Claire Hiria
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Claire Hiria
@clairehiria.com
450 followers 250 following 1.4K posts
Claire Hiria (she/her/they/them/ia)
Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Raukawa, Pākehā
Author, poet, game writer, playwright
Find my work here: www.clairehiria.com
Occasional host of #pretendpanel, a weekend writing prompt
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Claire Hiria @clairehiria.com · Jun 29
Hey #pretendpanel, your host for July is @lizzieblackwood.bsky.social

She's written not one, but two months of questions on the theme of visualisation! Check it out 👀

#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
#pretendpanel a daily prompt tag hosted by @lizzieblackwood.bsky.social JULY - VISUALIZATIONS PART ONE 3rd: Do you have a “mental picture” of your story as you write? 4th: How do you decide what your characters and settings to look like? 10th: How much detail do you like to include in your visual descriptions? 11th: As a reader, do you prefer lush, detailed descriptions, or books that leave things vague so you can fill in with your own imagination? 17th: What visual aids do you use when planning your story? 18th: Image share: maps/references/planning 24th: How do you feel about artistic embellishments inside prose books? 25th: How do you feel about artistic embellishments on book exteriors? 31st: Freebie Friday - post anything! Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!
Reposted by Claire Hiria
bumblebigirl.bsky.social
So if you haven't yet made a submission on this bill, if you don't get why resisting it is important, what's happening in the United States should be a wake up call as to what happens if we go down this road. Not much time left to take a stand.
June 30, 2026 at 8:24 PM
Reposted by Claire Hiria
lizzieblackwood.bsky.social
It's my honor and delight to be guest hosting #PretendPanel in July! Please join us in talking about the many visual aspects of writing and publishing. 👀
clairehiria.com Claire Hiria @clairehiria.com · Jun 29
Hey #pretendpanel, your host for July is @lizzieblackwood.bsky.social

She's written not one, but two months of questions on the theme of visualisation! Check it out 👀

#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
#pretendpanel a daily prompt tag hosted by @lizzieblackwood.bsky.social JULY - VISUALIZATIONS PART ONE 3rd: Do you have a “mental picture” of your story as you write? 4th: How do you decide what your characters and settings to look like? 10th: How much detail do you like to include in your visual descriptions? 11th: As a reader, do you prefer lush, detailed descriptions, or books that leave things vague so you can fill in with your own imagination? 17th: What visual aids do you use when planning your story? 18th: Image share: maps/references/planning 24th: How do you feel about artistic embellishments inside prose books? 25th: How do you feel about artistic embellishments on book exteriors? 31st: Freebie Friday - post anything! Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!
June 29, 2026 at 1:01 PM
Reposted by Claire Hiria
maximejaz.bsky.social
#pretendpanel
It's end of Pride month soon, so boosting my books a bit. 🌈❤️ You might want to pick up something hot and queer for the holidays. And maybe cry too. 😁😌😘
Links in bio.
Promo pic of Maxime Jaz books with in the background two men from the waist down injeans one man's thumb hooked in the other one's waistband. Love wins in rainbow letters over his hand. Book covers of the books and KU logo.
June 28, 2026 at 6:23 AM
Reposted by Claire Hiria
karamoonauthor.com
Hello #pretendpanel!
I have a request this month to all writers in Aotearoa. Please turn your skills with words to the vital task of submitting against the stupid bill which is just about making life harder for trans people. Here's a really good guide about why and how: qtopia.org.nz/news/submiss...
June 28, 2026 at 12:59 AM
Reposted by Claire Hiria
scarletvmitchell.bsky.social
Thank you #PretendPanel hosts for another great month!

I published my debut this month, and don’t think I shared it here, so:

May I introduce my archaeology-obsessed lesbian PI, her bubbly himbo frenemy, and a case involving an Egyptian stone knife that somehow came to the American pyramids!
June 27, 2026 at 11:58 PM
Reposted by Claire Hiria
zofiawarwick.bsky.social
Pleased to see #pretendpanel grow. It's a fun event/writing community presence.

Ok, so my question is a bit of a softball one: font of choice. What font do you absolutely have to write in to get the mood right to make the story flow from your head to word document? (Mine's Aptos.)
June 27, 2026 at 9:51 PM
Reposted by Claire Hiria
pjccahill.bsky.social
It's been a super slow month for my sales, so any consideration of my released books would be great!
pjccahill.carrd.co has my author pages and book links! Itch and Zon available.

Also my next book, Demon King Daughter book 2, releases on July 14th!

