Welcome

Hello. Thank you for stopping by. We're happy you're here

We are Blue Dasher Press. We are a small, indie press based in Sacramento. We publish stage plays, novels, short stories, and collections of poetry exclusively by writer Wren Valentino, who co-founded the company with us in July of 2017. 

To date, we have published more than seventy of Wren's plays. Five of these scripts have been adapted into films. 

All of our stage plays are available to purchase at affordable rates in our digital store.  

If you're an actor, we encourage you to check out the Monologues section, especially if you're looking for a contemporary audition piece.

Interested in performing one of our plays? Visit the Producing Our Plays section where you will find more information about the simple three-step process for requesting free production rights. 

All of our plays can be produced royalty-free. There is never a cost to produce one of our scripts. We believe theatre is for everyone.

To learn more about our novels and short stories, the Fiction section includes information about them.

Similarly, the Poetry section is devoted to our collections of poetry. 

Wren Valentino created a series of workshops for writers of all levels of experience, genres, and form. Visit Workshops with Wren for more information.

You can find us on Facebook. 

Please reach out to us at anytime with questions via our contact form. We will be happy to help you. 

Again, thank you for being here!

Blue Dasher Press: February Update

As we welcome the month of February, we at Blue Dasher Press would like to take a moment to wish all of our readers a Happy Valentine’s Day! Whether you’re spending the day with a special someone, enjoying time with friends, or embracing the joy of self-love, we hope it’s filled with warmth, kindness, and a great book.

From the world premiere of
I Bet She Has a Party to Go To

February is also Black History Month, a time to honor the rich history, culture, and contributions of Black individuals past and present. At Blue Dasher Press, we are deeply committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging. We are proud to publish stage plays that celebrate Black voices and Black lives, including False Hopes, I Bet She Has a Party to Go To, A Rum Cake for Rita, Sky Lines, and Tagged. These works continue to inspire, challenge, and illuminate the many facets of the Black experience.

This month, we’ve had some exciting new releases! Our latest offerings include:

• Just Forget the World (Short Story) – Grieving over the loss of loved ones, Naomi and Dominic find a deep connection while spending time together in a cemetery.

• Homecomings (Short Play) – In a small-town laundromat, two former high school rivals come face-to-face for the first time in over forty years.

• Love in the Shadows (Novel) – Quintin Pearson, an American magazine staff writer in London, finds himself entangled in a web of intrigue after an ambassador’s assassination. In the darkness, he meets Luca, a mysterious Italian spy, and the two form an undeniable connection as they work to uncover the truth.

We’re also thrilled to announce that our short play I Bet She Has a Party to Go To has been selected for inclusion in The Best 10-Minute Plays of 2025, published by Smith & Kraus and edited by Debbie Lamedman. This powerful play follows three women who, after watching a beautiful, free-spirited woman roller skate through a city park, confront their own resentment and assumptions about her seemingly carefree life.

Looking ahead, we are excited about the upcoming release of the supernatural young adult novel Wonder Land. Following the loss of her mother, fifteen-year-old Destiny Moore moves to Avalon Cove, a mysterious island in South Carolina. There, she forms close bonds with two fellow outsiders and is drawn to the enigmatic world of Wonder Land, a former boarding house with secrets waiting to be uncovered. A story of love, loss, and discovery, Wonder Land will be available exclusively on Kindle Unlimited beginning February 18.

As always, we are grateful for our readers, writers, and the entire Blue Dasher Press community. Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to sharing more incredible stories with you in the months ahead!

Happy reading!

The Blue Dasher Press Team

Blue Dasher Press Announces the Publication of Homecomings by Wren Valentino

We are thrilled to announce the publication of Homecomings, the latest short stage play from award-winning playwright Wren Valentino. The play explores the fragile, often painful nature of reconnection through the lens of two former high school rivals who cross paths once again after forty years. Set in a small-town laundromat on a Wednesday night, Homecomings delves deep into the lives of Cathy and Leslie, two women in their 50s whose pasts have shaped them in unexpected ways.

The Story: Cathy is a woman struggling with the bitterness of unfulfilled dreams, while Leslie, a once-celebrated beauty queen, now faces the harsh reality of being forgotten by time. As they confront one another in this seemingly mundane setting, tensions rise, and the weight of their shared history becomes undeniable. The laundromat, a place of routine and solitude, acts as the perfect backdrop for their emotional reckoning.

Cast of Characters:

Cathy – In her 50s, struggling to not let the bitterness of life take over.

Leslie – In her 50s, a former beauty queen grappling with the feeling that she’s been left behind.

Time and Place:

A local laundromat in a small town, on a Wednesday night, in the present year.

Acknowledgments:

Homecomings received its world premiere on October 12, 2024, as part of The Play Crawl series, produced by the Funky Little Theater Company in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The production, directed by John Longo, featured captivating performances by Karen Kennedy and Suzanne Lucas.

A Word from the Playwright:

"I wrote Homecomings to explore the ways people live in the shadow of their pasts. Cathy and Leslie are each trapped in a different way—one cannot move past what she was, and the other fears she has no future at all. I wanted to give voice to those moments in life when two people face each other and realize that time has not only changed them but has also left them questioning who they are now." – Wren Valentino.

Get your copy of Homecomings today and witness the emotional depth of these two characters as they navigate their complex relationship and the passage of time.