Monsters and Maidens Publishing
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monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
Monsters and Maidens Publishing
@monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
110 followers 73 following 250 posts
Independent published books from a queer and neurodivergent author. Visit us at www.monstersandmaidenspublishing.com
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monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
t r a p p e d
My absolute gremlin of an elderly long haired chihuahua mix, wedged between two pillows on the couch
November 16, 2025 at 5:35 AM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
For my #BookBazaar25 project, HONEYCOMB HEART, I wanted to create a set of polaroid-style miniature prints... soft little scenes to match the gentle #sapphic #romantasy, animal-themed vibe. So I made the originals literally soft, with felt and embroidery floss!
#IndieAuthor #booksky
A sewn and embroidered felt picture of an octopus hanging out in a fountain, enjoying a treat. A smaller, polaroid-style version of the same picture is placed on top
November 16, 2025 at 4:23 AM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
Trying out something a little different… I had an idea for a fun reward for Honeycomb Heart’s #BookBazaar25 campaign and just had to get started. Here’s hoping I’ll have a fun final result to share with y’all soon!
#queerwriters #crafting #embroidery #sewing
Close up of embroidered felt shapes in orange, gray, and green… without spoiling too much, there’s a yellow eye with a horizontal black pupil
October 22, 2025 at 3:08 AM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
The ideal physique.
No, I will not be taking questions or critiques.
#pokemon #starmie
Mega Starmie from Pokemon Legends Z-A. A purple starfish with a red and gold jewel at its center, but bipedal, for some fucking reason
October 18, 2025 at 10:28 PM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
Graft's crowdfunding campaign just finished! If you want to know once it's published wide in a couple months, please consider following me.
#QueerWritersChat #writesky #queerwriters
Banner with a black and red maple leaf background. Foreground features the book cover for GRAFT by Madeleine Marie-Rose (a large insect-looking creature leading a horde of mutated monsters through a forest) and the following text: Book 1 in a new series Portal fantasy and sci-fi elements Found family of LGBTQ+ and neurospicy characters Mutating monsters, hostile environments, and a universe in need of saving
October 18, 2025 at 6:13 AM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
NOT AGAIN 😩
Yes, he got pets. Yes, I’m trying to finish a short story first draft today
A small black mutt resting his chin on top of my hand while I’m TRYING to type
September 30, 2025 at 10:50 PM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
EAPERESSO
Close up of a menu sign on the diorama’s back wall. It lists dessert and coffee options, the latter being CAPPUCCINO and (spelling copied from sign) EAPERESSO. It also claims cheese cake is 25 calories less than carrot cake, which is an entirely different flavor of wrong
September 26, 2025 at 6:48 AM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
When you want a pastry but the bakery isn’t ready for business yet 😔
#crafting #miniatures
Kit is Becka’s Baking House from Rolife. I’ve made some of their book nooks and wanted to try something a little different
In progress miniature diorama kit on a table. There are two walls and a floor but the diorama room is otherwise empty and mostly bare
September 26, 2025 at 6:48 AM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
There are three and a half days left for the free short story bundle I'm participating in on itch! Great chance to sample work by 20 different authors, including quite a few #BookBazaar25 participants!
itch.io/b/3272/free-...
#writesky 📚🪐 #queerwriters #shortstories
Majority red and orange image with a flowers growing out of lit matchsticks. Black text reads “The First Familiar” and “A Honeycomb Heart Prequel Short Story, Madeleine Marie-Rose.” Text over top reads “Free Short Story Bundle. September 15th-22nd” and “20+ Stories”.
September 20, 2025 at 2:00 AM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
Chonky new friend 🥹🐝
Got inked at Lilith Tattoo in Seattle by Jude today. They did such a great job! Can’t believe how fuzzy this little guy looks #tattoo
Fresh tattoo of a fuzzy round bee
September 18, 2025 at 3:47 AM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
Sleepy boyssss
Fluffy black mutt passed out on his side Westie asleep on a couch with his head cushioned against a pillow
September 16, 2025 at 5:53 PM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
Get that monster tree, Ella! You'll come across far worse soon enough!
