Duck Prints Press

Adult Jessica Plummer‘s THE CONMAN’S GUIDE TO DRAGON SLAYING, pitched as an adult HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON meets HEATED RIVALRY, in which an ambitious young dragon fighter has to team up with a powerless wizard to fake everything, including magic, for a shot at riches, respect, and a better life in the kingdom’s annual dragon games, to John Morgan at Grand Central, at auction, for publication in…

Nine Nonfiction Books to Read for Pride Month

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya

A Quick and Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns by Archie Bongiovanni and Tristan Jimerson

I Hope We Choose Love by Kai Cheng Thom

This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson

Forest Euphoria by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian

Dear Senthuran by Akwaeke Emezi

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

Before we launch into this, let’s have a primer on what romanticism is!

What is Romantic Attraction?

Romanticism is perhaps best visualized as the conventional trappings of a relationship: if a character gets a warm fuzzy feeling of “yes, want, be with me,” when someone brings them cut flowers, or holds their hand, or stares longingly into their eyes while snuggling in a Ferris Wheel car, those are all examples of romantic attraction. That attraction may segue into sexual attraction, but they’re not the same thing, and someone can dislike those kinds of “romantic” set ups while still experiencing all other forms of attraction.

Also, be aware: definitions of romantic behavior are cultural constructs, so will be different in different societies.

So what is Aromanticism? 

Aromanticism is a lack of romantic attraction. The things described above don’t appeal to an aromantic person. This doesn’t mean they may not like those things, because they may, but they won’t be attracted by them. Many aromantic people (for example, me, writing this post) mostly find that kind of experience baffling. “Wait, I’m supposed to be feeling something right? This is supposed to be appealing? It’s just some dead flowers…” That kind of thing. Different people will of course experience it differently. It’s not a yes/no (circle one) prospect, it’s a spectrum. There are several sub-labels of aromanticism, including demiromantic, lithromantic, akoiromantic, gray-aromantic, quiromantic, and cupioromantic.

Are there other types of romanticism?

Yes, of course! The top-level division is between alloromantic and aromantic people - those who experience romantic attraction and those who don’t. Allormantic people can be heteroromantic, homoromantic, biromantic, etc. It mirrors sexuality…just, for romanticism! 

You can’t write an aroromantic character without having a clear understanding of what romantic attraction is, as contrasted with platonic attraction (wanting to be friends with someone), aesthetic attraction (thinking someone is pretty), and sexual attraction (desiring physical intimacy with someone). Note that some activities may fall under more than one of these, and therefore appeal to people for different reasons. For example, some people find making out is sexual, for others it’s romantic, for some it’s both, and for many which it is will vary by situation.

Now that you have a basic idea what aromanticism is, here are our top ten tips for writing aromantic (aro) characters!

Don‘t have an aromantic character just to cross off something on your diversity list. Like with all queer identities, aromantism isn‘t a token to use so your story look inclusive. Do you research and enlist the help of an aro sensitivity reader if you want to have an aro character. 

Just because there‘s an aro character doesn‘t mean the story has to be about aromantism, or romanticism, or relationships at all.

Aro characters can and should have close and loving relationships with their friends, family, and significant others. “Not experiencing romantic attraction” isn’t the same thing as “not being able to love.” Aro people get married. Aro people have children. Aro people have queer platonic relationships. Not all aro people, of course, but many do.

A character‘s defining trait should not be aromantism. Lots of different people are aro. Some are nice, some are assholes. Being aro doesn’t automatically mean someone will behave in a certain way or present themselves in a specific fashion.

If your story is long enough to support it, have more than one aro character. Show that there‘s a range of people who are aro (this is a good approach with any marginalized group!). Likewise, remember that most people aren’t just one thing - a character can be aro and BIPOC, or aro and disabled, or aro and trans, etc.

Avoid common stereotypes about aromantic people. These include: that they sleep around, that they’re unfeeling, that they’re incapable of any kind of relationship, that they’re robotic, that they’re doomed to misery because romantic love is intrinsic to the human experience, that they’re heartless and cold, that they’re just “losers who can’t get a date,” that it’s a sign of mental illness, that it’s intrinsically linked with being neurodivergent, that they never marry, and that they don’t want children.

Aromanticism is not the same as asexuality. Some aromantics are asexual, some are not. 

