iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 58m

Here’s to escaping, surviving, and making your mark on the world. #seasonofthewitch

Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 1h

Undeterred, she quit her teaching job, made her way to Hollywood, where she did start getting roles. In fact, in 1939 she made her mark with a performance, that had nothing to do with beauty and everything to do with indelible character work. Also, she survived being accidentally set on fire.

Black and white photo of Margaret Hamilton as the wicked witch

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 1h

This woman didn’t want to stay a school teacher; she wanted to be an actress. Most people she knew were not encouraging of this; she didn’t have the looks for it, and this was small town New England. And did I mention this was the 1920s?

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 1h

Here’s a seasonal story to enliven these grim times: when my grandmother was in kindergarten, her teacher was a woman named Margaret Hamilton (not the NASA engineer! This was the 1920s).

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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

My quote of the day If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no shortcut. Stephen King

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Xero now with 100% more 🎃 @artificer-ind.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Still patiently waiting to be "left behind" by AI rather than it chasing me across every damn space like a slasher in a low budget flick.

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I have a new story ! "10 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Fire Me From This Job at the Galactic Hippodrome," just missed coming out, appropriately, on Labor Day, but you can still read it here: goblinsandgalaxies.com/ten-reasons-...

goblinsandgalaxies.com

Ten Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Fire Me from This Job at the Galactic Hippodrome – Goblins & Galaxies Magazine

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Janna Layton @jannalayton.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I have a short story out in Swords & Sorcery!

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Evan May @gianttourtiere.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Happy Labour Day. Solidarity. (art by @rlmartstudio.bsky.social)

A pro-labour poster, with text at top 'The Labor Movement! The folks that brought you ...' Underneath are stylized drawings of people of various ages, genders, and ethnicities holding signs reading 'overtime pay', 'living wage laws', 'parental leave', 'civil rights', 'domestic partner benefits', social security, child labour laws, paid vacations, pension benefits, OSHA, grievance procedures, workplace power, health benefits, workers comp, minimum wage, farm labor rights, unemployment insurance, the weekend.

Below is a quote: 'Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will' - Frederick Douglass.

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Aw, thank you! I’m glad some of my story-craft nerdery resonated!

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

So many, but I’ll start with: The Animal Family Swallows and Amazons Misty of Chincoteague Freddy the Detective The Hobbit The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Wren to the Rescue Dealing With Dragons Redwall All Creatures Great and Small

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Christina Orlando @cxorlando.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Hello, book people! I am the book content editor for Reactor Mag and I'm looking for sci-fi, fantasy, horror, romantasy, and speculative books coming out in 2027! If you have an adult or YA SFF/H book out next year (or publicist), share the link/info here!

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Will you be at @laworldcon.bsky.social? I will! You can find me at one of these events

Infographic listing Chloe Smith’s worldcon schedule

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

I finally sprang for a grown-up author website with my own domain name! You can now find a roundup of all my work and a little bit about me at imaginary-research.com

imaginary-research.com

Chloe Smith

Author

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

10 non-horror movies to get to know me: THE PHILADELPHIA STORY THE LADYKILLERS (original) SILK STOCKINGS STRICTLY BALLROOM TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK INTO THE SPIDERVERSE HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (original) DELICATESSEN TOPSY TURVY

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Natania Barron ~ Fantasy Author @natania.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

I think petrichor might actually soothe the soul.

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

30 years later, I’m thrilled that my ode to the feelings Le Guin’s story inspired, “Through Darkness, in Search of Answers,” will appear in a future issue of @kaleidotrope.bsky.social. I can’t wait for you to walk through the dark with me.

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

When child-Chloe first read Le Guin’s The Tombs of Atuan, its story of searching for autonomy in a world of dark and unimaginable mysteries took hold of me and never let go.

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

This story probes the depths of two pits of monstrosity: history and the deep sea

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Big appreciation to @lyradora.bsky.social for selecting "Potential Energy" to appear in such good company, and to @fetaplace.bsky.social who gave vital feedback on an early draft of this story and noted its *big feelings*.