#WIPSnips #writesky
Screenshot reads: The branches around me tightened, squeezing my legs and torso. My unnatural ability kicked in, my body changing to resist the tree’s attempt to crush me. I screamed, hating not just the pain but the sensation of muscle and bone simultaneously being forced inward and growing out. The seams in my sleeves popped and then I was tearing at the branches with strengthened arms.
September 9, 2025 at 1:17 AM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
It's been fun coming up with different environments for former homebodies Frieda and Vivian to explore in Honeycomb Heart! Life-long meadowlands resident and involuntary traveler Vivian is especially out of her depth.
#WIPSnips #Writesky
Screenshot reads: Hex’s mountain range was, to Vivian’s understanding, quite short compared to the behemoths of stone found elsewhere in the world, but even following the road to ascend partway up one of its lesser peaks still gave her an uneasy feeling like she was no longer on the same plane of existence as everything else she knew. The air was clean and cold, and seemed to lend her surroundings a strange crispness. Here, as with nowhere else she had ever been, did everything feel defined by harsh angles, even the individual blades of grass and wildflowers that grew in abundance.
September 9, 2025 at 1:14 AM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
Ella from Graft catches up with her parents before THE HORRORS occur. Despite her parents being the ones on the alien-spotting road trip, it's not them who'll be having a close encounter with unknown life forms...

#WIPSnips #queerwriters
Screenshot reads: How’s Nevada? See any aliens yet?” My parents had already hit up UFO ranch in Utah as the first big landmark of their road trip. She laughed. “No, but if we’d stayed out in the sun for any longer today we might have hallucinated we did.” “If you guys don’t come back with a bunch of Area 51 bumper stickers on the car, I’ll be disappointed.” “We don’t have much bumper space left, but we’ll do our best. For now we’re stocking up on postcards. Your dad’s planning to draw a bunch of nonsense symbols on the back instead of words and then mail them to your grandfather to bug him,” she said with a sigh. “Because they already get along so well.” I heard my dad’s voice in the background, muffled, but sounding an awful lot like “he won’t know they’re from me!” “Who else?” Mom said dryly. “Anyway, you wouldn’t believe the landscape out here. Parts of it are dusty, but it smells so… clean? It’s hard to describe, but I think you’d like it. There’s more life than you’d think, you just have to work to find it. We’ve seen three lizards today but I imagine you’d have found ten times that.” “Lizards aren’t my animal-spotting specialty,” I said. “You could diversify.”
September 7, 2025 at 2:19 AM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
Recent tarot card draw for a short Honeycomb Heart story I’m working on. Needed ideas for how two characters should interact, wound up making them as standoffish as possible 😂
Deck is the Loaf Tarot! It’s all adorable animals so I use it for Honeycomb Heart.
#writesky #queerwriters #tarot
9 of Wands from the Loaf Tarot, showing a fennec fox in the desert
September 5, 2025 at 4:06 PM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
And finally... Honeycomb Heart is a sapphic romance! On the continent of Hex, familiars share an emotional bond with their human, so Koi can tell when Frieda's feeling romantic and out her with an ADORING PINK (but it was already obvious anyway, Frieda).
Pantone's Tea Rose, a medium blush pink
September 4, 2025 at 2:43 AM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
Obviously I had to seek out a DISGUSTED CHARTREUSE. As much as Koi likes to involve herself in human things, she's still an octopus, with an octopus sense of taste (did you know they taste with chemo-tactile receptors on their arms?) Also, she has *standards.*
Pantone's Lime Punch, a vibrant yellow-tinged green
September 4, 2025 at 2:43 AM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
When she's worked up in a *bad* way, we have DISPLEASED RED. Koi is normally orange, but her entire body will shift to this shade if she really starts fuming, just like a human's face going red with anger. Careful! She has a sharp beak, strong grip, and *will* squirt water at you!