#PretendPanel
Art by Luigiix - cover of "N.I.C.E.F.: Neural-Interface Controlled Exo-Frame" novel. Human eye top left, alien eye top right, title full-center, child facing a riot-police line with a mech bottom left, a Nicef (mech) with a beamsaber bottom center, young woman with half-body prosthetics in a medical cot bottom right. Luigiix's DA page: https://www.deviantart.com/luigiix Luigiix's Commission Info page: https://www.deviantart.com/luigiix/journal/Commissions-444182461 Art by Luigiix - cover of "Demon King Daughter Book 1: Raising the Demon King" by P.J.C. Cahill. This text appears in black, red-outlined text at the bottom of the image. - Top Left (Hideyoshi) is an aged human man with silver hair, a long beard and mustache, and stern features. Top Right is a demon man (Torlash) with long, black hair, tall, thin horns, red-in-black, slitted eyes, and pale gray skin. - Middle of the image shows seven characters. From left to right: 1) Kiseki: (woman) short black hair, pale skin, brown eyes. Wears a gray sweater and black cargo pants. 2) Hasava: tall woman in a black business suit, with a white shirt and black tie. Her skin is pale, her hair long, black, and straight, and her eyes blue. 3) Issei: tan skin, brown eyes, short, brown hair, and a scruffy beard. There's hints of graying in his hair. He wears a brown jacket, a pale T-shirt, and jeans. 4) Seina: teenage girl in a mostly-white Japanese boy's school uniform. She has mildly tan skin, brown eyes, but vibrant green, neck-length hair. 5) Nori: adult woman holding a young child. Nori has sky-blue, short hair, brown eyes, and is wearing a simple white T-shirt and blue pants. 6) Himari: A little girl in a blue dress and shirt, with the same sky-blue hair as Nori. She is laughing happily with her eyes closed. 7) Yuuto: man in a dark dress shirt and black slacks. He is stern and muscular, with sharp features, short, brown hair with signs of gray, and brown eyes. - Bottom, foreground of the image features a mother (Masuyo) and daughter (Kyoka) pair. Masuyo is holding Kyoka on her hip, and they're both smiling happily at each other. Masuyo has neck-length, black hair, a tan skin, brown eyes, and is wearing a black leather jacket over a white shirt, with black pants. Kyoka has very dark, brown skin, short, messy black hair, and vibrantly red eyes. She's wearing a black hoodie, baggy shorts, and puffy white socks sticking out of her simple sneakers. Art by Luigiix - cover of "Demon King Daughter Book 2: The Demon King and the Paladin" by P.J.C. Cahill. This text appears in black, gold-outlined text at the bottom of the image. --a fiery gold and dark yin-yang symbol burns around two characters, both smiling and gently reaching open hands toward each other. --On the left is Himari, in a pale girl's school uniform, her blue hair writhing upward in the magic, her eyes glowing golden as the sun. --On the right is Kyoka, wreathed in shadows and color, wearing a boy's school uniform, her short, black hair writhing upward as well. Her eyes glow with crimson light. Luigiix's DA page: https://www.deviantart.com/luigiix Luigiix's Commission Info page: https://www.deviantart.com/luigiix/journal/Commissions-444182461 Art by Luigiix - extreme close-up of a wolf's eyes. The eye is yellow-gold, surrounded by dirty-blonde fur. At the top is the title 'Cry Wolf' in yellow lettering. At the bottom, in smaller font is 'To a Monster Bound 1' and 'PJC Cahill' Luigiix's DA page: https://www.deviantart.com/luigiix Luigiix's Commission Info page: https://www.deviantart.com/luigiix/journal/Commissions-444182461
June 27, 2026 at 7:17 PM
Reposted by Claire Hiria
judylmohr.com
Instead of posting a "promo" for something of my own for today's #pretendPanel, I want to ask a question of #WriteSky and the #WritingCommunity.

What part of the process (i.e., drafting, editing, finding beta readers (or ARC readers), typesetting, publishing) do you find the hardest and why?
clairehiria.com Claire Hiria @clairehiria.com · Jun 27
That ends our first month of questions from the #pretendpanel! Thank you so much to our contributors. And now...

June 27th: Freebie Saturday - post anything!

#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
#pretendpanel a daily prompt tag hosted by @hiriadunning.com June 27th: Freebie Saturday! Post anything you want e.g. plug something, acknowledge someone, ask a question Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!
June 27, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Reposted by Claire Hiria
skarabraeauthor.bsky.social
#pretendpanel

For freebie day, I'd like to say: Barbarians of Lemuria is great!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tuqd...

