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Dale Ivan Smith

@daleivan.bsky.social

Retired librarian, now "full-time" writer/ reader of fantasy, SF and mystery. TKZ blogger. Author of The Empowered series, Meg Booker librarian mystery series, and various novellas and short stories. Avid stargazer, role-player, board gamer. Fez wearer.

1,870 Followers  |  449 Following  |  1,592 Posts  |  Joined: 27.01.2024
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Posts by Dale Ivan Smith (@daleivan.bsky.social)

Why We Procrastinate and How To Stop | Killzoneblog.com

Procrastination is a bugbear for many writers, including myself. This morning at TKZ Sue Coletta writers about how to deal with it, with tips on mindfulness #writing #writingcommunity #procrastination

killzoneblog.com/2026/03/why-...

02.03.2026 15:21 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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DS Harriet March's latest investigation sees her spending the night in a 'haunted' manor house. But that's OK, Harriet doesn't believe in ghosts...

UK: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0GHZN9F1L
USA: www.amazon.com/dp/B0GHZN9F1L

#CozyMystery #Audiobook #KindleUnlimited

02.03.2026 09:44 β€” πŸ‘ 14    πŸ” 11    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
A bright halo surrounds the nearly full Moon tonight. Banks of cloud are to the left and below the Moon, with a pine tree directly below the Moon’s position in the sky.

A bright halo surrounds the nearly full Moon tonight. Banks of cloud are to the left and below the Moon, with a pine tree directly below the Moon’s position in the sky.

45 degree halo around the Moon tonight here, with the faint image of a 22 degree halo closer in, thanks to ice crystals high in the atmosphere #Moon #Halo #astronomy #astrophotography

02.03.2026 04:36 β€” πŸ‘ 32    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

This is such an exciting day for me, with the premiere of the film made about my 17 years rewilding an Irish Atlantic rainforest (also the film's title).

What a surreal moment in my life it'll be to see the ecosystem I know and love so well on a big cinema screen!!

28.02.2026 07:19 β€” πŸ‘ 489    πŸ” 90    πŸ’¬ 25    πŸ“Œ 1
Structure of a creative breakthrough.

1. Clarify problem
2. Do massive research on problem. Gives you information to use and keeps your conscious mind occupied.
3. Brainstorm every answer you can come up with.
4. When you have reached the absolute limit to what you can come up with, take a complete break. Do something else: exercise, see a movie, nap, etc. 

When your conscious mind is totally pre-occupied with another task the A-ga moment will occur.

Structure of a creative breakthrough. 1. Clarify problem 2. Do massive research on problem. Gives you information to use and keeps your conscious mind occupied. 3. Brainstorm every answer you can come up with. 4. When you have reached the absolute limit to what you can come up with, take a complete break. Do something else: exercise, see a movie, nap, etc. When your conscious mind is totally pre-occupied with another task the A-ga moment will occur.

How to design an β€˜Ah-ha’ moment #creativity #writingcommunity

28.02.2026 20:16 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

β€œFlorida Man Goes Orwellian.”

28.02.2026 18:47 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Moxie a black and white 10 month kitty, lays beside the blue-jeans clad legs of his hooman minion, on β€œhis” couch.

Moxie a black and white 10 month kitty, lays beside the blue-jeans clad legs of his hooman minion, on β€œhis” couch.

And her formerly skittish brother Moxie is also now a leg barnacle

28.02.2026 18:37 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Black and white cat Moxie and his sister mostly white cat Maeve cuddle on top of a quilt at one end of our couch.

Black and white cat Moxie and his sister mostly white cat Maeve cuddle on top of a quilt at one end of our couch.

Timeline cleanseβ€”Moxie and Maeve cuddling on their end of the couch
#catsofbluesky #cats #caturday

28.02.2026 18:34 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

She’s at it again this morning 😺

28.02.2026 18:32 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Some great mystery reads here #booksy #cozymystery

28.02.2026 15:27 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

they're not wrong

27.02.2026 15:59 β€” πŸ‘ 23    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Fantastic song from a fantastic album, one of the great ones.

28.02.2026 14:44 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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We're Back... This past Wednesday night, we returned to our actual play, NorrΓΈngard Unscripted, after a hiatus of a couple months. We stopped to go away and finally finish our Empire of the Ghouls campaign (a great...

