Hello friends,
With gratitude,
Wren Valentino
Thursday, July 24, 2025
Heart, Horror, and High-Hand: July Adventures in Art and Life
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Stage Plays with an All-Female Cast
There’s something powerful about stories told entirely about women and at Blue Dasher Press, we’re proud to showcase a curated collection of stage plays featuring all-female casts. Whether you're in search of a short 15-minute piece or a full-length production that puts women front and center, we have something for every stage and every audience. Each script is available as a printable PDF in our digital store, and best of all, every play can be produced royalty-free. There’s never a cost to produce one of our scripts, because we believe theatre should be accessible, inclusive, and boldly empowering.
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BRACELETS AND BOYFRIENDS
Story: Best friends since childhood, Judy and Olivia decide to return to a quaint seaside town that they once visited on family vacations during their early teen years. Reminded of love's lost, choices made, and the fading of their youth, Judy and Olivia reaffirm their friendship; a play about two women who must look back before they can move forward.
Highlight: Winner of the Carrie McCray Memorial Literary Award for Best Stage Play.
Highlight: Adapted into the award-winning short film Bracelets.
Length: 15 Minutes
Cast: 2f; both characters are in their early 50's
Audience: Contains adult subject matter and adult language
THE BRAY OF THE BELLES
Story: Five Southern women who have known each other since childhood reunite in the ballroom of an upscale hotel to plan a wedding. Over the course of the evening, the women realize they are anything but friends.
Length: 30 Minutes
Cast: 5f; all characters are in their late 30's to early 40's
Audience: Contains adult subject matter and adult language
CLEAN
Story: A former movie star named Victoria is suffering from the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. Struggling to maintain her independence, Victoria resists a friendship with her equally stubborn housekeeper and must face the sudden arrival of her estranged daughter.
Highlight: Official Selection, Kentuck Arts Ten-Minute Play Festival.
Highlight: Official Selection for the Alabama Conference of Theatre’s Ten-Minute Play Festival
Length: 30 Minutes
Cast: 3f
Audience: Contains adult subject matter and adult language
DON'T MENTION IT
Story: When seventy-year-old New York native Stella discovers that her grandson has been diagnosed with AIDS, she turns to her best friend Madeline for comfort and strength.
Highlight: Winner, World AIDS Day Writing Contest, Stage Play
Highlight: World Premiere, Moments of Play, Salem Theatre Company
Highlight: Featured in A&U: America's AIDS Magazine
Length: 10 Minutes
Cast: 2f; both characters are in their 70's
Audience: Contains adult subject matter
FALSE HOPES
Story: Set in the employee break room of an American company, three female co-workers experience considerable personal and professional changes over the span of a year. Amy, an ambitious temp who will do whatever it takes to get promoted, chooses to have an abortion after discovering she’s pregnant with the child of her married boss. Lovelorn and lonely Claudia is told she’ll never be able to have children of her own. Young bride Nicole is pregnant with her first child but realizes she’s not in love with her successful husband.
Highlight: Featured in The Best Women's Stage Monologues
Length: 30 Minutes
Cast: 3f
Audience: Contains adult subject matter and adult language; contains content related to abortion
FREE DRY ON THURSDAYS
Story: On a late Thursday night in Chicago, two seemingly different women meet in a laundromat, only to realize they are co-workers at a successful advertising firm. Mary, a white woman, is the founding president. Tameka, a black woman, works in the mail room and has come up with a lucrative marketing campaign.
Length: 15 Minutes
Cast: 2f
Audience: Contains adult subject matter and adult language
HOMECOMINGS
Story: In a small-town laundromat, two former high school rivals come face-to-face for the first time in over forty years.
Length: 10 Minutes
Cast: 2f
Audience: Contains adult subject matter and adult language
I BET SHE HAS A PARTY TO GO TO
Story: After watching a beautiful, free-spirited woman roller skate through a city park, three women respond to the resentment they feel about her assumed carefree life.
Highlight: Featured in The Best 10-Minute Plays
Length: 10 Minutes
Cast: 4f
Audience: Contains adult subject matter and adult language
LIMELIGHT
Story: Moments before she's supposed to make a keynote speech to a sold-out crowd, a successful author makes the decision to stop writing and walk away from her career forever.
Length: 10 Minutes
Cast: 2f
Audience: Contains adult subject matter
PLEASE MEET YOUR MOTHER AT THE SERVICE DESK
Story: When high school student Abigail has a chance meeting with a stranger at a superstore, her feelings change about the difficult relationship she has with her mother.
