Tahira Heru | Andree Koehler
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Tahira Heru | Andree Koehler
@theru.agnubloom.com
330 followers 340 following 610 posts
Andree's writer self, all on her own ... I'm also a dreamer, academic, an occasional pc gamer whose the silent member of the guild. SFWA Associate, Spec Lit Foundation Member, Voodoonauts Fellow (2021/2022), and more. Find me at https://theru.substack.com/
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The girl who loves the stars (and planets, and other things space) was out before dawn, 5:36am Eastern to be precise. You're welcome. She had a 13-year old Viszla mix, watching her back for monsters that might trundle down from the woods in the dark to snatch her mom. It was a good morning.
July 30, 2025 at 10:16 PM
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This conversation is not about the "people in blue" or those who "patrol the streets in their black and whites". I'm referring to the other Police.

Postor from the "Ghost in the Machine" tour. #Viewpoint
www.r-leadership.com/2025/06/13/a...
Back Home
June 14, 2025 at 11:28 PM
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June 11, 2025 at 5:28 PM
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Because Venus wants to say good morning 🪐
Make it a spectacular and interstellar week 🌠
Photo of the planet Venus above the sunrise. Taken by author.
June 2, 2025 at 9:38 AM
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Oh, silly #WIPSnips! You've made me go ✨vibes✨today, which sent me to a song ... youtu.be/4WT7nBGX5eU?... Sing along if you know it!
Snip of text with the word "guy" highlighted in yellow that reads: As Aubrigette ran to the subway entrance, smiling, she tried to memorize the timber of his voice. The smile turned to a wide grin, and she started to giggle as she skipped down the stairs to her platform. The looks on the faces as she passed the other riders as they gave way made her laugh aloud: she caught sight of her wavy reflection on the upright of the turnstile and could see the wild look in her own eyes. Vera thought she looked beautiful. Stepping onto the crowded train, she pulled her lips between her teeth, clamped down, and breathed through her nose until her cheeks relaxed. The rhythmic rocking of the train calmed her giddiness. Aubrigette tried to remember every detail of Theatre Guy’s face. The sunny color of his eyes, framed by dark-rimmed glasses, and the smell of his flesh that kept coming back to her mind and seemed to fit the nickname she gave him, since she had no idea what he was really called.
May 30, 2025 at 11:59 AM
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Today is a ✨vibes✨day, #WIPSnips folks. While Mrs. Pindle didn't have a cart, she decided to "carry" what she could.
#SF
Segment of text with the word "carry" highlighted in yellow that reads: As soon as she entered and closed the door behind her, Mrs. Pindle bustled into the foyer. “Are you all right, Miss Vera? Have you eaten? I was so out of sorts after tidying that I started cooking.” Vera followed her nose (and Mrs. Pindle) into the kitchen, zigzagging through a maze of bags. “Oh dear, please excuse the mess. It doesn’t look like I was tidying, does it? When I left you, I did as I said, went to my rooms and collected what I could carry. There’s maybe two more trips and I’ll have everything, since I rented a furnished flat.” She leaned on the counter, pulled a cotton hankie from her bosom, and swabbed her face.
May 29, 2025 at 12:44 PM
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Like our #WIPSnips leaders, I too want another day off. Maybe a week? Maybe I'll go visit Aubrigette, because she had the right idea.
#SF
From my WIP, with the word "want" highlighted in yellow that reads: Aubrigette smiled politely as the server returned and put her whiskey sour on a paper doily next to her salad plate. Albert squeezed the lime slice into his margarita, watching her. She sipped her drink, jiggled the glass, and said, “I figured you would be looking for me, but I didn’t want to be found. I needed a break from,” she waved her hand around the room, “all this.” “And by all this,” he mimicked her wave, “I presume you meant the good life your parents and grandparents by extension set up for you and that I work hard to make sure you and your children’s children’s great-great-grandchildren will have?”
May 28, 2025 at 11:32 AM
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Oh, the signs are everywhere, my #WIPSnips fam.
Small snip from my WIP with the word "sign" highlighted in yellow that reads: The room dissolved and Vera closed her eyes to avoid the feeling of vertigo. When she opened them, she was standing by the hedges of a little house. The street sign read Coral Avenue. The air smelled like the sea. “Where are we?” “The question is ‘when and where’. This is 1976 and that’s my house. Well, yours now, but we’ll get to that in a moment.”
