Hidden Worlds

  The greatest part of belonging to the Spork Room – a magical writing community – is the Door, through which all stories ever written and yet to be written come to life. There is only one rule: Always tell someone before you go through. But Margery is in a tough place in her story and she really needs to know how this scene goes. No one’s around. Surely it won’t hurt anything to go in by herself just for a few minutes… Click here for a short from the same universe.  

Continue reading

Life as a Moving Target Excerpt

ESSENCE I ask myself:what is the essence of me? Is it in each heartbeat and breath I take,or is it the invisible, the intangible, the something, my soul?They probe every darkened corner of my brain,they navigate the vast map of neurons, synapses, memory. They record every beat of my heart, my voice, my echo. They search for that something, the elusive malfunction,what resonates within the vessel walls, what reverberates,what stops. They use big words to describethe most mundane of things. But within each new word lies not one clue,not one answer to one very important question. To map and study my internal workingsis not an accurate representationof the essence of me. My something. So, I walk through shadows, and watch thelights dance for me in the most mundane places. I live my days always falling, never stilled, never without motion. I collect names of ailments and bury themalong with soured fragments of hope I once carried. I watch as my world gets dimmer and my balance fails me. I wrap myself in promises that snap shut, answers that may never reveal themselves. I hope to find the one thing that I cannot touch: the Truth.     Return to Life as a Moving Target page.

Continue reading

Life as a Moving Target

    Life as a Moving Target is a poetry chapbook that explores living with fibromyalgia and intractable vertigo, from onset of symptoms to getting a diagnosis. Also the aftermath, learning to cope and manage the condition. Poems of hope, courage, and strength of spirit. Read an excerpt here. Buy the softcover here. Purchase the Kindle edition here. (If you do not own a Kindle, the software is available for free.) View the estore here.

Continue reading

Knight Errant

Taro’s got a secret… Taro Hibiki owes his new sister, former Marine Eve Marcori, more than just his life. She’s given him everything—a home, a family, a future—and she’s working on sending him to college. Taro would rather be shot, but he’ll honor his debt or die trying. When Taro’s honor—and the rest of him—meet Rafe Ballard, death just might be the outcome. Rafe threatens everything Taro has come to rely on, and he’s not even trying. Buy the eBook from Amazon here (from Amazon.uk here), or a lovely physical book of your own here. Also available in many formats from Smashwords.

Continue reading

Who is KD Sarge?

KD Sarge writes for joy and hope, and works for a living. She has tried her hand at many endeavors, including Governess of the Children, Grand Director of the Drive-Through, and Dispatcher of the Tow Trucks. Currently KD labors appreciated but underpaid in the public school system. Past accomplishments include surviving eight one-year-olds for eight hours alone (she lasted about ten months), driving a twenty-foot truck from Ohio to Arizona by way of *shudder* Oklahoma, and making a six-pack of tacos in twenty-three seconds.

Continue reading

FAQ and Facts

 Why Turtleduck Press? In this boom-time of do-it-yourself publishing, quality often suffers. The Turtleduck Press logo assures the reader that the work in question has gone through the approval process of TDP. Our members are staking their own careers on the quality TDP as a group releases. Why Turtleduck? Why not? The turtleduck is a remarkable creature. With its adaptability and strength, as well as its beauty, it is an apt mascot for this alliance. The turtleduck survives where other waterfowl cannot. Turtleduck Press will thrive in areas traditional publishing cannot go. Why DIY publishing? The members of Turtleduck Press love traditional publishing! The awesome book-loving people of traditional publishing have produced many of our very favorite books. Sadly, no one is giving those awesome book-lovers money to publish the works they think are the best out there. A traditional publishing company must aim for profit. They must select books they expect to sell, and sell well. Excellence is not exclusive to works with huge commercial appeal. Turtleduck Press exists to offer alternatives. Poetry, novellas, oddball mixes of genre–these are works outside the boundaries of the potential blockbuster, but still worthy of attention. These are the works only TDP can bring to you. How did TDP come about? The catalyst for TDP was a “good” rejection from the traditional publishing world. The author’s “dream” agent kept a submission for a year, wavering, but in the end decided she did not love the work enough to fight the battle royal it…

Continue reading

About Us

  Turtleduck Press is an alliance of writers committed to bringing quality but less-commercial works to the public. Writers don’t like to write in boxes. Here you will find the stories and projects that don’t fit well elsewhere. Each work has been approved in a decision process designed to bring our offerings to their highest quality before release. We may periodically search for new members; we are open to submissions only at these times. All misfired submissions will be deleted unread. Turtleduck Press is committed to quality, as our name is only as good as the works on which it appears.

Continue reading