Pantone's Syrah, a shade of dark red
September 4, 2025 at 2:43 AM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
In contrast, here's EXCITED YELLOW. This color flashes in stripes over Koi's body when she's worked up (in a good way). It can be a little difficult to look at; think being around a young kid screaming in excitement. She's got eight whole arms to wiggle and wave!
Pantone's Primrose Yellow, a bright buttery yellow
September 4, 2025 at 2:43 AM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
Next up is LANGUID BLUE. She's naturally curious and wants to be involved in her human's activities, but also isn't afraid to go "hey this is boring and you should move on to something I'd enjoy more." Frieda, bless her heart, often indulges her.
Pantone's Blue Fog, a stormy gray-blue
September 4, 2025 at 2:43 AM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
It says a lot about Koi that the first color I picked out is what I call SCHEMING PURPLE. Koi can be quite mischievous. The tips of her tentacles change to this color and knot together when she's planning something behind Frieda's back - think supervillain rubbing hands together in evil delight.
Pantone's Magenta Lacquer, a vibrant warm-toned mid purple
September 4, 2025 at 2:43 AM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
One of my favorite parts of working on Honeycomb Heart is imagining this community of humans and their animal familiars. What would they be like to have as neighbors?

Erwin is the "scary" old man from your childhood who, as you get older, you remember more kindly.

#WIPSnips #queerwriters
Screenshot reads: The line of telephone poles that had marched their way across the country here to the heartland and then stopped like a weary traveler were, as usual, occupied by old Ms. Merrill’s vulture. His bald-looking head presiding over town was a sight Vivian had grown up with. He’d scared her when she was young, until Ms. Merrill, who had a formidable presence herself, found out she and Masha were scared and had called him down so they could feed him dried jerky. A couple times early in their life here, Vivian or Masha had gone out to play in the meadows and gotten tired and lost; Erwin the vulture had been the first to find them, soaring like a dark omen over them, followed at length by his human, her cane and boots beating against the ground as she came to take them back to their grandmother. Vivian had always expected to get yelled at, but the solemn old woman had never done so. She’d known their story. Everyone here did.
September 3, 2025 at 2:28 AM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
Andras loves *all* his plant children, even (especially?) the violent ones...
Little snippet from Graft!
#WIPSnips #queerwriters #amwriting #sff
Screenshot reads: “Excuse me? Could you come over here?” they shouted. I swallowed my discomfort. This was the other person I’d seen before collapsing. I walked over to a flat area between the gigantic roots of a yellow-leafed tree. The strangest plants I’d seen so far grew there. Some resembled modern art than anything living, jarring stripes and harsh angles appearing out of place next to the dirt and craggy bark. There was a complicated perfume in the air, too confusing to analyze. The stranger was near the back, by the biggest plants. He was a few inches taller than me, and had dark brown skin and eyes. His short curly hair was almost black, the color of peat soil. He looked softer than Veras, rounder with shorter, rectangular wings. There appeared to be a thick layer of rich green moss growing on them. He smiled as I walked up, offering me his hand. “Hello there,” he said. “I’m Andras. What’s your name?” I said nothing, my brain busy catching up with my eyes. Andras’s other arm was stuck up to the elbow in a plant like a giant Venus flytrap.
September 1, 2025 at 10:50 PM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
Happy to have her here! She’s in good company
Same picture of a sea snail mermaid next to a bee themed shadow box and a poster describing various krakens
August 31, 2025 at 5:00 AM
monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
Hung up some new art this week… had to put this mermaid by @ovaettr.gay near my writing desk for inspiration! She’s so gorgeous
Framed painting of an orange and yellow mermaid with a snail shell underwater
August 31, 2025 at 4:12 AM