Catherine Tavares
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cjtavares.bsky.social
Catherine Tavares
@cjtavares.bsky.social
1.8K followers 1.3K following 1.9K posts
Sci-fi & Fantasy Author | SFWA & Codex Member | Bibliophilic ghost haunting libraries | she/her

Work forth/in Apex, Heartlines, Nature Futures, Flash Point SF, Haven Spec +more

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/catherinetavares
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cjtavares.bsky.social
It's a double feature announcement day because I am also thrilled to share that my short story "Meet Cute at the Inter-Dimensional Cafe" will be featured in @translunartl.bsky.social!!! Come for the pastries, stay for the love that transcends space/time.💗
Story sale graphic for "Meet Cute at the Inter-Dimensional Cafe" which is forthcoming at Translunar Travelers Lounge. The TTL logo is in the center below the story title, and the artwork features a cafe front that is near transparent on one side and solid on the other.
December 8, 2025 at 9:41 PM
cjtavares.bsky.social
I'm so sorry, I forgot to post this earlier and y'all have been missing out on this pun this whole time:

I'll see you in Hell...Itself Magazine!

My story "The Goblin on My Shoulder" is forthcoming in @hellitself.bsky.social and I am so excited both for everyone to read it, and for the hell puns! 😈
The Goblin on My Shoulder forthcoming in Hell Itself Magazine: Speculative Fiction No One Else Would Publish. There is a silhouette of a woman and on her shoulder is a ghostly image of a goblin smiling wickedly.
December 8, 2025 at 9:28 PM
cjtavares.bsky.social
Banana chocolate cake!!! 🍌🎂 Big thanks to @effies.bsky.social for sharing the recipe.

It's a simple chocolate frosting, just on the top and in between layers; and I decorated with banana chips on top, on the side seam, and then between the layers for a bit of a crunch with every bite. Delicious!
Picture of a banana cake on a white plate. The cake is two layers, round, and has chocolate frosting on the top. There are dollops of frosting lining the outer edge of the top of the cake and one in the middle. Whole banana chips are stuck into those. Then the side seam has crushed banana chips stuck to a line of chocolate frosting.
December 7, 2025 at 2:03 AM
cjtavares.bsky.social
Tis the season! Awards season!

As ballots open, may I humbly offer my own award eligible stories for your consideration. I have 7 stories eligible in the Short Story category this year. You can find links to read/access all of them on my website: catherinetavares.com/awards-eligi...
2025 Awards Eligibility Short Story Category “Ghosts of Summer” Apex “Lago das Estrelas” Short Édition “At the End of the World, Meet Me By the Vending Machines” Heartlines Spec “Hotcakes at the End Times” Nature Futures “Of Wolf and Woman” Flash Point SF “It Takes a Galaxy” Phano “A Psalm of Blood and Water” Dark Hearts
December 2, 2025 at 6:04 PM
cjtavares.bsky.social
Thanksgiving is almost here, but not quite. Let me help tide you over to the feast with some of my foodie fiction!
Graphic for my food themed stories. A bird's eye view of a Thanksgiving dinner spread complete with turkey, pumpkins, potatoes, and cranberry is in the background. Over top are graphics of an orange, hot wings, pancakes, and a bag of chips. Next to each graphic respectively are the titles of my stories and the magazines they are published in, reading as follows: "Kimi's Fruit Stand for Dead Pirates and Privateers" Haven Spec "The Post-Traumatic Scoville Diet" Flash Point SF "Hotcakes at the End Times" Nature Futures "At the End of the World, Meet Me By the Vending Machines" Heartlines Spec Nov 30th
November 26, 2025 at 9:14 PM
cjtavares.bsky.social
This is in ONE HOUR. Grab a snack, stretch your legs, take a nap, and then come settle in to talk all things wellness with us! See you there!
Promotional graphic for SFWA's Quasar event panel Centering Wellness as Creators, 5PM PST on Nov 15th. Free for Nebula attendees, $50 for new guests, register at events.sfwa.org. This graphic shows the profile pics for the panelists (including Eugen Bacon, Scott Edelman, Vanessa Ricci-Thode, and Catherine Tavares) above a blue and purple starry cloudy sky.
November 16, 2025 at 12:04 AM
cjtavares.bsky.social
We are just over a week away from @sfwa.org's Quasar! 🎉

I'll be there alongside @genni.bsky.social, @scottedelman.bsky.social, and @vriccithode.bsky.social on Saturday Nov 15th, 5 PM PST on the Centering Wellness as Creators panel.