May 27, 2025 at 12:45 PM
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Going with ✨vibes✨ today. Vera has no junk but everyone has garbage, right #WIPSnips?
#SF
Segment of text from my WIP with the word "garbage" highlighted in yellow that reads: Vera put the key on her nightstand where the casual onlooker would never notice it, unlocked her bedroom door, and padded quietly to the kitchen, where she found Thea, humming and rearranging the spice cabinet. “Oh! Miss Vera. Everything all right?” Vera hoisted herself into one of the tall chairs at the café bar. “Oh, I’m fine, Miss Thea. I thought I’d sneak a little snack before bed. I may not have the time to take breakfast in the morning.” Thea sniffed an unlabeled container and daintily dropped it into the garbage bin. “I’d be glad to get up earlier if you need.” “Oh, no, Miss Thea.” Vera looked around. “Did you move everything without me?” Thea dusted her cumin from her hands. “I didn’t arrange anything, but I did move the bags and boxes down, so it looked bit more civilized up here again.”
May 26, 2025 at 2:52 PM
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I was away from the computer so circling round to yesterdays #WIPSnips. Sometimes, we can't believe what we're listening to ...
#SF
Short snippet from my WIP with the word "listen" highlighted in yellow that reads: He leaned closer, is eyes locked on hers. She saw that he too was completely sober. “That name, which you will likely hear when you listen to the VR, is Aubrigette Opal Duquesne, the third, and she has been with TSV through every name it’s ever worn. You see, your grandmother has been our client for nearly one hundred forty years.”
May 26, 2025 at 2:49 PM
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I wrote about Aubrigette's test drive of the Caprice, but it was Uncle Ames who gave her a love of cars. That Gran Sport 👀
#WIPSnips #SF
Snippet of my WIP with the word "warn" highlighted in yellow that reads: He did as Aubrigette said and after leaving a note for Mrs. Hershberger, his housekeeper, escorted Aubrigette to the private garage and handed her the keys to a vehicle with the name “Buick Gran Sport” on the insignia. Vera felt herself leaning as Aubrigette navigated the powerful vehicle through a tunnel named Holland that she’d only read about in school and along the New Jersey Turnpike. Vera felt her own tension, but sensed Aubrigette was relaxed. In the glow of the dashboard and oncoming lights, Albert said nothing, save to warn her about staying well below the speed limit. Despite its power, the Gran Sport rode smoothly. Aubrigette took the exit for the Garden State Parkway and Albert held his wristwatch toward the windshield: it was almost ten. “Are you okay? Do you want me to drive for a while?” “No, Uncle. I’m fine. Just settle back and rest yourself. It won’t be long now.”
May 24, 2025 at 2:30 PM
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My current #WIP, YESTERDAY IS TOMORROW is a #A #SF #R
Before she dies for the last time, Myra Blake gives 3 gifts to her granddaughter: an inheritance beyond her wildest dreams, a frightening secret, & a story about love too crazy to be true. THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY X THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE
Double image: on the left, a woman and man in 1970s era clothing and on the right a woman and a man in futuristic attire... They could be the same couple... That's the mystery!
May 24, 2025 at 1:44 AM
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Just a wee teaser today, #WIPSnips:
#SF
A snippet of text with the word "cover" highlighted in yellow that reads: Aubrigette ducked behind a rack of scarves and watched Ms. Kempinski stroll down a main aisle of the flea market on the arm of a man old enough to give consent but young enough to be her grandson. They walked and talked with the leisurely pace of lovers, more familiar than any teacher and protégé. They came toward the shop where Aubrigette had attempted to find cover. She turned her back and pretended to look through a sale bin.
May 23, 2025 at 12:26 PM
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Aubrigette is one of those people who uses silence to her advantage, #WIPSnips friends.
Snippet from my WIP with the word "silence" highlighted in yellow that reads: In the silence she dialed Daniel’s number. “Hello?” His voice made gooseflesh bloom over Aubrigette’s body. “Daniel. It’s Aubrigette.” She imagined she could feel the heavy breathing she heard puffing into the receiver. “I know it’s been a while, and I am on my way to an appointment right now. I wanted to tell you that I saw the article and column in the Times on your performances. I would have –” she almost said loved, “liked to have been in attendance. Thank you for thinking of me. Best of luck with the coming shows.” She pressed the switch hook and disconnected the call before he could say a word, then released it and rang around to Albert’s.