Aromanticism is not something that needs to be fixed. Don’t assume that an aro character will feel like they’re missing something, like they’re less than others, or that they feel broken. Society has taught many aro people that they’re supposed to want certain things, so yes, some do feel a sense of being off, but many also are happy, healthy, understand themselves and are completely at peace with it.

Different aro people have different attitudes toward physical gestures generally construed as “romantic,” such as hugging, holding hands, kissing, and cuddling. Some may enjoy these activities; some may be averse to them. As with any orientation, there is no universal experience. This means you can absolutely write an aro character who loves hugs, or who hates hugs, and both can be accurate representation - and if anyone tells you “that’s not what it is to be aro,” they’re wrong, not you.

Aro people can and often do still enjoy consuming and creating romantic content. 

And, a bonus 11th point: Please, we are begging you, don’t only write stories where an aromantic person and an alloromantic person have to navigate their differences to learn to make their relationship work. We’re so tired of that being the primary aro narrative.

Want to learn more? This article is a really good introduction to the basics.

This post is based on a conversation we had in the Duck Prints Press LLC Discord, and all contributors comments have been used/paraphrased/integrated into this post with permission. The people who contributed ideas to this post are: @nottesilhouette, @ramblingandpie, @arialerendeair, @tryslora, @deansmultitudes, @theleakypen, Owlish Intergalactic, myself (I’m @unforth), and one who preferred to remain anonymous.

Few things are harder than coming back to writing after a long period of not writing. Being creative takes a lot of energy, and starting after not doing so for a period of time takes even more energy. The writers on our Discord had a really productive discussion, where we talked about strategies we’ve each personally used to help us get our writing mojo back. None of these methods work for everyone, but if you haven’t written in a while, maybe one of these will work for you!

How to Revive that Creative Writing Spark:

doing sprints with a friend - knowing you’re all in it together can really help!

talking with writing buddies about what you’re each working on - the shared enthusiasm can be really helpful,

journaling, about daily life, or about dreams you’ve had - turning the dream into something coherent can be a great strategy (or, don’t bother, and just write it however crazily it took place!)

pick a random story you wrote in the past and read a chapter, paragraph, or 500 word segment - and look at it as a reader, say things you liked about it, praise it, emphasize the good things about your own writing.

transcribe a song with lyrics you find inspiring, or crack open a favorite book and transcribe a few paragraphs. You can even do it with something you’ve written yourself!

set a low-pressure, low-word count deadline - make it public, if you’re the kind of person that helps, or keep it to yourself.

sign up for a zero-consequence challenge, such as a bingo, or the Duck Prints Press #drabbledaysaturday prompts on Twitter - something where no one will mind if you don’t succeed, but you might find some inspiration.

create a small goal, either daily, weekly, or monthly - it can be a time frame (I’ll write for 5 minutes a day!) or a word count (I’ll write 1,000 words a month!) or even something tiny (I’ll write one sentence a day!) or a public sharing goal (post a ficlet a day!) and then do your best to stick to it, and reward yourself when you succeed.

open your ask box or otherwise solicit short prompts - for example, do a “three sentence” meme (”send me a pairing and a trope and I’ll write a three sentence fill”) or a story title meme (”send me a story title and I’ll write a little about the story I’d create with that title”) or an emoji prompt (”send me three emojis and I’ll write a ficlet”) or make your own fun one that will bring you joy (one of our writers created a “name two characters and I’ll make them kiss in six sentences or less” meme that helped them a lot)

participate in a prompt month, something with no consequences for failure but with prompts that can inspire daily ficlet.

write without editing, and just throw what you create out into the world - anything to get the words flowing.

challenge yourself to write a drabble day, no more and no less.

try changing how or when you write - get a nice journal and write by hand, or if that’s your normal, try writing in a word document instead.

write at different times of day, and see if it’s easier for you over breakfast, or after lights out, or during your lunch break, or by stealing a few minutes while you’re “on the clock” at work.

make an attempt at different formats of writing - if you usually write prose, try a poem; if you usually write really long things, try a drabble.

look out your window, or find a place you like, and just describe what you see.

do some free association exercises - for example, use a random word generator (I use this one sometimes) and then write literally whatever word comes into your head next - keep going until you fill the page, or until it starts to turn into a story, or just until you don’t feel like it any longer.

pick a random sentence (the person who suggested this often uses “Just write anything”) to be the start of a story, and “pants” your way through whatever comes next, without worrying about grammar, continuity, logic, or much of anything.

