Sarah Smith
@sarah-j-smith.bsky.social
Writer and software developer. Currently in revision hell for my debut novel “Montonbury Marsh”. No gen AI ever.
Stories: https://open.substack.com/pub/authenticwriting
Books at https://www.storybridge.org
Stories: https://open.substack.com/pub/authenticwriting
Books at https://www.storybridge.org
Up for a writing challenge? For me it's third times the charm, I hope! Join me in the 20th annual Short Story Challenge by @nycmidnight.bsky.social on January 23rd! Learn more at nycmidnight.com/ssc
The Short Story Challenge — nycmidnight
The Short Story Challenge is an annual creative writing competition that challenges writers around the world to create short stories based on genre, subject, and character assignments in as little as ...
nycmidnight.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:29 AM
Up for a writing challenge? For me it's third times the charm, I hope! Join me in the 20th annual Short Story Challenge by @nycmidnight.bsky.social on January 23rd! Learn more at nycmidnight.com/ssc
What’s in a name? A lot more than you’d think. And it’s a question that can say much about those who ask it. An essay for the ages of tech.
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...
The Difference between Software Engineers and Developers
A sometimes tongue in cheek look at this vexed and nuanced discrimination
open.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 12:14 PM
What’s in a name? A lot more than you’d think. And it’s a question that can say much about those who ask it. An essay for the ages of tech.
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...
The victim blaming of these AI companies while they take taxpayer money & govt handouts makes me ill.
#Technology #AI #RegulationNow
#Technology #AI #RegulationNow
Gen AI is sold as safe on the basis that people are perfect.
AI psychosis, dependence, hallucinations? Your fault people, you have to be AI literate.
AI revenge porn, scams? Oh, “don’t regulate a technology”, it’s the people.
Have you met people?
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...
AI psychosis, dependence, hallucinations? Your fault people, you have to be AI literate.
AI revenge porn, scams? Oh, “don’t regulate a technology”, it’s the people.
Have you met people?
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...
Let me Introduce you to People.
An Aussie tragedy in 2010 showed how Governments hell bent on "free market" stimulus has deathly consequences. Regulation is not a nice to have. Failure is deathly serious.
open.substack.com
October 24, 2025 at 10:07 PM
The victim blaming of these AI companies while they take taxpayer money & govt handouts makes me ill.
#Technology #AI #RegulationNow
#Technology #AI #RegulationNow
Gen AI is sold as safe on the basis that people are perfect.
AI psychosis, dependence, hallucinations? Your fault people, you have to be AI literate.
AI revenge porn, scams? Oh, “don’t regulate a technology”, it’s the people.
Have you met people?
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...
AI psychosis, dependence, hallucinations? Your fault people, you have to be AI literate.
AI revenge porn, scams? Oh, “don’t regulate a technology”, it’s the people.
Have you met people?
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...
Let me Introduce you to People.
An Aussie tragedy in 2010 showed how Governments hell bent on "free market" stimulus has deathly consequences. Regulation is not a nice to have. Failure is deathly serious.
open.substack.com
October 24, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Gen AI is sold as safe on the basis that people are perfect.
AI psychosis, dependence, hallucinations? Your fault people, you have to be AI literate.
AI revenge porn, scams? Oh, “don’t regulate a technology”, it’s the people.
Have you met people?
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...
AI psychosis, dependence, hallucinations? Your fault people, you have to be AI literate.
AI revenge porn, scams? Oh, “don’t regulate a technology”, it’s the people.
Have you met people?
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...
Ye gods, this came out a bit JD Salinger, a bit Janet Frame. Maudlin memoir much. But, yeah, my childhood in a place by the sea.
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
The Latch-key Kids
Only a little remains in my memory of growing up. Not a fan of visiting my childhood. But these are some threads.
open.substack.com
October 18, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Ye gods, this came out a bit JD Salinger, a bit Janet Frame. Maudlin memoir much. But, yeah, my childhood in a place by the sea.
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
Killoch sought immortality. Others would pay the price, unless Bea and Owen can stop him. A short story for our AI obsessed age. Art by me. 💙📚
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
Loaded Question
Killoch seeks immortality. Ethical and scientific barriers to godhood are no match for his wealth and power. But whistleblower Owen and determined saboteur Bea might upend everything.
open.substack.com
October 17, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Killoch sought immortality. Others would pay the price, unless Bea and Owen can stop him. A short story for our AI obsessed age. Art by me. 💙📚
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
Little tech-horror to liven your weekend. Art & words by me.
