a giveaway for you! To encourage people to share this post, we’re offering a free copy of our first print anthology Add Magic to Taste, which features 20 sweet, fluffy, queer stories set at magical coffee shops, tea houses, and bakeries. There are only six mint, print copies of this book left, and they’re not for sale—this is the rare chance to get one for yourself!
Want help a small, fan-run independent business get more support, and maybe win something awesome for your efforts? Then enter the giveaway! You get one entry for liking this post, and one entry per reblog for up to three reblogs! We’ll also give entries for sharing our posts on other platforms (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) with the same limits (one entry per like, up to three entries for sharing/retweeting/etc.). (Note: we will NOT give entries for people making their own posts. We love when people make their own posts, but they’re too difficult for us to track for giveaway purposes).
TL:DR: Duck Prints Press is a small-but-growing indie press working with fancreators. Become a backer on Patreon or ko-fi during January, 2023, and get all the backer rewards associated with the backer level you select PLUS a freebie worth up to $5. Help spread the word, get entries to win a fabulous print anthology available nowhere else!
Stuff for us, stuff for you—couldn’t be better! Don’t miss your chance: this event ends January 31st, 2023!
(And don’t forget to sign up for our mailing list so you can always hear about our latest projects, merchandise releases, crowdfunding campaigns, publications, coupons, and more!)
Thanks in advance, everyone. 😀
(For all legalese related to this promotional event and giveaway, go to this link! Make sure you check it out.)
Did you know that every month, all backers on our Patreon and ko-fi get a free fluff story of up to 2,500 words? We just posted this month’s story yesterday…
Title: Crowded Table
Author: Nickel J. Keep
Genre: Modern, Fluff
Rating: General Audiences
Relationships: f/f, f/m, found family, friends to lovers, m/m, polyamory
Character Features: anxiety, shy, trans male
Tags: getting together, meeting the family, mutual pining, past tense, transphobia (past) (implied), pov third person limited
Teaser:
August stood outside, staring at the door in front of him. He was at the correct address, he was sure of it, but being there didn’t feel right. He could hear the laughter coming from the inside, the joyful sound filling his tired bones with warmth.
But he didn’t deserve it. The camaraderie and friendship on the other side of the door were things he was told he could never have.
Want to read more? You’ll need to be come a backer! We have levels starting at $3/month, all with free stories and other fabulous perks!
Today, as we release the last of our four “Eerie Fall” Kickstarter tie-in stories, we also enter the final 24 hours to back our crowdfunding campaign!
Love artwork by Aceriee (Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter)? Love enamel pins? Then don’t miss out on these gorgeous pins featuring Aceriee’s work! There’s currently only two designs unlocked – the Wolf and the Crow – but with a strong final 24 hours, we can unlock two more – the bear and the moose! Support a small business on this awesome Small Business Saturday, and help us reach the goal by checking out the campaign now!
Meanwhile, we have our fourth and final “Eerie Animal” tie in story, a perfect one for exploring the animals in the campaign, because in this story…all these animals are characters!
Character Features: animal, animal transformation (involuntary), bird, non-human character
Tags: animal point of view, body modification (involuntary), pov third person limited, sentient animal
Teaser:
There was a girl sleeping in Forest.
Fox didn’t know the girl. She was a human, that much was clear, though he hadn’t seen her kind in ages. They traveled this way and that like they owned the whole world—he had seen many before—but most stayed away from Forest. They were blind, deaf, dumb creatures, unable to perceive what was in front of them. Still, they sensed the magic of Forest, so they stayed away. If they did wander into the dense line of oak and pine, they spoke in hushed voices and didn’t linger.
Want to support the Press and get lots of our stories? Consider backing our Patreon or ko-fi monthly at a level that includes free stories, and read your fill!
Our second “Eerie Fall”-themed story is here, served up as a slice of horror by author Nicola Kapron! And don’t forget, our eerie fall stories were inspired by our “Eerie Animals” enamel pin Kickstarter campaign – which is running for another two weeks, so don’t miss your chance to order your own awesome, gorgeous pin! (And don’t skip this fabulous story, either!)
Trigger Warnings: body horror, cannibalism, violence (graphic descriptions of)
Character Features: bipoc, creature, masquerading as human, murderer, serial killer, trans
Tags: alcohol use (casual), past tense, pov third person limited
Teaser:
When Hydrangea reached the campsite, the fire was roaring. Five logs had been dragged into a tight circle around it, and Oleander was already seated and waiting. Pale hair, pale skin, and pale clothes made a ghost of him in the dark. Sparks played in the reflection off his perfectly white teeth.
Hydra shook his head and quickened his pace. He vaulted over the back of his log and landed on top with a thump, tucking his hands into the pockets of a hoodie three sizes too big. “Really? I broke like nine traffic laws getting here. How do you keep beating me?”
Want to support the Press and get lots of our stories? Consider backing our Patreon or ko-fi monthly at a level that includes free stories, and read your fill!
Our first title of November is also the first of our “Eerie Fall” theme stories – creepy, creaturey tales that tie into our “Eerie Animals” Enamel Pin campaign currently running on Kickstarter!
