Tessera

T.R. Steele 🍂

@authortrsteele.bsky.social

he/him 🏳️‍⚧️ | ♎ | author of fantasy and gothic fiction ⚔️ | stories in A Coup of Owls Press, Hearth Stories, Tales to Terrify, Heartlines Spec, Plott Hound Magazine, smoke and mold, PodCastle and more https://linktr.ee/trsteeleauthor

123 Posts112 Follower 306 Folgt

Get To Know Nature @gettoknownature.bsky.social · 2h ago

Summer is SO GOOD (Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Wild Bergamot) #invertebrates 🌿 🌱 #BugSky #NativePlants #BloomScrolling

A field of lavender flower clusters and green leaves. In the center is a yellow and black butterfly hanging from one of them. It’s all very lush.

T.R. Steele 🍂@authortrsteele.bsky.social · 5d ago

So happy that my story about love, care, loss, and possessed trees (I know, you'll have to read to find out...) found a home in this issue of @heartlines-spec.com! ❤️🌳✨

Heartlines Spec@heartlines-spec.com · 5d ago

It's RELEASE DAY! Lower those shoulders, take a deep breath, and read some fantastic short fiction and poetry! www.heartlines-spec.com/issue-11/

A light purple and pink illustrated cover for Issue 11 of Heartlines Spec. The scene depicts a PEI red-toned beach with two woman's straw bonnets caught in the sand, a bottle of raspberry cordial, and footprints leading to the ocean.

Heartlines Spec @heartlines-spec.com · 5d ago

It's RELEASE DAY! Lower those shoulders, take a deep breath, and read some fantastic short fiction and poetry! www.heartlines-spec.com/issue-11/

Helen Whistberry @whistberry.bsky.social · 2w ago

It's #NationalMothWeek? I've drawn a few of those! #SciArt

ALOCASIA @alocasiamag.bsky.social · last mo.

One month to apply! ALOCASIA is now open for applications for the 2026 ALOCASIA Microgrant for Queer Nature Writers! Two recipients will receive $500 each to help incubate their future creative endeavors. Deadline: July 31st, 2026. More: alocasia.org/alocasias-mi...

Orchid on white background. Text reads: the ALOCASIA Microgrant for Queer Nature Writers. $500 award for two writers .

T.R. Steele 🍂@authortrsteele.bsky.social · 4w ago

Hi #WeeknightWriters! I'm T.R. Steele (he/him), my current WIP is a dark fantasy/folkloric novel about a wayward trans man who ventures into an underworld to find his former lover, a woman who is the (rather complicated) hero of the land. Currently aiming to edit/rework a chapter a week!

Weeknight Writers@weeknightwriters.bsky.social · 4w ago

Hello #WeeknightWriters ! Come on in, introduce yourself and your WIP, and let us know how your writing week is going! Or not going, that's valid too

Notepad that says “#WeeknightWriters

Introduce yourself and your WIP, and let us know how your writing week is going!”

Grace @eriopsis.bsky.social · last mo.

What if I was you? What if you were me?

T.R. Steele 🍂@authortrsteele.bsky.social · last mo.

"Our kind survives by the grace of little monsters. When we lay waste to systems we did not build and do not fully understand, we doom not only nature, but ourselves." Amazing essay! Recommended reading for those writing monsters in their fiction (and recommended reading in general, haha).

Uncanny Magazine@uncannymagazine.bsky.social · 2mo ago

New essay! "Nature, Monsters, and the Responsibility of Larger Things" by Nilah Magruder! buff.ly/sX8JoKQ

Madi Haab @madihaab.com · last mo.

it's here! it's here!! body horror, carnivorous plants, mother issues! please check it out!

Haven Spec Magazine@havenspec.bsky.social · last mo.

👀June 2026 Fiction👀 "Mother's Bane" is a short story by @madihaab.com about breaking the cycles of abuse that we are heir to (and also killer plants). Find it in our June 2026 issue! havenspec.com/issues/issue...

