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 and on Instagram at bluedasherpress.

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!

Riding the Tide of Rebellion: Blue Dasher Press Releases a Bold New Edition of Marijuana Mermaid by Wren Valentino

Blue Dasher Press is proud to announce the publication and release of a bold new edition of Marijuana Mermaid, the gripping young adult novel by bestselling author Wren Valentino. Now available in both paperback and ebook formats, the novel brings attention to a story that fearlessly explores identity, rebellion, and the complicated terrain of teenage girlhood.

At the heart of Marijuana Mermaid is seventeen-year-old Leah Cassels, a girl uprooted from Chicago and sent to a quiet California beach town after getting into trouble. But reinvention proves far more difficult than expected. When Leah falls in with Monica and Sabina—two charismatic and commanding girls—she’s drawn into a world that offers belonging, but at a cost. As Leah navigates her new life working at a seaside theme park and secretly nurturing dreams of becoming a mermaid performer, she meets Ray Junior, whose presence challenges her to question the forces shaping her decisions.

What begins as a story of escape quickly deepens into something more unsettling. As Leah starts to pull away from the intense grip of her new friendships, she uncovers a darker undercurrent beneath the town’s polished surface, a place where image and control reign, and rebellion carries real consequences.

Wren Valentino describes the novel’s driving force with striking clarity:

“I wanted to tell a story about the raw, complicated power of female teen rebellion and not shy away from the messy, uncomfortable truths that come with it.”

This new edition of Marijuana Mermaid aligns closely with Blue Dasher Press’s mission to inspire, educate, and elevate voices across the creative spectrum. The novel embodies our commitment to fostering a welcoming space where imagination thrives and artistic expression knows no boundaries. Through Leah’s journey, readers are invited to confront difficult questions about autonomy, influence, and the cost of self-discovery: core themes that reflect our dedication to meaningful, thought-provoking storytelling.

We believe stories like Marijuana Mermaid are essential. This release represents not only a celebration of Wren Valentino’s work but also a continuation of our mission to champion literature that challenges, empowers, and resonates.

Marijuana Mermaid is available now wherever books are sold.

Blue Dasher Press Announces Publication of No Sky July by Wren Valentino

Blue Dasher Press is proud to announce the publication of No Sky July, a new one-act play by award-winning playwright Wren Valentino. The play was recently named a semi-finalist for the Venice Voices New Works Festival, further cementing Valentino’s reputation for crafting intimate, resonant stories that linger long after the final line.

Running approximately ten minutes, No Sky July is a two-hander featuring one woman and one man, both in their late 40s to early 50s. Despite its brief runtime, the play unfolds with emotional depth and lyrical precision.

Set in the quiet, early hours of dawn in Venice, California, the play brings together Eleanor, recently divorced and searching for footing, and Felix, a gay man reckoning with a lifetime shaped by love just out of reach. The two meet on a modest lot that once housed the legendary Gas House, a beatnik-era café alive with poetry and music, where Eleanor’s father played bongos and Felix’s mother performed her verse. Now transformed into a stretch of graffiti-covered vendor stalls, the site becomes a bridge between past and present.

Their connection is sparked by a revelation discovered only after their parents’ deaths: a brief, long-ago affair that binds their histories in unexpected ways. Against the shimmering Pacific and the familiar sway of palm trees, Eleanor and Felix navigate grief, identity, and inheritance, forging a quiet but lasting bond in a single, transformative morning.

Reflecting on the origins of the play, Valentino shares:

"This story grew out of thinking about my parents’ young lives in Southern California, the people they were before I existed, moving through a world shaped by art, risk, and reinvention. There’s something powerful about ‘yesterday,’ not just as memory but as a living force that shapes who we become. Venice Beach, Los Angeles—it’s all part of this iconic, ever-changing landscape where personal histories and cultural mythologies collide. I wanted to capture that fleeting moment where the past feels suddenly present, and everything shifts."

With No Sky July, Blue Dasher Press continues its commitment to publishing bold, evocative works that explore the intersections of memory, place, and human connection. This poignant short play invites readers and performers alike to step into a moment where time folds in on itself, revealing the fragile, enduring threads that link us across generations.