duckprintspress | Entries tagged with novella

The front cover of a book entitled The Salt in the Sea by J. D. Rivers. Stylized artwork shows two men in a loose embrace, one shorter, light-skinned, and pale-haired, the taller one dark haired and darker skinned, both in casual modern-esque clothes. The taller one kisses the shorter one on the forehead, his hand clasping the shorter one's cheek. They stand before a blood-red circle with a star on it, and a brilliant blue wave surges behind them.

The Salt in the Sea by J. D. Rivers is Duck Prints Press’s next novella release! Meet Thoma and Victor, two men with complex pasts that include a previous bittersweet encounter with each other. The Salt in the Sea is a novella about building a life in the aftermath of disaster, about isolation literal and metaphorical, and about second chances. Oh, yeah, and there’s also a corpse to deal with…

Blurb:

A downtrodden ex-soldier.

After leaving the military, werewolf Victor is shunned in his civilian life. Money is tight, so when an ex-comrade offers him an easy job—getting a package from an island—he jumps at the chance.

A lost inn-owner.

When Selkie Thoma opens the door to a knocking patron, he wants to close it again immediately. Standing before him is Victor, his one-night stand from three years ago. The last thing Thoma wants is to have to explain why he left that night.

As Victor and Thoma cross paths unexpectedly, emotions flare anew. But Victor is only on the island for a week, and Thoma can’t face his past, the consequences of his decisions, or the resulting condemnation from his sea-going selkie family.

A dead body in a post office.

When a corpse is discovered, fingers throughout the community point at Victor. With time running out before justice is served, it’s on Thoma to find out the truth. Because on the island justice is deadly.

Our pre-order crowdfunding campaign for The Salt in the Sea begins April 1st 2025 (no foolin’!), with a minimum goal of $900 US. You can learn more about the campaign, and sign up for our newsletter to make sure you get notified when sales go live!

The cover artist is planetsandmagic.

We’re so excited that it’s release day! Y’all ready for this?

This title is Duck Prints Press’s first-ever novella, and we couldn’t be more thrilled that Alec decided to publish with us.

Title: To Drive the Hundred Miles

Author: Alec J. Marsh

Genre: Modern with Magic

Rating: Erotica

Trigger Warnings: transphobia

Relationship: customer/employee relationship, family, f/m, siblings

Character Features: elderly (background character), in the closet, lesbian (background character), self-esteem issues, trans male, wiccan

Tags: bad parenting, break up, christmas, clitoral stimulation, coffee shop, coming out, emotional abuse, first date, first kiss, first time together, flirting, fraught family dynamics, gaslighting, getting back together, magic realism, pov first person, past tense, reunion, smoking (casual), vaginal fingering, washington, winter solstice

Excerpt:

Next to the antique shop with a sagging roof was a new café, cheerfully labeled The Three Pines by the sandwich board in the parking lot, which had four spots. There was no sign on the building front, and it looked like half a house, with the other half a brewery. I studied both for a minute in confusion. They were trendy and extremely clean. They wouldn’t have been out of place in Portland.

I was thrilled.

Inside was exactly the kind of bougie hipster coffee shop I haunted. The counters were dark wood polished to a shine, the tables small and uniform. Two armchairs sat in the window, a perfect spot for reading or watching the mountains.

I stepped up to the counter and scanned the menu. Besides espresso drinks, it offered frappes and chai lattes and Italian sodas. “Hi! How can I help you?” the girl behind the counter asked. She was extremely cute in a cheerleader sort of way, her blonde hair done up in a ponytail and sparkles on her eyelids. She wore a baggy pink sweater under her brown apron. She looked… vaguely familiar.

Length: 67 pages/24,001 words

Price: $4.99 US (release price*)

Celebrate the solstice today with this solstice story!
Get your copy now!

Love Alec’s writing? Make sure you check out Heart’s Scaffold and Study Hall, short stories Alec has previously published with us, and follow us on social media and sign up for our newsletters to be among the first to hear when they release future titles (don’t look now, but there’s one coming out in January…)

Who we are: Duck Prints Press LLC is an independent publisher based in New York State. Our founding vision is to help fanfiction authors navigate the complex process of bringing their original works from first draft to print, culminating in publishing their work under our imprint. We are particularly dedicated to working with queer authors and publishing stories featuring characters from across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.

