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S. Smith's Blog, page 19
November 17, 2015
YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS!
So if you haven’t already done so you probably want to click here and get right to it–download the Seed Savers box set for a mere 99 cents before it jumps back up to the still-very-good-price of $5.99. The box set contains the first three novels in this exciting and thought-provoking series written for kids but engaging for adults as well. As C.S. Lewis said,
“No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally—and often far more—worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond.”
Then after you’re done with that, and thinking of all the money you’ve saved (about $11 if you consider each book is normally $3.99), you should probably go here and get the newest novel, Keeper. Then why not round it out with the book of short stories and poems (The Lunchroom) and the Christmas short story featuring Lily and Arturo; tis the season. Just sayin’.
Here’s what people are saying about Treasure, Lily, Heirloom, and Keeper:
Sandy Smith’s Seed Saver books are great reads. Seed Saver books have something for everyone: diverse characters, themes of empowerment, rising revolution, and even a little romance.
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The first 3 Seed Savers books are great! My kids and I have all enjoyed reading them and are looking forward to more! They are fun and exciting books that get you thinking about the future of gardening and ‘real food.’ We always give this set to friends as birthday gifts.
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I stayed up late into the night reading with a flashlight, until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any more. The moment I woke up the next morning, I picked up right where I’d left off the night before. Reading about Lily’s life in the bunker with her father, was so intense at some parts that I was actually hopping around my living room I was so nervous for her.
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Definitely worth it. This is a series that has teenagers fighting against what is wrong in our society. You will find themes about friendships, family, and standing up for what you believe.
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As you read the book you can see parallels between this book and the real world, and they are easy to spot. It’s a book, that while fiction, definitely leaves you saying “hmm” by the end of it.
Go ahead. Treat yourself. It’s the holidays. And when you’re finished reading, let me know what you think.
S. Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade/YA series, Seed Savers. Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Follow her on Twitter. Sign up for the newsletter!
Christmas Grotto – 28 Days- A Smokey Mountain Christmas by S. Smith
More Lily and Arturo is this sweet Christmas short story that goes with the Seed Savers series…
Originally posted on Smorgasbord - Variety is the spice of life:
28 Days: A Smokey Mountain Christmas is a short story that features two of the characters from The Seed Savers series. A sweet, multicultural Christmas story with a touch of young romance, 28 Days features Lily and Arturo. Read more about them in Lily and Heirloom. The latest book in the Seed Savers series is also now available just in time for Christmas and is receiving great reviews.
It’s Christmas holiday and Lily is stuck in a remote mountain village surrounded by people with unfamiliar cultural traditions.With school out for a month and no internet connection, at first she wonders how she will fill the time. Lily soon discovers there’s more to gift-giving than just the giving. Cut off from the outside world, she’s expected to hand make gifts for friends and family. Will there be enough time in just 28 days?
The new book in the Seed Savers…
View original 499 more words
November 11, 2015
Why Wait For Black Friday? Two Book Giveaways
As you know by now if you’ve been following my blog, Keeper, book 4 in the Seed Savers series was released last Saturday. As part of the celebration, I’m running a Goodreads Giveaway for a paperback copy of Keeper. It goes through December 10. All you need to do is sign up.
I’m also running an Amazon Giveaway for book 2 (Lily) in the series in case you need to start near the beginning. (Book 1 is always free, and you can also just as easily start with book 2). For this giveaway you need to follow me on Twitter, but you find out immediately whether or not you win the book. There are 3 copies up for grabs, but the giveaway ends tomorrow, so hurry!
Coming soon, I’ll be marking down my ebook boxed set of the first three books, but only for a limited time. Keep an eye on my Facebook page for that event.
That’s all for now. I love hearing from you! Spread the news about Seed Savers, and as always leave reviews.
S. Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade/YA series, Seed Savers. Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Follow her on Twitter. Sign up for the newsletter!
November 8, 2015
It’s a Keeper
First review for Keeper…
Originally posted on Anakalian Whims:
Title: Keeper
Author: S. Smith
Genre: Middle Grade/ Young Adult Dystopian Fiction
Length: 200 pages
Many moons ago, it seems like forever now, S. Smith sent me a copy of Seed Savers, the first of her young adult series set in an America where growing your own food has become illegal. Children were being taught about seeds and produce gardens in whispers; collecting, saving, and planting seeds a prison-worthy offense.