Hope to see you there!
➡️ membership.sfwa.org/event-6301796
Promotional graphic for SFWA's Quasar event panel Centering Wellness as Creators, 5PM PST on Nov 15th. Free for Nebula attendees, $50 for new guests, register at events.sfwa.org. This graphic shows the profile pics for the panelists (including Eugen Bacon, Scott Edelman, Vanessa Ricci-Thode, and Catherine Tavares) above a blue and purple starry cloudy sky.
November 6, 2025 at 6:00 PM
cjtavares.bsky.social
And another story sale to announce! "Hotcakes at the End Times" will be my second appearance in the fabulous @naturefutures.bsky.social! Stay tuned for a story of food, comfort, and the good that shines through the darkness.
🥞🚀
A graphic depicting a stack of hotcakes on a table in front of a window looking out into space. In the center of the window is the Nature Futures magazine logo and above it is the title of my story Hotcakes at the End Times.
November 5, 2025 at 9:54 PM
cjtavares.bsky.social
I am still so thrilled to have a story coming soon with the amazing @heartlines-spec.com. I cannot wait for readers to be introduced to my zombie apocalypse love letter to junk food: "At the End of the World, Meet Me by the Vending Machines."

Red Dye No. 40 is coming your way!
🧟🍫
Promotional image for my story "At the End of the World, Meet Me by the Vending Machines" coming soon with Heartlines Spec magazine. The image has the title of the story at the top in black font. Below the title is the Heartlines logo of a stylized human heart, and the background is a faded photo of a vending machine showcasing multiple bags of chips.
November 5, 2025 at 6:37 PM
cjtavares.bsky.social
Got a lovely little shout-out from @cornellwriter.bsky.social in her newsletter for my microfiction work. Thank you P.A.!

Read the entire newsletter post (which is full of cool things) as well as subscribe (all of P.A.'s posts are full of cool things) here:
pacornell.substack.com/p/robots-dog...
Screenshot from P.A. Cornell's newsletter that reads: If you'd like to check out some microfiction though, it's recently been getting more love with pro magazines like Apex and Augur running microfiction contests and even a Best Microfiction anthology series. Publishers like Shacklebound Books have also put out their share of tiny stories. And author Catherine Tavares has made it a personal goal to write more microfiction this year, some of which you'll find here. The last sentence is highlighted in purple.
November 1, 2025 at 5:19 PM
cjtavares.bsky.social
Mango cake! 🥭 Absolutely delicious! Mango cardamom sponge, mango curd, and then a frosting that was supposed to be plain but there was An Incident with the curd oozing everywhere and the frosting became mango as well. Still good!

Happy Halloween! 🎃
Bird's eye view of a mango cake. The cake is round and has white frosting. In the center of the cake there is a pumpkin made from mango curd frosting and tiny dots of mango curd around the edges of the cake.
November 1, 2025 at 1:01 AM
cjtavares.bsky.social
Look what came in the mail! 🤩😍 I love the @flashpointsf.bsky.social hardcovers so much. They look so good on my shelf and the stories are amazing! Honored to have my little sci-fi piece "They Will Dance Among Planets" in such a gorgeous collection.
Front Cover of Flash Point Science Fiction Volume Four. A party of a dwarf, ranger, elf, and fairy stand together in a rocky region looking at a map. Behind them, the sky is filled with multiple planets. Back cover of Flash Point Science Fiction Volume Four. There is a feather quill above the list of author names and a beaker full of ink below the list. Front page for They Will Dance Among Planets. The image is of a hand holding a glowing blue cylinder in front of a port window that looks out onto space. First page of They Will Dance Among Planets: There is an Old Earth myth that says stars are the souls of unborn children. As Lindi sits in front of the medical station’s viewing window, she wonders about those stars and the souls of those children. She can’t remember if someone told her the myth, if she had read it or heard it in passing, but it is there in her consciousness now, its sudden relevance begging for attention. Are the unborn children miscarriages, Lindi wonders. Stillborns? Those who died in childhood? Are stars what becomes of all souls when their mortal lives end? Lindi’s musings are interrupted by the opening whoosh of the door and the return of the attendant. She is older than Lindi, but not by much, and she smiles in a way that makes Lindi believe she is genuinely happy to assist in today’s events. It makes sense, Lindi thinks, as the attendant reaches her. They are both of the sterilized generation. If anyone could understand what Lindi is about to do, it is this woman.
October 29, 2025 at 8:09 PM
cjtavares.bsky.social
Friends, I am currently under the weather, very behind on work, fighting SAD--my heart, it cannot take this. Please, give and get @apexmag.bsky.social to their goal so I can save my dwindling supply of tissues for my nose and not my tears.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/ape...
Screenshot of the Apex 2026 Kickstarter meter that shows they have $19,039 toward their $20,000 goal with 379 backers and 4 days left to give.
October 27, 2025 at 2:06 AM
cjtavares.bsky.social
Excited to announce that I sold my second story to Phano Magazine! Be on the lookout for "Symbiosis", my story about family bonds and love that extends beyond a single species.🌼
Story sale announcement graphic for "Symbiosis" to be published in Phano magazine. The graphic has a solid black background, and at the bottom are white line art drawings of various flowers. Above the flowers it reads "For Tess and Lan, it's always been just the two of them...until now."
October 22, 2025 at 6:16 PM
cjtavares.bsky.social
My books from the Anti-Prime sale on @bookshop.org arrived! 📚