May 22, 2025 at 11:55 AM
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May 21, 2025 at 1:08 PM
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My setting is across time. This image speaks to that ...
#WIPPITStickyNoteQuestions
Image of a woman who looks like she's from the 1970s looking in a mirror at her "twin" who looks like a futuristic version of her.
May 21, 2025 at 12:57 PM
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Another ✨vibes✨day, my #WIPSnips friends: Myra doesn't do neon, but she doesn't mind being a bit flashy.
#A #SF
Snippet of text with the word "flashing" highlighted in yellow that reads: Vera winced and Myra ignored it. “My dear,” she continued drily, “there is no need to be squeamish. I’m going to die whether you like it or not.” She swept the covers back and Vera turned away. “Not looking also does not change the fact that your grandmother is on house arrest.” The holographic ankle bracelet circled Myra’s leg, its flashing bright red stop signs blotting the sheets with intermittent blood-colored stains.
May 20, 2025 at 11:40 AM
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I had to go with ✨vibes✨today, since I don't have any moans but I do have sighing.
#WIPSnips #SF
Snippet of text from my WIP with the word "sigh" highlighted in yellow that reads: Vera snorted. “I can tell.” She stepped past him, pulling Mrs. Pindle gently by the hand. She folded down the funerary drape from the catafalque and they looked at Myra’s still form. Mrs. Pinder found the lace hankie she’d stuffed in her sleeve and dabbed beneath each eye. “She looks like she’s resting, bless her. And that was her favorite half-veil.” “She told me once she sourced her veils from a North African shopkeeper she’d befriended. It’s called a half niqab and …” Tippett’s mouth snapped shut as the women stared at him. Vera let out a sigh. Mr. Ashwick, please continue.”
May 19, 2025 at 3:28 PM
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Hey, #WIPSnips family, you know when you write a thing and you like it? This "piece" is one of those for me (see what I did there?) #SF
Snippet of text from my WIP with the word "piece" highlighted in yellow that reads: They stepped out of the conveyor in front of a marble-front edifice adorned with a gilded pair of praying hands, the corporate headquarters for Merrin-Blythe-Ashwick Group. The double doors opened outward, and E. Thorne Ashwick walked down the slight ramp to greet them. Seeing him there, arms outstretched and hands on the doorknobs took Vera back to Pap’s funeral. Ashwick was a decade older now but looked two, his face still pasty and square with lips framed by thin mustaches that could only be laser applique. “Miss Blake, please come in.” Vera’s eyes were drawn to Ashwick’s wingtip shoes, and she wondered what sort of soles made no sound on marble floors. He walked them to a room with couches, soft music, and a plaque above the door titling the space as The Eternal Wing. He handed her a piece of ornately carved stone paper with Myra’s name and photo on it. “We have followed Ms. Blake’s instructions, which are engraved there for you. If you and Mr. Tippett would confirm that we have completed this task?”
May 18, 2025 at 12:33 PM
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Happy Saturday, #WIPSnips -- it's important to be careful when talking and drinking tea. *cough*
#SF
Snippet from my WIP with the word "cough" (part of "coughed") highlighted in yellow that reads: Aubrigette waved a hand, coughed down the mis-swallowed tea, and apologized. “I know, Nana. I’m sorry. It’s just that word ‘masher’ sounded funny. You’re right. I’ll do some checking. I know who can get me answers.” She put her things on the tray and despite Nana’s protests carried it to the kitchen, put away the rest of the cream, then washed and dried the cup, saucer, spoon, and tray. Latifi had followed her and watched. “I’ll let you know what I find out. If he is a masher, I will stop volunteering and will need to change our phone number.” She folded the drying towel and hung it the way Nana liked. “But if he’s not a masher, may I invite him here for lunch?”
May 17, 2025 at 12:01 PM
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For centuries, those in the highest wealth bracket have kept their funds at Argent & Marquess, where the vaults can talk but know how to keep secrets.
#WIPSnips #SF
Snippet of my WIP with the word "power" highlighted in yellow that reads: Though Vault Five’s walls thrummed with biometric power, the door to box 042 was something old-world. As if reading Vera’s thoughts, Vault Five piped up. “The door and its keyhole are practically a work of art, are they not Miss Vera? The inset is brushed steel, and those designs are done in bronze filigree. The iron hinges have been operating since 1893.” If a vault’s voice could have a tinge of pride, Five’s did as it continued. “My records show this box has been accessed less than thirty times in two centuries. That key in your hand is the original and has only been used by three women, all in the Duquesne line. You, Miss Vera, are the fourth.”
