S. Smith's Blog, page 27
November 27, 2013
Seed Savers Updates for the Holidays
Heirloom is on tour for five more days (Dec. 2).
Heirloom is on Goodreads Giveaway for three more days (Nov. 30).
Watch for a Black Friday Special!
I noticed that Amazon currently has all three of the paperback Seed Savers books on sale. Now might be a good time to pick them up!
Coming in December:
I hope you have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
S.
S. Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade series, Seed Savers. Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Follow her on Twitter. Sign up for the newsletter!
November 25, 2013
Guest Post: S. Smith: So What’s That Book About, Anyway?
Reblogged from Shannon A Thompson:
As you all know, I love reading other blogs, and I recently came across Author S. Smith: of the Seed Savers Series. As well as being an author, S. Smith is in the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and an OSU Master Gardener. So I asked her to guest blog, and here it is: Welcome, S. Smith!
Here is a guest post I did explaining more about Seed Savers: Heirloom.
November 22, 2013
A Homeschool Mom Meets Seed Savers
Reblogged from Anakalian Whims:
The thing about homeschooling - the awesome thing - is that plans are made, expectations logged, and as a parent you do a lot of letting go of both of those things as your child sort of takes over.
I personally planned on going full force into the alphabet and phonics, drill numbers and be sure my three year old was the smartest on the block.
I know, me me me ... hey, it's a launch! :)
November 21, 2013
Book tour! Seed Savers Book 3: Heirloom by S. Smith
Reblogged from This Kid Reviews Books:
Today I get to be part of a blog tour for a series I have been reading that I really enjoy. I like this dystopian adventure series because it is very different from a lot of story plots out there!
In book one of this series, Treasure - "In a future where processed food is king and gardening is illegal, three friends secretly study about seeds and growing food.
A kid's review of Heirloom.
November 19, 2013
The Dedication Page (for Garrett)
I don’t know if I can do it
but I promise I’ll try
And hope your mom forgives me
for making her cry.
Today is your birthday
but you are not here
So we’ll remember you fondly
with memories dear.
When you were a toddler
we never understood
What it meant, or why
the only thing you said was “noods.”
As you grew older
so did your sharp tongue
But we always loved you
though your words sometimes stung.
There are things I wish
I had said to you
But your prickly nature
made it hard to get through.
You were so smart
your smile so bright
When it wasn’t hidden
in your dark teenage night.
We miss you today
and we’ll miss you tomorrow
But we are grateful for God’s comfort
in our sorrow.
Someday we will see you —
there’ll be an end to the grief
Until then we’ll remember you well
and know that death is a thief.
Garrett, you shouldn’t have gone away.
We all loved you and love you still.
— Aunt Sandy
November 18, 2013
truth is deadlier than fiction
A few years ago, after watching Food, Inc., I was inspired to write a novel set in the not-so-distant future where seed ownership was outlawed and food choices limited. I was teaching middle school at the time, so wrote the book for that level with the main protagonists being age twelve.
Fast forward to today, a week after the release of book three in what has become a series. The political history I’ve unfolded in the books explaining how things got to where they are seems to mirror today’s headlines. I really don’t believe I’m an alarmist. I check my sources. I spend way too much time tracking them down, reading original documents, and cross-referencing. But sometimes the news really is that startling.
Let’s look at three recent or current events that I wrote as fiction in my books:
◆ GMO Labeling Initiatives defeated
Last year the people of California tried to pass a law that would require food containing genetically modified organisms to be labeled. Seems reasonable. The law was narrowly defeated at the last minute. Earlier this month the same thing happened in Washington state. What happened? The seed-owning corporations and Big Food business spent $70 million on the “no” campaign.
◆The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
The Food Safety Modernization Act, while under the guise of protecting the food supply—and possibly that is the honest purpose (although with former Monsanto cronies at the helm, you really have to wonder)—will deal a powerful blow to small farmers if passed. Though it sounds like a good thing, the public is unaware of the way in which overreaching and restrictive regulations can cripple small farming operations. I understand the effects because I grew up on a small family farm. When you start dictating the contents of the very soil and water in which the plants are grown (as the FSMA does), an unreasonable burden is placed upon the farmer.
It is ironic that one of the tactics the anti-GMO labeling campaign used to sway voters was the claim of increased costs to consumers. If the FSMA goes through, the reality will be increased costs to consumers. It will also undoubtedly be less availability of farm fresh food.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against our food being safe! The thing is, most of the contaminated food outbreaks have not come from the growing of our fruits and vegetables on small farms, not from the compost, water, or fertilizer. Most have come from somewhere along the production line or imported produce from other countries. (Worst Foodborne Illness Outbreaks In Recent US History)
Here’s something else to consider: Does the FDA really have the consumer’s best interest at heart when they don’t even require labeling of GM food? Bt corn seeds actually produce pesticides. You can believe that it isn’t harmful if you want to (after all, that’s what we are told, right?) But don’t forget the images of DDT being sprayed on children. Oh, and would it be impolite to mention the other things brought to us by Monsanto? (PCBs, Agent Orange, bovine growth hormone) Why is a slow poisoning of the population better than a sudden outbreak? Again, there are those who will argue the safety of GM food. But how will we know the effect on the population if the food is never labelled? So what if the percentage of food allergies in the United States has shot up in recent years (50% between 1997 and 2011, CDC)? Without a label it is untraceable. This may be the real reason the companies who own most of the world’s seed spend so much on the anti-labeling laws. Money and liability: the two biggest motivators of large corporations (not humanitarian efforts).