plan ahead - schedule your writing time and don’t let yourself put it off (rewards for success are always good!) and/or visualize exactly what you want to write ahead so you’re ready when you sit down.

if you get hit by inspiration, don’t put it off - even if all you do is scrawl a sentence in your phone or on scratch paper between other tasks, get it out of your head. Even a single sentence is a creation!

get out of the spaces where your usual things are - go to a park, or on a hike, or in your backyard, or even a different room in your own home, and bring a journal or phone or laptop, and see what strikes you.

pick That Thing You Haven’t Been Letting Yourself Write and ignore all the things you Think You Should Be Writing and just…write what brings you joy

fanfiction can be very helpful, especially in canon using canon-compliant ships/characterizations - there’s no need to do the heavy lifting. Even if you just write the characters going to a grocery store, or talking about what movie they want to watch, or arguing over take out - something short and sweet that’s just for fun, with no expectations for yourself or anyone else.

alternatively, if you’re the type who writes better for others and you’re feeling down - knock out anything, even something short, and post it, and take joy even in a single like or kudos. Knowing even one person out there loved what you wrote can really help.

Any or all of these may help you, but there’s one final one that I, at least, think is the most important of all - and that’s helped me most.

FORGIVE YOURSELF. You have work in progress up. It’s okay to leave them. You told someone you’d write something for them. It’s okay not to. You have a deadline looming. It’s okay to ask for more time, or to withdraw, or - in the end - it’s even okay to ghost. You think what you’ve made is bad. It’s okay if it’s bad. You’ll never be able to create when you’re raking yourself over the coals. Everyone in fandom has “been there” - has missed deadlines, has left challenges, has abandoned works in progress, have reneged on a promise to a friend to write something. Until you forgive yourself, you’ll never be able to create anything, and isn’t even a single sentence that isn’t on that Big Important Thing better than no sentences on anything?

Forgive yourself, and find that spark, inspiration, muse, whatever you want to call it - and write things that bring you joy.

We believe in you!

Books With Anxiety Rep For Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental Health Awareness Month isn't over yet! Here are a FEW of the amazing books that feature anxiety rep. I want to specify that word: FEW. There were so many to choose from, I had to stop myself from adding more and more pages. I'm sorry if your favorite books featuring anxiety rep aren't listed. Please feel free to mention a few of your favorites in the comments. (I also apologize for any mistakes. My original post was corrupted, so I had to start over. Back up EVERYTHING, my bookish bats!)

As a note, I tried to include as many queer books within this list as possible. I've noticed that many book guides for Mental Health Awareness Month have neglected queer experiences. As a queer / bisexual person with anxiety and depression, I didn't want to neglect these stories.

Happy Pride Month! This year, I’m celebrating by recommending books with LGBTQ+ main characters. The first three weeks each highlight a different intersectional subcategory, and the fourth week will be for general recommendations.

This week, I’ll showcase books featuring neurodivergent queer main characters. Like my other recommendations this month, these are all books I’ve read and enjoyed that feature happy endings. Feel free to add your own recommendations in the comments and reblogs!

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske Through a bureaucratic error, the completely unmagical Robin Blyth is assigned to the role of liaison between the magical and nonmagical spheres of British government. On his first day, he is ambushed and cursed by a group of masked men connected to whatever shady business his missing predecessor got involved in. His new colleagues aren’t exactly eager to help him (or brimming with magic themselves) but they must work together to solve a mystery that threatens the entire magical society of Britain. I am still absolutely head-over-heels in love with this story and it might be my all-time favorite book ever. It’s got decent worldbuilding, a cleverly crafted mystery, excellent banter, awesome female characters (even if I’m still annoyed about the ones who get killed off), and a slow-burn romance built on how the characters interact with each other rather than simple physical attraction (although there is that, too, and extremely well-written smut). It’s also got one of the most compassionate and authentic portrayals of neurodivergent-coded representation, and one of my favorite Aspi/ADHD pairs in fiction (a lot like Payneland from Dead Boy Detectives). Best of all, it’s the first in the Last Binding trilogy, and the books get progressively better—but this one remains my favorite.

Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer Steph and her mom have been running from her abusive father forever. Steph’s only friends are on the online site CatNet, which is run by an AI (as in an actual digital person, not one of those pretender chatbots) who likes cat pictures. When a school prank leads someone dangerous to Steph’s location and when CheshireCat’s creator threatens to take them offline, all of the friends need to work together to help each other. This one keeps tying for first place in all-time favorite book ever. I love the mystery, banter, awesome female characters, chase scenes, slow-burn romance with a foundation in friendship, chosen family, and positive neurodivergent and queer representation. I like how there are human nonbinary, neurodivergent, and asexual characters in this story, not just the AI. I like how the two main female antagonists are written as flawed people in difficult situations, not just one-dimensional villains. And the main villain is truly terrifying, possibly the scariest villain in a Young Adult book ever, no superpowers required. This book ends with a bit of a twist teasing the sequel, so be sure to check out Chaos on CatNet afterward.

The Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood & Boyfriends by Jamie D’Amato College student Brennan is still recovering from his recent suicide attempt and the last thing he needs or expects is getting turned into a vampire. Now he has to navigate all this on top of coursework, mental health issues, and his crush on the cute guy at the library. But there are people he can lean on now, both humans and vampires, and he’s going to need their help to investigate the recent attacks around campus that threaten the fragile peace. Sometimes I read a book and within the first few pages I just know it’s going to be one I love. And I was right. Yes, it’s a lot heavier than most—most of the characters are navigating some kind of trauma and/or family issues and several struggle with suicidal thoughts. All of the characters are flawed and many hurt each other without meaning to, but also people care and try to mend relationships where they can. It’s very messy, and beautiful. There is a romance, and things don’t always go well, but they do talk to each other and try sort through all the hurt and insecurity and trust issues. The ending offers some surprises, but not typical clever plot twists—it’s more like the story is subverting how we expect stories to go by making everyone feel like a fleshed-out character that we care about, including the antagonists. I really loved this book.

Steam by Shannon Garrity Ruby escaped from the lab that created her and is fulfilling her purpose by playing matchmaker at a coffee shop. She just wants to make people happy! Unfortunately, not all of her plans work out as intended, and the lab is intent on bringing her back. I don’t normally read graphic novels, but I couldn’t resist this one. Loved it. Ruby reminds me so much of Niko from Dead Boy Detectives, and while I definitely don’t agree with most of her decisions, I still find her extremely relatable. It’s a coffee shop romance, but it’s also a mystery, and it’s also about learning to trust your friends and figuring out what it means to be a person. Plus, I really enjoyed how the community collaborated at the end to mastermind a nonviolent solution—we need more of that in stories! Very fun and highly recommended.

Daniel Deconstructed by James Ramos Daniel is an Autistic high school student and filmmaker playing matchmaker between his best friend and a new kid at school. Only things don’t quite turn out the way he expects, and he has some things to learn about both his classmates and himself in the process. I feel a little bad that this is the only book on my list with an explicitly Autistic, Aspi, or ADHD protagonist instead of a heavily implied one. I didn’t fall head-over-heels in love with it, but it’s very good. We get nonbinary and asexual representation as well as Autistic representation and fandom representation—I know, that’s not a category most people recognize, but how often do fans see ourselves in stories; not enough! Sure, it’s LARP and RPGs, which aren’t my spheres, but I still appreciate seeing them on the page. Plus, it’s set in Minnesota! Do you know how many books, movies, or shows are set in Minnesota? Not enough! Yeah, I enjoyed this one.

I should note that the Aiden Thomas novels mentioned before also belong on this list (you cannot convince me those characters are neurotypical and I love them for it).

1. The court holds Google responsible for statements made by its AI, considering them Google's statements (search engines have limited liability for results in their engine as they're the words of other sites/companies/people), meaning when their AI lies/hallucinates they're liable for the defamation/harm resulting from those statements.

2. Google's defense that customers are generally aware of the lack of reliability and are responsible for fact checking was dismissed. As the court pointed out, that would "significantly diminish" AI Search's stated purpose and it can't be distinguished from Google's business practices/statements as a search tool.

3. Studies have found about 91% of Google's everyday AI responses are accurate, leaving millions of searches per HOUR with potential liability for falsehoods. 56% of correct responses weren't supported by the sources the AI listed. Both of which mean Google is now liable for a LOT more AI "errors."

4. Google was held liable for 80% of court costs in this case and this precedent is expected to reverberate around the world. This is a massive shift from the 3rd-party search provider role Google has previously played and it comes right as they've tied ALL searches to their AI search.