S.D. Smith's Blog, page 39

Memorial Day Thanksgiving

Every nation, people, or culture has a story. It seems to me that in every one of those cultures there is a place of honor reserved for those whose work it is or has been to protect all the others. Such is certainly the case in the American story. From the founding our principal heroes have been warriors. This seems to be the case for most cultures which endure at all (for obvious reasons).

In a world where sin is a universal plague, it is for now necessary to have governments who serve their people by bearing the sword. These abstract considerations find form in so many men and women who serve in the military.

It’s an easy thing to forget that the liberty we enjoy is not produced in a vacuum. It was got the way it is usually got –by men with guns. These men have frequently been people of the highest moral character, willingly sacrificing themselves for the love they have for those they would protect. Many have died.

I think it’s a peculiar and grievous kind of selfish delusion to deny gratitude to these servants.

I pray for peace with our enemies. I understand that our enemies are in need of the Gospel just like we are. I understand that as Christians we are called to have an attitude of forgiveness and love. But the world is what it is and has been since the fall –a place where many powerful men want to dominate others for evil.

I thank God for soldiers who stand guard at the gates, who work to allow me to live in peace and safety in my home. I don’t want to assign divinity to these servants, provoke or participate in idolatry to the nation they serve, but I want to thank them for being an instrument by which we receive so much kindness in our lives.

So thank you. To everyone who signs a paper that says you are willing to go anywhere and fight anyone so I can be with my family and be a lot less fearful than most people in history have been and most people in the world are.

We honor the memory of the fallen, and say that we won’t forget you. Saying “thank you” doesn’t feel adequate. But may we with our lives be a kind of tribute to the cause you laid down your lives for. I’ll hug my kids a little tighter, seek joy and deep meaning in the life I have. And remember the part you played in securing those joys, with thanks.

—   —   —

(Note: This is a few years old. I publish this most every year on Memorial Day because I can’t think of anything better to say.)

 

A Character Story

Some readers of The Green Ember, my first fantasy adventure novel for kids, found the ending to be a cliff-hanger. Some kids even shouted at their parents in frustration, “That is a horrible ending!” and “There has to be another book!” Hey, I’ll take any kind of enthusiastic, emotional response. It means they cared. So, I’ve gotten a few emails along those lines. It hasn’t been the majority. Most don’t even mention it, but there’s a few who are fired up about my “cliff-hanger.”

I didn’t mean to make a cliff-hanger. Sure, like all such books, there’s a big part of the story that remains unresolved, remains “out there” for future adventures. What I meant to do was give a mostly-satisfying resolution to the main promises I made in the “contract” with the reader–implicitly agreed at the beginning of the story.

I wanted to have significant resolution to two problems. The, “What’s wrong with the world?” problem, and the, “What’s wrong with our main characters?” problem. I hoped that when the end of this story came, the reader would feel like a big dent in the World problem happened, and that the characters would have grown to the point that the reader felt satisfied. (Of course they are both mingled.) Is Picket the same sort of rabbit when the story begins as when it ends? What about Heather? I hope not. 

That’s what I was aiming for. I don’t know how well I succeeded. The majority response from parents and kids has been very encouraging, but I know I have a lot of room to grow.

I think one problem might be that, for some readers, I failed to deliver enough of a Character story to make up for what is unresolved in the Event story.

Orson Scott Card talks about the main kinds of stories in his book Character and Viewpoint. In a minefield of material designed to keep writers from writing and perpetuate the Writer’s Self-help Creed of Tell, Don’t Show, or perhaps more likely, Sell, Don’t Show, Character and Viewpoint is practical, insightful, and generally helpful. Card writes about the different types of stories thus.

The M.I.C.E. Quotient

Milieu

The Milieu is the world–the planet, the society, the weather, the family–all the elements that went into creating that special world.

Idea

Idea stories are about the process of finding information. Think of Nolan’s Inception.

