S.D. Smith's Blog, page 15

I love creating,

Making,
Shaping,
and
Sharing,

I love shipping,
I live,
Hoping,

What I made,
Might make,
You glad.

The post I Love Creating appeared first on S. D. Smith.

Happy Birthday to The Black Star of Kingston! We’re celebrating with a GIVEAWAY so read on!

“I am afraid…But I keep on loving what’s on the other side of this fight, and that will have to make me brave.”

–The Black Star of Kingston

And that is how a hero rises.

But what hero? Who was the founder of Natalia? What led to the inception of the oath we know and love?

The Black Star of Kingston has the answers:

“A century before Heather and Picket’s adventures in The Green Ember, a displaced community fights for hope on the ragged edge of survival. Whitson Mariner and Fleck Blackstar face old fears and new enemies, forging a legend that will echo through the ages.
Old wars haunt. New enemies threaten. An oath is born.”

Watch the video to see what S.D. Smith has to say about this legendary oath!

Fun fact: The Black Star of Kingston shares a birthday month with World Emoji Day. Show us your favorite #rabbitswithswords emojis in the comments! Here’s ours:

A short sail down memory lane reveals that The Blackstar of Kingston has been loved since the beginning. Take a look in the video!

Have you had a chance to review this book? Let us know what you think on Goodreads, Amazon, or Audible.

Black Star Patch

Now it’s time to join the ranks of Fleck Blackstar and his crew by creating your very own black star patch.

Grab a FREE printable guide with instructions and template for this patch here.

*While you’re at it, pick up some FREE coloring pages when you Gimme 5!*

For the black star patch you will need:Felt, black and whiteScissorsAdhesive (glue, thread, tape, etc.)Directions:

Cut a rectangle from white felt.
Cut a star from black felt.
Attach the black star to the white felt using an adhesive.

Ta-da! I hereby dub thee part of the Blackstar Company. 

My place beside you
My blood for yours
Till the Green Ember rises
Or the end of the world.

★

We’d love to see your creations! Use #rabbitswithswords and tag @sdsmithereens on Instagram or Facebook. Here are some we’ve received:

New to The Green Ember? Get started with the first audiobook for FREE.

If you want your very own copy, The Black Star of Kingston is available at the S. D. Smith Family Store (where you get the best deal & CURRENTLY ON SALE!) and is also available on audiobook and eBook (and print) at Amazon and your favorite bookshops.

More birthday fun: You can get The Green Ember and The Black Star of Kingston on Kindle for FREE!

Did you know: if your library partners with Hoopla, you can listen to ALL the audiobooks for free?! Make sure to check with your local library & follow the recommended reading order.

Now it is time for the GIVEAWAY!!

To celebrate The Black Star of Kingston’s birthday, we’re giving away:

(1) Complete Signed Set of The Green Ember Series(6) Signed The Black Star of Kingston Books(6) The Black Star of Kingston Audiobooks

for a total of 13 winners!

How to Enter:Follow @sdsmithereens AND @thegreenemberofficial on Instagram.Comment (here / Instagram / Facebook) with your favorite #rabbitswithswords inspired emoji for a chance to win one of these prizes!

Winners will be chosen and contacted on August 5th.

Rules: Must have a U.S. mailing address. Must be 18 or older. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by or associated with Facebook or Instagram. Void where prohibited.

Thank you for celebrating The Black Star of Kingston‘s birthday with us!

The post Happy Birthday to The Black Star of Kingston! appeared first on S. D. Smith.

Have you ever wondered if you are more of a Heather or a Picket? Now you can find out!

Introducing: “Which Green Ember Character Are You?” Now available as a filter effect in Stories on Instagram & Facebook.

This effect uses highly sophisticated methods to analyze the angle of the sun in relation to your frontal lobe, while making allowance for the hypothesis of quantization.

In other words, it’s completely random.

To access this effect, create an Instagram Story. Near the shutter button, scroll all the way to the right and select Browse Effects. Search The Green Ember, select the result, and tap Try It. Once you begin recording, the quiz will start! You can bookmark it for quick access.

You can also access it here on Facebook and here on Instagram.

Take the quiz, share it in your stories, and tag @sdsmithereens so we can see! 

The post Which Green Ember Character Are You? | New Effect! appeared first on S. D. Smith.

Today is a great day to ignore social media and traditional media prompts to hatred, envy, outrage, and despair. It’s a good day to love real people we’re in real community with and to try super hard to disbelieve the lies we tell ourselves about our story and the lies our families or tribes or idols demand we affirm. It’s a good day to turn to Jesus.

It is also a good day for a cookie.

The post It’s a Great Day to Disbelieve Lies and Ignore Prompts to Outrage appeared first on S. D. Smith.

Have you stopped reading after reaching the end of The Green Ember? Don’t!

Ember Falls is a thrilling adventure field-tested by thousands of other families. There are nearly 1,500 reviews on Amazon and they rate it 4.9 out of 5! Over 90% give it all five stars.

