Tessera

Helen Whistberry

@whistberry.bsky.social

Pen name for an autistic/ace indie writer & digital artist, introvert, worried soul, they/she. 🚫NO A/I! Links to all my books, art, and book reviews can be found at https://www.helenwhistberry.com/

14739 Posts9846 Follower 1501 Folgt

Kara Jorgensen @authorkaraj.bsky.social · 20h ago

Also, pet tax because Katie is adorable (as is Edgar), and I love her post-radiation white snoot

Two dogs looking slightly off camera. Ok has pointy ears. The other is smaller and has a white nose with a bald spot. Both dogs are black and white

Kara Jorgensen@authorkaraj.bsky.social · 22h ago

It's been a bit since I posted Katie's GoFundMe, but I finally scheduled her 6 month post op follow-up, which involves at least a check up and x-rays (not sure about bloodwork), but last time, the visit was close to $1000 with all three. Shares are always appreciated 💜🐾

The Hermit of Everything @hermiteveryday.bsky.social · 5h ago

The morning visitor. ✨

A raccoon looks at the camera. Grass in the foreground and a wood pile behind.

rubylith @rubylith-art.bsky.social · yesterday

Day 4 - Common Bronzewing #AvianAugust #AvianAugust2026 #BirdArt

Marker drawing of a common bronzewing, a species of pigeon found in Australia. She is perched on a tree branch with leaves cascading behind her.

Emily Tull SGFA @artbyemilytull.bsky.social · 4h ago

Willow Wednesday anyone? "Willow Tits" thread painting - hand embroidery artwork www.emilytull.co.uk/store/p96/wi... #Birds #Embroidery #WildlifeArt #art

A long portrait mode rectangular shaped artwork.
A light beige fabric background with two black velour branches which diagonally cross over on the upper half of the artwork. On each branch is a hand embroidered Willow Tit. On the bottom edge is a black velour tree stump with a hand embroidered willow tit.

Steph 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ | Editor 🦦✍️@ottersediting.com · 3h ago

Reposting so more can see! I added a few more that replied/followed me after this 😂

Steph 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ | Editor 🦦✍️@ottersediting.com · 15h ago

Okay, I got started on a moderation list for all the beta reader bots. Mutuals, feel free to share and let me know when you see something!

Holly Lyn Walrath @hollylynwalrath.bsky.social · 17h ago

There is a lengthy pro-AI screed in the latest HWA newsletter and it is . . . a mood.

The real enemy isn’t your buddy who is using AI to make a book cover; the enemy is the Powers-That-Be who thrive on dividing everyone, especially in the United States. Look at how divided everyone in the US got over politics over the past ten years, and it’s now trickled to other countries. No more, are you a fellow human? Nope, it’s who did you vote for? Well, then you must be a hateful asshole. Instant block.

But who’s the asshole?

Every week, the gatekeepers of horror writers have some new witch hunt. Sometimes it’s a good thing to suss out shitty publishers, editors, and agents. Yet, not ALL shitty ones are sussed out because, you know, there are consequences to getting all the shitty people shut down. Some people still like the opportunities to get published or represented even if it means going with the most despicable people because the gatekeepers didn’t get them shut down, or sometimes, don’t even notice. It all depends on who is buttering the toast.

The past few weeks have been so tedious with all the gatekeepers out in full force. They are whipping people up into a frenzy, and more division is happening when it comes to AI. Of course, the irony is that the gatekeepers are denouncing AI, yet they are doing it on Facebook, which uses AI. They are likely typing their pretentious screeds on their phones, which also use AI. They likely sell their books on Amazon, which also uses AI.

AI is here. It’s been coming since I was typing on a manual typewriter. You can let the robots win by becoming less human by cutting out all your friends, fans, family, and readers because they dared to try out AI, or you can be a human being and let people explore and figure things out for themselves.

Hollywood is already embracing AI.

Many companies use AI.

AI can be useful for tedious tasks such as creating listings on eBay or Poshmark. Do you shop or sell on those platforms? They totally use AI now, so you’d better boycott them too.

I went to the AI panel at Stokercon, and of course, most of the panelists were vehemently anti-AI. An audience member stood up and pointed out that they learned about the panel because they saw it on Sched, which is the app that the HWA/Stokercon uses, and THAT is AI. Doesn’t HWA have an anti-AI stance? Oh, but of course, THAT is okay; it’s all the other AI stuff that isn’t.

Mike Z @mikez.bsky.social · 6h ago

Oh, what a tangled web she wove. #AuGhost

A painting of a ghostly woman whose arms and dress trail off into spiderwebs.

Helen Whistberry @whistberry.bsky.social · 5h ago

Happy 5th day of #AuGhost! Today's theme for our garden ghosts is #wet #AuGhost 2026

Digital painting of a white koi fish with black and orange spots swimming between green lily pads and pink lotus blossoms while 3 tiny ghosts look on in awe.

