Back the Campaign to Fund Publishing the Twinned Trilogy Today!
Starting today, and running through Wednesday, January 28th, we’re raising funds to publish the third and last book of the Twinned trilogy by Tris Lawrence ( @tryslora ) ! Whether you backed the campaigns for books 1 and 2, or you’re just hearing about these books for the first time from this post, now is a great time to get one book, get two books, or get the whole trilogy so you can read the full story!
People with Talent—Mages, Dreamwalkers, shapechangers, and others—have always lived among mankind. Their existence was hidden until ten years ago, when the world was abruptly introduced to the existence of these secret magic users after a young gymnast spontaneously teleported during the Olympics. This event heralded the start of the Emergence; whereas, once, Talents were close-kept secrets that ran in family lines, now everyone knew that there were people with incredible abilities in communities all over the world.
The Emergence wrought changes at every level of society.
At Pine Hills University, a small liberal-arts college in Upstate New York, these changes have been pronounced, as the University has taken the lead in studying Talent academically: encouraging Talented students to apply, hiring Talented faculty, and debuting Talent-related curricula, minors, and majors.
This is the milieu against which the events of the Twinned trilogy unfold. Ten years has been just long enough for the young, Talented students of Pine Hills University to think they know where they fit in the world—but there are many changes yet to come…
For this campaign, we’re also making some fun Pine Hills University merchandise—the crest of the fictional university as an enamel pin, a car back-window sticker, and one of our signature dux in a PHU-colored varsity jacket.
Oh and – these books are hella queer! The main character is a gay aro man, the lead of the second is asexual biromantic and has a trans twin brother, and book 3 features an established m/m relationship between the leads. That’s just the tip of the iceberg; lots of the side characters are also LGBTQIA+.
Visit our Kickstarter campaign page and learn all the details, read the book blurbs and excerpts, see the merch, get to know Tris Lawrence, and more!
This project was for the story Into the Split by @tryslora.
It is part of Welcome to PHU, a web serial about the students who attend Pine Hills University, a fictional liberal arts school, and the folks around them. It’s about magic, and love, and football, and music, and taekwondo, and just about anything else that college students might get involved in. And magic. Did we mention the magic? Because in this world, ten years ago, the public found out that magic is real, and ever since then, more and more Talents have become public in the world, and Pine Hills University happens to be one of the schools that welcomes these magical students with open arms.
You can read the stories as they are posted on Tumblr and on Pillowfort.
Into the Split is the third story of the “Twinned” trilogy and can be purchased as an e-book and trade paperback through Duck Prints Press or through most bookstores and libraries!
This is in the “6×9” format, with white paper and glossy cover options. The story has 144,994 words and the final book had 444 pages.
Front and spine view of the book, along with the thematic enamel pin available through @duckprintspress
Missed Fortunes--second book in the Twinned trilogy--is available for pre-order through February 28th!
Sorority girl Carolyn wants to enjoy college, learn more about her Talent, and leave her past behind. The problem is, her past won't stay in the rearview, and there is WAY more to learn about her Talent than she expected. And it might have something to do with the fact that the world is in big trouble.
Enjoy a snippet from Missed Fortunes as we finalize edits for the pre-order!
“I’m probably not the best for advice,” Carolyn admits. “I’ve never been good at figuring people out. I’ve relied on Heather for help understanding people since we met.”
“Don’t trust your instincts?” Soledad says with a small smile.
“I have terrible instincts,” Carolyn says dryly. “When I’ve tried trusting them, I usually end up in trouble. It’s easier to have an interpreter sometimes. There are days when I wonder if I speak an entirely different language than everyone else.”
About 3 years ago I was commissioned to create a couple of paintings for a novel trilogy, who's first installment has finally been published!
Tris has worked so hard in creating these epic fantasy novels and it's surreal to see it physically in my hands with my work and my name in it. I can't wait to get reading!
Check out "Commit to the kick" by Tris Lawrence now!
Available in Ebook format here
Hard copies currently unavailable, but potentially could be released with the upcoming sequels!