Length: 10 Minutes
Cast: 3f; one character is in high school
Audience: Contains adult subject matter
RELOCATIONS
Story: Inspired by Alix Smith's photograph States of Union #3, this short play is about two women who - as mothers and partners - realize how important geography is in America.
Highlight: World Premiere, Rough Writers Festival, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
Length: 10 Minutes
Cast: 2f; both characters are in their mid to late 30's
Audience: Contains adult subject matter
Printable PDF
A RUM CAKE FOR RITA
Story: The year is 1965. Rita has been suddenly widowed as her husband, John, has been killed in Vietnam. Since his death, Rita has been ostracized by John's family simply because Rita is white and her husband was black. Loneliness has left Rita emotionally crippled and suffering from a deep depression. When John's older sister, Marla, shows up unexpectedly on Christmas Eve brandishing a rum cake, the two women finally come to terms with their shared grief and sorrow. Through their tears and conversation, they come to the realization they will always be family, despite the color of their skin.
Highlight: Featured in The Best Women's Stage Monologues
Length: 10 Minutes
Cast: 2f; both characters are in their late 20's
Audience: Contains adult subject matter
Printable PDF
SKY LINES
Story: This award-winning stage play explores the lives of Venita, Maggie, and Sarah who live in a rundown apartment building in an unnamed American city. Venita is a black woman who has been ostracized from her family for marrying a white man named George. Maggie endures a loveless marriage and within ten years gives birth to five children. Sarah desires a life of picture-perfect glamour and excitement and has married her high school sweetheart Jimmy. After a few brushes with reality, Sarah becomes dismayed with her predictable life and slips into a crippling depression. Over the course of 34 years, Venita, Maggie, and Sarah confront social and political issues as they fight to assert their identity and protect their friendship.
Highlight: Off-Off Broadway Production, The Producer's Club
Highlight: Third Place, New Works for Young Women, The University of Tulsa
Highlight: Featured in Audition Arsenal for Women in Their 20s
Length: Full Length (90 Minutes)
Cast: 3f
Audience: Contains adult subject matter and adult language; contains content related to death and grief
THE SNACK QUEENS
Story: In this suburban comedy, a group of rival soccer moms take their sideline snacks way too seriously.
Highlight: Featured in CultureCult Magazine
Length: 10 Minutes
Cast: 5f
Audience: Contains adult subject matter
SYRUP
Story: To bring an end to their longstanding feud, the daughters of two former First Ladies convince their mothers to appear as special guests in a charity fashion show.
Highlight: Featured in The Best Women's Stage Monologues
Length: 10 Minutes
Cast: 5f
Audience: Contains adult subject matter and adult language
TAGGED
Story: After the homicide of her older brother, sixteen-year-old Cha’Relle is determined to keep his memory alive by creating a mural in his honor on a brick wall in their neighborhood, despite the possibility of being caught and charged with a crime. Knowing a police officer is sitting in a bakery across the street and watching their every move, classmate Jo Lee is determined to convince Cha’Relle not to paint. Fully aware of the consequences, Cha'Relle contemplates facing the challenge head on.
Length: 10 Minutes
Cast: 2f; both characters are in high school
Audience: Contains adult subject matter
TAKING OFF
Story: If the plane just went down and there are no survivors, why is Mrs. Whitmore so happy? When Mrs. Whitmore is informed by Miranda, an airline employee, that her husband's plane has crashed and there are no reported survivors, she suddenly realizes a new sense of liberty has been given to her with which she’ll be able to make many lifelong dreams come true.
Highlight: Off-Off Broadway Production, Zero to Sixty in One Page Theatre Festival
Length: 5 Minutes
Cast: 2f
Audience: Contains adult subject matter
THERE IS NO 'D' IN REVENGE
Story: Fed up with the cruel antics of a lip gloss-stealing mean girl named Brenda, fifteen-year-old Jenessa is faced with the opportunity to seek revenge by outing her nemesis to their entire school when she discovers Brenda has carefully hidden the truth that she's a lesbian.
Highlight: Featured in 222 More Comedy Monologues 2 Minutes & Under
Length: 10 Minutes
Cast: 2f; both characters are in high school
Audience: Contains adult subject matter and adult language
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SUCH THINGS?
Story: Intrigued by Alexandra, a twelve-year-old girl who has a fascination with murder, a ghostwriter named Florence invites the young girl to her home for tea, with the intention of outwitting and killing her
Length: 10 Minutes
Cast: 2f; one character is an adult; one character is twelve.
Audience: All ages
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WHAT HAPPENED TO CINDY
Story: Four young women come to terms with the haunting guilt they share over the tragic death of their friend Cindy, who was killed on the night of the junior prom.