Character

The Character story is about the transformation of a character’s role in the communities that matter most to him or her. 

Event

Event stories focus on events which rip the fabric of the universe or disrupt the natural order and cause the world to be in a state of flux. Or, “What’s wrong with the world?”

So all stories fit into these basic types and every story I can think of emphasizes one or two and contains all. Most stories deal significantly in Character and Event.

This example might help you understand what he’s talking about.

One of my favorite parts of The Lord of the Rings is The Scouring of the Shire. When this was cut from Jackson’s film trilogy, I was sad. Why? Because Jackson gives us the Event story, but robs us of a huge part of the Character story. The Event is the destruction of the ring and fixing the “What’s wrong with the world?” problem as Aragorn is married to Arwen and enthroned in Gondor.

But what of the hobbits? What of these characters through whose eyes we have seen the Event story? What of the Character story? For me, their return to the shire and its liberation from statist bureaucrats in league with Sharky, is crucial. How many character stories are resolved in those chapters cut from Jackson’s film? So many. Sharky himself, and Wormtongue. Merry and Pippen, both now literally taller and spiritually greater, in profound ways. But also Sam and Frodo. It’s heartbreaking and glorious. It’s smaller than what happened across the wide miles in Mordor and Gondor, but it’s huge for our characters. The story isn’t over until they liberate the Shire. The Character story isn’t over until we are satisfied. And Tolkien delivers an ending to the Character story that is glorious and truthful. Jackson, as with so many other details (cough, Bombadil), misses something good and, I would argue, essential.

I’m sure my efforts in The Green Ember came up short in many ways. I’m sure those few furious kids are going to be unhappy that the next book I release will be a shorter prequel and not the sequel they are demanding. I’m working on the sequel, but it will be a little while. And part of what I’m doing with the prequel, The Black Star of Kingston, is to fill out the world. I’m delivering on some promises and making new ones. It’s a relationship I’m forming with readers. I hope that, in the end, they will be pleased with the journey we went on together.

After all, in and among a thousand motivations I have as an author, the deepest and truest one is love for those readers and a sincere effort to delight them. And what am I? Only another character in a story, not yet what I will be.

But I am going somewhere. I am growing.

You are too.

Black Star on the Horizon: My Second Book is Going to Press

After an incredible amount of work by a lot of people, (my publisher and partner) Andrew Mackay sent the files for The Black Star of Kingston to press

today. In July, we will be shipping Black Star to you. (If you order it!) It will be available for preorder sometime in the coming weeks!

This is exhilarating and terrifying, like a ride in a hot-air balloon (probably). It’s scary because it’s final. We’ll have a few thousand copies of a book we can’t alter and need to sell. It’s exciting because we know there are people waiting for it, amazing readers who have been so encouraging, enthusiastic, and eager for what’s next after The Green Ember.

I want to keep reminding you wonderful people that this book is a prequel, so it’s not the sequel I keep getting (the most kind) threats about. I am working on the sequel, but I hope you’ll give us a little bit more time on that (next Spring?). In the meantime, I hope you like Black Star.

It takes place around a hundred years before the events in The Green Ember and it has a lot in there for Ember readers to recognize. The prologue from The Green Ember is in this book entire. In fact this is that story. It’s shorter than Ember, actually closer to a usual middle-grade novel length. Zach Franzen is back with amazing cover art and beautiful interiors. (Listen to him and our friend Sarah Mackenzie talk about illustration here.)

In fact, I’d love to show you one of Zach’s illustrations for Black Star right now.

Pretty amazing, yes?

The cover is fantastic. I can’t wait for you to see it! I’ll be sharing the first look at the cover exclusively with those who are signed up on my mailing list. (Easy to do here.)

I think you’re going to love this book. I’m so excited to share it with you VERY SOON.

Is This Book a Hit?, Dear Diary, Black Star News, Help Me If You Can, And More: Let’s Blast April To Smithereens!