Widow’s Black is Crow-themed, just like one of our two currently unlocked pins. Learn more…
Title: Widow’s Black
Author: Nina Waters
Genre: Historical Fiction, Horror
Rating: Mature Audiences
Relationships (platonic): adoption, mentor/mentee
Character Features: christian, murderer, serial killer
Tags: child abuse, child point of view, death of a child (mentions of), death of a mentor, death of a parent, death of a sibling, descriptions of violence (graphic), era: the 1860s, location: california, location: united states of america, location: wisconsin, major character death, minor character death, past tense, pov first person, prostitution (mentions of), revenge
Teaser:
The well dryin up saved my life. The bang-bang of gunshots didn’t draw me back; nothin unusual ’bout that. I knew somethin was wrong when I saw brother Billy flat on his back in the wheat field starin up at the sky. So much plowin to do, and he was never no slacker. I set the buckets I’d filled at the crik down and crept through the windbreak til I saw the cabin. Papa was sittin out front, but he wasn’t honin his knife no more. ’stead he was slumped, his arms and legs danglin and limp. The back of his head was wet and shaped weird. I knew what that meant. I’d seen the like when Papa and Billy and Jake came back with a deer after huntin.
Papa’s head been shot clean through.
Length: 17 pages/6,384 words
Price: $1.99 US
October may be done but the spooks are just starting – add some creepy to your Saturday with Widow’s Black!
What’s that noise? Is it the caw of something out of sight high overhead? A who-who-who echoing out of the darkness? A grrrr coming from the rustling underbrush? The crash, crash of something large moving through the trees?
No! It’s the sound of our latest Kickstarter launching!
Celebrate Fall with our Eerie Animal Enamel Pins!
Fall is the season of spook. Get your Autumn on—literally!—by donning one (or more!) of our eerie animal enamel pins! These realistically rendered, gorgeous pins feature different animals indigenous to northern areas of North America and Europe surrounded by elements of their natural habitats.
For our first merchandise-only campaign, Duck Prints Press approached the spectacular artist Aceriee (Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter) and asked her to let her imagination run wild. The results are gorgeous, unique, and perfect for the season: 7 animals at their spooky, creepy, scary best, depicted in the rich colors of fall. Seasonal enough to enhance any autumn outfit, classy enough for year-round wear.
All the pins for this campaign are 2 in x 2 in (5 cm x 5 cm) and feature black nickel metal with soft enamel color work coated by a clear epoxy finish. They have two attachment posts with silver butterfly closures and feature either 6 or 8 colors, one of which glows in the dark (which varies in each pin).
This is a tiered release pin campaign (and our first-ever art-only project!)
At our initial funding goal ($1,500), backers can pick the Crow and Wolf pins (buy one or both or multiples of either/both!)
If we exceed $3,500 in backing, all backers will be able to choose from among four pins: Crow, Wolf, Moose, and Bear.
If we exceed $6,000 in backing, all backers will be able to choose from among six pins: Crow, Wolf, Moose, Bear, Raccoon, and Owl.
If we exceed $9,000 in backing, all backers will be able to choose from among eight pins: Crow, Wolf, Moose, Bear, Raccoon, Owl, Fox, and the not-yet-revealed Deer.
At $10,000, we’ll offer another unrevealed option: Bobcat. And, if we reach $11,000, we’ll offer out tenth and last pin, which is—of course!—a Duck!
Mix and match, pick your favorites, buy enough for all your friends, or just get one—you’re not going to want to miss this one chance to get these spectacular fall-themed animal pins!
The campaign is live now, and will run through Sunday, November 27th, 2022.
Do you love A. L. Heard’s work? Have you read Hockey Bois and can’t get enough of Brady and Nick? Well, this month’s fluff story – free to all our monthly backers on Patreon and Ko-fi – is a Hockey Bois high school AU straight from the source!
Title: Brady Jensen vs. Haunted Houses
Author: A. L. Heard
Genre: Modern
Rating: General Audiences
Relationship: M/M
Character Features: character feature: athlete, character feature: high school student, profession: hockey player
Tags: alternate universe, fanworks, first kiss, friends to lovers, halloween, past tense, pov third person limited, setting: high school, setting: haunted house, setting: sports
This work is an alternate universe take on the characters in A. L. Heard’s stand-alone novel Hockey Bois, which is currently available on Amazon and will be available on the Duck Prints Press website in the next few months.
Teaser:
“Don’t give me that look,” Gail teased. “Just because your crush texts me and not you doesn’t mean you should be jealous.”
Brady offered her a constipated smile and let her pull him through the crowd. He didn’t argue with her, and he was thankful she’d misunderstood his unease. Yes, he was a little jealous about the Nick thing. Brady’s crush on Nick was well known to their teammates even though Nick (thankfully) remained unaware. Over the years they’d played together on the ice, Brady had never worked up the courage to ask him out.
But no, that wasn’t why his hands were clammy and butterflies danced in his belly. The unfortunate truth was… Brady didn’t like haunted houses.
This story is a free bonus to all our monthly backers, no matter their backing level – and our monthly backers get a new short story every month! And, if you back now, you can also get access to all nineteen short, fluff stories we’ve posted for our backers since our Patreon and ko-fi started!