Twinned Trilogy Crowdfunding Campaign: Final 48 Hours!
Our Kickstarter to fund our release of the Twinned trilogy by Tris Lawrence is entering its final 48 hours! We’ve hit our base goal handily, and we’re $70 from our first stretch goal as of when this post is being written. We’d love your help in reaching that stretch goal, and beyond!
Not sure what the buzz is about? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered! Read on for some general information, book blurbs, and previews of the first chapter of each book! We’re debuting the Into the Split chapter 1 preview today (it’s here, for those who don’t feel like scrolling)!
Welcome to Pine Hills University, where magic changes and danger lurks!
People with Talent—Mages, Dreamwalkers, shapechangers, and others—have always lived among mankind. Their existence was hidden until ten years ago, when the world was abruptly introduced to the existence of these secret magic users after a young gymnast spontaneously teleported during the Olympics. This event heralded the start of the Emergence; whereas, once, Talents were close-kept secrets that ran in family lines, now everyone knew that there were people with incredible abilities in communities all over the world.
The Emergence wrought changes at every level of society.
At Pine Hills University, a small liberal-arts college in Upstate New York, these changes have been pronounced, as the University has taken the lead in studying Talent academically: encouraging Talented students to apply, hiring Talented faculty, and debuting Talent-related curricula, minors, and majors.
This is the milieu against which the events of the Twinned trilogy unfold. Ten years has been just long enough for the young, Talented students of Pine Hills University to think they know where they fit in the world—but there are many changes yet to come…
Book 1: Commit to the Kick
Blurb:
Don’t hesitate.
Don’t overthink it.
Commit to the kick.
For eighteen years, Alaric has lived under the cloying politics of family and his Clan community. His freshman year is supposed to be a chance to explore a world where Clan and his shapeshifting Talent isn’t central to his life. But when his inner bear bursts forth during his first football game, endangering those around him, Alaric realizes that it’s not so easy to ignore his past, or his own internalized anger.
In his quest for anger management, Alaric begins to train in taekwondo, and makes new friends in both sports. He finds that he is creating his own small community, where Clan, Mages, other Talents, and even humans come together and build their own found family.
When Alaric receives news that something has happened to his brother Orson, he must return and deal with his Clan and his place in their world. He discovers that old prejudices are still strong between Clan and Mage communities, but that both may be in danger from a creature long thought to be only a legend. Alaric must figure out how to move forward and prevent a war and protect both his home and newly built communities, his found family with him every step of the way.
Book 1 introduces the Welcome to PHU world, an aromantic lead, a growing m/m relationship, a lot of family angst, and a wonderful hoard of diverse, fascinating characters you’ll crave learning more about. Chapter 1 preview!
Book 2: Missed Fortunes
Blurb:
To solve the problem of now…
Remember what lies behind…
Pass through your hopes and fears…
…to the final outcome.
Carolyn knows the Emergence brought her a new community, but it also revealed the existence of people with magical Talent to the scrutiny of the world. Her high school life ended on a tumultuous note, but now that she’s a junior at Pine Hills University, her life has become stable. She has her twin Kit. She has her sorority sisters. She has her Talent and her Tarot cards.
But when the Tower appears in a reading, the world shatters and changes. Kit has left his predictive Talent behind, and Carolyn’s own predictive Talent is changing decidedly unpredictably. She’s seeing visions of fire and destruction, of Shadows moving in the darkness and intruding into the light. And her sorority sister Drea and Drea’s brother Alaric have returned from winter break, warning of looming dangers and the risk of Clan going to war.
Carolyn shouldn’t get involved—doesn’t want to get involved—but with the world crumbling around her and her predictions hinting at worse to come, she can’t imagine not doing what she can. To make matters worse, the only way forward is to reconcile with her past, but Carolyn isn’t sure how to do that nor why it seems so important to the world that she does.
Book 2 picks up where Commit to the Kick ends and features an asexual lead and her trans twin brother, a f/f queerplatonic relationship, and a huge amount of self-exploration, all while widening our focus from the University to the world beyond. Chapter 1 preview!
