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Kali Benson

@authorkalibenson.bsky.social
46 followers 57 following 98 posts

I write to give the voices in my head something productive to do. 🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQ+ Romance Author 🏳️‍🌈 Demi + Pan + Aro 🏳️‍🌈 🧠 Bipolar2 + Autism + ADHD ✊🏾 Completely Radicalized Democratic Socialist authorkalibenson.com

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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I wrote 1,080 words tonight on a book I thought had given up on me. I haven't added words to *anything* in weeks. Maybe I can keep doing this writing thing after all. #AmStillWriting
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
How are people still following me? Like...why? I haven't been around for over six months. Nevermind that words are coming, that progress is being made on a bunch of different projects, that I finally got a third dog. Why for y'all still here? 😭 #HeyStrangers #StillWriting #StillAlive
static.klipy.com
Black Woman Squinting Eyes Meme
Alt: Black Woman Squinting Eyes Meme
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
I am GOBSMACKED at how much Luke and Orion have been welcomed into the queer romance world. A 53K-word slow-burn low-spice second chance tale also featuring a found family and a too-nosy-for-their-own-good office manager. You can grab your FREE copy here: dl.bookfunnel.com/yah1asi5zq #MMRomance
White text on purple background: It Was Always You. I've never had to keep my personal life separate from my work. My personal life IS my work. With Orion here now, though, I don't think I want to live like that anymore.
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
I did the thing. dl.bookfunnel.com/yah1asi5zq The Neurodivergence in Queer Romance BookFunnel Promotion aims to increase accurate, authentic, compassionate, and respectful representation of the vast and varied neurodivergent experience. #PublishingJourney #MMRomance #DebutAuthor
dl.bookfunnel.com
Does time heal all wounds? Or just create more?
A 53K-word slow-burn low-spice novella Being co-owner of Ambassadors Publishing means there’s not much room for anything else in Luke Shepherd’s life, let alone love. His life is simple. The steady ro...
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
10 days. Freaking 10 days until Luke and Orion step out from beyond my brain to the wide reading world. You can download the first 11 Neurodivergence in Queer Romance stories here, available for free ONLY for the month of January: tinyurl.com/ndiqr-info #NeurodivergenceRep #QueerRomance
Purple-embellished book cover titled "It Was Always You". Top-right corner has Neurodivergence in Queer Romance logo. Top left has author name, Kali Benson, monogram logo. Purple text on white bubble below book title with date February 1, 2026.
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
My manuscript is at the interior designer... My manuscript is at the interior designer... My manuscript is at the interior designer... #OhGodItsHappening
media.tenor.com
a man in a tie dye shirt is standing in front of a wall of plaques
Alt: a man in a tie dye shirt is standing in front of a wall of plaques and openly gasping for air
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
I'm really, REALLY doing this! My debut novella goes live in a little over 3 weeks as part of the Neurodivergence in Queer Romance promo event on BookFunnel! 🫢😬🫣 #AmWriting #IndieAuthor #MMRomance #NeurodivergenceRep
Lavendar tinted graphic of office in background. Centered cover of book titled "It Was Always You" by Kali Benson. White text with four arrows pointing to cover: "Boss/Employee", "Second Chance", "Hurt/Comfort", "Slow Burn." Embellished author logo of snake wrapping around hibiscus flowers.
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
Of course it's two days after I send the manuscript to beta readers that my Muse is like, "OMG, you know what would work here?? That epilogue you deleted from the outline!" #WriterProblems #AmEditing #RevisionPlanning
media.tenor.com
a bald man wearing a plaid shirt and a black vest
Alt: a bald man wearing a plaid shirt and a black vest turning away from the camera in frustration
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
The #1 movie when you were 10 years old is how your 2026 is going to go. *sigh*
media.tenor.com
a woman with a face mask says hello
Alt: Mrs. Doubtfire popping up from behind a fridge door wearing a face mask of whipped cream, saying, "Hello!"