#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
June 27, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Reposted by Claire Hiria
cassmorriswrites.com
#PretendPanel Hugo Award voting is open until August 8th, and if you're a Hugo-voting-type person (or would like to be), I would be delighted if you voted for Worldbuilding for Masochists (@worldbuildcast.bsky.social) for Best Fancast!

worldbuildingformasochists.podbean.com
Worldbuilding for Masochists logo, a three-headed dragon against a striped shield, set against a starfield. Text: Thank you!!! Worldbuilding for Masochists is a Hugo Award Finalist for Best Fancast for our 6th year in a row! Below, the headshots and names of the cohosts: Natania Barron, Marshall Ryan Maresca, and Cass Morris.
June 27, 2026 at 3:37 PM
Reposted by Claire Hiria
thebeird.bsky.social
Thanks Claire

NO HEROICS, ONLY HORRORS
NO REASON, ONLY RECKONING
NO SAVIOURS, ONLY SYSTEMS
WELCOME TO THE COLONIES OF THE TWAINEARTH

"HD Beird's use of visceral and sensual imagery is also a revelation to read and is essential to his writing style."

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08W9KRT1...

#pretendpanel
June 27, 2026 at 2:53 PM
Reposted by Claire Hiria
vampireantihero.com
Three days left to back Aloe! This is the only way to buy it before its release day on October 23rd, and you'll get it earlier than release day by at least 3 weeks 😁 (You'll make a nonbinary author very happy)

Info on the campaign page!

www.backerkit.com/c/projects/a...

🔖 #PretendPanel
June 27, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Reposted by Claire Hiria
mckennadean.bsky.social
If you're feeling this heat and looking for a little snowy escapist portal fantasy, then I have the book for you. Frozen meets Practical Magic in Hexes, Lies, and Alibis (The Myth Element series) by M.K Dean. June 30 2026. #pretendpanel www.amazon.com/dp/B0H5L7XPXL
June 27, 2026 at 10:30 AM
Reposted by Claire Hiria
communi-kate.bsky.social
Anything? Go read 'The Gods of Atalantis' by @professoremily.bsky.social A lot of the themes are shared with my own WIP, but the setting and characters are completely different. For fans of @ajdemas.bsky.social and Megan Whalen Turner. And look at that cover!

#pretendpanel #writesky #writing
June 27, 2026 at 8:40 AM
Reposted by Claire Hiria
judylmohr.com
For me, character design on the page really is "slap some ideas down and see what happens." I'm a panster by nature, and it's in the character design where it's almost 100% pantsed... even after years of refining my plot development process. #PretendPanel #WriteSky #WritingCommunity
clairehiria.com Claire Hiria @clairehiria.com · Jun 26
~Questions from the #pretendpanel ~

June 26th: from @skarabraeauthor.bsky.social : What was your creative process when designing your story's main character?

#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
#pretendpanel a daily prompt tag hosted by @hiriadunning.com June 26th: from @skarabraeauthor.bsky.social : What was your creative process when designing your story's main character? Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!
June 26, 2026 at 8:09 PM
Reposted by Claire Hiria
winterandwords.social
There was no creative process. There was no design. He just showed up and started telling me stuff. This is my entire process for all the characters in everything I write. Some are louder than others, but they all just appear and then I get to know them (and I love it that way!)

🏷️ #PretendPanel
clairehiria.com Claire Hiria @clairehiria.com · Jun 26
~Questions from the #pretendpanel ~

June 26th: from @skarabraeauthor.bsky.social : What was your creative process when designing your story's main character?

#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
#pretendpanel a daily prompt tag hosted by @hiriadunning.com June 26th: from @skarabraeauthor.bsky.social : What was your creative process when designing your story's main character? Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!
June 26, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by Claire Hiria
scarletvmitchell.bsky.social
#Pretendpanel

Vibes first. How do they FEEL?

Emotional arc/trauma/issues I want to explore?

How did they specifically aquire those issues?

Do I want to fuck them, or is that not what this is?

What is their story and what do they want?

How much are they me? How much are they totally different?🪡
clairehiria.com Claire Hiria @clairehiria.com · Jun 26
~Questions from the #pretendpanel ~

June 26th: from @skarabraeauthor.bsky.social : What was your creative process when designing your story's main character?

