Dawn Tasaka Steffler

The rain woke me up so I walked through our Kaneohe house feeling lonely and a little frightened, yet appreciating the darkness which is so beautiful. Also, the geckos are singing outside.

Omgoodness, I see how that could happen, Max, I'm so sorry!

Miss Jasper next door doesn’t have kids since she never hooked a husband and has to work for AT&T all day saying Number Please with nobody to talk to when she gets home

Oh I loved this gossipy one so much! @jhhwriter.bsky.social in @trampset.bsky.social

Gratitude becomes complicated. Your sister is dying. Your sister has been dying. Your sister will die.

Some stories you instantly know in your heart why they win all the good things in all the good places. Congrats @maxiejanef.bsky.social in Booth

Daisy would take her... salad to the window seat in the living room to read, while Bear downed his bologna-and-mayo sandwich at the kitchen counter, pretending not to notice the graceful way Daisy’s nightgown draped over her breasts

Is it hot in here? @kathrynsilverhajo.bsky.social Ghost Parachute

She held up the new communication board. The sad image was much better than the simple frowny face on the hospital’s board. On this image, the head was tilted, the eyes dark, lamenting planets

Patience, love, empathy, reminding us we do have better selves @claudiamonpere.bsky.social Ghost Parachute

It’s so ***FUNNY*** my skin is hilarious and I laugh and scratch and scratch and laugh and I have to see what it is that is ***FUNNY*** run and laugh and cold (laugh)metal (laugh)burn (laugh)

Amazing!! @pleomorphic2.bsky.social in Ghost Parachute!

you fight me with deep breaths and meditation but I am insidious and claw my way back up through the tendrils of calm that gossamer and melt like cotton candy in water not being eaten by a raccoon

Whoa, that's some wild shit! @lumchanmfa.bsky.social in Ghost Parachute

Put a Hat on or You’ll Catch Your Death — Ghost Parachute “Daffodil,” you say to your ten-pound poodle, “are we crazy? If we get wet, will we actually melt?” You’re decked out in a weatherproof windbreaker and rain boots, an umbrella dangling from your wrist...

“No,” you say to Daffodil defiantly, “we won’t melt. I’ve never heard of it happening.”

Best ending ever! @jekwriter.bsky.social in Ghost Parachute

Cathedral — Ghost Parachute I threw the first punch this time. I’m venomous. I drink. I levitate. Yesterday it was the dishes. Today it’s the trash, all the wine bottles. Jovi’s always mad about something. I throw the bottles. W...

Now I’m actually screaming in the most sacred place: around the baby. Under the baby. Inside the baby’s head for ten, twenty, eighty years until he is an old man and closes his eyes for the last time because that kind of trauma stains.

Terrific micro @jennystalter.bsky.social! Ghost Parachute

Thanks Timothy!!

You were supposed to find me, not get eaten — Ghost Parachute The whomp-whomp of a military helicopter is faint, but the handful of us nurses and doctors hear it. We un-barricade the door with hospital beds and sprint up the stairwell to the roof. Minutes later,...

New, fun story up in Ghost Parachute. I conjured memories of watching Korean zombie movies with my niece for this one! Thanks @brettpribble.bsky.social for giving this the perfect home, and to my friend @amymarques.bsky.social for creating perfect, quirky collage art even when she was on vacation.

You were supposed to find me, not get eaten — Ghost Parachute The whomp-whomp of a military helicopter is faint, but the handful of us nurses and doctors hear it. We un-barricade the door with hospital beds and sprint up the stairwell to the roof. Minutes later,...

@dawnsteffler.bsky.social in GP with this hilariously scary piece
“I feel like I should be curled up with you in bed, watching all the gore through a criss-cross of my fingers.”

ghostparachute.com/issue/july-2...

Sumitra, thank you so much for reading and sharing my silly zombie story! 🧟🏥🩸

You were supposed to find me, not get eaten — Ghost Parachute The whomp-whomp of a military helicopter is faint, but the handful of us nurses and doctors hear it. We un-barricade the door with hospital beds and sprint up the stairwell to the roof. Minutes later,...

“In Korean zombie movies, the Hot Boyfriend drives his (ridiculous) muscle car like it’s a tank.”

@dawnsteffler.bsky.social in Ghost Parachute

Suzanne, thank you so much for reading and sharing my silly zombie story! 🧟🏥🩸

Congrats Ani!!

a congratulations sign with hearts and stars ALT: a congratulations sign with hearts and stars

Many congratulations to all 5 of our 30th Award winners— 1st Alison Powell, 2nd Joseph Randolph, 3rd Sharon Telfer & highly commended Michelle Wright & Christine H Chen selected by judge Marie Gethins, bathflashfictionaward.com

Submissions open TOMORROW!

Micro Fiction, Micro CNF—(at least) one space always reserved for a new writer!

Plus: Chapbook Reviews. 🐈‍⬛📚

Free subs, paying market. First issue Sept 1!

Aw I love that story Cole! CONGRATS!!

A zillion congratulations to @pleomorphic2.bsky.social for her two pieces on the @wigleaf.bsky.social long list, including one from our fourth issue! Check out Sumitra’s piece and the rest of the issue here:

epistemiclit.com/past-issues/...

Congrats Eileen!

The @Wigleaf.bsky.social Top 50 2025 & the Longlist are up! A sincere thank you to our Guest Selecting Editor @samanito.bsky.social‬ & to our Readers & Associate Series Editors! Let’s celebrate the writers, readers, & journals in our literary community—all for the love: wigleaf.com!

Thank you Shome!!

Things about mainstream publishing I wish more people knew:

1) The NY Times Bestseller List is a marketing list, not an accurate list of the best-selling books for that period.

🧵

TGLR: The Next Empty Cup by Myna Chang The Good Life Review presents "The Next Empty Cup" by Myna Chang, Issue #19 ~ Spring 2025. Photo by Luke Chesser

It’s not the dying I’m afraid of. It’s living that scares the hell out of me. Living diminished. Living lonely.

So so so good, @mynachang.bsky.social in The Good Life Review

“She likes to cross her arms and leans a hip into the cabinet while talking to the boxy, silver appliance like it’s her nineteen-year-old son.”

Heartbreaking, lovely piece by @dawnsteffler.bsky.social.

Sabrina, thank you so much for reading and sharing!! 🍞❤️

Thank you Allison 🍞🙏

It had borrowed the eyes of my father. The animal didn’t leave until I recognized him. Hiya dad, I said, and he trotted away. Satisfied. It was the only time I recognized someone who wasn’t fully in his form.

This is just gorgeous @sabrinahicks.bsky.social @FracturedLit