S.D. Smith's Blog, page 16

Don’t take advice from the wrong people. Everyone is telling a story. Everyone is kind of marketing all the time.
So, if we believe the big problem of the world is bee stings, then we’re going to be telling everyone how [whatever is in the news] is reason for extra vigilance about bee stings and how our solution is more crucial than ever.

The saying is wise: When you have a hammer, everything looks like nail.
And we all have hammers.

My hammer, or my calling in life, is about stories. So I naturally see how important they are and I see them everywhere.

But I don’t recommend looking to artists and authors to be your doctors, your political action mentors, your pastors, or even as substitutes for your actual friends—just look to them for their art. This is good advice all the time, I believe, but perhaps especially now.

It’s okay to just enjoy a movie without idolizing the movie star. It’s okay to read a story and not be discipled on politics or religion by the author. Celebrities and entertainers are often foolish, as are the most noisy and angry partisans in media. It’s wise not to invest wide trust in them. It is almost entirely unearned.

It’s so noisy. You have permission to disengage from the media maelstrom.

You have permission to get really local and concern yourself with your community and value it—like valuing your pastor’s wisdom over the pundit you’ve been catechized by for years.

Authors and other artists can be great, sure. But don’t look to them for what they aren’t meant to give. If you need to ignore me, please do.

Enjoy books and ignore authors. (Mostly.)

God draws straight lines with crooked sticks. But look to the line, and the drawer, not the sticks, for your truth and worship.

: Graeme Pittman

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Flash back to that time we went to see Orson Scott Card and I got to thank him for his influence on me as a writer and a reader.

Nearly thirty years ago, Ender’s Game got me hooked on reading. It showed me reading books could be a delightful experience.

Nearly twenty years ago, I heard him speak on writing at a little college in Virginia and it greatly inspired and informed my subsequent work.

He was so encouraged to hear that I was now doing this full-time. He emphasized how rare it is and it seemed to really surprise and delight him. That was cool.

He was kind to my kids who are also big fans. (It was my son Josiah’s birthday. He signed his book, “To Josiah—the boy who looks like Ender.”)

This event also let me be on the other side of an author event. Listening, clapping, waiting in a long signing line. It was so fun and good for me to experience that side of it. It took away some of the pressure I feel when I’m “featured” at an event or people are waiting in long singing lines for me. I left really encouraged.

Thanks, OSC. Thanks to all the authors who have inspired and encouraged me.

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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 physically protect all the others. Such is certainly the case in the American story. From our imperfect founding, our heroes have often 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 warriors with weapons. These men and women 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 hate violence and war. I understand that as Christians we are called to have an attitude of forgiveness and love. But the world is what it is—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 many 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 love my family and neighbors, serve the vulnerable and oppressed, seek joy and deep meaning in the life I have. And I’ll remember the part you played in securing those joys, with thanks.

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I’m excited to share this! I get lots of question about writing and I’m sharing my anchor words in this talk which is a part of Renew Conference ONLINE. What do I mean by “anchor words?”

Five Anchor Words for Every Kind of Writer

You may have a life verse, or some words to live by, but do you have words that anchor you when you write? Beloved Green Ember Series author S. D. Smith offers (and explores) five anchor words to locate and center your identity as a writer in this practical, encouraging session.

Follow this link to register today! (It’s only $20 today as an early-bird deal.) The conference will have lots of great speakers, including Amber Johnston, Cindy West, and Min Hwang. It’s focussed on homeschooling, but I think would benefit many others as well. I hope you’ll join in the fun!

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It’s not the sales, it’s the souls. I believe stories are catechisms for the soul. I’m not sure who said that first, but it wasn’t me. I did’t say it, but I heard. And I believe it. 

I love selling books and I want to sell millions more. I love that, from rural West Virginia, we’ve created a series that hangs with (and tops) books from huge New York publishers. I love that our sales team (that’s YOU) competes with billion-dollar budgets and comes out on top again and again. I love selling books. Why? Because book sales means book spread. It means the stories reach PEOPLE. 

I write these stories for the human beings, soul and body, who feel more hopeful, brave, and determined when they read them. They also feel happy. I love that. We hear from families going through very painful seasons who have received these stories as hopeful, healing, comforting, and inspirational. I write for them. I fight for them. I’m honored to be allowed to do this work loving and serving so many precious readers all over the world. 

I get lots of letters. They are so, so sweet. This is a little sneak-peek at what I experience every time I wade into the pile of treasure that is my inbox! It’s nuts. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have stacks of mail waiting for me.

