Catherine Tavares
@cjtavares.bsky.social
1.8K followers 1.3K following 1.8K posts
Sci-fi & Fantasy Author | SFWA & Codex Member | Bibliophilic ghost haunting libraries | she/her Work forth/in Apex, Nature Futures, Flash Point SF, Haven Spec +more Linktree: https://linktr.ee/catherinetavares
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✨ 2025 Publications ✨

A thread of links to read and access everything I have published in 2025, updated as new stories become available.
I'm liking it so far! I started it while in the waiting room at the medical offices and it did wonders to ease any nerves I had. It's impossible to worry about anything when Princess Donut is speaking.
-WHAT STALKS THE DEEP by @tkingfisher.com
-DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL by @mattdinniman.bsky.social
-A CROWN SO SILVER by @lyraselene.bsky.social
-THE GODS BELOW by @andreagstewart.bsky.social
-STRANGE ANTIQUITIES from @badvikinggames.bsky.social
Recovering from a minor medical procedure, so this is what my bedside table looks like.

Best recovery line up ever? I think so. 😁
Picture of my bedside table. There is a pink blown glass lamp on the far left. Next to it is an open laptop with the min page of the game Strange Antiquities open. Below the laptop is a stack of the following books:

-WHAT STALKS THE DEEP by T. Kingfisher 
-DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL by Matt Dinniman
-A CROWN SO SILVER by Lyra Selene
-THE GODS BELOW by Andrea Stewart
Reposted by Catherine Tavares
Last week was awful. There was a death on my birthday, and I found out my SNAP benefits went from $290 to $23

It was a bad time

So, if anyone wants to join the Patreon or Kofi, even for a month, I'd be thrilled.

There's microfiction, and updates, and tarot/oracle readings. Maybe other things too.
Reposted by Catherine Tavares
Just one more week to read my story of action, love, sacrifice, and matriarchal geriatric space whales for free online @calendaroffools.bsky.social ! Check it out below:
Free story time! This one is "Life After Life After Life" by Christopher Blake. This story is about life, legacy, love, and sacrifice. Plus, it's got sentient machines living at the edge of our solar system, so that's pretty cool. Don't miss out. It's only available for free for three weeks 🙂.
Life After Life After Life
by Christopher Blake We swim, singing with joy to the Stars, weaving and darting and skimming photo-plankton from the exosphere of Harvest, our home asteroid. The pod sings and the Stars sing back: ol...
calendaroffools.com
Do you like awesome spec fiction? Do you like awesome spec magazines? Are you yourself awesome*?

If you answered yes to any of the above, then please consider donating to Apex's Kickstarter because they make the world awesome!

*Pro Tip: Awesome people donate to Apex. 😁
NEW KICKSTARTER TIER UNLOCKED! At 110%, each backer will receive a NEW BRAIN 🧠 with zero microplastics*🚮, a normal amount of dopamine**😃✨, and the ability to see shrimp colors***🦐🌈!

* okay maybe a few microplastics
**what is “normal” anyway?
*** 9 out of 10 shrimps recommend!
Apex Magazine 2026
An award-winning digital literary magazine of science fiction, dark fantasy, and horror.
www.kickstarter.com
Thanks! These are my favorite things to knit, I think.

Haha, I mean, maybe. I have made a bubble stitch adult beanie before. I'd just need to figure out the leaf top section...
Thank you! Giving these as gifts also guarantees I get some of the first baby pics when the little kiddos are born. Win win!
Quick question: In the submission guidelines where it says "a short pitch/synopsis of the concept", do you mean you want BOTH a short (1-2 paragraph) pitch and a synopsis (1 page), or do you just want one of those?
Grape Baby Beanie! 🧶🍇

Made this as a gift for a friend's baby shower. I used the bubble stitch for the grape cluster body. The stem is a continuation from decreasing the beanie down to 6 stitches, and the vines are i-cords that I cinched with a back and forth stitch to make them curly.
Knit baby beanie that looks like a bunch of grapes. The body is knit in purple yarn in the bubble stitch and the top is light green to look like leaves. A small stem and two curly vines stick out from the top of the beanie. It is the definition of adorable.
Happy Birthday!

How about a tiny story about a secret hobby that brings a character joy.
Reposted by Catherine Tavares
It's my birthday!

And, becasue I'm me, I now want to write more tiny stories after catching up with ones I owed. So yes, let's do this thing.

Leave me a prompt of some kind and get a tiny story in exchange.

(Optional themes: trick or treat, or secrets and confessions)
Some days* you just need to toss all responsibilities out the window and play video games.

*today
Same!!! I can't wait to dive deeper into this new series.
Look what I found in the bargain book bin! Hardcover! Glorious!! Only $12!!! I snatched that up SO FAST! 📖😁

I casually read the beginning while waiting in line and I am HOOKED! A moment of silence for the five other books I am currently reading. 😆
Hardcover copy of The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart.
We reported on the spare the air days because those are all during the summer, no indoor heating necessary, and burning is not allowed on those days, but there's really no enforcement of it at all.
It used to be worse. Someone used to burn their garbage. 💀
There's someone in my neighborhood who burns CONSTANTLY (even on spare the air days 😒) and it makes it impossible to exist.
Reposted by Catherine Tavares
With our new issue, we are making the sad announcement that this will be the final year for On Spec. See www.onspec.ca for details.
The new nail polish reminds me of something...💅😆

(I swear this wasn't planned. Sometimes the marketing gods smile on me because they know I am so bad at it I need divine intervention to get folks to read my stuff. 😅)

Anyway, behold my awesome nails and go behold this awesome anthology! 💜
The purple cover of the Dark Hearts anthology with my hand over top of it showing off my dark iridescent purple nail polish that matches the cover.
Reposted by Catherine Tavares
I'm absolutely thrilled that @apexmag.bsky.social Issue 151 is out - containing my drabble 'Don't Hide From the Mirror', the first piece I've published with Apex!

🏳️‍⚧️ trans euphoria
🩸body horror
✒️only 100 words!

Check out the full issue now!
Apex Magazine Issue 151
EDITORIALMusings from Maryland by Lesley Conner ORIGINAL FICTION"Liecraft" by Anita Moskát, translated by Austin Wagner"Ghosts of Summer" by Catherine Tavares "Code Green" by Rebecca Johnson "We Used ...
www.apexbookcompany.com
Reposted by Catherine Tavares
📢 Exciting book news alert!!

"Apex Book Company is thrilled to announce the reissue of Jason Sanford’s Plague Birds with an additional short story coming out June 2026. Additionally, Apex has acquired Jason Sanford’s sequel novel to Plague Birds, coming out October 2026." 🍾🎉📚
Apex Book Company 2026 Acquisitions
Apex Book Company is thrilled to announce the reissue of Jason Sanford’s Plague Birds with an additional short story, “Little Fathers of Darkness,” coming out June 2026. Additionally, Apex Book Compan...
www.apexbookcompany.com
Reposted by Catherine Tavares
You made it halfway through the week *and* we still have free shipping? Sounds like the perfect time to treat yourself to a new book and support indie bookstores in the process. 📚