Are you sick of this picture yet?

The Green Ember is…Kind of a Hit?

Shew! This has been a little bit bonkers. Somehow we continue to see more and more kids and families find our story. I’m so grateful to all of you. You are the people making that happen. I hesitate to use the word “hit,” but thanks to you, I don’t know what else to say. We just received our third printing (and twice as many in this printing) and already over half of them are accounted for. I don’t want to brag. Really. I just want to celebrate with you all the fact that something pretty special is happening. We are so grateful to you, for you, and we’re excited about where this adventure is headed. It’s honestly not all fun and games, but it is an incredible honor.

Some new book news below, but first, a little journal-ish entry….

A Day in the Life

(I wrote this recently.)

Today was a great day. I was privileged to spend an hour with a small class of 3rd graders who were about halfway through reading The Green Ember as a class. Their teacher, Patty, is a friend from church, and she began reading the book to them a few weeks ago. I got to read them their next chapters and then field really intelligent questions from the class. It was an honor and really fun! They were so interested and engaged. Their enthusiasm was catching.

I left feeling so encouraged. It was the most fun I’ve had at this author gig in a long time. I think that’s because sales sometimes can just feel like numbers. So, while it’s exciting to see more people getting the book, and it’s gratifying to read positive reviews, it’s different than getting to be there in person and see the excitement and anticipation on the kids’ faces. The next best thing is getting mail from readers, especially kids and parents who loved reading the book together as a family. I LOVE hearing from kids and getting drawings. But nothing beats meeting the kids in person. Honestly, and you may find this hard to believe, but the visit lifted me out of a bit of a slump. I was starting to struggle to feel the way I think I should feel about this amazing journey we’re on with the book.

I think I’m just learning how to live in this new reality. I love so much about it, but it is very hard work. It’s a challenge to balance all the urgent demands of two full-time jobs (at least), a young family of six, and all the other things life has for families.

So, please hear me when I say I am so deeply grateful for every kind word of encouragement, every email, letter, hug, and pat on the back. I love hearing from your kids. It’s amazing. It’s so wonderful to know the story is connecting with families. If you think of it, please pray for me and my family. As my friend Andrew Peterson so eloquently sings, “It’s not war, but it’s a fight.”

Black Star News

I am so excited about the new prequel novel coming your way this summer. If you loved The Green Ember, I think you’ll enjoy The Black Star of Kingston as well. It’s shorter, so there’s not as much room to develop things, but it’s going to be a fun look into the backstory of characters mentioned in Ember. If you ever wondered what happened to the rabbits from the prologue, then the answer is coming.

Zach Franzen has completed the cover art and right now Paul Boekell is working with publisher Andrew Mackay on cover design. Hopefully it will be as awesome as this was.

That was Paul poking fun at me after I asked him to make the author name slightly bigger. Read about that and the very exciting story that Paul and his family are living right now, right here.

I got great story feedback from Helena Sorenson Aman and now it’s on to other editors. We’ve got the same gang back together who did such a wonderful job with The Green Ember.

I had hoped to provide you with a cover image, but it’s not quite there yet. But I do have this…

(That is what’s known as a little tease.)

Can You Please Help Us Out With Something Exciting?

We want to make The Green Ember an AR (Advanced Reader) Book. This will help in a number of ways. Many kids only read books with this label because they receive credit for it in this program. So, this is a bit of a wall. It’s hard for small publishers to get on the AR, but if they hear from people all over the country, then it will help tremendously (especially if you’re a teacher–but every one helps).

Your part is very easy. Here are the steps.