The story couldn’t have come at a better time for me. It was the summer of 2012, I had a small daughter at home, my husband was out of work, and I had just started spending more time and care actively growing more of our groceries. On top of that, I was beginning to learn how to forage and was focusing my daughter’s future education on as much regarding sustainability and self-sufficiency as possible. I wanted taking care of ourselves…
View original 246 more words
November 2, 2015
Counting Down…Release of Keeper
Counting down…
FIVE more days until Keeper (Seed Savers, 4) goes live! Until then, I have another excerpt and some deals for you.
FIRST: If you want to get the discount on the ebook, you need to preorder it before November 7. Like right now. Links at the bottom of the post.
If you do Goodreads, one signed paperback copy of Keeper is up for grabs (U.S. only) through December 10. It would make a great Christmas gift :).
Lastly, as part of my book launch, the three book boxed set of Treasure, Lily, and Heirloom will be on sale ONE WEEK ONLY (Nov. 14-20) for $.99 instead of $5.99. Mark your calendars!
And now for Excerpt #2 from Keeper:
Her jaw was tight, teeth clenched together like an acrobat hanging on for dear life. The thin, pointed nose was tilted upward. Her stepmother dragged her into the room, a room so luxurious that Jen, the stepmom, later snapped several photos with the fancy telecom she’d been given by the woman with the dull blue eyes.
“Be good,” Jen blurted. “Make good on this opportunity, Rosie.”
Her name wasn’t Rosie; only Jen called her that. Rose looked the other way. In the hall, hushed voices spoke; broken bits of conversation floated in: more next month … as long as she cooperates … don’t worry…
Where had her father been in all this?
Finally the footsteps moved away; someone came in, closed the door.
“Hello, Rose.”
The woman smiled at Rose. It was the same smile she’d used before. Maybe it was the only smile she had. The skin-deep one.
“I’m Trinia,” she said. “Remember me?” Rose did not respond. “Can I get you something to drink? Soda, juice, water?”
Soda couldn’t be purchased with Ration Tickets, only juice and tea.
“Soda,” Rose answered.
“Of course.” Trinia reached into the refrigerator and grabbed two flavors of soda. “Choose whichever you like.” She paused, watching the girl carefully. “Rose, I need to run a few errands.” She handed Rose a remote and pointed to the wall which, only now, Rose realized was a Monitor Wall. “There are 432 channels. Including thirty-five interactive. They are all multidimensional. Feel free.” Then, as an afterthought, “You don’t mind being left alone?”
Rose was already surfing through the channels, guzzling the soda. “No. I’m good,” she answered, her eyes never leaving the Monitor.
Outside the room, halfway down the hall, the clicking of the heels stopped. Trinia pushed a button on her telecom. “Candy from a baby,” she said.
Not even the fake smile was showing.
You can preorder Keeper here for the special low price of $1.99.
S. Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade/YA series, Seed Savers. Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Follow her on Twitter. Sign up for the newsletter!
October 29, 2015
Excerpt for Keeper (Seed Savers 4)
In NINE days, Keeper releases. All your friends from the first three books are back except for Ana. But November 7 is Ana’s birthday, so we’ll celebrate her birthday with the new book. :) In the meantime, here is an excerpt from Keeper:
Excerpt 1 (Lily talks with her father, followed by encounter with Arturo.)
“What’s next?” I asked him after a few minutes of small talk. I kept bringing up the Movement; he kept avoiding it.
“I think we should let your mom know where you are.”
“Sure,” I said. “You can do that?”
He gave me a look that said, What do you think? I am James Gardener, after all.
“Oh yeah, right.” I wasn’t about to bring up the security breach that had landed him in jail and devastated the Movement.
“And maybe—” he was looking down, talking to his feet, “—maybe send you back to her.”
I didn’t see it coming. The happiness I’d felt seconds earlier dissolved like snow in hot water. Neither did I anticipate the tears. I ran toward the door with my head down.
“I just remembered something,” I called, keeping my voice steady.
“Lily.
* * *
“Hey, slow down. Where you going?”
I kept running, not wanting to explain my tears. Arturo ran after me, his hand soon catching my shoulder.
“What’s up, Lily?”
My nose was running and I sniffed as I met his gaze. “Nothing. Just jogging.” I sniffed again and dabbed at my watery eyes. “I think I have allergies.”
I watched his face closely. Was he struggling with the word allergy, or trying to decide whether or not to believe me?
“Oh,” he said at last. “Me, too.” He sniffed and coughed a dry little cough. “I am not accustomed to this forest.”
As we walked along the path, I let the sweet mountain air calm and soothe me.
“It’s so beautiful here,” I said. The woods were absolutely gorgeous. The trees, changing clothes in the fresh fall air, were a kaleidoscope of oranges, reds, and yellows.