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Line/copy edit draft? ✅ Compile in Scrivener? ✅ Format in Word? ✅ Convert to PDF? ✅ Send to beta readers?? ✅ Guys... What do I do with my hands now? #WeeknightWriters #WritingCommunity #MMRomance #IndieAuthor
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
First Draft word count: 49,981 words Chapters Line/Copyedited: 15/21 Current word count: 49,914 words Total Words Cut? 67 😑 #AmEditing #RevisionTime #WritingProcess #WritingCommunity
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
Today I start line editing my draft. Why so soon after finishing? Because this bad boy comes out on February 1st as part of the Neurodivergence in Queer Romance BookFunnel Promotion event! EEK! #AmEditing #RevisionTime #WritingCommunity
White text on a maroon background with blue, gray, and light pink embellishments, book cover titled "It Was Always You" by Kali Benson.
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
Tonight's progress: Draft: 2,231 words Difference between MMCs word counts: +3,279 MMC1 Total Draft Word Count: 49,981/estimated 50,000 Chapters to Go: 0 Total Writing Days: 74 MY FIRST DRAFT IS DONE! 🫢😯🥹😭😭😭😭😭 #AmWriting #FirstDraftFall #WritingCommunity
media.tenor.com
a woman is making a funny face while touching her nose .
Alt: A Black woman with braided hair making a funny face while touching her forehead in confusion.
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
There may come a day when Kansas's "Carry On (Wayward Son)" does NOT remind me of Supernatural. Today is not that day. #WritingPlaylist #AmWriting
media.tenor.com
a black and white photo of two men standing next to each other looking at each other .
Alt: A gif of Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles (Sam and Dean Winchester of Supernatural) dancing next to each other. Jensen looks at the camera at the end.
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Tonight's progress: Draft: 1,708 words Difference between MMCs word counts: +1,767 MMC1 Total Draft Word Count: 46,591 Chapters to Go: 2.5 Chance of finishing by December 15th? ~90% #AmWriting #FirstDraftFall #AlmostDone #WTFIsEvenHappening #WritingCommunity #WeeknightWriters
media.tenor.com
kermit the frog is covering his mouth with his hand and looking at the camera .
Alt: Kermit the Frog is covering his mouth with his hand and looking at the camera while shaking.
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Tonight's progress: Draft: 1,374 words Difference between MMCs' word counts: +1,936 MMC1 Total Draft Word Count: 44,364 Chapters to Go: 3.33 Chance of finishing by December 15th? ~85% ALMOST THERE 😱😭 #AmWriting #WeeknightWriters #FirstDraftFall #MMRomance
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Tonight's progress: Draft: -39 words Chapters to Go: 4 Chance of finishing by December 15th? ~80% The whole premise almost fell apart. Cue 16-hour author panic. Finally threw out the last four chapters' outline and redid it. Back on track. #AmWriting #WriterProblems #FirstDraftFall
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
Tonight's progress: Draft: 1,115 words Difference between MMCs word counts: +595 MMC1 Total Draft Word Count: 42,963 Chapters to Go: 4 This most recent chapter was so much harder to write than I ever expected. My heart hurts. #AmWriting #FirstDraftFall #MentalHealthMatters
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Tonight's progress: Draft: 947 words Difference between MMCs word counts: +1,634 MMC1 Total Draft Word Count: 41,848 Chapters to Go: 4.56 Chance of finishing by December 15th? ~70% #AmWriting #AlmostThere #WeeknightWriters #MMRomance
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Reposted by Kali Benson
Shannon | Editor of Words | Writer of Words | Lover of Words @editorshannon.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
Dialogue-only drafts are truly one of the most effective ways to figure out who your characters are in relation to each other and the world around them. They're also a fun way to let your subconscious run free for a bit.