May 16, 2025 at 12:13 PM
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Ah, another ✨vibes✨day -- I have no honey but I have "sweet" (since honey is) and "darling" (since honey and darling are terms of endearment) in the same snippet:
#WIPSnips #SF
Snippet from my WIP with the word "sweet" highlighted in yellow that reads: Wait, did she just answer me? “Are you really here, talking to me?” Vera asked. Nana smiled. “In a way. The me you know is truly gone, my dear, lying in – what was it I wrote for Ashwick to say? – sweet slumber next to your grandfather in the family crypt.” She held out her arms, twisted them back and forth. “But this VR body is quite realistic, isn’t it? Reacts to you just as if I was alive. That’s the ‘neuro’ part, darling. Now, you sit there, and I’ll do the rest.”
May 15, 2025 at 11:28 AM
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I have no chaos, #WIPSnips, but I have ✨vibes ✨ (confusion):
Snippet from my WIP with the word "confusion" highlighted in yellow that reads: Vera went to her rooms, took a shower, and after securing her door to avoid an unexpected visit from Thea, she reattached the neuroplayer behind her ear. “Good evening. Or is it afternoon? You always keep the curtains drawn, so I can’t tell.” Nana had appeared in the same place Vera had seen her last. This time, she was wearing an airy jumpsuit. “Well.” She shrugged. “It matters not the hour. Are you ready to continue?” Very walked into the parlor and sat on the chaise opposite Nana’s couch. “Not yet, Nana.” She leaned forward, tempted to reach out to touch her grandmother’s hand. “I want you to tell me the next parts.” Myra’s brow crinkled with confusion. “You’d rather listen to me rattle on instead of seeing it for yourself?” “I have questions.” Vera sat back. Myra took a deep breath in through her nose, blew it out her mouth, and nodded. “Tell me what was in the big envelope. Tell me what happened to Uncle Ames and Nana Latifi. How did you and Pap get together?” “Questions, indeed.” Myra lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “You heard Mr. Barnard. The big envelope was filled with letters from your Pap. Well, the man who eventually became your Pap.” She placed both palms on her knees, her eyes twinkling in the silence. She looked like she was crying. “As far as Uncle Ames, well,” she turned her head.
May 14, 2025 at 1:32 PM
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Wild animals aren't the only creatures that bark. Or are they?
#WIPSnips
Snippet from my WIP with the word "bark" highlighted in yellow that reads: “You know you like him,” Aubrigette sing-songed. Latifi put both hands over her mouth and her eyes twinkled. “I think it’s nice. Go, have another cup of tea. Chamomile, the relaxing one. I’ll take a shower.” Latif squeezed her wrist again, turned, and almost skipped out like a schoolgirl. Aubrigette heard Mr. Barnard’s deep bark of a laugh and the sound of China cups tinkling against saucers as she turned on the shower. The warm water ran down her body and she wondered what she would find in the heavy envelope. How long had Daniel been writing to her? Were they filled with stories of his acting experiences and time spent with paramours, or were they written to her, about her?
May 13, 2025 at 9:21 PM
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A visit to financial establishments for the wealthy are adventures, even in the future.
#WIPSnips
A snippet of text from my WIP with the word "after" highlighted that reads: She stepped onto 63rd Street and took the conveyor to 200 Park Avenue, then walked a half-block to her destination: Argent & Marquess, one of several exclusive financial institutions that catered to those in her grandmother’s tax bracket. The clock above the entrance iris showed that Vera had ten minutes until the appointment. She held her identification disc to the reader. The iris spiraled open silently and subtle arrows lit a path in the floor panels, pointing her way to the management offices. After two left turns and a right, Vera saw a well-groomed man standing at the end of the corridor, hands held stiffly behind the back of his slate-colored tailored suit. The overhead light glinted off the silver streak in his hair and the clip of the fountain pen in his breast pocket. “Miss Blake, I’ve been expecting you.” He stepped aside to allow her entrance to his office. “My name is Jorik Kessler. I am your grandmother’s personal banker.” He stepped around Vera once inside and she had to walk fast to keep up with his long strides. “I thought you were the manager?”
May 12, 2025 at 12:44 PM