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Kara Moon (the artist formerly known as Hiria Dunning)
@karamoonauthor.com
3.4K followers 2.4K following 7.8K posts
Kara Moon (she/her/they/them)
Totally not the R18+ pseudonym of @hiriadunning.com I swear!
Queer author and poet from Aotearoa NZ
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karamoonauthor.com
Kara Moon (the artist formerly known as Hiria Dunning) @karamoonauthor.com · 15d
Temporary pin:
I've posted so much about my adult spicy fiction here, so it's about time I change this account to rep for my pseudonym, and make a clean account for my mainstream persona. If you'd rather follow her and drop me, check out @hiriadunning.com
Or follow both, if you're into that 😉
Reposted by Kara Moon (the artist formerly known as Hiria Dunning)
professoremily.bsky.social
#SaturdaySnippet #writingcommunity #writesky

I did A LOT of writing for #Tenement last week! It does need improvement because it's the first vomited out draft, but I'm still quite happy with it.

Should I share? I shouldn't. It's ALL spoilers. But maybe...?

(I'm gonna regret this 😅)
It was true. With immense relief, I searched inside me and found I was still Noah. But now I was Noah, Awake. For the first time in my life. “We have to get out of here,” I said.
November 22, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Reposted by Kara Moon (the artist formerly known as Hiria Dunning)
sayaashrah.bsky.social
The ice queen's heart is beginning to melt 👀

“So, what tattoo would you like?”
“A flower.”
“A… flower?” Out of all the things Askaly had expected to hear, a simple, delicate flower had *not* been among them.

#ChroniclesOfTheRealms #BattlemageAskaly
shadowsparkpub.bsky.social Shadow Spark Publishing @shadowsparkpub.bsky.social · 9h
We made it to Saturday, friends! Did you do any writing this last week? If you did, share a short line from your recent writing sessions. Are you happy with it? Do you already have plans to improve it?

#WritingCommunity #BookSky #WriteSky #SaturdaySnippet #indiepub #selfpub #writers #snippet 🪐📚💙
Saturday Snippet Orange and pink gradient scroll
November 22, 2025 at 11:04 PM
karamoonauthor.com
#SaturdaySnippet from Before Queens and Saints ⚓️💜🕊 current first draft

When revisiting this line in revisions, I imagine I'll be seeking ways to make it even more mortifying for poor Geni 😅
Geni blushed, and raised a hand to her chest. "Sorry, are you asking me -" she looked around them both, at the Saints gazing down from the frescoes on the wall, to the door of the chapel still hanging ever-so-slightly ajar "- if I've been masturbating?"
November 22, 2025 at 9:03 PM
karamoonauthor.com
#queerwriters check in:
Still recovering from the bronchitis. And meanwhile, still been keeping up with the bare minimum of stuff (running a fundraiser, and putting down some fresh words every day). Putting off other things until I'm well again (or the deadlines mean I have to pick them up...)
amaralynn.bsky.social AmaraJLynn💎🌌🌺BACK NOW: GEMS & STAR FLOWERS! @amaralynn.bsky.social · 10h
#queerwriters Saturday: Check in Day!

How was your week? Did you accomplish what you set out to do?

Share your progress, encourage, cheer, and support others!

#WritingCommunity #lgbtqwriters
Background: white background with colored pencils along the bottom half. Text: #Queerwriters Check in day! How was your week? Monday, Saturday, Sunday All LGBTQIAP writers welcome
November 22, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Reposted by Kara Moon (the artist formerly known as Hiria Dunning)
professoremily.bsky.social
#Writevember Nov 22

Well I started out this month intending to work on #Charagma, & wrote about 25K words!