1. Go to this site. Renaissance.com 

2. Then click on Customer Center (Top Right)

3. Create a profile. (Just takes a few seconds.)

4. Click on Customer Center again (Top Right)

5. Scroll Down to AR Support (on the right column)

6. Then click on Suggest AR Quizzes

7. Then fill in the form like this:

Quiz Type: Literacy Skills

Book Title: The Green Ember

Author First Name: S. D.  (note spacing)

Author Last name: Smith

ISBN #: 0986223506

Publisher: Story Warren Books

Estimated Interest Level: Middle-Grade (4-8)

It looks like this image…

Thank you so much!

Reviews and Interviews

I was so honored to be the guest on Circe Institute’s Podcast, hosted by my friend, David Kern. We are big fans of Circe, but not fans of how hard it is to pronounce. This interview is definitely low-key (my wife said it made her a little sleepy), so you might enjoy it if you want to hear more of my heart as a storyteller, a West Virginian, a sometime African (for real), and if you need a cure for insomnia.

Here are some of the best reviews I’ve seen lately.

This one is by Liz Cottrell from Living Books Library. It’s called Dear Mr. Smith.

Reading To Know did a nice review here. 

I enjoyed this from Jenny at Heart of a Mother.

Author Talks

I mentioned above about being in a class where my friend Patty teaches, and that was a real thrill.

Alderson

It was an honor to be invited to a wonderful event in beautiful Alderson, WV. Brittney Cassity did a tremendous job organizing and leading the event. I’m so grateful to her. Andrew Mackay (publisher, friend, Canadian fer-ner) and I shared a table with local celebrity author Belinda Anderson. It was great to finally meet her and to buy her latest book. I got to ask her some questions and she was very gracious with this rookie. I’m grateful. I met Eric Fritzius, podcaster, actor, and author. That was a pleasure and I nabbed his new book as well. (Dude has a golden voice.) There were other kind people and it was a delight to meet them and to be around my people, West Virginia authors.

Oddly enough, our readers have been from all over and, though we’ve gotten great support from many local friends and family, we haven’t had much time yet to connect with West Virginia readers. I want very much to do more local events, and this was a great start.

(I caught this pretty lady reading a rabbit book.)

I’m so grateful for friends new and old who have begun creating events for me.

Upcoming Events

I used to play soccer in high school with Brenda Conley’s son and am friends with all her kids. Mrs. Conley contacted me recently and has brewed up an unbelievable event at her school in May. I can’t wait to go to Ravenswood Grade School on May 22. I don’t want to share all the details, but she is ensuring that all the kids go home with a copy of the book! Wow.

Melanie Johnson, a wonderful lady whose kids have been in a Classical Christian homeschooling group with ours, is organizing an event in Lewisburg for May 28. I’m excited about this! If you are in the area, please come out to the Open Book in Lewisburg at 3:30 on May 28.

I’ll be in Charlotte for Inkwell 2015 in June. That’s going to be amazing. I’ll be talking to parents there on Saturday and then speaking at church to kids at CAC on Sunday.

I have a couple of events planned for October (in Nashville with The Rabbit Room and on-line with The Read Aloud Revival Membership Site). More on this later. But if you haven’t heard of The Read-Aloud revival, you need to get on the podcast, and join the membership site. It’s amazing.

I have to take off work for these events, so I can’t do as many as I’d like. But that said, I would love to do some more.

I would love to come to your school, or homeschool group. If you are “inner-ested” please contact Andrew Mackay at:

andrew@storywarren.com

Are These Essential Oils Gluten Free?

Not exactly the same thing, but there’s a lot in common with the Gluten Free Religious Movement and the EO Religious Movement. This either will make you laugh, or offend you. Possibly both?

Things of the Month Things

Book of the Month: The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. Do you have these? Listen, if your family loves The Green Ember, then you will definitely love this incredible series. Andrew is more than just a singer and a pretty face. (Well, two outta three ain’t bad.) Sincerely, AP is a friend and he’s been very good to me. But the story is amazing apart from that. It’s just wonderful. Get it!

Music of the Month: The Milk Carton Kids. Michigan. Great.

