Kawira Koome
@kawirakoome.bsky.social
✍️ Writer. Muthomi is my debut novel.
🔗 linktr.ee/kawirakoome
📷 tiktok.com/@kirimara.series
🌐 kawirakoome.slidde.co
▶️ https://ire-muthomi.vercel.app (interactive chapter 1)
#writersky #specfic #speclit #booksky
🔗 linktr.ee/kawirakoome
📷 tiktok.com/@kirimara.series
🌐 kawirakoome.slidde.co
▶️ https://ire-muthomi.vercel.app (interactive chapter 1)
#writersky #specfic #speclit #booksky
Pinned
Kawira Koome
@kawirakoome.bsky.social
· Dec 19
i wrote a thing.
it's about a kid who gets sent to this prestigious university and everyone back home thinks he's won the lottery.
but the university has cameras everywhere, kids who arrive but never graduate. and a book that could get him killed.
it's called Muthomi. #writersky #specfic #yalit
it's about a kid who gets sent to this prestigious university and everyone back home thinks he's won the lottery.
but the university has cameras everywhere, kids who arrive but never graduate. and a book that could get him killed.
it's called Muthomi. #writersky #specfic #yalit
Reposted by Kawira Koome
“ A book, too, can be a star… a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.”
Madeleine L’Engle
#BlueskyBooks #Booksky #Reading
Madeleine L’Engle
#BlueskyBooks #Booksky #Reading
January 23, 2026 at 6:45 AM
“ A book, too, can be a star… a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.”
Madeleine L’Engle
#BlueskyBooks #Booksky #Reading
Madeleine L’Engle
#BlueskyBooks #Booksky #Reading
I'm thinking of going fully DIY on the Muthomi audiobook. Learn about voice acting on YT, find a quiet place, use a sound recording app, read Chapter 1, do like 5 million retakes, edit, share, and see what happens. Has anyone in the #writersky world done this too?
January 21, 2026 at 5:55 AM
I'm thinking of going fully DIY on the Muthomi audiobook. Learn about voice acting on YT, find a quiet place, use a sound recording app, read Chapter 1, do like 5 million retakes, edit, share, and see what happens. Has anyone in the #writersky world done this too?
So I'm obsessed with Adding Value (TM). I don't share anything unless it's meaningful to someone else. That's why my posts so far have been heavily about my book. I'm afraid of the mundane things of life: they don't Add Value (TM). Why would anyone care about my cheap broken electric toothbrush?
January 15, 2026 at 2:03 PM
So I'm obsessed with Adding Value (TM). I don't share anything unless it's meaningful to someone else. That's why my posts so far have been heavily about my book. I'm afraid of the mundane things of life: they don't Add Value (TM). Why would anyone care about my cheap broken electric toothbrush?
Spoiler alert: Muthomi's scholarship had three outcomes:
1. 💀 (quietly)
2. Break (conform)
3. Disappear (nobody cares where to)
There was never option 4: succeed and go home.
This happens way too often but it never makes the news.
1. 💀 (quietly)
2. Break (conform)
3. Disappear (nobody cares where to)
There was never option 4: succeed and go home.
This happens way too often but it never makes the news.
January 14, 2026 at 7:50 PM
Spoiler alert: Muthomi's scholarship had three outcomes:
1. 💀 (quietly)
2. Break (conform)
3. Disappear (nobody cares where to)
There was never option 4: succeed and go home.
This happens way too often but it never makes the news.
1. 💀 (quietly)
2. Break (conform)
3. Disappear (nobody cares where to)
There was never option 4: succeed and go home.
This happens way too often but it never makes the news.
Ever wonder how trauma becomes Inheritance?
A lot of things become our destiny even when you didn't ask for any of them.
Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is refuse to carry what was never yours to begin with.
A lot of things become our destiny even when you didn't ask for any of them.
Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is refuse to carry what was never yours to begin with.
January 13, 2026 at 8:41 PM
Ever wonder how trauma becomes Inheritance?
A lot of things become our destiny even when you didn't ask for any of them.
Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is refuse to carry what was never yours to begin with.
A lot of things become our destiny even when you didn't ask for any of them.
Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is refuse to carry what was never yours to begin with.