... Then my muse decided we needed to write #Tenement instead - 11K words! 😅

Unfortunately all the Tenement bits are SPOILERS, so here's the last bit I wrote from Charagma instead:
“Blake,” he repeated, then gave an odd humorless chuckle. “Sorry—I know it must be a common name, so this is probably silly. But... you’re not...?” He cleared his throat. “You wouldn’t happen to be related to the Shepherd Elisgood Blake? The one they called Twoholder?” Ah, so that was it. Mem should have guessed. Of course he’d already heard of her father. Everyone had heard of her father. It must have been quite a shock to realize the girl you’d been getting to know all night was the daughter of a celebrity. “He’s... my father, actually,” she said reluctantly. When she saw the shadow in Light’s expression grow darker, she started to panic. “But it really isn’t anything to make a fuss about. He’s a completely normal person, I swear. And I’m sure he’d like you very much.” Light didn’t say anything for a few moments, which only made her panic worse. He stared at the ground, his thoughts completely unreadable. She waited anxiously for him to speak—to tell her it was fine, to smile again. When he didn’t, she asked in a burst, “You still want to meet later today, don’t you?” The question shook Light out of wherever his mind had gone. He looked up at her again. Smiled, just like she’d hoped he would. But there was a trace of falseness in it now that she didn’t understand. “Of course,” he said. “I’ll see you there later.” “You didn’t tell me your last name either,” she pointed out as he began to turn away. He glanced back. “Bradstreet. Light Bradstreet. Good night, Mem.” Then he strode off down the street at a brisk pace, vanishing into the other shadows. Mem lingered on the threshold, watching even long after he was gone from her sight, a faint quake of dark premonition shaking the foundation of her soul.
November 22, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Reposted by Kara Moon (the artist formerly known as Hiria Dunning)
gunsmile.bsky.social
I passed 20k words the other day! I'm not sure I'll be able to reach my goal of 30k since I'm going out of town for Thanksgiving this year, but I'll try to get as close to it as possible.

Here's a snip from the latest chapter I'm working on. #Writevember
Before Lex could react, Daemrin planted himself between her and the Belenosi men, his back to her. In his raised right hand was a pistol. When had he drawn that? “Hand her over at once, scoundrel!” Hendry demanded. Peeking around Daemrin’s broad shoulders, she glimpsed her uncle’s snarl of disgust. “Or be charged with kidnapping a noblewoman of House Aden!” So much for secrecy. Katorgans worked for the highest bidder, and her measly four hundred credits were dust and ash compared to her family’s funds. She had no doubt Daemrin would hand her over for a satisfactory sum, just like he and Stavro had done with the arsonist, Caiseal Gillain. She and Talna would return to Dun Crunath in the escort of armed guards. While Lex might live to see another day, she couldn’t say the same for Talna. Everything since their flight from the palace would be for naught. But Daemrin did not budge. “Lex,” he said, his voice low, his tone unreadable. Her stomach twisted. Cautiously, she looked up at him, but he was staring down the soldiers. From her angle, all she could see was the back of his head, his ear, and a sliver of his cheek. “Daemrin?” “Do you want to go with them?” “No.” The answer rushed out of her before she could give it thought, desperate, urgent. She grabbed his free arm. “Take me away. Please.” He made a small, amused sound, then raised his voice to a shout. “You know,” he said to Hendry, “that’s a really interesting proposition, but I got a better one: how about you suck my dick!” Daemrin fired.
November 22, 2025 at 1:16 PM
karamoonauthor.com
#writevember
I'm tracking slightly ahead of the word count goal, despite health and other things conspiring to stop me. Not sure if I will finish the whole draft by the end of the month, but it won't be much longer, I'm sure.

Bonus: snippet from Before Queens and Saints ⚓️💜🕊
"Can you do any more?" he asked, still bouncing on his hindquarters. "Just making and lighting the candles for now. But in time, I will be able to help very sick and hurt people recover rapidly. I'll be able to help people even more than I could when I was an ordinary doctor." "Did you always know you were magical?" Sophia asked her, eyes large and darkly serious. Geni squeezed her closer. "Actually, no. When they tested me at school as a child, I failed. So to learn I am magical now is a great surprise." "And to think," Timon started, "if you had stayed being an ordinary doctor, you might never have known you can do MAGIC!" Geni could have kissed him, and she did, grabbing him down from his little victory dance on the couch to kiss the top of his head. Yes, Timon: if she had allowed herself to remain an unhappy drudge, she never would have known. She couldn't have put it any better, and in front of his father too. How sweet the petty revenge. Again, she looked heavenwards and hoped she wouldn't be judged too harshly for these imperfect emotions of hers.
November 22, 2025 at 5:19 AM
Reposted by Kara Moon (the artist formerly known as Hiria Dunning)
faithfalkner.com
"I can't ask anything of the people I love! I must show them grace and charity. I can't take anything for myself! I have to prove myself different a thousand times over!" — Captain Ashlee Rinn Jensdottir
November 22, 2025 at 3:59 AM
karamoonauthor.com
#Lovember
In the case of Geni and Kallista, the taste of cherries, or more specifically cherry liqueur, holds special significance and is irrevocably tied to falling in love 🍒
isaacxisaac.bsky.social Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 23h
Today's #Lovember #WritingPrompt for the #WriteSky #WritingCommunity, courtesy of my partner who always has better ideas than I do:

What does love taste, smell, or feel like to your character(s)?
November 22, 2025 at 3:58 AM
karamoonauthor.com
"Give" from Before Queens and Saints ⚓️💜🕊 #sapphiclineshare

Fresh off the fingertips today, in first draft
"Thank you," she finally whispered, to what was now only a pale outline of the other woman in the dark room.  "We can leave it there, if that's all you want." Geni sat up. "No. No, I want to return the favour. Please, let me?" Because that was part of the equation too: not just being wanted, or being allowed to imagine she was wanted on a level, as much as Zeta could give her; but to want her too, and Geni did. She wanted to touch her, drive her to the brink, see her go over the edge.
November 22, 2025 at 3:55 AM
Reposted by Kara Moon (the artist formerly known as Hiria Dunning)
leahbauerwrites.bsky.social
#SapphicLineShare for "give"

#WritingPrompt #WritingCommunity #QueerWriters #WriteSky #BookSky
An excerpt from my Be Gay Do Crimes WIP: The full intensity of Melirin’s focus on her is electrifying, and it’s so fucking hot Ness has to concentrate hard not to stumble. Not that anyone would blame her if she did. Melirin is breathtaking with a sword in her hands, her white shirt clinging to her muscles, and her black braid whipping through the air when she spins away. “Ready to give up?” Melirin asks, toying with her by hovering just out of reach. “Aww, if you’re too tired to keep going, you can admit it. I thought you’d have more stamina, but—”
November 21, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Reposted by Kara Moon (the artist formerly known as Hiria Dunning)
licoricemint.bsky.social
#SapphicLineShare #lesficfri #licoriceandmint #QueerWriters #sapphic #lesfic #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

From One Bad Tuesday: Chapter 9 - You Pull Back the Curtain ( In Progress)

archiveofourown.org/series/3436765
Now she had a fierce, long mane of white hair sheared into a mohawk, still sporting the half-royal purple color that Vola helped her paint in. She was strong and revitalized. Given new purpose and knowledge to rebuild her life as a healer. No longer the awkward wannabe punk scared that the Silks were about to abandon her. Vola heard what people called her when they thought Nat wasn’t listening. The Angel of the Silks. Still rail-thin though. Thinner than last month. With as much as she ate, that shouldn’t be the case. Her lavender skin was ashened and not as vibrant as it used to be. It was as if something was draining her vitality. Burning her out in a whole new way. Another question for later. Vola chided herself.
November 21, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Reposted by Kara Moon (the artist formerly known as Hiria Dunning)
ninafairweather.com
#SapphicLineShare for 21 Nov

The lieutenant noticeably slowed her breathing. "Of course, doctor. You'll forgive me if I don’t get up?" The ghost of a grin played at her lips and her cheeks turned pink. "Could you... please let sergeant Mizra in unit repair know that I'm here when you get a chance?"
catarinreads.bsky.social Catarin L. @catarinreads.bsky.social · 15d
Sorry, #lesfic friends! This is very late, I've had a rough start and end to November and October. #SapphicLineShare is back, baby! This month means different things to all of my friends and family in different parts of the world, hopefully these prompts help you show what it means to you 🌈📚
November 21, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Reposted by Kara Moon (the artist formerly known as Hiria Dunning)
elenavbarden.bsky.social
#sapphiclineshare #lesfic #sapphic #wlwbooks.

Two Lies and the Truth Between Them.

When suddenly the girl you are seeing tosses you her apartment keys.
November 21, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Reposted by Kara Moon (the artist formerly known as Hiria Dunning)
specficnz.bsky.social
Congratulations to SpecFicNZ member Anne Wilkins whose short stories have been accepted by Sci-Fi Shorts and by Clarkesworld!

Check out "Message Received" here: www.scifishorts.co/premium/mess...

#membersuccess #shortstorysuccess #specficnz #congrats #nzwriter
November 21, 2025 at 5:00 AM
karamoonauthor.com
#Lovember
Lol time to read me to filth

In so many things I write there is a dead or dying father. They aren't always inspired by my dad... but they're not NOT inspired by my dad... each of them carries a different little piece of him in one way or another.
isaacxisaac.bsky.social Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 2d
Today's random #Lovember #WritingPrompt for the #WriteSky #WritingCommunity:

Have you memorialized a loved one in your fiction? Or used them as inspiration or inserted a reference to someone from your life whom you love somewhere in your work?
November 20, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Reposted by Kara Moon (the artist formerly known as Hiria Dunning)
woodenvelt.bsky.social
Been noodling on these for a while and I'm finally mostly satisfied with it. Working on the nighttime gods next.