Movie of the Month: The first two-thirds of Interstellar? No, let’s go with the entirety of Cinderella. We loved it, from 3 year old girl, to crusty old man (me). All six of us, half-boys and half-girls, loved it. Well, half of us are boys and half are girls. We are not all half-boy, half-girl. Though that would guarantee a reality show, I guess.

Writing Tip of the Month: Stop reading writing tips looking for the silver bullet and read Paradise Lost. Despair. Realize you can’t ever do that, then just relax and stick it to the snobs by doing what you can do. Create something. Ship something that isn’t ready. Tell people about it. Invite them to enjoy it. Be prepared for hard things. Keep working.

The End

Okay we have reached the end of this newsletter. If you think about it, life is like a newsletter. One second you’re bragging about your book and the next minute you’re asking people to request an AR Quiz and buy your next book and to book you to come speak to their precious children for some reason. Ya know? It’s uncanny.

Seriously, God bless you all. Even you people from Ohio. And thank you from the heart of my bottom. I mean, the bottom of my heart.

I’m on your side. Thanks for being on mine.

Sam

(Our family last summer preparing to see our soccer team, Liverpool.)

The Beautiful Irony of Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s Amazing Grace

You can’t imagine how this music (below) takes me back. It takes me back to a dusty township and dirty children, smiling wide, excited to come to church. It takes me back to Africa, to the beautiful Zulus I shared life with as a boy. My father, who planted a Zulu church along with a Zulu pastor, used to joke that you could tap the next five Zulu men you met and if you put them together you’d have the Mills Brothers. This is no insult to the Mills Brothers, a group we love. Instead, it’s an only-barely hyperbolic expression of how incredibly gifted Zulu people are as singers. Almost all Zulus can sing, but perhaps no group is more famous than Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo is legendary in South Africa, hailing not too far from where I lived. But they are also well-known internationally, most famously for backing up Paul Simon on his classic album Graceland. (Here they are singing Diamonds on the Souls of Her Shoes live.) You might also actually recognize them from a Lifesavers commercial.

They are wonderful. They remind me of a powerfully formative period of my life.

I love all their music, but hearing them sing Amazing Grace is particularly poignant. Why?

Because the composer of that song, John Newton, once captained a slave ship trading in African slaves. This is, of course, well-known and was dramatized in the film about Newton’s friend William Wilberforce named, “Amazing Grace.” That all these years later, an African group would sing Newton’s song so beautifully is a kind of glorious irony. The Gospel shattered Newton’s way of life, and the music born of that beautiful breaking has circled the globe and is sung by Christians everywhere, including Africans.

Including Zulus, a people I will always love.

The Green Ember Free Giveaway on Goodreads (Ends April 11)

Goodreads Book Giveaway


The Green Ember
by S.D. Smith

Giveaway ends April 11, 2015.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter to Win

 

Puzzling Out Where Stories Collide

The man who designed the cover of The Green Ember is named Paul Boekell. In fact, after an early version of the design, I asked Paul to make the author name just a bit bigger. “I think I know what Sam is after,” he said. “This will definitely be the final version.” So with some excitement, I clicked on the attachment. This is what I saw.



Awesome, right? I laughed so hard when I saw this that I nearly busted an actual, for realsies, literal gut. Only one gut, but still, you need every single gut you have in order to thrive, according to Science.

 

I have known Paul for most of my life. He was a fellow MK (missionary kid) and we shared plenty of awkward mission’s conferences as kids. I broke his wrist in a pickup game of basketball over 20 years ago (he was guarding me too close). And I’ve been imposing duties on him for the last few, but not “dead-guy duties.” Yet. He’s the (alive) guy responsible for all those beautiful text and image treatments we feature at Story Warren every Tuesday. He’s a pastor in a church where men wear flannel a lot. He’s an amazing photographer. He took the picture of me that I use everywhere, including on my book’s back cover. Paul is a good man, a godly man, and someone I’m very grateful to have for a friend. His story and mine cross in several places. I’m grateful for these intersections.