"For your own good" is almost always said by someone who benefits from your compliance.
"You'll understand when you're older" really means "Stop asking questions that expose me."
"We're just trying to help you" is code for "stop trying to change or grow."
Language is just power with better PR.
"You'll understand when you're older" really means "Stop asking questions that expose me."
"We're just trying to help you" is code for "stop trying to change or grow."
Language is just power with better PR.
January 11, 2026 at 10:37 PM
"For your own good" is almost always said by someone who benefits from your compliance.
"You'll understand when you're older" really means "Stop asking questions that expose me."
"We're just trying to help you" is code for "stop trying to change or grow."
Language is just power with better PR.
"You'll understand when you're older" really means "Stop asking questions that expose me."
"We're just trying to help you" is code for "stop trying to change or grow."
Language is just power with better PR.
Reposted by Kawira Koome
Unsolicited writing advice, no. 14:
There is no *right way* to write a book.
There's only the way that's right for you.
There is no *right way* to write a book.
There's only the way that's right for you.
January 10, 2026 at 11:08 AM
Unsolicited writing advice, no. 14:
There is no *right way* to write a book.
There's only the way that's right for you.
There is no *right way* to write a book.
There's only the way that's right for you.
These were fun to make: major tropes in black, minor tropes in blue. When I wrote Muthomi I just went in blind, so it's nice to see how I followed (and mostly broke) storytelling rules without knowing it. They're all on my TikTok:
tiktok.com/@kirimara.se...
tiktok.com/@kirimara.se...
January 10, 2026 at 4:43 AM
These were fun to make: major tropes in black, minor tropes in blue. When I wrote Muthomi I just went in blind, so it's nice to see how I followed (and mostly broke) storytelling rules without knowing it. They're all on my TikTok:
tiktok.com/@kirimara.se...
tiktok.com/@kirimara.se...
MUTHOMI asks: what if the opportunity everyone told you to be grateful for was actually designed to destroy you?
It's set in an "alt-Kenya" but the bones of it are everywhere.
It's my way of venting about our education systems. I had no choice but to write it.
Writers, do you relate?
It's set in an "alt-Kenya" but the bones of it are everywhere.
It's my way of venting about our education systems. I had no choice but to write it.
Writers, do you relate?
January 9, 2026 at 5:28 PM
MUTHOMI asks: what if the opportunity everyone told you to be grateful for was actually designed to destroy you?
It's set in an "alt-Kenya" but the bones of it are everywhere.
It's my way of venting about our education systems. I had no choice but to write it.
Writers, do you relate?
It's set in an "alt-Kenya" but the bones of it are everywhere.
It's my way of venting about our education systems. I had no choice but to write it.
Writers, do you relate?
In Muthomi (my book), the scholarship students have tracking chips embedded in their arms as a "precaution".
But it's only the poor students from the villages that get chipped. The ones who rarely graduate, rarely make it out of the system alive.
Just food for thought.
But it's only the poor students from the villages that get chipped. The ones who rarely graduate, rarely make it out of the system alive.
Just food for thought.
January 7, 2026 at 5:22 PM
In Muthomi (my book), the scholarship students have tracking chips embedded in their arms as a "precaution".
But it's only the poor students from the villages that get chipped. The ones who rarely graduate, rarely make it out of the system alive.
Just food for thought.
But it's only the poor students from the villages that get chipped. The ones who rarely graduate, rarely make it out of the system alive.
Just food for thought.
Sometimes there's a character in a book who keeps seeing a ghost.
It shows up in the heaviest scenes.
And you're never sure if the ghost is real or if the MC's mind is breaking or if it's something else entirely.
But the ghost is the only one who tells the truth.
Maybe the dead are wise.
It shows up in the heaviest scenes.
And you're never sure if the ghost is real or if the MC's mind is breaking or if it's something else entirely.
But the ghost is the only one who tells the truth.
Maybe the dead are wise.
January 6, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Sometimes there's a character in a book who keeps seeing a ghost.
It shows up in the heaviest scenes.
And you're never sure if the ghost is real or if the MC's mind is breaking or if it's something else entirely.
But the ghost is the only one who tells the truth.