THE FIRST THOUSAND TREES by @premeemohamed.com

WHAT FEASTS AT NIGHT by @tkingfisher.com

THE DRAGONFLY GAMBIT by @thesuiway.bsky.social
Three books laid out in a fan on top of my desk. The books are: THE FIRST THOUSAND TREES by Premee Mohamed, WHAT FEASTS AT NIGHT by T. Kingfisher, and THE DRAGONFLY GAMBIT by A.D. Sui
October 20, 2025 at 6:33 PM
cjtavares.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
October 16, 2025 at 5:52 PM
cjtavares.bsky.social
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.
October 13, 2025 at 9:25 PM
cjtavares.bsky.social
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.
October 10, 2025 at 10:42 PM
cjtavares.bsky.social
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.
October 8, 2025 at 8:05 PM
cjtavares.bsky.social
I get the awesome job of moderating not one but TWO panels on short fiction during this year’s @flightsoffoundry.bsky.social! #Flights2025
Promotional graphic for Flights of Foundry 2025. The Flights logo is on the left side and on the right is a white text box displaying the following information: Come celebrate short fiction! Saturday, Sept 27th Speculative Flash Fiction Hour 26 / 11 am PDT Sunday, Sept 28th Drabbles & Micro Fiction Hour 50 / 11 am PDT I'll be moderating both these panels of amazing authors as they share their tips, tricks, and passion for all things short fiction!
September 23, 2025 at 4:09 PM
cjtavares.bsky.social
Tis the season! @flightsoffoundry.bsky.social is coming soon!

It's free! It's global! It's virtual! It's AWESOME!

I'll be there all weekend as a fan and part of some of the events. Come join me for #Flights2025!
A graphic of my Flights of Foundry 2025 Schedule of Events that reads: Friday 9/26 The Added Depth of Speculative Worldbuilding (Panelist)—Hour 2 / 11 AM PDT Author Reading—Hour 4 / 1 PM PDT Saturday 9/27 Speculative Flash Fiction (Moderator)—Hour 26 / 11 AM PDT Sunday 9/28 Drabbles and Micro Fiction (Moderator)—Hour 50 / 11 AM PDT
September 10, 2025 at 4:26 PM
cjtavares.bsky.social
Friends! If you missed the Kickstarter that launched the Dark Hearts anthology, have no fear! The collection, which includes my story "A Psalm of Blood and Water", is getting a new, "no-frills" release with a brand new cover in gorgeous purple. 💜
www.jessicacarver.com/dark-hearts
Cover of Dark Hearts, Triangulation's 22nd anthology edited by Jessica Carver. The cover is in a gorgeous royal purple. The title Dark Hearts is centered inside a gold diamond with decorative foliage around it. The T in Hearts is a gold knife.
September 9, 2025 at 5:31 PM
cjtavares.bsky.social
Chocolate chip zucchini mini loaf because it's Thursday and not Friday but it really should be Friday.
A chocolate chip zucchini loaf baked in my Souper Cube 2 cup square sitting on a black wire rack over top a paper towel because I kept getting crumbs everywhere.
September 4, 2025 at 7:37 PM
cjtavares.bsky.social
Got a chance to listen to the audio version of my story A PSALM OF BLOOD AND WATER and friends it sounds so goooood!

Huge thanks to Dark Hearts editor Jessica Carver and the amazing narrator Sarah Bishop. Y'all brought Aleia and the Water Dragon to life. 🖤
August 15, 2025 at 8:03 PM
cjtavares.bsky.social
It's giving...the clan is my blood, and the Pillar is its master. 😁 💚

New nail color. Sally Hansen's Jade Jewel over Essie's Off Tropic. Loving the sparkle.
Close up of my nails showing the new nail color which is a sparkly green with blue flecks.
August 13, 2025 at 9:40 PM