Now his story, and that of his wife and kids, is about to cross with another soul. A soul far away from their home in West Virginia.

I’m really exited about this. Paul and his wife Sarah Beth are adopting a little girl from Columbia. They have three boys now, so this precious girl will be their first daughter. This story is about that girl. About this family. But there’s more.

 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”
(Ephesians 1:3-6 ESV)

 

For the Boekells, it’s about more than the amazing love they have for this girl, more than rescuing her from being an orphan and adding to their own family. It’s not less than that, but it’s more. They are living a story, a story that is a sign of The Story. And The Story, where it involves people, is about adoption. In love.

 

So, as you no doubt know, it’s crazy expensive to adopt internationally. This is going to cost the Boekells ca. $41,000. They are raising money. I think it would be a great way use your money. For $20, you can share in their story by becoming a part of the puzzle. Here’s Paul…

 

- We have purchased a 500 piece puzzle in hopes that family and friends interested in supporting our adoption will “purchase” all of the pieces – the

 pieces will then represent those who helped bring our daughter home, those who are forever a part of our story.
- Each piece is a minimum donation of $20. You may choose to be one piece of the puzzle or several – completely up to you!
- YOUR name (or chosen word/initials) will be written on the back of each piece you represent.
- Here’s the fun part…Once completed, the puzzle is going to be hung in our little girl’s room as a beautiful keepsake of this adoption story we are living out. Even better, the frame will be double sided! So, we’ll be able to take it off the wall, turn it around, and point out to our daughter the names of all you wonderful folks that helped bring her home, that helped make our family possible. How amazing is that?!

Since you are reading this here, it means that your story and my story, for some reason in some way, is intersecting. I’m glad for that. Thank you! And now it’s intersecting with the Boekell’s story. Why? Maybe in part to bring a little girl from Columbia to West Virginia to become a beloved daughter in a home imbued with the light and love of Christ.

 

So, join in, yeah? If the Lord is calling you to it in joy, be a part of the puzzle.



(Here’s a link to their site. You can also join their journey on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.)

Announcing a New Edition of The Green Ember AVAILABLE TODAY ONLY

This will be exclusively available here and ONLY today, 4/1/15.

We are very excited to announce a new partnership with Disney/LucasFilms to bring a new edition of The Green Ember. 

Limited supply. GET YOUR COPY HERE!

Thanks, Will Silander. 

 

Building A Family Culture Around Books

We are NOT that perfect family that sits together by the fireside every night after gourmet meals reading Shakespeare to the babies. But we are on a journey. We are sharing time together reading aloud, experiencing a shared story, and creating a common history. Nothing can quite replace the experience of a family on a journey together. What’s even sweeter is finding your family isn’t alone, that there are fellow travelers on the road, some who’ve been going longer, some shorter, but all on the same path. This is what it feels like to join in the Read-Aloud Revival membership community.

And what great fellow-travelers we have!

If you know us or read here often, you know that we owe a lot of gratitude to Sarah Mackenzie for how she has enthusiastically shared The Green Ember, and for how much we’ve seen her book, Teaching From a State of Rest, impact our homeschooling community for good. But more than that, we’re also grateful to Sarah for leading the way in this revival of the old custom of shared, oral storytelling. She’s been a voice on the rooftops calling families to come together around true, good, and beautiful stories. We are so grateful for her invitation back into that tradition, for her ongoing inspiration, and for being so active about sharing the best resources for this adventure.

Now she and her team have launched The Read-Aloud Revival Membership Site. It’s excellent! For a mere $5 a month you can join in with the many other families who are on this journey, including ours.

I urge you to take a minute and check it out. 

Read-Aloud Revival Membership Site from Sarah Mackenzie on Vimeo.

Third Printing, New Book News, I Pod, Author Talks, & More or Less…Let’s Blast March To Smithereens

Hello!