#OC #Art #Characters #WritingCommunity
A digital drawing of five priests for various gods in the world of Fenholt, created by author Samantha Breaux. From left to right, a woman in white and yellow robes with a holy symbol of a hand with a heart in the palm that represents The Medicai, god of healing. A tall man with medium brown skin wearing read and white robes and holding a book. He is a priest of Scholas, the god of knowledge. A tan man with short brown hair wearing an orange tabard , tan pants, and boots. He has flame details on his clothes and a holy symbol that is a circle divided into quarters. He is a priest of Helidon, the sun god. A dark skinned woman in a dark green dress over a light green blouse and leggings. She has details of a holy symbol with 3 leaves and a spade and pouch hanging from her belt. She is a priestess of Rohanna the goddess of agriculture. A tall man with tan skin, a brown beard, and long brown hair. He is wearing a wide brimmed hat, a sleeveless light blue shirt, and turquoise pants that end just below the knee. He is barefoot and has nautical tattoos. He is a priest of Saltbeard, the God of the Sea.
November 20, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Reposted by Kara Moon (the artist formerly known as Hiria Dunning)
sayaashrah.bsky.social
From page 389 of Eternal Flame and a somewhat pissed (some might say ungrateful...) Sareena:

#ChroniclesOfTheRealms #SayaAshrah #NetherTouchedSareena #HumpDay
Cold seeped into Ashrah as soon as the flames died out. She shivered, faltering steps taking her towards Sareena. “I did it. I…” She crumbled, but in a blink, Sareena was there to catch her. “What in all the Hells did you just do?” “I…” Ashrah repeated and again could not continue. With Sareena’s help, she stood, a hand pressed to her chest. Hot, but not blazing. Same as the rest of her. No disintegrating flesh, no stinking hair, no burn marks. “I was not sure if I could do that.” “That’s the point, you shouldn’t have done that.” She met Sareena’s eyes, and the anger in them confused her. “I saved you.” “I didn’t ask you to, did I?” Sareena retorted, her voice edging on a scream. “You could’ve blown yourself up with this stunt of yours, and for what? I’d have escaped the enenra on my own. I always do.”
November 19, 2025 at 10:50 PM
karamoonauthor.com
From page 38 of Before Queens and Saints ⚓️💜🕊 draft one, a #humpday snippet
"So, this is the young Captain, is it?" Rhea boomed. "Commander," Kallista and Euphemia both corrected her at once. "Ah, no, I meant 'Captain' as in - that is what the Admiral used to call you, isn't it? I'm not remembering wrongly, am I? His youngest daughter, with the nickname of 'Captain'?" Kallista smiled, even if it made her want to cry. "That's me. How did you know?"
November 19, 2025 at 9:56 PM
karamoonauthor.com
#queerwriters line share 'remark' (catching up)
YES!!! I have been dying to share this snippet 😆💜
"I know, I know. Still... It's Saint Joelle's birthday. It's supposed to be the most romantic night of the year, and yet again I'm spending it alone." Iona whistled, a remarkably good impression of the Greater Gaudy in the hold. "Well, Commander, there's always me." Kallista rolled her eyes and nudged Iona in the ribs. "I said romance, not whatever extremely atheletic competition of outdoing each other would result if we went to bed together." Iona laughed loudly. "It's true, we would probably end up one or both of us injured."  At their laughter, the trees ahead of them shook, and two parrots burst from the crowns, long teal tail-feathers trailing behind them, sparkling in the sunshine. "Will you two fools please be quiet!" Juliana hissed from further behind them. "At this rate we're not going to catch a damn thing."
November 19, 2025 at 7:26 AM
Reposted by Kara Moon (the artist formerly known as Hiria Dunning)
faithfalkner.com
What else is a spaceship crew but family that argues semantics? #lesfic #SapphicLineShare
“Tell you what, Tea. While we loop around Tencair, I’ll let you step up here so that I can point out all the best stew and hash houses below.” “Thanks, Mom,” she replies cooly. “I’m not interested in your starchy, bland Sibylean cuisine, anyway.” “My, aren’t we the picky eater,” I smile, while putting on my best disappointed mom voice. I tsk. “Oh my dearest Tea, if only you grew up on a wind-swept volcanic rock, you’d learn to appreciate what you had available to you, and all the subtle nuances you can get out of a stew by simply changing the weight and measure of a roux.” “Fie! Nothing on this world has any flavor,” she continues, picking up the fine sport of jocular conversation. Now this is the type of lighthearted banter with her I appreciate. “My only regret in coming here at all is that you’ve only just started getting any of the best imports from the Republic. I need some spices from my homeworld. I’ve not yet found a single place serving anything with heat, like a piri nut curry.” Fletcher pipes up. “Isn’t a curry just a stew?” “No!” she insists. “It’s a slow-cooked, saucy dish of chunky meat, vegetables, and spices, served over a starch like rice. Pungent spices help you eat less and be satisfied sooner. Very colorful, flavorful, and healthy, okay? Nothing like that meat and potatoes vomit you call a stew.” “What you just described is a stew over rice,” I assert. “You don’t put stew on top of the starch, you put it in a bowl,” she retorts. “What does it matter where the starch goes on the plate?” “Presentation, Ash! And besides, you Sibbies didn't have the slightest clue about chili powder a century ago. With you lot, it’s all like, what? Dill, thyme, celery seed, and black pepper maybe? How absolutely dull.” “It’s all going down the same mouth hole. And a stew recipe can absolutely call for chili powder. ...
November 16, 2025 at 3:48 AM
karamoonauthor.com
#queerwriters goal share