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
Tonight's progress: Draft: 1,509 words Difference between MMCs word counts: +2,419 MMC1 Total Draft Word Count: 40,901 Chapters to Go: 5 Chance of finishing by December 15th? ~60% #AmWriting #FirstDraftFall #MMRomance #WritingCommunity #WeeknightWriters
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
That moment you break your own heart with the end-of-scene dialogue... #AmWriting #EmotionalDamage
media.tenor.com
a man wearing a blue headband is crying with a tear coming out of his nose .
Alt: a man wearing a blue du-rag and white shirt crying
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Tonight's progress: Draft: 925 words Elsewhere: 498 Difference between MMCs' word counts: +905 MMC Total Draft Word Count: 39,387 Chapters to Go: 5.55 Chance of finishing by December 15th? 65-ish% #AmWriting #WeeknightWriters #FirstDraftFall #MMRomance
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
If you need a callback to the good ol' days of Al Gore's interwebs, go to Google and search "Geocities". This is what I get for slipping random references that show my age into my manuscript. 🪦👵🏾 #ComicSans #MyBackHurts #WriterProblems
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
I just reached out to a super-famous queer romance cover photographer about licensing/buying one of their images for my novel. The gasp I gasped! 😱😱😱 "The image you requested is available. Price is $1,250." #WriterProblems
media.tenor.com
sulley from monsters inc is making a face with his hands
Alt: Sulley from Monsters Inc. is making a face with his hands and fainting.
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
Tonight's progress: Draft: 1,527 words Elsewhere: 322 Difference between MMCs word counts: +96 MMC1 Total Draft Word Count: 38,462 Estimated Words Left: ~13,000 Chapters to Go: 6 😱 #AmWriting #WeeknightWriters #MMRomance #FirstDraftFall
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
Draft: 2,256 words Difference between MMCs word counts: +2,240 MMC1 Total Draft Word Count: 36,194 Chapters to Go: 7 If I write a chapter every other day, I'll finish in time to do a final line-edit readthrough before I send it to my sensitivity/beta reader(s)! 🫢😱🤯 #AmWriting #FirstDraftFall
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
I haven't written anything in two days. I'm going back to my drafting notebook. It always helps me get out my own way. #AmWriting #FirstDraftFall #WriterLife
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
I don't think there is a character in all of English literature that I hate more than Wuthering Heights's Heathcliff Earnshaw. I thought Victor Frankenstein was a piece of shit, but GOOD. GOD. Reason #1487 this remains one of my favorite books of all time.
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Been a very long week, and it's only Tuesday. Tonight's writing is a win. Draft: 266 words Difference between MMCs word counts: +254 MMC1 Total Draft Word Count: 34,208 Chapters to Go: 7.9 #WeeknightWriters #FirstDraftFall #AmWriting #MMRomance
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Draft: -467 words Difference between MMCs word counts: +64 MMC2 Total Draft Word Count: 33,986 Chapters to Go: 8 Chapter 14 reads MUCH better now and more in line with what the second scene originally needed to do. #WeeknightWriters #AmWriting #WIPWork #FirstDraftFall
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
SHIT, I FORGOT TO TAKE MY MORNING MEDS 😭
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Tonight's progress: Draft: 867 words Difference between MMCs word counts: +485 MMC2 Total Draft Word Count: 34,459 Chapters to Go: 8 #AmWriting #FirstDraftFall #MMRomance #WritingCommunity
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
Making steady progress: Draft: 1,019 words Difference between MMCs word counts: +382 MMC1 Total Draft Word Count: 33,592 Chapters to Go: 8-ish #AmWriting #MMRomance #FirstDraftFall
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
All of my longer works have come from prompts I thought would just be flash fiction 😭
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
FINALLY added words for the first time since Tuesday Draft: 1,091 words Elsewhere: 48 words Difference between MMCs word counts: +1,401 MMC1 Total Draft Word Count: 32,573 Chapters to Go: 8.5 #AmWriting #WeeknightWriters #FirstDraftFall #WritingCommunity
