Meet the Scholarly Pursuits Authors: Lyonel Loy and Lucy K. R.

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So so happy to share that the Kickstarter campaign for Scholarly Pursuits: A Queer Anthology of Cozy Academia Stories has reached our minimum funding goal! And we’ve got 8 days to go – so the sky’s the limit on hitting our stretch goals, getting our backers more goodies, and raising the pay for our authors. Learn more on our campaign page!

We’re now aiming for our first stretch goal at $16,000! At this level, all backers will receive the cover art as an image file (for personal use only!!), and we will double the amount we’re paying our contributors!

A huge thank you to every single person who has backed so far, and to those who helped spread the word – we couldn’t have done it without you.


 

Author: Lyonel Loy (he/him)
Biography: Lifelong maladaptive daydreamer, finally working up the courage to write those daydreams down. Spends time cosplaying as a Responsible Adult With A Job.

Story Title: What We Call Ourselves

Excerpt: 

Cold Ash’s scones have the consistency of under-fired bricks.

“That looks delicious,” the waif gushes, as they always do; Cold Ash’s belly twinges with something like sympathy pains. “It must smell delicious too! I do wish we could smell it.”

“Nothing that says you can’t.” Cold Ash points out. More than enough has been written about shades, but nothing about being a shade; Cold Ash had switched up his line of questioning after months of fruitless prying on the name and fate of the poor waif. “You can see it, and touch it too if you focus. Hear it, if I do this—”

Cold Ash thonks a scone against the countertop.

Disturbingly, it both squishes and thuds.

“Here,” he urges, “take one each and think very hard about smelling it. We could do a paper on the results, and I’ll list you both as co-authors.”

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Author: Lucy K. R. (she/her)
Biography: What is there to be said for a person such as Lucy K.R.? Her mother remembers her requesting a cookie, and when she was denied amending “What about two cookies?” Her friends once observed her, when startled in a haunted house, to scream, run face-first into a wall, and then yell “Sorry!” Her future wife, she claims to have met “soul-first”, having collaborated in art and writing before ever meeting as individuals. Among the line cooks of her restaurant, it is said she performed Ylvis’s “What Does the Fox Say” at a Christmas karaoke party without ever glancing at the screen. In her dojang, she was heard to pronounce a fondness for sea salt, as it “May have touched a shark once.” When she briefly majored in bass performance, while alone in the practice rooms she would write musical themes for her characters rather than drilling etudes, until she could not escape her love of stories any longer. They say all these things and more, but to meet her “soul-first”, you need look no further than “I Am For You” from And Seek (Not) to Alter Me, “The Hollow Mass” from She Wears the Midnight Crown, or “The Three Mic’O’Tears” from Aim for the Heart, all available from Duck Prints Press.

Story Title: Caffeine and the Unsleeping

Excerpt: 

There are many talents Vladimir once had that he has become rusty in through the years. Flirting, however, has never been among their number, but isn’t that why he came to school in the first place? To try new things? To broaden his horizons?

“My name is Vladimir,” he says, halting and uncertain as he hugs the binder to his chest. “And I would like to apologize again for my outburst.”

“Ben,” says the man, his lips curving up to reveal a broad grin full of slightly crooked and deeply human teeth. “And honestly, it was just good to have something to think about for the shift. Do you, uh, want a pastry? While you’re reading? On the house.”

“I thank you for your concern,” Vladimir replies. “However I am unable to partake.”

“Gluten free?”

“Vampire.”

“Ah,” says Ben.