“Yes,” he agreed. “Very peaceful. And the weather is not so hot.”
“I’m learning the names of some of the flowers. These are false foxgloves,” I said, breaking off the end of a purple stalk.
“Like Aubrey’s hillside.”
“Yes, I think so. And yesterday I learned black-eyed Susan and skunk goldenrod.”
He smiled. “Ew, skunk? Is it stinky?”
“Hence the name.”
We laughed.
“I like here,” he said. “Is better than the places we pass through.”
“But it was an adventure,” I said. “And it did have its scenic moments.” I was thinking of the view from the fire tower and the place where we swam.
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “And the birds here very good,” he added.
We went on like that for awhile, talking about nature, reminiscing about the incredible journey that brought us here. Before I knew it, I was crying again.
“This is happy crying?” Arturo asked, in shock. Hoping, maybe.
I burst out in a combination laugh/cry as I turned and threw my arms around his neck, shaking my head no.
He patted my back. “’S okay, Lily. ‘S okay.”
You can preorder Keeper here for the special low price of $1.99.
S. Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade/YA series, Seed Savers. Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Follow her on Twitter. Sign up for the newsletter!
October 13, 2015
A Series the Whole Family Can Enjoy
For today’s post I’m going to step back and introduce my series for any new readers to the blog. So if you haven’t yet heard of my children/YA series, Seed Savers, here is a quick introduction:
Seed Savers is set in a future where gardening is illegal and real food unknown. Three young friends must decide what to do when they discover the truth about the “old ways” of food. Out to stop them is GRIM, the government agency controlling the nation’s food.
More information about each book in the series can be found here.
Who might enjoy this series?
adults who like children’s books such as Little House on The Prairie, Anne of Green Gables, The Giver. The main characters in Seed Savers start out at age twelve.
children who like adventure, but not violence
teens and tweens who like romance, but just a hint of it
people who prefer not to read profanity
those interested in speculative fiction
gardening class teachers
homeschoolers
folks who grew up on farms
folks who wish they had grown up on farms
But here, let other readers tell you about the series. Below are links to reviews written about Seed Savers books, or you can check their Amazon pages.
http://www.beachboundbooks.com/blogging-about-books/treasure-seed-savers-book-one-by-s-smith
https://anakalianwhims.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/seed-savers-a-series-to-be-treasured/
http://jemimapett.com/blog/2014/09/13/book-review-seed-savers-lily-by-s-smith/
Amazon Page for Treasure (It’s FREE!)
Amazon Page for Lily
Amazon Page for Heirloom
Book four, Keeper releases in November. You can preorder it here or here. There will be five books in total.
If you have any questions or comments, just use the comment box below. I also read emails and enjoy hearing from you!
ss
Find more great kids’ books by checking out the KidLit blog hop!
S. Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade/YA series, Seed Savers. Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Follow her on Twitter. Sign up for the newsletter!
October 2, 2015
Introducing Treasure (Seed Savers, 1) Second Edition
I feel like I need to do a post to clarify a few things about book one of Seed Savers, Treasure.
Currently there are still two paperback editions of Treasure floating around out there. The story is the same, but the writing is less bulky. I’ve also named the chapters and made the interior prettier with drop caps (those big letters at the beginnings of the chapters.)
The easiest way to tell the two editions apart by looking at them is the revised cover. The first edition of Treasure has “Seed Savers” on top, and Treasure underneath. Second edition has “Treasure” prominent and the series name down at the bottom.
You can also tell the difference by looking at the copyright page. The second edition is clearly stated on the copyright page. And obviously the second edition also has the table of contents (which on a few of the first runs was wrong! ouch)
The most important distinction is the ISBN number.
The ISBN for the new Treasure is 978-1-943345-03-8. This version should soon be available at all distributors, including Baker & Taylor for librarians.
The second edition has also been officially lexiled! So if you are a teacher or librarian and Treasure is being added for the garden program, or a book club, or a class set, the Lexile is 660.
Many of you ask for audio versions and teacher resources. Although I would like to get that done (and a Spanish edition), it does all take time! Book 4, Keeper is due for release in one short month–aah! Promotion also keeps me busy, along with a life and other part-time jobs :).
If you have any questions, use the contact form or email me at authorssmithgmailcom.
If you would like to preorder a digital copy of Keeper for the special price of $1.99 (until Oct. 31) go here.
Thanks, and happy reading! (ps, I can always use more reviews on Amazon and other places for each of my books, so if you have read and enjoyed, please help by leaving a review.)