Want to support the Press, read about us behind-the-scenes, learn about what’s coming down the pipeline, get exclusive teasers, and claim free stories? Back us on Patreon or ko-fi monthly and read your fill!

*note: novellas and novels are subject to release pricing; three months post-release, the price goes down by $1.

To Drive the Hundred Miles by Alec J. Marsh is a contemporary romance story with a lot of self-exploration, some fraught family moments, a new relationship, a bit of erotic spice, and a splash of magic added to the mix. The result is a wonderful recipe for holiday feels. With today’s excerpt, we bring the enchantment…

Something slid across my consciousness, deep and demanding. I looked up, into the thin stand of trees. A figure stood there, pale and undefined, crowned with antlers. He looked like he stood hundreds of feet away, as if I looked at him across a vast expanse, all his edges faded out. I had walked by those trees; he was maybe ten feet away. Any farther and he would be in the river. His antlers were magnificent, bone white and twenty-pointed, but when he stepped forward, they seemed to shiver and pass through the trees.

“Horned God,” I named him. “I thank you for coming, for hearing my plea. I thank you for your notice. Bring blessings to Beatrice Danielson and increase her prosperity.”

Have you been seeing our promos and thinking, “Yes! I need to read that!” Well, make sure you add it to your To Be Read pile on Goodreads and/or Storygraph! The novella comes out TOMORROW, December 21st!

Want all the deets and the ability to claim free novellas? Back us on Patreon or ko-fi – $10/month and $25/month can get this and other titles from our catalog for free!

The wait is over – here is the gorgeous cover for To Drive the Hundred Miles by Alec J. Marsh. The novella is coming out this Wednesday, December 21st, and you’re not going to want to miss out!

Have you been seeing our promos and thinking, “Yes! I need to read that!” Well, make sure you add it to your To Be Read pile on Goodreads and/or Storygraph!

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Snow falls softly as dark descends early, and Will returns home to Serendipity, Washington, for the holidays. What awaits him at home?

Some conflict.

Some opportunities.

Some magic.

Some coffee.

And a lot of possibilities for his future...

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We’ll have one more teaser coming out tomorrow, before the book is released on Wednesday, so make sure you’re following us on social media to make sure you don’t miss a thing!

Want all the deets and the ability to claim free novellas? Back us on Patreon or ko-fi – $10/month and $25/month can get this and other titles from our catalog for free!

The next novella from Duck Prints Press, To Drive the Hundred Miles by Alec J. Marsh, is being released on December 21st, 2022. It tells the story of a young trans man, Will, returning home to Serendipity, Washington, for the holidays. Seeking an escape from his family, he visits the local coffee shop, and finds more than a great Americano…

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“No one has come in in three hours,” she said. “And you’re right, I have better ways to spend my Christmas than working. Do you have any of that brandy left?”

I checked the inside pocket of my jacket, and the flask was still there. I handed it to her, and she added generous portions to both of the mugs, then handed me one. She took a seat in the other armchair and tucked her feet up under her.

“Well, Merry Christmas,” she said.

“Merry Christmas,” I agreed with less bitterness than I expected. This felt like the ideal Christmas, I realized. Sitting in a quiet coffee shop with Bea when no one wanted anything from either of us. She was who I wanted; she made my days feel special.

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Follow Duck Prints Press on any of our social media platforms for a week of teasers, sneak peeks, and previews of this lovely holiday tale!

Want all the deets and the ability to claim free novellas? Back us on Patreon or ko-fi – $10/month and $25/month can get this and other titles from our catalog for free!

We’re thrilled to announce that that Alec J. Marsh’s novella To Drive the Hundred Miles will be coming to Duck Prints Press as an e-book release on December 21st, 2022!

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Snow falls softly as dark descends early, and Will returns home to Serendipity, Washington, for the holidays. What awaits him at home?

Some conflict.

Some opportunities.

Some magic.

Some coffee.

And a lot of possibilities for his future…

Follow Duck Prints Press on any of our social media platforms for a week of teasers, sneak peeks, and previews of this lovely holiday tale!

Want all the deets and the ability to claim free novellas? Back us on Patreon or ko-fi – $10/month and $25/month can get this and other titles from our catalog for free!