NAH FR THO actually recover from this bronchitis. It's not funny anymore
amaralynn.bsky.social AmaraJLynn💎🌌🌺BACK NOW: GEMS & STAR FLOWERS! @amaralynn.bsky.social · 5d
#queerwriters Monday: Goals Day!

What do you hope to accomplish this week? Can be anything, big or small! Let us know so we can cheer you on!

#WritingCommunity #lgbtqwriters
Background: a plain background with colored pencils along the bottom half. Text: #Queerwriters What are your goals this week? Monday, Saturday, Sunday All LGBTQIAP writers welcome
November 19, 2025 at 7:19 AM
karamoonauthor.com
Fresh off the fingertips today, a #SaturdaySnippet from Before Queens and Saints ⚓️💜🕊
He laughed. "Not in this part of the Archipelago. This is where the warm winds come to nest and breed." "Is that a metaphor, or...?" "No, not at all. The spirits of the winds from Gaelle and Tianzo travel here every winter. Their nests are high up on those jagged, unclimbable mountains further inland. Every spring the new young winds are born and course across the Circle Sea, reviving the warmth of the land - it's all very true, Kallista. You may well smile, but it is." "No, I'm not disbelieving you, 'One, I just think it sounds very pretty. What do they look like?" "Rare is a mortal sighting of a wind spirit, but they're real, very real. Ask the parrots in the hold." "Maybe I shall." "You laugh! You're not a full-blooded mainlander like my brother here," he said, clapping Doctor Ambrosios on the shoulder. For his part, the Doctor smiled tipsily. "Your tīpuna told these stories too, Kallista. You should know them, and respect them."
November 16, 2025 at 4:09 AM
Reposted by Kara Moon (the artist formerly known as Hiria Dunning)
professoremily.bsky.social
#Lovember

Mireia loves her hometown Habuuket, where her family lives. And she absolutely does feel loved back, both by her family and the sea. It is her comfort place she retreats to whenever she's overwhelmed by life.

Kena never had a place he felt loved growing up. He made a garden that he 1/2
isaacxisaac.bsky.social Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 7d
Today's random #Lovember #WritingPrompt for the #WriteSky #WritingCommunity:

What's a place that your character loves?
Do they feel loved back?
November 16, 2025 at 3:49 AM
karamoonauthor.com
When you catapult from begrudging roommate to bff so fast that you're basically family now 😅
#sapphiclineshare from Before Queens and Saints
Kallista did not say any of this. Instead she asked, "You've been assigned to the Zakynthos too, right?" "Āe, Commander." Kallista took her turn to grin with her chin jutting in that defiant Island style. Iona's surprised and delighted intake of breath was recognition enough for now. Kallista slapped her upper arm. "Good. I expect you to be on your best behaviour..." She made sure to catch Iona's eye directly as she added, "Cuz." "Ehhhhh," Iona crooned with an upwards inflection, then tipped the last of her rum into her smiling mouth. Going away from her family tomorrow was going to be hard. There was every chance that Kallista would never see her father alive again. But at least she was taking family with her, in a way.  And herself. The girl who wanted to go to sea in the first place. Maybe she was out there, waiting to be reclaimed.
November 16, 2025 at 3:17 AM