#Short 💙📚
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
#Short 💙📚
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
Loaded Question
Killoch seeks immortality. Ethical and scientific barriers to godhood are no match for his wealth and power. But whistleblower Owen and determined saboteur Bea might upend everything.
open.substack.com
October 11, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Little tech-horror to liven your weekend. Art & words by me.
#Short 💙📚
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
#Short 💙📚
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
Bloxham is sent by Whitehall to fix problems. But he finds himself piloting an experimental submersible alongside an enigmatic scientist, to take on an enemy of the British empire in the most dangerous of places: the ocean floor.
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My latest short. Art by me.
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
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My latest short. Art by me.
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
The Ironclad
In 1834 a burned out English naval officer is sent by Whitehall to pilot an experimental submersible across the ocean floor to face a terrifying threat from the deeps.
open.substack.com
October 4, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Bloxham is sent by Whitehall to fix problems. But he finds himself piloting an experimental submersible alongside an enigmatic scientist, to take on an enemy of the British empire in the most dangerous of places: the ocean floor.
💙📚
My latest short. Art by me.
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
💙📚
My latest short. Art by me.
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
The very last chapter is now complete. Will Hilde be able to convince the Brehon to rule against a crusading bishop & free her mother from the witch-burning pyre?
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open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
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open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
The Brehon
Chapter 31: Witch's Daughter. Bronach has been roped to a pyre, and her fate lies in the hands of the Brehon judges. Hilde will speak but how can she counter the Bishop in black?
open.substack.com
September 20, 2025 at 9:55 PM
The very last chapter is now complete. Will Hilde be able to convince the Brehon to rule against a crusading bishop & free her mother from the witch-burning pyre?
💙📚
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
💙📚
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
Reposted by Sarah Smith
Weekends are for Wandering!
How about a walk at Derrigimlagh Bog in Connemara? This haunting landscape of blanket bog is full of stories.
It was also the site where pioneering aviators Alcock and Brown crash-landed, successfully completing the world's first non-stop transatlantic flight.
#Ireland
How about a walk at Derrigimlagh Bog in Connemara? This haunting landscape of blanket bog is full of stories.
It was also the site where pioneering aviators Alcock and Brown crash-landed, successfully completing the world's first non-stop transatlantic flight.
#Ireland
September 20, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Weekends are for Wandering!
How about a walk at Derrigimlagh Bog in Connemara? This haunting landscape of blanket bog is full of stories.
It was also the site where pioneering aviators Alcock and Brown crash-landed, successfully completing the world's first non-stop transatlantic flight.
#Ireland
How about a walk at Derrigimlagh Bog in Connemara? This haunting landscape of blanket bog is full of stories.
It was also the site where pioneering aviators Alcock and Brown crash-landed, successfully completing the world's first non-stop transatlantic flight.
#Ireland
It’s done.
Revision and publication ready process will start in a month or so. For now rest.
💙📚
sarah-jane-smith.gumroad.com/l/witches-da...
Revision and publication ready process will start in a month or so. For now rest.
💙📚
sarah-jane-smith.gumroad.com/l/witches-da...
The Witch’s Daughter - Novel Serialised in Parts
EBOOK UPDATED WEEKLY - YOU ARE BUYING ALL FUTURE UPDATES WHICH DROP FOR FREE EVERY SUNDAY - 6AM AEST.Blaine Cottage, Ireland, 2 May 1169. Dawn arises on a normal day of chores for Hilde Blaine. But th...
sarah-jane-smith.gumroad.com
September 20, 2025 at 7:45 AM
It’s done.
Revision and publication ready process will start in a month or so. For now rest.
💙📚
sarah-jane-smith.gumroad.com/l/witches-da...
Revision and publication ready process will start in a month or so. For now rest.
💙📚
sarah-jane-smith.gumroad.com/l/witches-da...
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
💙📚
Presale ebook is available here:
sarah-jane-smith.gumroad.com/l/witches-da...
💙📚
Presale ebook is available here:
sarah-jane-smith.gumroad.com/l/witches-da...
Into the Mists
Chapter 30: The Witch's Daughter. De Prendergast has Uncle Don in his grasp until something inexplicable happens. The town mourns, but also the invasion has them in the mood for a witch-burning.
open.substack.com
September 13, 2025 at 10:08 PM
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
💙📚
Presale ebook is available here:
sarah-jane-smith.gumroad.com/l/witches-da...
