A musical novel about love, loss, and coming up for air
Noah and Jet's friendship started with an honest-to-god, physical CD: Jackson Pollock & The Big Sneeze's debut album, Oceancake. It's at one of their concerts that he first feels it-the pull of another world, one where he and Jet could be a couple. All it takes to cross over is a single kiss, but Noah hesitates, and the better, braver world escapes him.
Now stuck in this teen romance gone wrong, Noah Baxter's life unravels to the backdrop of a carefully curated playlist, and before the last track plays, he'll hit every wrong note, give up, paint some robots, steal a fish from the local Chinese restaurant, take a punch, and stage the performance of the century-- all so someone else might have a shot at everything he passed up.
by
"This Disc Has Two Sides does a beautiful job of showing how music can not only shape people, but also how it can allow us to communicate when spoken words aren't enough."
Death cab for catie
phoenix, az
"A timeless journey from cover to cover, one I didn’t know I was missing out on until I started reading. This Disc has it all: characters intrinsic and real, a dreamy plot I had the pleasure of getting lost within, and music that stays stuck in my head. I’m no longer afraid to cross over into the other world."
Madi McCOY
The Verde valley, AZ
"I loved every minute of this book! The characters felt like the best friends I never had. The story puts words to those emotions that you never quite can, and the inclusion of music was beautifully done. I need a playlist for this book!"
Lucy Showers
Nashville, TN
Putting Good Books in Orbit
Moonshell is an independent press that focuses on delighting readers with high quality books that may be too niche for larger publishers. We're starting with books by Cole Dulas, but follow along as our roster is certain to grow. Sign up for our newsletter here:
The moon landing marks a sort of pinnacle of human achievement. Sure, it's not antibiotics or world peace (which we are hoping turns up any day now), but it is uniquely human to strive not only to conquer the highest peaks on earth, but reach every celestial body we can see. For us, new books are new celestial bodies. They are destinations worth reaching. Desinations that require effort and tenacity.
So why the tortoises? Well, we like them. They are often a symbol of calm, of steady effort in a single direction. Our vision is not to put out books with frenetic desperation to reach new moons at any cost, but with the steadfast zen of those early reptilian astronauts.
Why Moonshell?
In 1968, Russia's Zond 5 became the first vessel to orbit the moon and return to earth with a living crew. That crew? Two steppe tortoises. The vessel landed in the Indian Ocean, and both tortoises survived. They got their post-space-travel physicals, and while they were lighter, they were healthy and hadn't lost their appetite. They were returned to Moscow as national heroes (one assumes).
Our name draws inspiration from their journey.