An excerpt of the short story "Mother's Bane" by Madi Haab, in Issue 23 of Haven Spec Magazine (June 2026). The text reads:

Edwin was an enthusiastic lover, eager to please and to pleasure. He kissed Briar all over, even the strange red bumps she’d first noticed on her skin that morning. His mouth was slow, then teasing, and he brought her to her peak—once, twice—as they made love.

After, they fell back on the mattress in a sweaty, sticky-sweet tangle. “You taste like honeysuckle,” he whispered in her ear before dozing off.

Those would be her husband’s last words.

The background is the issue's cover art, titled Red and Gold, by Carly A-F. It shows a skeletal figure with fire and branches for hair as they loom over a solitary human figure in the foreground.

Madi Haab @madihaab.com · last mo.

yesss I got to beta-read this novella and it's so. damn. good!!

T.R. Steele 🍂@authortrsteele.bsky.social · last mo.

⚔️✨THE UNICORN'S BANE ✨⚔️ a cli-fi fantasy novella SPEAR x TLoZ: TWILIGHT PRINCESS A troubled young transgender knight looking to prove himself is sent to a small town to hunt and kill a unicorn laying waste to the ecologically important dragon population. #F #CLI #N #QueerPit

Image collage of a green, mossy forest, a hand with light streaming through the fingers, an illustration of a 15th century sword hilt and armoured hand, and a detailed illustration of a knight in a forest with a black horse and a unicorn in the distance. The illustration is bordered by green dragons and acorns.

T.R. Steele 🍂@authortrsteele.bsky.social · last mo.

🪨🔥 BARROWBOUND 🔥🪨 a dark fantasy novel Lorcan returns to his hometown after 5 years to find that the otherworldly barrow in the woods has claimed his childhood best friend, former lover, and hero of the land. With nothing left to lose, he enters the underworld to look for her. #DF #F #QueerPit #A

An image collage with an armoured hand in a field of yellow flowers, a cavern opening up to mossy rocks and the sky, a fox drinking water in the dark, a detailed close-up of the hands and a will o' the wisp from the 1888 painting Will o' The Wisp by Lev Lerch, and a group of sheep in the dark with their eyes reflecting light.

T.R. Steele 🍂@authortrsteele.bsky.social · last mo.

🐎 🩸CAN'T MAKE THEM DRINK 🩸🐎 a gothic historical fantasy and horror novella WHAT MOVES THE DEAD x THE SCORPIO RACES An unnamed narrator, desperate for work, is blackmailed into caring for monstrous horses by the wealthy lady of a decaying estate. #H #HF #N #A #QueerPit

Image collage featuring a horse standing in grey fog, an anatomical illustration of a horse head and skull, a person's hands holding the reins of a horse with a brown horse's nose nearby, and an Irish peat bog.

Heartlines Spec @heartlines-spec.com · last mo.

Hear ye, hear ye! It's time to OFFICIALLY announce our Table of Contents for Issue 11. Releasing on July 31 (iykyk), it's a summer special with stories and poetry from new and old friends!

A view of Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island. The landscape is tinted purple with "Issue 11" in white text with a watercolour heart behind the first letter

A pink flat background with watercolour flowers around the corners. The list of the contributors in Issue 11 is in white text.

The list reads: Fiction, Moh Afdhaal, Hap Aziz, Ares J. Benoit, J. A. Espersmyth, Esther Lim, Avra Margariti, Jillian Schedneck, T.R. Steele. Poetry: Chris Clemens, Wren Douglas, R. F. Hovis, Diem Okoye, Julia Sinclair

ande ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗@andewitt.bsky.social · 2mo ago

somewhere in new hampshire probably

khōréō magazine @khoreo.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Our Kickstarter is live! Help support another year of speculative fiction by immigrant & diaspora writers over at @Kickstarter. 🧡 With your help, we can keep funding our work, expand to regular author interviews, raise our artist pay, & more! Support us at: www.kickstarter.com/projects/kho...

Four khoreo magazine covers over an orange background.