Length: 15 Minutes
Cast: 4f; all characters are in high school
Audience: Contains adult subject matter
Thursday, July 17, 2025
📚 New Release from Blue Dasher Press: Back Strokes by Wren Valentino
Available now in paperback and ebook, Back Strokes is the perfect summer read for anyone who has ever lost their way only to discover that the answers were waiting back where they started.
🏡 About the Novel
After a prank at his prestigious Chicago music conservatory nearly ends his academic career, twenty-two-year-old pianist Crawford Paul returns to his sleepy Northern California hometown for what promises to be a dull, forgettable summer. With his scholarship in jeopardy and his future uncertain, he reluctantly takes the only job he can find: escorting a glamorous seven-year-old, Isabella, to her swim lessons at a local community pool.
What Crawford doesn’t expect is to meet Nina, a fiercely stylish nanny who finds kids exhausting and Crawford mildly tolerable. Nor does he anticipate the growing mentorship with the aging owner of a record store—someone who reignites Crawford’s passion for classical music and encourages him to pursue his truth through the piano once more.
As Crawford navigates love, friendship, grief, and second chances, he begins to realize that everything he thought he had to leave behind might just be what he was searching for all along.
✨ A Word from the Author
“Back Strokes started with a simple idea,” said Wren Valentino. “What happens when someone returns to the place they were desperate to escape, only to find that what they were chasing was always within reach—if they’d only been brave enough to look? Crawford’s journey is personal to me. I wanted to write a summer romance that didn’t shy away from the complications of life—illness, identity, missed chances—but still offered hope, beauty, and love at its core.”
💙 Themes of the Novel
Beyond romance, Back Strokes explores:
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A poignant subplot involving a beloved supporting character battling cancer
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The enduring impact of intergenerational friendship and mentorship
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The redemptive power of music and artistic self-expression
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The courage it takes to face your truth—and follow your heart
Whether you're looking for a heartfelt LGBTQ+ love story, a tale of self-discovery, or simply your next great summer read, Back Strokes is ready to dive into your heart.
📖 Get your copy today in paperback or ebook wherever books are sold.
Follow Blue Dasher Press on Facebook and Instagram for more updates on new releases, author features, and behind-the-scenes looks at the stories we’re proud to publish.
Thursday, July 10, 2025
More Than Just “I Do”: Using Weddings to Deepen Character and Drive Plot in Romance Novels
Here are some ways weddings can heighten drama, reveal depth, and offer your readers more than a Pinterest-perfect day.
Conflict at the Altar: Raising the Stakes
A wedding is the perfect setup for tension because it blends private love with public performance. Here are a few juicy conflicts to stir the pot:
The Family Divide: One character’s family refuses to attend, or worse, shows up and starts drama. This is especially poignant in the m/m romance, including the short stories and novels I write as Jaxon Sevyn. Often for characters, familial acceptance can be a central emotional beat. What does that absence—or painful presence—mean for the couple?
Cold Feet or Open Secrets: Maybe it’s not about if they love each other, but whether one partner feels ready to say yes forever. Or perhaps an ex shows up (uninvited, of course), holding onto a secret that threatens to upend everything.
Cultural Collision: Blending traditions, religions, or even expectations for what a wedding should look like can reveal deeper values—and values in conflict. When I’m working on a wedding scene, I ask myself: do both grooms envision the same future? Or is this wedding just the surface of a bigger compromise?
Out-of-Control Planning: One partner is overwhelmed, the other disconnected. It’s not about the flowers, it's about communication, priorities, and what each character needs to feel seen and supported.
Too often, weddings fall into a pattern: white dress, big venue, happy crowd. But like the lovers at the heart of your story, no two weddings should be the same.
Tone Match: A low-angst, small-town romance might call for a barefoot beach ceremony or courthouse vows. A high-drama, enemies-to-lovers saga could culminate in a lavish society wedding, one where everyone’s watching (and waiting) for it to fall apart.
Personality Reveal: A wedding planned by a control-freak character might be so structured it’s stifling… until their free-spirited partner throws in a last-minute surprise. What do their wedding choices say about how they’ve grown or what still needs to shift?
Setting as Symbolism: The location can carry deep emotional weight. Are they reclaiming a place tied to past trauma or celebrating somewhere completely new? For example, an m/m romance might frame a destination wedding as a chance to be fully out and visible, far from judgment.
In a well-crafted romance, the wedding should do more than wrap things up. It should reflect the journey the couple’s taken and hint at the road ahead.