💙📚
Presale ebook is available here:
sarah-jane-smith.gumroad.com/l/witches-da...
Following the “Gen AI is a Mugs Game” post - here I look at Stargate and the nuclear power/AI data center nexus.
Unprofitable con now to be taxpayer funded mothball site.
Oh, and no regulation, because who would want to regulate nuclear power.
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...
Unprofitable con now to be taxpayer funded mothball site.
Oh, and no regulation, because who would want to regulate nuclear power.
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...
Stargate Data Centres to be Dangerous Nuclear Powered White Elephants.
Hyperscalers that provide compute for companies like OpenAI now build nuclear power stations when they build data centres. Three Mile Island is one. Who's regulating them?
open.substack.com
September 12, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Following the “Gen AI is a Mugs Game” post - here I look at Stargate and the nuclear power/AI data center nexus.
Unprofitable con now to be taxpayer funded mothball site.
Oh, and no regulation, because who would want to regulate nuclear power.
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...
Unprofitable con now to be taxpayer funded mothball site.
Oh, and no regulation, because who would want to regulate nuclear power.
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...
Unmasking the AGI lie - when will decision makers stop spending $$ on this scam?
Unmasking the AGI lie - when will decision makers stop spending $$ on this scam?
Gen AI is a Mugs Game
Generative AI cos-playing as AGI was always a scam that targeted rubes. Let's lay out some facts that analysts and writers - long excoriated as "haters" - have been saying.
open.substack.com
September 10, 2025 at 1:25 AM
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...
Unmasking the AGI lie - when will decision makers stop spending $$ on this scam?
Unmasking the AGI lie - when will decision makers stop spending $$ on this scam?
Bent on revenge a group of the most feared Norman invaders enters Duncormac #HistoricalFiction
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
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open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
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Donal's Last Stand
Chapter 29: The Witch's Daughter. Bent on revenge a group of the most feared invaders enters Duncormac
open.substack.com
September 6, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Bent on revenge a group of the most feared Norman invaders enters Duncormac #HistoricalFiction
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
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open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
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JB wins the Internet and perfectly captures the grasping self-entitled lust for power of these AI fascists.
open.substack.com/pub/aliensid...
open.substack.com/pub/aliensid...
Top Tech Executives Warn That Charging AI Companies for Electricity, Or Hardware or Anything Really Is Censorship Of Innovation
DAVOS, Switzerland — A coalition of tech executives, venture capitalists, and innovation self‑describers warned this week that unless governments immediately provide free electricity to the artificial...
open.substack.com
September 4, 2025 at 9:21 AM
JB wins the Internet and perfectly captures the grasping self-entitled lust for power of these AI fascists.
open.substack.com/pub/aliensid...
open.substack.com/pub/aliensid...
A turn in the dramatic battle of Duncormac Bridge gives Hilde and friends a chance to lick their wounds. But the vicious de Prendergast is now at the head of the Norman army. And doom is upon the villagers. 💙📚
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
Dawn
The Witch's Daughter: Chapter 27. It seems the bravest villagers have given their all but an unexpected ally arrives, and Hilde's friends retreat to lick their wounds. The Normans march on.
open.substack.com
August 30, 2025 at 9:57 PM
A turn in the dramatic battle of Duncormac Bridge gives Hilde and friends a chance to lick their wounds. But the vicious de Prendergast is now at the head of the Norman army. And doom is upon the villagers. 💙📚
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
Latest chapter is out.
Giffard, a knight & mercenary from the Languedoc, is one answer to why I write. Characters like that come alive, howl at me to be let on to the page.
🪓 ⚔️
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
Giffard, a knight & mercenary from the Languedoc, is one answer to why I write. Characters like that come alive, howl at me to be let on to the page.
🪓 ⚔️
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
August 23, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Latest chapter is out.
Giffard, a knight & mercenary from the Languedoc, is one answer to why I write. Characters like that come alive, howl at me to be let on to the page.
🪓 ⚔️
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
Giffard, a knight & mercenary from the Languedoc, is one answer to why I write. Characters like that come alive, howl at me to be let on to the page.