What an incredible honor. Please pray for me, if you think of it, because I want to do a great job of loving and serving my readers (mostly precious kids!) for a many more years. 

Dear God, please may I? 

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This is exciting! My pal Andrew Peterson’s wonderful book series, The Wingfeather Saga, is raising funds for season one of an animated series. Andrew is partnering with Angel Studios, who have helped raise funds to create The Chosen, a spectacular series centered on Jesus and his disciples. 

I’m a big fan of these end-runs around traditional gatekeepers in media—we need more! Of course I’m also a big Andrew Peterson fan and so I’m pitching in as an investor. I hope you will too! 

Check it out here!

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Which is your favorite character?

See them here in this astonishing Green Ember fan art from @meadowrosesart. I’m so impressed!

This is an awesome collection of montages from Ember’s End.

Wow!

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I’m so grateful for the time we had in Houston. We had a wonderful trip!

I got to speak in-person again with real people around. That was a hoot. (Although I’m so out of practice that when the students at Trinity Classical were trying to welcome me this morning, I just sat there through the applause like an idiot.)

Thanks, Houston Baptist University, for having us. Man, I’m so impressed with what they are doing at HBU. Super cool things happening there for creators. Writing. Screenwriting. Animation. And much more. It’s the kind of school I would have loved to attend as a young person. (Maybe it’s not too late for me!)

We felt welcomed and loved the whole time and the people were the best part. From Dr. and Mrs. Sloan to the deans and chairs and professors, we were blown away by HBU’s hospitality and excellence. It feels like the beginning of a long friendship. We also got to see some of the sights and history of a special city. I’m a homeboy, so I’m glad to be back in West Virginia, but we loved our time in Houston and hope it’s not too long before we return. I’m especially grateful for how you welcomed my two oldest kids!

God bless Texas!

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These are good days for giving thanks.

I’m grateful for these brothers, Josiah and Andrew, and the way they have had my back while I’ve been facing front. I have almost never felt up to the vulnerability and anxiety associated with being “out front.” You don’t often see them, but they are there. And I can’t do this without them.

I’m grateful for you, the readers/fans/friends who encourage me daily with incredibly generous notes and posts and mail and messages sharing how much you love these stories. This has been so powerful for me. I wish I could say I was oblivious and don’t need the encouragement, but I’m not and I do. It means so much to me that you care and care enough to not be silent.

I’m grateful for our sales team. Yep, that’s you again. We don’t have a marketing team, or a sales team. We have YOU. And you’ve been that. You write and post reviews, you share the books with your friends (online and in person), you wear the t-shirts and hats, and you are the reason the books have spread and I get to write stories for a living. I’ll never forget that.

This is a very full, exciting season.

• I’m starting to do some select and small talks again this week (see you soon, Houston).

• We have new books on the near horizon, including my first traditionally published story.

• We have a writing course launching soon (can’t wait to share!).

• We are in serious talks about a Green Ember feature film.

There’s more. It’s a lot! It’s fun, but there are challenges for sure. That’s why I’m always most grateful when I hear that you have been praying for me and my family and our team. Thank you! This is why PRAYER is part of our Gimme 5 asks. (Gimme 5 started because people asked us, “What can we do to help?”) Ultimately, we can’t do anything apart from God—and don’t want to.

“A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.” John the Baptist (John 3:27)

So, our deepest gratitude is to God the Father, who gives good gifts to his children, to Christ our Lord, who is the Good Shepherd to us goofy, often-hopeless sheep, and the Holy Spirit, who advocates for us against the active and aggressive Accuser

And thank you, once again, our very dear friends.

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I hear this from fans all the time. And I agree. There are so many cool ways to bring great projects to the screen. We are working with some amazing folks who are keen to do that with The Green Ember. Surely, if people are out here making a Peeps movie, we should get The Green Ember franchise kicked off. Am I right?

A Peeps movie? Okee-dokee!

My personal preference would be to eat peeps and watch a Green Ember film. But maybe I’m in the minority there.

Though all doors are open, it may not be a traditional route for us. We are considering lots of cool options and taking our time. If you are a wealthy person who might consider investing in our project, get in touch. There’s no pressure at all, but we do have some exciting options lining up. Like our books, we are committed to the highest possible standards for this–animation and writing and music and acting, all of it. We won’t say yes to a crummy deal. We are thinking more like Star Wars than the Peeps movie.

(Nothing against Peeps. It’ll probably go on to be the next Casablanca.)

Pray for us, if you would, and we will let you know when we have something definite to share!

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