#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
#pretendpanel a daily prompt tag hosted by @hiriadunning.com June 26th: from @skarabraeauthor.bsky.social : What was your creative process when designing your story's main character? Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!
June 26, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Reposted by Claire Hiria
bumblebigirl.bsky.social
I might write some test material for a character, just to get a feel for them. But you only really develop a character by putting them in situations and seeing how they react. The more decisions they make, the more defined they become. #pretendpanel
clairehiria.com Claire Hiria @clairehiria.com · Jun 26
~Questions from the #pretendpanel ~

June 26th: from @skarabraeauthor.bsky.social : What was your creative process when designing your story's main character?

#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
#pretendpanel a daily prompt tag hosted by @hiriadunning.com June 26th: from @skarabraeauthor.bsky.social : What was your creative process when designing your story's main character? Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!
June 26, 2026 at 9:17 AM
clairehiria.com
Hey #pretendpanel, your host for July is @lizzieblackwood.bsky.social

She's written not one, but two months of questions on the theme of visualisation! Check it out 👀

#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
#pretendpanel a daily prompt tag hosted by @lizzieblackwood.bsky.social JULY - VISUALIZATIONS PART ONE 3rd: Do you have a “mental picture” of your story as you write? 4th: How do you decide what your characters and settings to look like? 10th: How much detail do you like to include in your visual descriptions? 11th: As a reader, do you prefer lush, detailed descriptions, or books that leave things vague so you can fill in with your own imagination? 17th: What visual aids do you use when planning your story? 18th: Image share: maps/references/planning 24th: How do you feel about artistic embellishments inside prose books? 25th: How do you feel about artistic embellishments on book exteriors? 31st: Freebie Friday - post anything! Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!
June 29, 2026 at 6:44 AM
clairehiria.com
Hey folks, just letting you know that next month #pretendpanel will be hosted by long-time steadfast panelist @lizzieblackwood.bsky.social

Then in August, Kara Moon returns as permanent host. A completely different person than me, honest.

Thanks again to all my question writers this month!
clairehiria.com Claire Hiria @clairehiria.com · Jun 27
That ends our first month of questions from the #pretendpanel! Thank you so much to our contributors. And now...

June 27th: Freebie Saturday - post anything!

#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
#pretendpanel a daily prompt tag hosted by @hiriadunning.com June 27th: Freebie Saturday! Post anything you want e.g. plug something, acknowledge someone, ask a question Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!
June 27, 2026 at 7:03 AM
clairehiria.com
That ends our first month of questions from the #pretendpanel! Thank you so much to our contributors. And now...

June 27th: Freebie Saturday - post anything!

#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
#pretendpanel a daily prompt tag hosted by @hiriadunning.com June 27th: Freebie Saturday! Post anything you want e.g. plug something, acknowledge someone, ask a question Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!
June 27, 2026 at 7:02 AM
clairehiria.com
#pretendpanel
This is quite a process-less part of the process for me. I can only find the character by writing them. I can fill in all the profiles in the world, I can save the cat as many times as I like, it's not until I'm actually writing the character that I know them properly.
clairehiria.com Claire Hiria @clairehiria.com · Jun 26
~Questions from the #pretendpanel ~

June 26th: from @skarabraeauthor.bsky.social : What was your creative process when designing your story's main character?

#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
#pretendpanel a daily prompt tag hosted by @hiriadunning.com June 26th: from @skarabraeauthor.bsky.social : What was your creative process when designing your story's main character? Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!
June 26, 2026 at 7:01 AM
clairehiria.com
~Questions from the #pretendpanel ~

June 26th: from @skarabraeauthor.bsky.social : What was your creative process when designing your story's main character?

#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
#pretendpanel a daily prompt tag hosted by @hiriadunning.com June 26th: from @skarabraeauthor.bsky.social : What was your creative process when designing your story's main character? Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!
June 26, 2026 at 7:01 AM
Reposted by Claire Hiria
dimreaper.bsky.social
I persist because I have a lot of stories to tell and I am the only one who can tell them. It took a lot of time for me to truly believe that, but it kept me alive when things got bleak.

And now it’s so my kiddo can read my stories, because he will.
#pretendpanel
clairehiria.com Claire Hiria @clairehiria.com · Jun 20
~Questions from the #pretendpanel ~

June 20th: from @evelynfenn.bsky.social : How do you keep the faith in the face of rejection and set backs? What tricks do you use to stay positive and productive? And how do you celebrate your wins?

#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
#pretendpanel a daily prompt tag hosted by @hiriadunning.com June 20th: from @evelynfenn.bsky.social : How do you keep the faith in the face of rejection and set backs? What tricks do you use to stay positive and productive? And how do you celebrate your wins? Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!
June 20, 2026 at 7:44 PM