Character Payoff: Did your characters earn this moment? Let readers feel the emotional arc as old fears are shed and new vows made. Even if the wedding goes off the rails, what matters is how the characters show up for each other.
Reader Experience: For queer love stories, a wedding can be a radical act, a celebration not just of love but of visibility, chosen family, and resilience. Make space for that. Lean into what makes this couple’s path unique, not just romantic.
Final Thought
A wedding isn’t just a promise, it’s a story in itself. As a romance writer, you have the power to make that story unforgettable, reflective of your characters, and resonant with your readers. So go ahead. Break a heel. Misplace a ring. Invite chaos and catharsis. Because when your characters say “I do,” your readers should be cheering not just for the kiss but for everything it took to get there.
Wren Valentino
Tuesday, July 8, 2025
The Magic of The Fall: When Characters Realize They're in Love
Maybe you know the one I’m talking about. It’s often a quiet moment. Maybe they’re simply talking, teasing each other the way they always do, and something about the way one of them smiles hits differently. Or perhaps they’re touching—hands brushing together or shoulders pressed close—and suddenly, that simple contact feels seismic. It’s the pulse-quickening recognition that this isn’t just a fling or a friendship with some lingering heat—it’s something deeper. Something worth chasing.
For me, as a writer of gay erotic romance, the fun part is peeling back the layers of each man’s vulnerability, desire, and hesitation. Writing queer love stories allows me to explore the different ways men love each other and how they express those feelings. It’s about more than physical attraction (though, let’s be real, that’s part of the fun, too). It’s about trust, connection, and the terrifying yet exhilarating possibility of being truly seen.
Sometimes, that moment of realization is messy and tangled with doubts—especially if one of them is still coming to terms with his own identity or has been hurt before. Other times, it’s blissfully simple, an undeniable moment of “Oh. It’s you.”
And the joy of writing that is addictive. Whether it’s a slow-burn romance that takes chapters upon chapters to reach that point, or a whirlwind love affair that crackles with intensity from the start, that magical moment is always a reward. It’s like reaching the summit of a climb and looking out to see something breathtaking and new.
I’ve found that it’s also one of the most relatable aspects of writing romance. Haven’t we all had that moment in real life? That exquisite panic where your heart catches and you think, This person. It’s them. Even if you don’t know where it’s all going, even if it’s just a glimpse of possibility, it feels like everything.
It’s why I keep writing. Because even when the characters are stubborn and the plot knots itself into a tangled mess, that moment when they fall is always worth it. Every. Single. Time.
I can’t wait to share my latest story with you, where two men find themselves caught off guard by love. Stay tuned—because their journey is just beginning.
Until next time,
Wren Valentino 🌈✍️
The Uniqueness of Being a Male Romance Writer
Being a male romance writer is a bit like crashing a party you were never quite invited to—but once you're there, you realize you belong just as much as anyone else.
I don’t claim to write better or worse than anyone else in the genre. But I do write differently, and that’s the beauty of it. My lens, my experiences, and my emotional toolkit shape how I tell stories of love, desire, longing, and connection. Whether I’m writing male protagonists, queer romance, or exploring gender dynamics, I bring my own rhythm to the dance.
It’s not about flipping the script—it’s about adding new pages to it.
I think being a male romance writer gives me a unique opportunity to bridge perspectives. I get to explore the inner worlds of characters—regardless of gender—in a way that often surprises readers. I can challenge tropes from the inside, add nuance to male characters who are more than just brooding billionaires or rugged cowboys, and write love interests who are sensitive, vulnerable, and emotionally rich.
Romance is an emotional genre. It’s about connection, trust, fear, intimacy, joy, heartbreak, hope. None of those feelings are gender-exclusive. And the more voices we bring into the conversation—men, women, non-binary writers—the richer and more real those stories become.
That said, it isn’t always smooth sailing. I've had moments where people assumed I couldn’t possibly “get it” because I’m a man. Some industry spaces aren’t quite sure what to make of me. But I've also found that readers care most about the story—how it makes them feel, whether the love feels real, whether the characters stay with them after the last page.
And that's what keeps me writing.
At the end of the day, that’s what this is: a love letter to love. Romance isn’t just a genre. It’s the heart of every story where people find something meaningful in each other, where walls come down and healing begins. Being a male romance writer allows me to show that love is universal—and storytelling, like romance, belongs to all of us.
So if you’re a guy who wants to write romance, here’s my advice: do it. Bring your voice. Be bold, be heartfelt, be genuine. The genre has room for you. In fact, I think it needs you.
Wren Valentino
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