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Draft: 133 words Difference between MMCs word counts: +2,437 MMC1 Total Draft Word Count: 31,469 Chapters to Go: (Still) 9 Oh boy, did my neurospicy brain tweak my outline in such a way that I'll actually be able to write tomorrow. ✍🏾💨💨💨 #FirstDraftFall #AmWriting #WeeknightWriters
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Draft: -31 words Difference between MMCs word counts: +2,141 MMC1 Total Draft Word Count: 31,311 Chapters to Go: 9 #FirstDraftFall #AmWriting #AmEditing
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
If you see this, post your getaway vehicle
media.tenor.com
a gray car is driving down a road
Alt: Black Chevrolet Camaro driving down a road
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
I'm rereading Wuthering Heights for the first time in over a decade. First chapter in and I realize how much of Heathcliff is in my own main character... 😭😭😭 #AmReading #ReadingCommunity #CurrentlyReading
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
Tonight's progress? Draft: +1,281 words Back Matter: +14 words Total Draft Word Count: 30,058 Chapters to Go: 9.5 ✍🏾💨💨💨 #WeeknightWriters #QueerAuthors🌈✒️ #AmWriting #MMRomance #SlowandSteady
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
I'm getting there. Monday and Tuesday were great writing days. Yesterday and today, not so much. #FirstDraftFall #WeeknightWriters #AmStillWriting
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Chapter 13 was not raring to go tonight like I expected. Instead, I cut all of 394 words across my co-protagonist's six current chapters. This is no longer a novel-length novella (~44K words). It is going to straight up be a novel (~57K words). #AmWriting #WeeknightWriters #FirstDraftFall
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
OMG-OMG-OMG-OMG-OMG-OMG-OMG-OMG I don't even know what else to say. Because this is really happening. I'm really publishing alongside 26 other absolutely AMAZING neurospicy authors! Hope y'all can support us when the event starts in January! #NeurodivergentRep #QueerAuthors🌈✒️ #WritingCommunity
Text reads "BookFunnel Promotion Event. Neurodivergence in Queer Romance. Neurodivergent Authors. Neurodivergent Characters. 27 Original Free Stories. Part 2: February 2026."

Below the text is a book cover with magenta, blue, and gray highlights. Cover reads "It Was Always You by Kali Benson."
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Reposted by Kali Benson
Shannon | Editor of Words | Writer of Words | Lover of Words @editorshannon.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
I really did it. Store’s LIVE! Focused workbooks for queer romance & detective thriller authors—prompts for HEA/HFN arcs & detective case spines, plus scene tests to catch plot holes early. 👉🏾 payhip.com/sageediting #QueerRomance #DetectiveThriller
On purple gradient background, dark purple text reads "Author Resources. Reflecting on your story one word at a time" with a pride-colored pen drawing the last letter of "time".
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
1,612 words and Chapter 12 finished. Ten chapters left in the first draft. Current word count: 28,645. The original requested word-count range was 10–25K... 🫣 #WeeknightWriters #AmWriting #QueerAuthor🌈✒️ #MMRomance
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
1,440 words after FINALLY figuring out where I wanted to start that new chapter. A damn good writing session, if I do say so myself. #WeeknightWriters #AmWriting #QueerAuthor🌈✒️ #MMRomance #WritingCommunity
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
My co-protagonist is really trying to take over my current WIP. But if I let him do that, as much as I love him, the whole story would shift on its axis and need to be reevaluated. #FirstDraftFall #AmWriting
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
All I said was the man had a point, y'all. 😭 I didn't say ANYTHING about how he went about proving said point!
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Kali Benson @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
The man had a damn good point, is all I'm saying...
media.tenor.com
a man with glasses and a beard is looking up at something .
Alt: Erik Killmonger, a Black man wearing wire-framed glasses and sporting a goatee, pointing at an artifact in a museum (from 2018's Black Panther).
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