New newsletter talking about streaming #TTRPGs, a recent #Kickstarter, and #StarTrek lazy-wolves.ghost.io/were-back-2/

27.02.2026 15:56 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Every time I open up the PDX Write Week, I feel so lucky to live in an area with so many awesome literary events!
This feeling is immediately followed up by feeling completely overwhelmed there's too much to choose from. :D

26.02.2026 21:44 β€” πŸ‘ 14    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Please do!

25.02.2026 22:40 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
MST3K pic from 1998: TV’s Frank, Brain Guy, Pearl Forrester, and Bobo. Photo courtesy of Beez McKeever.

MST3K pic from 1998: TV’s Frank, Brain Guy, Pearl Forrester, and Bobo. Photo courtesy of Beez McKeever.

Here’s @frankconniff.bsky.social, me, Mary Jo & Kevin in a pic taken by @beezmckeever.bsky.social when TV’s Frank came back to MST3K as a Soultaker.

We’re getting this band back together soon and finally adding Dr. F!

25.02.2026 05:04 β€” πŸ‘ 1523    πŸ” 151    πŸ’¬ 35    πŸ“Œ 11

Still lying about who pays the tariff (tax). Answer: We the People.

25.02.2026 02:48 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Official Team GB Paralympic photo, with the the crests and everything, and a professional headshot, but it's for "Pickle, A Very Good Girl", who is a black labrador, with a hi-viz harness and a red collar.

Official Team GB Paralympic photo, with the the crests and everything, and a professional headshot, but it's for "Pickle, A Very Good Girl", who is a black labrador, with a hi-viz harness and a red collar.

Some of you like dogs, in which case you may appreciate that guide dogs of Team GB for the Paralympics get official photos

24.02.2026 19:39 β€” πŸ‘ 2699    πŸ” 876    πŸ’¬ 37    πŸ“Œ 73

Check out this great article in @oregonian.com featuring Hollywood Theatre's 100 Challenge to see 100 films at the Hollywood in 2026! "Hit those milestones and share the journey. "

www.oregonlive.com/business/202...

23.02.2026 22:22 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Well said!

23.02.2026 22:05 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Congratulations, dear friend!!! I’m thrilled to learn this! So glad to see your work recognized in this wasy ❀️

23.02.2026 22:05 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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A Conversation with Author Fran Wilde Cushing Memorial Library & Archives is pleased to host author Fran Wilde. Wilde will discuss her work and career as an author, including her most recent novels, A Catalog of Storms...

Hey Texas, I’m coming your way next week, with a visit to Texas A&M and the Cushing Library - check out the public event on 3/2! tamu.libcal.com/event/16401752

23.02.2026 18:36 β€” πŸ‘ 21    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Vaccination is one of the greatest breakthroughs humans have made. My own mother was largely deaf after contracting measles in the late 1940s as a girl, before there was a vaccine. Vaccination matters so much.

23.02.2026 17:10 β€” πŸ‘ 34    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks for sharing this today. Your cover art for Spell for Chameleon hooked me into reading the book back in the day.

23.02.2026 15:00 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
White cat with black spots Maeve cuddles on the couch against her hooman’s jeans legs.

White cat with black spots Maeve cuddles on the couch against her hooman’s jeans legs.

So much for getting up off the couch #cats

22.02.2026 15:36 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

We can be our own biggest obstacles as writers. I know I am. Getting out of our own way and allowing ourselves to write what we want, what we need, to write, is hard but so important. Here’s to words for both of us.

22.02.2026 15:24 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Writing For Fame | Killzoneblog.com

Today’s TKZ post is by James Scott Bell and is about the folly of chasing fame #writing #writingcommunity
killzoneblog.com/2026/02/writ...

22.02.2026 15:18 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Amazing work. The new Seestar S30 pro has a wider field of view, so the image scale is smaller, but produces a more detailed image, to my eyes at least.

22.02.2026 14:47 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks so much, my friend! ❀️

21.02.2026 17:58 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Writing the Old-Fashioned Way: Alternatives to Artificial Intelligence for Writers | Killzoneblog.com

bookmarking this to check out some very useful links

Thanks @daleivan.bsky.social for the shout-out of a brainstorming post of mine (from 2013!! πŸ‘€)

#writing
killzoneblog.com/2026/02/writ...

21.02.2026 17:15 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0