Katie Fuller @katiefullerart.bsky.social · 22h ago

Apparently it’s #OwlAppreciationDay today, so here’s a handmade short-eared owl linocut print. 👉 katiefullerart.etsy.com/listing/1307...

Linocut print of short-eared owl in black ink on yellow handmade paper

Steven Strang @alchemicalrat.bsky.social · 20h ago

Marking #InternationalOwlAwarenessDay with the Queen of Owls from #Hookland

Small framed painting in the style of a medieval icon. It shows a crowned owl perched on a crescent moon in a starry sky. Three drops of blood are falling from the owl’s talons.

Lu @rendernev.bsky.social · 20h ago

These are ghost pears. #AuGhost

My Graphite drawing of three pears with faces.

Helen Whistberry @whistberry.bsky.social · yesterday

For today's #AuGhost theme of #wing, our garden ghosts are watching a beautiful butterfly in awe. (This one is a coloring page, so feel free to download and color in for fun!) #AuGhost2026

Black and white line drawing of a large swallowtail butterfly perched on a fantastical-looking coneflower while four small ghosts look on with surprised expressions on their faces

Jen C Mars @jencmars.bsky.social · yesterday

Eastern screech owl Mixed media of watercolor, pencils and gouache on 13x19" hotpress paper For #OwlAwarenessDay

Watercolor and pencil illustration of a red screech owl peering out of a tree cavity. The owl has orange and brown feathers with soft white on its face, chest and stomach. Its eyes are bright green. The cavity is surrounded by curving bark, with a color sphinx moth in the foreground, a cryptic colored crab spider and beetle hiding in the upper right.

CassWArt 🌴@casswart.bsky.social · yesterday

Exciting news! 🎉 #SaveTheVaquita Week will be October 11th-17th! 🌊 📜 Streamer applications are now open! There are more ways to get involved this year, you do not need to be a streamer to help! Check out the savethevaquitas.carrd.co link for more! #Conservation #WildlifeArt #NatureArt #Vaquita

the 2025 Save the Vaquita Post card print used to raise awareness and funds to help protect and save the Vaquita.

Kasey Snow@kaseysnow.bsky.social · 2d ago

Sign ups are live now until August 24th for Save the Vaquita Week 2026! If you are a Twitch streamer who wants to be involved, sign up here: savethevaquitas.carrd.co I'm chatting about it live today from 5PM-7PM MT (UTC -6) on Twitch.tv/KaseySnowArt if you wanna know more! #SaveTheVaquita #Vaquita

Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · yesterday

Echinopsis cactus putting on a show in my backyard this morning 🌵

A photo of a potted cactus mostly obscured by its five star-like flowers, pure white with light yellow throats.

Heknitt @heknitt.bsky.social · yesterday

Alert! I made another one! He’s looking for a new home! 🖤 #whimsical #cottagecore #cottageaesthetic #frog

Tenebrous Press @tenebrouspress.bsky.social · yesterday

🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈So far it's evading notice on all the MOST ANTICIPATED HORROR OF THE FALL lists, but we assure you: there's a cosmic storm brewing that you'll want on your radar. The successor to the beloved YOUR BODY IS NOT YOUR BODY has entered local airspace. PERSISTENT HORRORS DEMAND PERSISTENT REBELLION⬇️

cover art by Mx Morgan G Robles featuring a swan alighting on a cosmic sea, the sky pink blue and white behind it.

Read Indie Fantasy.com @blog.readindiefantasy.com · 24h ago

Are you a self-published/indie SFFH author with a new book release coming up or are you launching a crowdfund? We can feature it in our new monthly release round-ups from September onwards! Just fill out this form: www.readindiefantasy.com/new-releases/

Aled Thompson @aledthompson.bsky.social · 24h ago

Miniature Birds Day 18 - Eurasian blue tit (or 'titw tomos las' as we say in Welsh)

A blue bird with a yellow belly and a white face with a black mask

Wynn @oddlywynn.bsky.social · 3d ago

#AuGhost #AuGhost2026 Day 2 - prompt dark (and light!) Today's ghost admires their new lamp. 🐟🪼🐋

Illustration of a ghost and a black cat sitting around a rotating aquarium lamp on the floor. The lamp looks like a blue globe with sea creatures on it, creating fish shapes on the walls.

Wynn @oddlywynn.bsky.social · 2d ago

#AuGhost #AuGhost2026 Day 3 - prompts red and fancy! Today's ghost is trying on a new cape.

Illustration of a ghost, excitedly showing off the cape they're wearing. It's black outside, red inside, with a bat brooch at the neck for closure. They stand beside an open coffin from where a black cat watches them. And peering over the top is a mysterious creature of just two eyes and hands holding a candelabra.

Cri 🕊🐝🐜📝🎭⚽😷@crawlieswithcri.bsky.social · 2d ago

Spicy Kitty! They're out grabbing an evening snack (8:30 p.m.) - no dogs will be going out this evening!! I took pics from 2nd floor balcony! Stealth mode, even at a distance! To not startle the skunk! #mammals #becurious

photo of a skunk looking for food on gravely substrate. the view is looking down at the skunk from an angle.