Maybe the dead are wise.
It shows up in the heaviest scenes.
And you're never sure if the ghost is real or if the MC's mind is breaking or if it's something else entirely.
But the ghost is the only one who tells the truth.
Maybe the dead are wise.
You know what's wild? How we've normalized constant surveillance as "safety".
Cameras everywhere = secure
Tracking your location = convenient
Monitoring your behavior = quality control
And if you object, you're paranoid.
If you want privacy, you must have something to hide.
#showerthoughts
Cameras everywhere = secure
Tracking your location = convenient
Monitoring your behavior = quality control
And if you object, you're paranoid.
If you want privacy, you must have something to hide.
#showerthoughts
January 5, 2026 at 6:15 AM
You know what's wild? How we've normalized constant surveillance as "safety".
Cameras everywhere = secure
Tracking your location = convenient
Monitoring your behavior = quality control
And if you object, you're paranoid.
If you want privacy, you must have something to hide.
#showerthoughts
Cameras everywhere = secure
Tracking your location = convenient
Monitoring your behavior = quality control
And if you object, you're paranoid.
If you want privacy, you must have something to hide.
#showerthoughts
Today I hit my first 1k views out of all my TikTok posts. Feeling excited and also nervous. I really want to keep posting throughout this year just to see what happens.
tiktok.com/@kirimara.series
tiktok.com/@kirimara.series
January 4, 2026 at 3:46 PM
Today I hit my first 1k views out of all my TikTok posts. Feeling excited and also nervous. I really want to keep posting throughout this year just to see what happens.
tiktok.com/@kirimara.series
tiktok.com/@kirimara.series
There's this moment in Muthomi where his grandmother sends him to finish a war his grandfather started. And everyone—the resistance, the university, his dead family's legacy—is waiting for him to be something he's not.
It's about the cruelty of inherited expectations.
It's about the cruelty of inherited expectations.
January 2, 2026 at 5:11 PM
There's this moment in Muthomi where his grandmother sends him to finish a war his grandfather started. And everyone—the resistance, the university, his dead family's legacy—is waiting for him to be something he's not.
It's about the cruelty of inherited expectations.
It's about the cruelty of inherited expectations.
"Why didn't you just leave?"
Sometimes leaving means:
- admitting the dream was a lie
- facing everyone who believed in you
- going back with nothing
- proving that you never belonged there anyway
So we stay in hell. It's easier than explaining why heaven burned you.
Sometimes leaving means:
- admitting the dream was a lie
- facing everyone who believed in you
- going back with nothing
- proving that you never belonged there anyway
So we stay in hell. It's easier than explaining why heaven burned you.
Apache is functioning normally
hell.is
December 31, 2025 at 6:14 PM
"Why didn't you just leave?"
Sometimes leaving means:
- admitting the dream was a lie
- facing everyone who believed in you
- going back with nothing
- proving that you never belonged there anyway
So we stay in hell. It's easier than explaining why heaven burned you.
Sometimes leaving means:
- admitting the dream was a lie
- facing everyone who believed in you
- going back with nothing
- proving that you never belonged there anyway
So we stay in hell. It's easier than explaining why heaven burned you.
Sometimes we learn different types of silence at school:
1. The silence of not knowing the language well enough to defend yourself
2. The silence of realizing your questions aren't welcome
3. The silence of understanding that speaking up will only make things worse for everyone
1. The silence of not knowing the language well enough to defend yourself
2. The silence of realizing your questions aren't welcome
3. The silence of understanding that speaking up will only make things worse for everyone
December 30, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Sometimes we learn different types of silence at school:
1. The silence of not knowing the language well enough to defend yourself
2. The silence of realizing your questions aren't welcome
3. The silence of understanding that speaking up will only make things worse for everyone
1. The silence of not knowing the language well enough to defend yourself
2. The silence of realizing your questions aren't welcome
3. The silence of understanding that speaking up will only make things worse for everyone
The thing about "merit-based" systems is they only work if everyone starts from the same place.
But when some kids grow up with tutors and tech and connections, and other kids grow up with barely any food and learning to read on salvaged chalkboards, it's not "merit", it's a lie.