🪓 ⚔️
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
1169. Ships sail west. Murderous sell-swords aboard, at the behest of a dethroned king.
But Ostmen from a small village gave those soldiers pause. A skirmish…
…from which I’ve woven a tantalising tale that fits the facts and make a ripping yarn to boot.
💙📚
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
But Ostmen from a small village gave those soldiers pause. A skirmish…
…from which I’ve woven a tantalising tale that fits the facts and make a ripping yarn to boot.
💙📚
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
The Witch's Daughter Guide
Chapter guide, maps, ebook links, background notes and more. The one place to find everything related to this serialised historical novel.
open.substack.com
August 19, 2025 at 9:10 AM
1169. Ships sail west. Murderous sell-swords aboard, at the behest of a dethroned king.
But Ostmen from a small village gave those soldiers pause. A skirmish…
…from which I’ve woven a tantalising tale that fits the facts and make a ripping yarn to boot.
💙📚
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
But Ostmen from a small village gave those soldiers pause. A skirmish…
…from which I’ve woven a tantalising tale that fits the facts and make a ripping yarn to boot.
💙📚
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
Arrows fly into the dawn, from Norman bowmen. Hilde, her uncle and the chief wait in the mists. It is certain death, at the bridge into Duncormac. But history will mark the momentous day that happens for millennia hence.
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open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
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open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
The Battle of Duncormac Bridge
The Witch's Daughter, Chapter 26: At dawn, wary and distrustful of spirits, FitzStephen leads a detachment of soldiers to take Duncormac Bridge. But he faces the mists and the determined Irish.
open.substack.com
August 16, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Arrows fly into the dawn, from Norman bowmen. Hilde, her uncle and the chief wait in the mists. It is certain death, at the bridge into Duncormac. But history will mark the momentous day that happens for millennia hence.
💙📚
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
💙📚
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
Battle is nigh, the sun rising on a clear day as Hilde walks through the early mists. Donegal’s resolve in doubt, will the chief stand alone against the foreigners?
#BookSky 💙📚 #HistoricalFiction
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
#BookSky 💙📚 #HistoricalFiction
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
The Mists of Tir na nÓg
The Witch's Daughter: Chapter 26. As Donegal's resolve weakens, Hilde confronts him. Before dawn, before joining battle, she visits her Mama and meets an unexpected visitor.
open.substack.com
August 9, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Battle is nigh, the sun rising on a clear day as Hilde walks through the early mists. Donegal’s resolve in doubt, will the chief stand alone against the foreigners?
#BookSky 💙📚 #HistoricalFiction
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
#BookSky 💙📚 #HistoricalFiction
open.substack.com/pub/authenti...
The AI promoters are back claiming victim-hood.
Tell me Im going to be sacked and replaced by someone using AI? Definitely time to re-raise this one.
substack.com/@sarahsmith1...
Tell me Im going to be sacked and replaced by someone using AI? Definitely time to re-raise this one.
substack.com/@sarahsmith1...
Sarah Smith (@sarahsmith151988)
The coldest most insidious bullshit I have seen in a while is proxies & shills for AI co-opting the language of the oppressed.
Telling artists who’ve had their livelihoods stolen, and been bled dry ...
substack.com
August 9, 2025 at 2:50 AM
The AI promoters are back claiming victim-hood.
Tell me Im going to be sacked and replaced by someone using AI? Definitely time to re-raise this one.
substack.com/@sarahsmith1...
Tell me Im going to be sacked and replaced by someone using AI? Definitely time to re-raise this one.
substack.com/@sarahsmith1...
Bitch, my eye-liner is running like hell, my AI boobs ache!
And you want me to analyse a stack of papers from 1962?
Pt2 of my “Dumb AI Agent Marketing Pic Hall of Shame” is up!
#AiAgent #SlopTakedown
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...
And you want me to analyse a stack of papers from 1962?
Pt2 of my “Dumb AI Agent Marketing Pic Hall of Shame” is up!
#AiAgent #SlopTakedown
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...
August 8, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Bitch, my eye-liner is running like hell, my AI boobs ache!
And you want me to analyse a stack of papers from 1962?
Pt2 of my “Dumb AI Agent Marketing Pic Hall of Shame” is up!
#AiAgent #SlopTakedown
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...
And you want me to analyse a stack of papers from 1962?
Pt2 of my “Dumb AI Agent Marketing Pic Hall of Shame” is up!
#AiAgent #SlopTakedown
open.substack.com/pub/totallya...