Emily Jane Foster @emilyjaneart.bsky.social · yesterday

Day 4 of #RepostAGhost. 👻 "The Black Ghost Knife Fish (Apteronotus albifrons) is said to be a vessel for the ghosts of the recently departed in South American folklore". #AuGHOST #AuGHOST2026 #B&Wart #ghost #folklore ✒️

A bookmark sized black and white ink illustration of a ghost pointing at a black ghost knife fish. A baited lure is just visible in the water. The ghost has a speech bubble that reads "The Black Ghost Knife Fish (Apteronotus albifrons) is said to be a vessel for the ghosts of the recently departed in South American folklore". Art by Emily Jane Foster.

Emily Jane Foster@emilyjaneart.bsky.social · 2d ago

Day 3 of #RepostAGhost A lil ghost entwined in bindweed. ✒️👻🌿 #AuGHOST #AuGHOST2026 #ghost #ink #B&Wart

Emily Tull SGFA @artbyemilytull.bsky.social · yesterday

Remember the Donkey I shared last week? Here is the full artwork- "Time for a well earned rest" Donkey is hand embroidered. #deckchair #WildlifeArt #AnimalArt #embroidery

A white background with a brown varnished deckchair frame facing forward. A blue and white striped fabric with a hand embroidered Donkey head on it is set in the frame.
This artwork is about the hard work these animals did giving beach rides in the UK, something that no longer happens, these Donkeys are being rested.

A photograph set low on the pebble beach at Herne Bay, Kent, UK looking towards the pier with its helter skelter and huts. In the foreground is a miniature deckchair with blue and white striped fabric with a hand embroidered Donkey head.

Tru Skies @trudieskies.readindiefantasy.com · yesterday

If you're a new writer looking to publish your book, my biggest piece of advice is to do research into publishing, no matter whether you want to go trad or self-pub. And PLEASE avoid vanity presses and hybrid publishers that ask you to pay to publish your book.

Helen Whistberry @whistberry.bsky.social · yesterday

Do you see any creatures through your window? I'm watching half a dozen tiger swallowtail butterflies and a bright red cardinal as Eastern bluebirds and American goldfinches come and go almost too rapidly to follow. A wasp is tip-tapping at the window, perhaps trying to invite me on a quest?

franz @franzanth.bsky.social · yesterday

It's August and I have 20 days left to do the #InverteFest cover lmao. Taking species suggestions, plug your favorites. The more obscure the better. Previous 5 covers are below. #Art #SciArt

Five pieces of art compiled in a single image. Each one is a dense piece featuring various different species of invertebrates.

Artwork 1: An ornate design with a jumble of various marine life messily stacked on top of each other in the middle, surrounded by a wavy border. The entire design is in contrasting red, dark blue, with bright yellow outlines.

Artwork 2: An assortment of colorful invertebrates. Some of the animals are tube shaped, others are frond shaped, frilly, shelly, a few leggy or tentacly. The edges of the image is balanced by geometric shapes, just as colorful.

Artwork 3: White drawing on black. the main figure is a wave of white, flowing from the bottom to the top composed of a slug, a worm, a jelly, and so on swimming and flying in unison. On the background are sketches of geometric patterns.

Artwork 4: Line-heavy drawing. Opabinia on the right and wavy, fern or tendril-like shapes coming out from its tail end swirling across the image made of various animal parts, with geometric shapes arranged in the background.

Artwork 5: Various patterns arranged in hard geometric shapes. Near the middle is a moth surrounded by two layers of diamond shapes, each with different geometric patterns inspired by invertebrates. Outside are various vaguely animal-shaped patterns arranged in circular and rectangular segments.

franz@franzanth.bsky.social · 9mo ago

#InverteFest season is almost here, which means it's time to submit your bug & slug art! The form closes at 100 entries. Find more info, download past art book, and submit here: invertefest.com/#artbook

announcement image that says
Have bug & slug art? Submit to #InverteFest Digital Art Book. Publishing every April, August, December.

Download previous editions & find the submission link at InverteFest.com/#Artbook

the image is decorated with artwork of various animals from various artists, featuring insects, slugs, and so on.

Dani Finn 🐙 🏳️‍⚧️ 📚@danifinnwrites.bsky.social · yesterday

Remember 9 years ago when North Carolina passed an anti-trans bathroom bill that inspired a national boycott so effective it cost them hundreds of millions in revenue?

Helen Whistberry @whistberry.bsky.social · yesterday

For today's #AuGhost theme of #wing, our garden ghosts are watching a beautiful butterfly in awe. (This one is a coloring page, so feel free to download and color in for fun!) #AuGhost2026

Helen Whistberry @whistberry.bsky.social · yesterday

Resharing a common bronzewing I drew earlier this year for today's #AvianAugust! Too beautiful of a bird not to share again. It's worth looking up images of this bird... the way the light shimmers on the colors on their wings is really something! #BirdArt