But when some kids grow up with tutors and tech and connections, and other kids grow up with barely any food and learning to read on salvaged chalkboards, it's not "merit", it's a lie.
December 29, 2025 at 6:06 PM
The thing about "merit-based" systems is they only work if everyone starts from the same place.
But when some kids grow up with tutors and tech and connections, and other kids grow up with barely any food and learning to read on salvaged chalkboards, it's not "merit", it's a lie.
But when some kids grow up with tutors and tech and connections, and other kids grow up with barely any food and learning to read on salvaged chalkboards, it's not "merit", it's a lie.
"Every therapist I saw gave me the same advice: 'You need to set boundaries.'
Cool. Great. How?"
Such a great read.
open.substack.com/pub/morganxl...
Cool. Great. How?"
Such a great read.
open.substack.com/pub/morganxl...
What nobody tells you about "setting boundaries" with family
Every therapist I saw gave me the same advice: “You need to set boundaries.”
open.substack.com
December 27, 2025 at 4:26 PM
"Every therapist I saw gave me the same advice: 'You need to set boundaries.'
Cool. Great. How?"
Such a great read.
open.substack.com/pub/morganxl...
Cool. Great. How?"
Such a great read.
open.substack.com/pub/morganxl...
I've been posting bits about my book Muthomi all along because I love it.
It's a #speclit story set in near-future East Africa. A kid from the plains gets a scholarship to a prestigious university that turns out to be... so much worse than he imagined.
It's not a comfortable read, but worth it.
It's a #speclit story set in near-future East Africa. A kid from the plains gets a scholarship to a prestigious university that turns out to be... so much worse than he imagined.
It's not a comfortable read, but worth it.
December 26, 2025 at 3:27 PM
I've been posting bits about my book Muthomi all along because I love it.
It's a #speclit story set in near-future East Africa. A kid from the plains gets a scholarship to a prestigious university that turns out to be... so much worse than he imagined.
It's not a comfortable read, but worth it.
It's a #speclit story set in near-future East Africa. A kid from the plains gets a scholarship to a prestigious university that turns out to be... so much worse than he imagined.
It's not a comfortable read, but worth it.
Imagine a university that scouts rural villages for "scholarship students."
On paper: generous. life-changing. a chance at education for kids who'd never get it otherwise.
In practice they get tracking chips embedded in their arms. most don't make it to graduation.
And we all act like it's OK.
On paper: generous. life-changing. a chance at education for kids who'd never get it otherwise.
In practice they get tracking chips embedded in their arms. most don't make it to graduation.
And we all act like it's OK.
December 24, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Imagine a university that scouts rural villages for "scholarship students."
On paper: generous. life-changing. a chance at education for kids who'd never get it otherwise.
In practice they get tracking chips embedded in their arms. most don't make it to graduation.
And we all act like it's OK.
On paper: generous. life-changing. a chance at education for kids who'd never get it otherwise.
In practice they get tracking chips embedded in their arms. most don't make it to graduation.
And we all act like it's OK.
The romance genre (books, shows, name it) for me is like pulling teeth. Because words of affirmation are not my love language. #showerthoughts
December 24, 2025 at 4:09 AM
The romance genre (books, shows, name it) for me is like pulling teeth. Because words of affirmation are not my love language. #showerthoughts
A mother always knows.
She knew that once her son left, she'd never see him again. not the way he was. not whole.
But what could she do? refuse the opportunity everyone said was a blessing?
Some sacrifices aren't noble. they're just... what you do when all your choices have been taken away.
She knew that once her son left, she'd never see him again. not the way he was. not whole.
But what could she do? refuse the opportunity everyone said was a blessing?
Some sacrifices aren't noble. they're just... what you do when all your choices have been taken away.
December 23, 2025 at 3:04 PM
A mother always knows.
She knew that once her son left, she'd never see him again. not the way he was. not whole.
But what could she do? refuse the opportunity everyone said was a blessing?
Some sacrifices aren't noble. they're just... what you do when all your choices have been taken away.
She knew that once her son left, she'd never see him again. not the way he was. not whole.
But what could she do? refuse the opportunity everyone said was a blessing?
Some sacrifices aren't noble. they're just... what you do when all your choices have been taken away.