duckprintspress | Entries tagged with the salt in the sea

A graphic with a photograph of a forested island rising from the sea as the background. Top text reads, "Get to Know The Salt in the Sea by J. D. Rivers. In the center is a cover, art showing two men in a loose embrace, the taller with dark hair and dark skin holding the head of the shorter, who is paler and blond. they are surrounded by surging waves. This cover has arrows leading away from it, pointing at text. There are six arrows, and six texts. The text reads: werewolves and selkies and magic (oh my!); strangers to idiots in love to ???????; second chances; m/m grumpy x grumpy; fantasy modern mystery genre mash-up; and hopeful ending. Bottom text reads: pre-orders close at midnight April 15th 2025.

We’re in the home stretch of our pre-order campaign for The Salt in the Sea by J. D. Rivers! We’ve hit our base goal (the absolute minimum we need to get this project off the ground) and we’re almost 2/3rds of the way to raising enough to cover all the associated publishing expenses! Pre-orders will close at midnight, April 14th, in the last time zone in the world – which is to say, 8 a.m. Eastern time on the morning of the 15th! We’d love your help spreading the word for this last push.

What’s The Salt in the Sea about? Well…

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.

Visit our campaign page to learn more!

And don’t forget to back our Patreon!

**Did you or are you planning to back our pre-order campaign for the m/m fantasy-mystery novella The Salt in the Sea by J. D. Rivers?**

Did you know that Duck Prints Press has a Patreon with backer levels starting at a mere $3/month?

**Did you know that people who support our Patreon at the $10/month level or the $25/month level get a bonus, exclusive freebie for every single campaign they back?!**

Duck Prints Press keeps our lights on month to month with the income from our Patreon, which ensures the Press has a minimum, reliable, steady stream of money coming in that we can use for software subscriptions, paying editors and authors and artists, maintaining the physical equipment the business needs, covering registration fees for events, taking care of gas when we travel to vend, and more. Every single backer helps, and we want YOU to become one of those backers, if you’re able (or spread the word if you’re not – that helps too!). Backers get behind-the-scenes access, Discord privileges, free short stories, coupons for our webstore, and more – with increasing benefits the higher the backer level!

The bonus merchandise for The Salt in the Sea? An acrylic pin on translucent blue iridescent plastic of this gorgeous blue-wave version of the scene divider we’re using in the book! (“Transparent” places, which will be translucent blue, are shown with checkerboard so it’s clear where the design is and isn’t.)
Artwork of a stylized wave shown just before it crests and crashes, colored in shades of blue from very pale to dark.

Already pre-ordered The Salt in the Sea? It's not too late to become a Patreon backer and get the bonus merchandise! Not yet pre-ordered The Salt in the Sea? Support us on Patreon at any level and get a coupon code you can use immediately to save money when you pre-order the book!

**Pre-orders for The Salt in the Sea by J. D. Rivers close at 8 a.m. Eastern on April 15th. Pre-order your copy today!**

A photograph of waves crashing against rocks, overlaid with text that reads: The island doesn't like visitors. Every time I ship over, it tries to dispel me, but in a battle of wills, I win. The salt in the sea by J. D. Rivers. Pre-orders close at 8 a.m. Eastern time April 15 2025.

“The island doesn’t like visitors. Every time I ship over, it tries to dispel me, but in a battle of wills, I win.”

We’ve been talking a lot about The Salt in the Sea by J. D. Rivers as we wind down into the last 4 days of our pre-order campaign. Thoma and Victor, the m/m main characters, have been featured in quotes in and in the blurb. But an important, maybe the important secondary character? The island on which the story takes place! Concentrate enough memory and magic in a place, and even the very ground beneath one’s feet can take on a will of its own…

Blurb for The Salt in the Sea

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.

**Learn all about The Salt in the Sea on our campaign page!**

A graphic with text over a photograph of rolling waves and wave-frothed water. Text reads, Eyes dark as the night, hungry and powerful, stared him down. "I just want you." And while the music thundered on, Victor raised Thoma's chin and kissed him. Pre-order m/m fantasy novella THE SALT IN THE SEA by J. D. Rivers TODAY!

There are under six days left to pre-order The Salt in the Sea by J. D. Rivers! We’re thrilled to share that we’ve hit our baseline goal for this campaign! We’re still a long way from hitting our primary goal of $2,200, which includes enough to cover all the expenses that Duck Prints Press will incur publishing The Salt in the Sea, but hitting our baseline means we’ll be able to move forward with publication! Thank you to everyone who has helped spread the word and who has backed so far. Today, we share a teaser from a pivotal moment for our two lead characters…

Eyes dark as the night, hungry and powerful, stared him down.

“I just want you.”

And while the music thundered on, Victor raised Thoma’s chin and kissed him.

**Learn more about The Salt in the Sea today, before time runs out!**

We are entering the second – and final – week of our pre-order crowdfunding campaign to pay for the publishing of The Salt in the Sea by J. D. Rivers – and we’re 90% of the way to our baseline goal, and almost 40% of the way to our main goal!

Interested in the book but on the fence? Then allow us to wet your appetite: you can now read the first chapter of The Salt in the Sea completely free! Download the chapter 1 sample here!