Before I get to my third point, let me say here that the public comment period on the FSMA has been extended until November 22nd—send your input now!
◆ Trans Pacific Partnership Trade agreement (TPP)
My final example of current events that remind me of my novel is the Trans Pacific Partnership Trade agreement. If you haven’t seen the Bill Moyers video on this, do it now! According to inside sources of this super secret deal, the TPP would restrict buying local, make states’ labeling of GMOs impermissible, and interfere with basic operations of the internet. Rather than being a trade agreement, Moyers’s guests call it a “government-granted monopoly”. More has come out about this just recently on Wikileaks. Go, find out about it.
In conclusion, I find it distressing that the fiction I wrote about in Seed Savers seems to be on its way all too soon. People, get out there and make a difference! It’s not too late.
S.Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade series, Seed Savers. Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Follow her on Twitter. Sign up for the newsletter!
November 14, 2013
Seed Savers: Heirloom
Reblogged from Anakalian Whims:
Title: Heirloom
Author: S. Smith
Genre: Young Adult
Length: 300 pages
“I haven’t been this in love with a young adult series since Harry Potter,” I wrote after reading the first installment of the Seed Savers Series – Treasure – for the first time. Having now read the second and third installments – Lily and Heirloom – I can happily say that the statement still holds true.
One of the first reviews for my new book...
Seed Savers: Heirloom Book Blog Tour
Here is the schedule for the Seed Savers: Heirloom blog tour and launch. I will update it as needed.
Heirloom Blog Tour – November 14 – December 2
11/14 Anakalian Whims
Launch/Seed Savers Reflection
11/15 Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews
Character Interview (Lily)
11/16 Virginia Ripple
Excerpt
11/17 Michelle Isenhoff – Bookworm Blather
Book Review
11/18 The Garden of Books
10 Favorite Things to Grow in a Garden
11/19 This Kid Reviews Books
Book Review
11/20 Mother Daughter Book Reviews
Heirloom: Fact or Fiction
11/21 Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Excerpt
11/22 Valerie Comer
Series Promo/ Review of Treasure
11/23 Shannon Thompson
Guest Post
11/24 My Full Bookshelf
Book Review
11/25 Shalini Boland
Excerpt
11/26 Jemima Pett
Haiku/Mini-Interview
11/27 Story Addict
Guest Post
11/28 The Green Study
Thanksgiving theme
11/29 Listful Booking
Book Review
11/30 Beachbound Books
Author Interview
12/1 BookLOADS Fun
Excerpt + Behind the Scenes
12/2 Anakalian Whims
TBA/End of Tour
November 13, 2013
Seed Savers: Heirloom (book 3) Is Here!
Cover Design by Aileen Smith
In a futuristic U.S.A. where gardening is illegal, siblings Clare and Dante have escaped to Canada and are living with a host family, enjoying farm life and learning to grow their own food. Attending Garden Guardian class, they meet other refugees and unearth the history of how they lost their choices about food.
Their friend Lily–left behind when they escaped–searches for a father she had long presumed dead. To succeed in her quest, Lily must elude GRIM while watching for the secret Seed Savers symbols that will lead her to friends and ultimately her father.
Heirloom is book 3 in the Seed Savers series. The first two books are Seed Savers: Treasure, and Seed Savers: Lily.
I am very excited to announce that Seed Savers: Heirloom, book 3 in the series, is now available at Amazon in both paperback and kindle editions. Later on it will be available with other distributors.
Starting tomorrow (Nov. 14), Heirloom will be on a blog tour until December 2. I hope you will join me on this tour!
It starts here: anakalianwhims
S.Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade series, Seed Savers. Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Sign up for the newsletter!
November 5, 2013
Coming to a State Near You
gmo (Photo credit: decorat)
In the year 2000, a mother heard a radio spot about genetically modified organisms. She then wanted to find a baby formula that was gmo free. She discovered this to be a difficult task without gmo listing on the label. In 2002, she got Oregon initiative 27 on the ballot–the first ballot measure in the country to require labeling of gmo food. It was defeated 73% to 27%.
Opponents spent a whopping $5.5 million to defeat it.
Fast forward to today, one state to the north: Opponents are at $22 million. Twenty-two million dollars. You really need to be asking yourself WHY, right about now.
Last year $46 million was spent in California to defeat proposition 37.
I think there is more to the picture than just the label here. What are the opponents afraid of? Don’t think they really care if it “costs the consumer” more. When was the last time a corporation was worrying about your financial situation?
Sigh. I know this post is too late and probably wouldn’t have made a difference. Because I don’t have a big wad of cash to hire earnest-looking people to stand outside Washingtonians’ doors morning, noon, and night chanting “No, No, No.”
The silver lining? The fact that they are spending more means that they are afraid the public is waking up.
This initiative is coming to a state near you soon…be prepared.
S.Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade series, Seed Savers. Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Sign up for the newsletter!