I am so grateful for the positive feedback! And always appreciate those who take the time to review! It helps so much.

FREE? SAY WHAT?

YES! Now through Monday, July 5 (2021), Ember Falls is FREE on Kindle!

ALSO—> I’m giving you a FREE Picket Longtreader coloring sheet. Grab it HERE!

On Hoopla, you can listen to the follow-up to The Green Ember Book II: Ember Falls (and any of the rest) for free. (That is, if your library is using Hoopla. Check with them and ask for S. D. Smith’s books!)

Here’s a video from way back when we first published Ember Falls! So relevant today.

The post Don’t Stop at The Green Ember! Get The Follow-Up Book For FREE + GRAB a FREE Ember COLORING SHEET Here!) appeared first on S. D. Smith.

What book are you loving now?

We Smiths are traveling and having a great time.

I asked each member of our family to tell me what they are reading (or listening to) on the trip. 

Gina/Mom: The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
Sam/Dad: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens 
Anne: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy 
Josiah: The Weight of Glory by C. S. Lewis
Micah: As Brave as You by Jason Reynolds 
Norah: Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren 

Yep, no one is reading any of my books sadface.
Ha ha, I kid.

(Don’t get too impressed, by the way. We love them, but we aren’t always reading classics.)

So, what are YOU reading?

The post What Are We Reading? What Are You Reading? appeared first on S. D. Smith.

“My place beside you…”

That’s the start of the sacred oath the characters recite in The Green Ember that resonated deeply with me when it first flowed from my fingers into the tale and has since moved so many readers.

I don’t view my work as a platform to achieve “elite artist status” but as a magical-ordinary vocation where God has called me to be an ally in imagination to families who are desperate for daring adventures that are dangerous to the darkness. Tales that help make us all dangerous to the darkness.

So it’s not just in the stories. It’s in the calling of creating and sharing them too.

My place BESIDE you.
Always.

The post My Place BESIDE You… appeared first on S. D. Smith.

Be a maker not a faker. We are bonkers over fake endeavors. Fake war. (Fortnite, Call of Duty etc.) Fake love. (You know what I’m talking about.) Fake public service/citizenship. (Social media fights.) Fake. Fake. Fake.

No. Be a real human. And really make things. Don’t fake it till you make it. Make it. Then you don’t have to fake it. Make. Make better. Make more. Zach Franzen told me that being is better than seeming. Yes. 

Also, be a maker not a faker.

I’m cheering you on! I’m praying for you. Please pray for me. 

The post Be a Maker Not a Faker appeared first on S. D. Smith.

So, my kids are VERY big Dude Perfect fans. I mean, as much as I looked up to athletes or other stars as a kid, my kids adore Coby, Cory, Garrett, Cody, and Tyler. 

And it’s not just them. These guys are some of the most popular entertainers alive, with 13 BILLION views on their videos. No. Joke. 

We got tickets to see DP at Bristol Motor Speedway last Friday and surprised the kids! We sometimes piggy-back on work-travel for vacations, but we kinda stink at actually taking time to do something fun and haven’t really vacationed much or in a long time. Well, we did this little trip and the kids had a blast. 

We all cheered the guys on during their entertaining antics and my daughter even brought her homemade “Go TT!” sign she made and uses at home during their battles. She’s a big fan. We’re all big fans. 

And we have a few things in common with DP. 

1) They are authors. My books have sometimes—on rare occasions—dipped into the top 100 overall sales on Amazon. Their new book is currently #1. (Yeah, that’s a LOT of book sales!)

2) They are Christians. I love that these guys are unashamed and do their work intentionally, without being defensive or fearful. I think they are great examples to others (like me) who do work in public, but—as followers of Jesus—sometimes face unique obstacles in the world of entertainment/arts. 

3) Our entertainment lawyer is their entertainment lawyer. He’s an awesome guy, also named Sam, and we love working with him. He’s fantastic. And that leads us to what happened Friday night…

I met up with Sam at the event, but I never asked, or expected, to get to meet the Dudes. But Sam surprised us big time and took us with him to meet the guys after the show. My kids were speechless, starstruck, and absolutely delighted. 

Bucket List: CHECKED. 

And they were awesome in person. My kids kept saying they were just like they are in their videos. 

My son got his book signed by all the Dudes, and my daughter got her homemade “Go TT!” sign autographed as well. 

This was such a fun night, one that my family will never forget. 

We feel thankful, and encouraged. 

Next Bucket List? Doing a video with DP.

(Someday.)

The post S. D. Smith and Dude Perfect appeared first on S. D. Smith.

My Gina!

I’m so grateful for these past 21 years of life together. 

TWO became ONE twenty-one years ago on this date in the year of our Lord, 2000.

Thank you for marrying me, for sticking with me through the many dark days we’ve faced and for being the brightest part of the sunny ones. 

I love you. I will never leave you. 

Your Sam

The post Sam and Gina: 21 Years! appeared first on S. D. Smith.