I’m delighted to be sharing this newsletter with you. It has updates on my next book(s), a link to a recent interview I did, and fewer jokes about essential oils than ever! Like the lemming said to the other lemming, let’s jump right in.

Classy Appalchians

The Pods That The Pigs Did Eat

I want to share my news about upcoming books, but first this. I was thrilled to be the guest on the most recent episode of The Read-Aloud Revival with Sarah Mackenzie. Now, Sarah has been a champion of The Green Ember, sharing it with so many families, and I was profoundly honored to be her guest. I love the pod and have listened for months, so it was a thrill to be on. Here’s a quote someone grabbed out.

“We do need to go for the heart. The heart is where the affections are moved. A good story aims for the heart and it carries the mind in the same action… sometimes we have loved truth so much that we have scorned beauty and scorned grace. I feel like we need to lay hold of one and not neglect the other. I feel like good storytelling is dripping with truth, but it goes for the heart, it goes for the affections.”

I also said “sort of” and “kind of like” a lot. Something I was thrilled to notice.

Like I said, Sarah has been an advocate for our book and I’m so grateful for her. It’s amazing to me that someone I had nothing to do with connecting the book to (she found it browsing one night) has been one of—if not—THE most influential people recommending the book. I have her endorsement prominently placed on the book page at my site, along with other reviews.

“I don’t usually tell people that there is a book they absolutely-must-no-questions-HAVE-TO-without-a-doubt read. But this one? How shall I put this? If I could choose only one book for my kids to read this year, this would be it. How’s that for a recommendation? Go get it! Officially our favorite read-aloud ever. I’m recommending this to everyone who happens to lend me their ear for 5 seconds. From the Read-Aloud Revival to S.D. Smith: thank you for giving us this beautiful gem!”
—Sarah Mackenzie

Wow. What an honor. We are so thankful for Sarah!

So give her podcast a listen. It’s always great. Also check out her site, and her wonderful book which my wife is soaking in, Teaching From a State of Rest. Absolutely excellent stuff. Soon she’ll have a membership site starting. We are definitely going to jump on that day one.

(The brilliant Burr children newly of Franklin, TN. Loved meeting them!)

Third Printing of The Green Ember!

Yes, you read that right. Thanks to people like you, Sarah, and a growing many more, we are prepping to order our third printing of The Green Ember in as many months. I’d like to play this cool, but this is so exciting! I absolutely cannot believe it. And although it’s terrifying, we are going to order more this time. So we hope sales won’t stop, or we’ll have a LOT of books to prop up broken stools, or whatever. So please don’t stop sharing the book.

It’s exciting to be on this journey and so I’m grateful that you have been along for the ride. It means so much to have friends sharing links, photos, and stories of families enjoying The Green Ember. It bucks us up!

(Our friends in Capetown, South Africa, the Haynes family!)

 

Four Steps to An Amazing Gift That Will Change Your Kids’ Lives

1. Get each of your children an MP3 player (affordable),

2. Buy the audiobook at our store or Audible.

3. Load it up!

4. Give it to the astonished kid.

5. Pat yourself on the back. You are a great parent.

Note: Later, if you add more audiobooks, you will be sharing something genuinely transformative. 

 

New Book News

I mentioned this in the pod with Sarah, but I am very excited about the fact that we are working on a shorter novel, a prequel to The Green Ember called The Black Star of Kingston. I can’t wait to share this with you. Some of you may have received a special limited edition of this where my son Josiah did the illustrations. But this is an expanded version with Ember artist Zach Franzen back with a cover and interior illustrations you will love! He’s a genius. He’s working on it right now and I assure you that YOU (subscribers) will be the very first ones to see the new cover.

Zach’s been sending me little preview sketches, not by any means fully formed. But I’ll share one with you here.