Book 3: Into the Split
Blurb:
Watch out.
Don’t fall into the Split.
Nikolai is a Dreamwalker born into a family of Weather Witches. His boyfriend, Seth, is an Empath, anchoring him so that Nikolai won’t accidentally open a pathway between the physical world and the Dreamscape.
But Dreams are slippery things: they can attack, and they can trap, and Shadows live in the dark spaces between worlds. Shadows escaped the Dreamscape and came to Nikolai’s world when he was a child. They fed hungrily, drawn to those of strong Talent, killing Nikolai’s family and destroying his home.
Nikolai and Seth have have been on the run ever since.
When the veil between the Dreamscape and his world cracks open again, Nikolai is shocked to meet his doppelganger from another world, Nikita. Claiming that Nikolai’s life has been in her nightmares for months, Nikita promises to save him, but the actions of her and her friends draw the Shadows to them wherever they go. And worse yet, they quickly realize that their worlds are linked: if Nikita cannot save Nikolai, her own world may be lost as well…
Book 3 brings the Twinned trilogy to a delightfully satisfying conclusion and features an established m/m relationship and a lot of other things that we can’t share, because shhhhh, spoilers! Chapter 1 preview!
Be among the first to get the print version of Into the Split! Back our Kickstarter today, before time runs out!
campaign ends at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time on January 28th 2026.
Commit to the Kick is the first book of the Twinned trilogy by Tris Lawrence. We’re currently crowdfunding the entire trilogy on Kickstarter, and we’re already close to our goal! Commit to the Kick stars Alaric, an aromantic gay college freshman… who can also shapeshift into a bear, and a few other animal forms! His dream is to play football, but in a world that’s only recently learned of the existence of people with magical powers, it’s hard to find a league that will welcome someone who might transform into an animal mid-game. He’s come to Pine Hills University as it’s one of a few schools experimenting with mixed leagues but, well. The excerpt says it all.
Learn more about Commit to the Kick:
Don’t hesitate.
Don’t overthink it.
Commit to the kick.
For eighteen years, Alaric has lived under the cloying politics of family and his Clan community. His freshman year is supposed to be a chance to explore a world where Clan and his shapeshifting Talent isn’t central to his life. But when his inner bear bursts forth during his first football game, endangering those around him, Alaric realizes that it’s not so easy to ignore his past, or his own internalized anger.
In his quest for anger management, Alaric begins to train in taekwondo, and makes new friends in both sports. He finds that he is creating his own small community, where Clan, Mages, other Talents, and even humans come together and build their own found family.
When Alaric receives news that something has happened to his brother Orson, he must return and deal with his Clan and his place in their world. He discovers that old prejudices are still strong between Clan and Mage communities, but that both may be in danger from a creature long thought to be only a legend. Alaric must figure out how to move forward and prevent a war and protect both his home and newly built communities, his found family with him every step of the way.
To buy a copy of the first book of the Twinned trilogy, and learn more about the series as a whole (and maybe get all three books!) check out our Kickstarter! Running until 10:30 a.m. Eastern time on January 28th.
Duck Prints Press has had a great 2025! We crowdfunded two new anthologies as well as a new novella, novel, and novelette! We also did two large art projects.
Scholarly Pursuits: A Queer Anthology of Cozy Academia Stories and related merchandise will go on sale to non-campaign backers on January 6th!
Monsterotica: Tales of Unusual Courtship and Coupling will be released sometime during the spring of 2026!
Missed Fortunes by Tris Lawrence is available now! (The Kickstarter for the whole trilogy launches in two weeks!)
The Salt in the Sea by J. D. Rivers is available now!
The Agony of Authenticity by Lyn Weaver is available now!
40+ new short stories and 12 new art pieces and 12 panel recordings are available to backers of our Patreon!
Fannish Safety Sign by Xianyu Zhou stickers are available now!
Pride Flag Dragons by Florilège, including earrings, stickers, key chains, and magnets, are available now!
Thank you to everyone for helping us have a great 2025. We can’t wait to bring you more amazing queer stories and art in 2026!