-S
S. Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade/YA series, Seed Savers. Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Follow her on Twitter. Sign up for the newsletter!
September 24, 2015
Interview with Princeling George of The Princelings of the East Book Series
SS: I’m sitting here with Princeling George, one of the lead characters in the Princelings of the East series by author Jemima Pett. It’s kind of strange, since I’ve never interviewed a guinea pig before! But he has lovely big deep red eyes and a friendly expression. And he’s covered in ginger hair. He also has a British accent!
George, can you please explain more about yourself and your brother Fred and the Princelings thing?
G: Well, yes, Fred and I are princelings because we are of the royal line, we’re great-grandsons, sort of, of King Cole XVII. But our mother was the direct descendant, and our father was a nephew.Eventually it worked out that Fred, being a minute or two older than me, was in line to the throne,and by the third story we’d become princes. I now have the honorary title Prince Engineer George,which I quite like. I live in Castle Marsh, although I still supervise the laboratories at Castle Buckmore where work on strawberry juice power and its applications is continuing.
SS: This castle thing is confusing to me. Why are castles important?
G: Well, if we didn’t have castles, the population wouldn’t have anywhere to live, and anyone to provide for them. Fred is better than this strategic stuff than me, I just help make things work. I really like making machines that make life easier for people, like water pumps and so on.
SS: Can’t people just live out in the land on their own, in small communities?
G: Some do, but it can be difficult for them to get enough to eat over winter. We often take food out to our communities near the forest these days, to make sure they don’t starve. We do a lot of things to ensure everyone can get food all year round, including storing a lot. We’re using the water pumps to drain some of the marsh now we’ve got so many people living here. Then we can grow more food and save it until the new grass grows in the spring. We grow vegetables as well. We have to look after our land, too, or things wouldn’t grow in it. I shouldn’t say this, but some castles don’t look after their land well enough. They rely on selling things they make. I think that’s why so many families leave their castles to look for a better life with us.
SS: I thought you just solved the Energy Drain and built power plants and flying machines?
G: Oh, well I do that of course, that’s my main job. But anything involving the well-being of people in the castle is our job. Really it’s everyone’s job, to look after each other, don’t you think? We try to live within our own resources at Castle Marsh.
SS: How did you come to learn enough about engineering to build power plants and flying machines?
G: Well, I just worked hard, did all the studying in the syllabus and tried to make things that helped life here at the castle from ideas I’d had from reading the books. And some of the syllabus suggested making models to understand principles better, and I ended up making full-size models that were then useful, since we didn’t have much in the way of machinery here. And then I got thinking of problems we had here that needed a solution, and sometimes I found the right machines in incredibly old books. You’d be surprised at the things in our library. We’re missing most of the modern things except the basics, but have a huge amount of centuries old stuff. With the power plants, well, I got the idea from somewhere else, actually, and I was relieved when I heard I was allowed to use it. It was hard getting it to work, though. When Mr Bleriot came over from the continent with his flying machine I was thrilled, and learned a lot about flying from him and from Prince Miles of Castle Dimerie, as he was then. I suppose I got sort of obsessed with flying. But it’s good for everyone, having fast transport between castles.
SS: Do you think it could cause trouble, in the long run? Presumably not everyone can fly?
G: I don’t see why it could cause trouble. Why would everyone want to fly places? It’s only when you really need to get somewhere quickly, and that’s usually only people in the Kings’ Council. Although Prince Lupin of Buckmore does come and visit his sister Kira by flying machine sometimes, if he only has a little time to spare. Most people live near their families. We mainly need to develop the ability to carry heavy loads around more quickly than they can be moved at present. That would help keep people better fed all the year round.
SS: (He pauses and thinks for a bit, and I wonder if he’s thinking of the implications of having the ruling class flying around quickly when everyone else is stuck on the ground.)
G: Times are changing, though.
SS: That is certainly true. Thank you very much for the interview. I wish you well in your endeavors.
G: The pleasure is mine.
I suspect times will change quite rapidly, indeed, if technology advances as quickly as it seems to be doing over the first six books in the Princelings of the East series. After all, I can reveal the top secret information that the last book in the series has the working title Princelings Revolution. (It won’t be available for at least two years, though, with the seventh book due out next year.)
You can find out everything you want to know about the Princelings world and author Jemima Pett at the Princelings of the East website http://princelings.co.uk
September 19, 2015
Heirloom Expo 2015 in Pictures, Part 2
S. Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade/YA series, Seed Savers. Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Follow her on Twitter. Sign up for the newsletter!