Visit our campaign page to read the blurb, meet the author, check out the merchandise, and more!

We’re currently crowdfunding The Salt in the Sea, a m/m fantasy-mystery novella by J. D. Rivers (it’s about 80% funded – you should check it out and help us make it 100%!), so what better time to sit down and learn more about the author? Join us to learn more about JD and her work!

About J. D. Rivers: J. D. writes speculative fiction where they fall deeply and madly in love and find a dead body, not necessarily in that order. She collects hobbies as others collect books and has an unhealthy addiction to watching competitive cooking shows. J. D. lives close to the woods with her husband and the cutest dog in the world.

Links: Personal Website | Bluesky

J. D.’s Past Projects with Duck Prints Press:

author-contributor to He Bears the Cape of Stars
author-contributor to Aim For The Heart: Queer Fanworks Inspired by Alexandre Dumas’s “The Three Musketeers”

An Interview with J. D. Rivers

How did you pick the name you create under?

Shortening of my given name + inside joke + translation of my last name .

What do you consider to be your strengths as a creator?

World building and developing ideas from start to finish.

What do you consider to be your weaknesses as a creator?

Grammar… seriously that stuff is complicated and my brain lies to me all the time about does something sound correct.

When and why did you begin creating?

I’ve never not created. I’m one of those writers who started as a child and never stopped dreaming about about adventures and writing them down. I always only wanted to tell stories.

Are you a pantser, a planner, or a planster? What’s your process look like?

Pantser, so much a pantser – I start writing the story without really knowing what will happen. I usually know the ending and where the characters start out, and then I need to figure out all the rest. When that draft is written, I completely rewrite it, regardless of length. After that I figure out all the missing points, bad transitions, missing world building and research. Usually there is another rewrite… and then when I’m lucky comes the editing. Or I rewrite it another round…

What is your “dream project” – the thing you’d see as the culmination of your work as a creator?

That shared sci-fi universe romance series, one day, one day.

What’s your favorite part of the creation process?

Developing the story. It is always such a fun to explore the world and the characters and the ideas that come with both.

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

Lots of tea and coffee.

What are your goals as a creator?

That others read my stories. Those stories fulfill a need for me, and I hope I can fulfill the needs of other peoples also.

When you look at your “career” as a creator, what achievement would you most like to reach – what, if it happened or has already happened, would/did make you go “now – now I’m a success!”?

Quitting my day job. Being able to do that would be great.

Tell us about your pet(s).

Finn is the best and cutest and most handsome dog in the world. Period.
A photograph of a light-brown dog lying flopped on a grained wooden floor. It looks at peace.

If you could give one piece of advice to a new creator who came to you for help, what would that advice be?

Let it go. Writing is a craft and no one is perfect from where they start out. Give it time, work, read, learn and grow. Accept that it is a process. And finish it. Whatever you need to do, finish the story.

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

Contemporary romance – I need to add magic. And gore.

What book or media franchise or other creator’s work do you always come back to? How many times have you rewatched/reread/reviewed it?

Hot Fuzz. Moana. Frozen II. Ghibli movies. And I have watched them way to often.

What motivates you to create?

Being able to read the whole story for myself.

Now that you know about J. D., learn more about her book! Check out our crowdfunding campaign for The Salt in the Sea now!

A graphic of text over a photograph of an old rotary phone on a wood counter before a wooden wall. Text reads, Thoma wanted to phone Clair and lament about what had happened, but she’d only laugh at him and tell him he’d done it because he wanted to “climb that hunk like a tree.” from "The Salt in the Sea" by J. D. Rivers, a m/m fantasy-mystery novella. Pre-order today!

What are best friends for, if not some light-hearted mocking? The Salt in the Sea by J. D. Rivers is a bittersweet m/m fantasy-mystery about old wounds and new opportunities… but “bittersweet” doesn’t mean we’re not allowed a splash of humor or five! 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…

Read the blurb, learn about J. D. Rivers, check campaign progress, and more on our pre-order campaign page!

A graphic over a washed-out photograph of an exapnsive sky, a sea, and two forested islands. Text at the top reads "Pre-order options for The Salt in the Sea by J. D. Rivers." Below this, center, is a book cover depicting two men, one blonde and fair, the other black-haired with medium tone skin, in a loose, tender embrace, one kissing the other's forehead, before a wave-like background with a blood-red sun and dark sky behind them. This is labeled "The Salt in the Sea E-book and trade paperback." Beside it, there's a picture of a small candle in a tin labeled "seaside candle," the same artwork but with a large area of more waves beside the pair labeled "art print of the front cover," and the artwork again but made narrow and focused on the men, labeled "Thoma & Victor bookmark." In the lower part of the graphic is a header that reads "Pre-Order Bundles," with two listed: trade paperback + e-book bundle, accompanied by the cover art twice more (once with a book download symbol), and book _ merchandise bundle, which shows all the items already described grouped together in one big bundle.

**The pre-order campaign for our next novella, The Salt in the Sea by J. D. Rivers, are open NOW through 8 a.m. Eastern time on April 15th!**

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.

Learn more about this awesome m/m fantasy mystery novella and get your copy today!

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.