#RabbitsWithMalDeMer

Pretty exciting, right? Yes, this adventure will have rabbits at sea. But they will also have swords. And they will use them. I’m finishing up the writing now and we are hoping the book will be available in time for Inkwell.

What is Inkwell?

I feel bad for mentioning it now, but it’s our Story Warren Family Conference set for June 20th in Charlotte, NC. Why do I feel bad? Because it’s already sold out. It sold out in just one day. You can still get on the waiting list, here.

Inkwell is about unbottling imagination. It’s a chance for kids to meet and learn from incredible, humble heroes like Zach Franzen, Randall Goodgame, Rebecca Reynolds, and Andrew Peterson. It’s a day to experience mentorship, instruction, and delight!

I loved Inkwell last year and I can’t wait to meet and serve families from all over once again. I’ll be speaking to parents and taking responsibility for all the mess-ups. (They will probably really be my fault.)

Author Talks

I recently went on a little trip, speaking in Charlotte a couple of times, in Nashville, and Memphis. My partner and publisher Andrew Mackay drove me all over and we had a great time. It was a really fun trip and I enjoyed each stop, but especially meeting kids. This included some very special kids who have read and loved The Green Ember (and I know this because they actually quoted long passages to me). So fun! What a treat.

One highlight among many was meeting Dr. George Grant. We had the privilege of listening to Dr. Grant give a history lecture at Franklin Classical School and then I had the honor of speaking to the students.

I also got to spend time with a great pal and fellow Mountaineer, Eddy Efaw. Eddy is an amazing artist with a heart of gold and we did a little scheming about some stuff I hope to be able to share with you soon. As always, you’ll be the first to know. I loved being at Harding Academy. What wonderful people.

Here are some images from the trip!

If you’re interested in me coming and giving a little talk to parents, kids, convicts, or some combination of all three, let us know. The best place to contact is andrew@storywarren.com. I have limited opportunities, sadly, but if you are interested, let us know. And do not fear, I will wear that grey sweater no matter what temperature it is.

I Know What You’re Thinking

Where are the essential oils jokes?

Well, as someone probably never might have said, “All bad things must come to an end.”

I kid. It can never, ever stop.

The Blast to Smithereens One Question Essential Oils Quiz of All Quizzes

What did one Essential Oils purveyor say to two of her friends? Answer at bottom.

Interviews and Reviews

Our friends in Seattle, the Haney Clan!

I’ve been floored by how The Green Ember has been reviewed at Amazon (nearly 100 5 star reviews!), especially since I don’t know 99% of the reviewers! But more than that, it’s been a pleasure to read emails, letters, and other comments from families who have shared their experience. I’m so happy when you reach out and I try to get back with you (or your kids) fast-ish. There were a few reviews and interviews on blogs and these were my favorites.

Kindred Grace—I loved doing this interview and I’m grateful for how elegantly Gretchen Louise presented it. Gretchen Louise also did a kind review.

Imagination, Family, and Masculinity: An Interview With S. D. Smith –Tim Briggs of the Church at Charlotte asked some good questions ahead of my visit there.

Things of the Month Things

Book of the Month: Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull. An insiders look at the founding and flourishing of Pixar. This book is full of insight for creative people, leaders in particular. Why is Pixar so far ahead of its peers? This book reveals much.

Color of the Month: Not Clear

Quote of the Month: “It is easier to build strong children, than to repair broken men.” Fredrick Douglas

Music of the Month: Drew Holcombe & the Neighbors. I took Gina to see these dudes at Mountain Stage for her birthday and they were great. We’ve been fans of Drew’s wife, particularly through Rain for Roots, but we’re new to Drew. Worth it. Check out this video for proof.

Quiz Answer

A: “Double, double, toil and trouble. Fire burn and cauldron bubble.”

Okay, this was a long one, I know. Thanks for reading. Thanks for caring.

God bless you!

Sam



(Our family recently, while our friend Breann was visiting! Grey sweater alert.)