Apex Magazine and Book Company @apexmag.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Violet Lichen is NOW OPEN to novella queries until June 30th! 🌱🍄 We're seeking speculative and literary ecofiction and sci-fi between 30-45k words. We look forward to reading your work! Read Full Submission Guidelines: violetlichen.com/submissions/ Query Portal: querytracker.net/query/Violet...

Violet Lichen Books OPEN TO QUERIES. We are seeking: speculative ecofiction, folk horror, weird and New Weird, literary scifi. 30-45k words. Closes June 30th, 2026.

Read the full guidelines: www.violetlichen.com/submissions
Query Portal: www.querytracker.net/query/violetlichen

Lydia @coyoteprince.bsky.social · 2y ago

No snare may hold me Foiled prints o' this avaliable later this month! www.coyoteprince.com #art #unicorn #fantasy

Up On Goblin Hill @upongoblinhill.bsky.social · 3mo ago

𝔖𝔭𝔦𝔯𝔦𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔞𝔫 𝔄𝔭𝔭𝔩𝔢 𝔗𝔯𝔢𝔢 🍎🌸

Text: Spirit of an Apple Tree

Image: a gnarled apple tree, its canopy obscuring the top of the image. The tree bears a single ripe fruit. Under the tree, her face obscured by the single apple, is a ghost-like girl with flowering apple branches twined in her hair.

T.R. Steele 🍂@authortrsteele.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Had a harrowing day transporting a Swainson's thrush (most likely been injured in a window collision) from a busy city park to a wildlife rehab centre. I wish them a speedy recovery, and a reminder to all to keep an eye out for injured birds during this busy migratory season!

T.R. Steele 🍂@authortrsteele.bsky.social · 3mo ago

So happy this story is now available for you to read and listen to, with narration from the amazing @jordankurella.com! Thank you so much Jordan, and thank you so much @podcastle.org for publishing this piece.

Jordan Kurella@jordankurella.com · 3mo ago

"At Death's Door" is now up for your listening habits at @podcastle.org !!! this gorgeous story, beautifully written by @authortrsteele.bsky.social was a joy to narrate! and thus completes my tour of the pods (narration division). heed the content warnings!!! podcastle.org/2026/05/13/p...

T.R. Steele 🍂@authortrsteele.bsky.social · 3mo ago

The chimney swifts have returned to my neighbourhood for the season! I'm so happy to see them again. ✨

Tales & Feathers Magazine @talesfeathers.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Hello friends, we are 🎉✨LIVE ON KICKSTARTER!! ✨🎉 WE'RE FUNDING: 🌟 T&F Year 5 💫 T&F Year 6 and, if we reach $15k: our first ever Tales & Feathers PRINT EDITION! 🎊📚‼️ Check it out below! Like, share, and back the campaign to help us bring our dreams into reality. 💚

Tales & Feathers: A Pro Slice of Life Fantasy Mag | Year 5+

Fund the next two years of our pro-rate slice of life fantasy magazine—and help us create our inaugural print edition.

kickstarter.com

parker parrella @parkparr.bsky.social · 4mo ago

fairies✨

a square landscape painting of a yellow and green forest with 5 stars lined up in an arc floating above a white light bursting from the forest floor

a square landscape painting of a orange brown and green forest with 5 stars lined up in an arc floating above a leafy forest floor

Augur Society | Augur Issue 8.3 is NOW LIVE !@augursociety.bsky.social · 3mo ago

GET READY TO SUBMIT ‼️ Augur Magazine is opening for a priority call! We're accepting submissions from anyone living within Canada who is also... - BIPOC - 2SLGBTQIA - Disabled on MAY 5TH!!! Open call for international + Canadian subs will take place this summer! Check out our subs guidelines👇

Submit to Augur Magazine

We're looking for surrealism, dream touched realism, and SFF! Now with higher pay.

augursociety.org

T.R. Steele 🍂@authortrsteele.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Salamander breeding season is here in my neck of the woods; sharing my short horror story, "Salamander Season," in a celebration of sorts...? Happy listening!