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

My story "Potential Energy," about a witch who lives at the top of the Tejon Pass and distributes mixed blessings to the hungry ambitious, is out in Covens, Cauldrons, and Curses Gone Right, alongside many other fine stories! eternalhauntedsummer.com/gorgons-gaze...

eternalhauntedsummer.com

Gorgon’s Gaze Press

Welcome to Gorgon’s Gaze Press, the home of collaborative storytelling. Beginning in Autumn 2025, Gorgon’s Gaze Press will release one new themed anthology every year: vampires, witches…

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

My bus is stuck in traffic behind an ambulance, but the bus seats now come equipped with usb ports so you can charge your phone

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

It’s raining this morning, which makes the streets smell and feel like a public shower/urinal, but you can buy a 5-dollar umbrella at the corner bodega if your forgot yours.

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Every time I return to NYC, I marvel at the city’s combination of off-put and convenience, its unfriendly friendliness.

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Sometimes you just have a flee the manor in a nightgown… I had a great time talking Gothic novels at today’s #MetropolCon panel with @claudiarapp.bsky.social , @rflong.bsky.social, @sarahreesbrennan.bsky.social and Rogelio Ribeiro

Cover of vintage gothic romance novel Ravenswood, with distressed-looking woman in a massive white dress running from a mansion, past a hedge maze.

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

show me a picture (of yourself) that captures your essence

Me, smiling through the face hole in a cardboard painting of a Halloween witch

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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Yes it could be argued that keeping up with world events is important but alternatively can I interest you in hugging an ancient mossy boulder that looks like a face and quietly listening while it tells you stories from centuries cloaked in mist.

A lovely mossy boulder with a face. I walked past this venerable stone gentleman on Dartmoor when I was beginning to write my first novel, Villager, and it whispered all 104,000 words of the book to me. So now I have to pay it all of my royalties. Unfortunately my ex-publisher stopped paying me royalties last year. Understandable, the boulder was not happy. But now I have a new publisher and the book has been republished. So remember if you purchase a copy you will be helping a boulder to eat, pay the rent on his riverside moss garden, and feed his boulder family.

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

MC WordSmith Shuffalo 🟡🟡🟡🟡 🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡 🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡 🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡 🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/shuffalo/2026/06/15?

newyorker.com

Play Shuffalo: Monday, June 15, 2026

Can you make a longer word with each new letter?

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Gareth Watkins @garethwatkins.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Grimdark: Everything is fucked Dying Earth: the world is fucked New Weird: A city is fucked Folk horror: A village is fucked Gothic: A castle or mansion is fucked but so are families 'Elevated' A24 horror: families are fucked Body Horror: You are fucked Vampires: vampires

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Jane Yolen (1939-1926) was one of the authors whose works sheltered me through the gauntlet of middle school and showed me the power, beauty, and brutality of storytelling. I would not be the person I am today without her words and stories inside me.

Original cover of Dragon’s Blood by Jane Yolen

90s cover of The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

Original cover of Briar Rose by Jane Yolen

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

My hot take: this series is more subtle and satisfying than ASOIAF.

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

I guess you can’t actually depend on the red wheelbarrow

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

This is pretty much how I write science fiction

New Yorker cartoon by E. Flake of a beekeeper creating a complicated narrative backstory for the behavior or their bees

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

One week from the end of the school year, and I’m dangerously close to becoming Murderbot—though whether that’s so I could efficiently eliminate hostiles or secretly watch media while at work is anyone’s guess

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T. K. Rex @tkrex.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Starts at 7! Very close to 16th street BART

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Happy Mother’s Day, Beowulf

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Chloe Smith @chloehsmith.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Contract signed—I’m so happy to announce that my story “Of His Bones Are Corals Made” will appear in a future issue of @reckoningmag.bsky.social . It’s about grief, loneliness, and reef-building sea sponges. I’m excited for ya’ll to read it!

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