S.D. Smith's Blog, page 25

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A Green Ember story set after the attack on Cloud Mountain and the battle at Jupiter’s Crossing. 

In this sequel to The Last Archer, Jo Shanks is back in action against the Preylord tyrants. Alongside Helmer and Emma, this riveting adventure sees Jo on a perilous journey where survival and the cause itself are at stake.

Faced with a calamitous quandary, the loyal band of rabbits must break out of a fatal trap and survive to breath life into the fledgling resistance. 

An heir in peril. An archer hunted from the skies. 

Who will hunt the hunter?

—-

The battle is on for the Mended Wood, and a perilous journey awaits the courageous band of rabbits we’ve come to love so much. With birds of prey stalking the air and wolves encamped at every turn, just how far can bravery and ingenuity take them? The First Fowler is another thrilling tale from the mind of S.D. Smith, who is at his best when helping us see the beauty of a life spent in service to a greater cause. My family cannot get enough of The Green Ember Series”

Scott James, author of The Littlest Watchman, The Expected One, Mission Accomplished, and the forthcoming children’s book Where Is Wisdom? (B&H, March 2020)

Preorder NOW ONLY AT SDSMITH.NET/STORE!

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It was three years ago. I remember feeling some of this follow-up pressure. What a delight it was to receive such a warm reception for this sequel. Thank you. I hope we have one more good experience together like this. Below is what I wrote on that day. –Sam 9.13.19

Dear Friends,

I have been asked a certain question hundreds of times. I’ve been asked it in person, in interviews, in emails, in blog and Facebook comments, and in letters from kids.

“When is The Green Ember sequel coming out?”

This question has served as both an inspiration to me and a force of pressure on me.

I spent nearly a decade in a long “rough draft” of The Green Ember, telling my kids aloud the earliest versions of what I would later write down for the novel. How was I supposed to follow it up at all, let alone quickly? On top of that, The Green Ember—this book I thought was likely only suited for an audience the exact size of my family—turned out to be kind of a hit with many others. We’ve reprinted more times than I can remember, seen many tens of thousands of copies sold, met with big studio executives about a possible movie, and spent days as the best-selling audiobook in the world. All in about 20 months. Holy cow! There’s been some real enthusiasm about the book, and so when people ask me about a sequel, it’s not like my kids asking for a bed-time story. It’s a lot of kids asking for a story. Pressure!

But it’s pressure because of a privilege. An amazing privilege! What author doesn’t dream about an audience eager to receive what he or she is creating next? What an incredible (almost unbelievable) honor!

So we tried to balance the urgency with a commitment to excellence. I hope we have succeeded.

There have been countless hours of work put into this new book. I don’t know if I’ll ever have the margin to write in the kind of environment where there is regular access to long stretches of uninterrupted, concentrated time. That’s pretty unlikely for a while. So, for critics of flawed sentences and my many other offenses against great writing, fear not. There’s more of the same here. I hope I have improved as a storyteller. For now, we are shipping before we’re ready. We’re hustling toward the possible and saying sayonara to the perfect.

I haven’t done this alone. To everyone on the team (you know who you are), thank you so much. For something from my heart to be so cared for and curated, savored and shared, is a priceless gift. You’re on my side, and I’m profoundly grateful.

Today’s the day. Ember Falls is finally released. The Green Ember has a sequel. It’s out there, ready to be read by, and to, eager children. These young readers will walk through darkness with my imperfect guidance, holding on to hope in the middle of the fight. Thousands of kids will continue a journey that started in my heart and head over many challenging months. They will travel. They will have a harrowing adventure. I wish I could see their faces!

To those kids who I love dearly and for whom I have heaved my heart into this tale, God bless you.

I made this for you.

Sam

P.S. Some sales stuff:

You can get the new book (or rate and review) at Amazon. 

There are some genuinely great Launch Week Deals at My Store. Check it, yo.

There are sales, including Picket’s Swords, Heather’s Necklaces, and Book and Book/T-shirt Combo Deals. It’s dope.

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The post The End Is Near appeared first on S. D. Smith.

Hello! You must be one of the many eager readers searching for which book comes next in the beloved, bestselling Green Ember series. You’ve come to the right place!

S. D. Smith recommends reading the books in publication order. But if you aren’t sure, just begin with The Green Ember, and then you’re pretty safe if you keep the main series in order and The Tales of Old Natalia 1 & 2 in order.

Publication order:

The Green Ember The Black Star of Kingston (Tales of Old Natalia 1) Ember Falls: The Green Ember Book II The Last Archer: A Green Ember Story Ember Rising: The Green Ember Book III The Wreck and Rise of Whitson Mariner (Tales of Old Natalia 2)

Find out more answers, like, “is S. D. Smith writing another Green Ember book?” at his FAQ, here.

Find out how to get a free audiobook by clicking here.

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Our Best #GreenEmberKidArt for Q2 (April-June)

and…. the…. winner…. is….

By Clive, age 13! Congratulations!

And…

Our Randomly Selected Kid Artist Winner for Q2 (April-June)!

By Ann age 8 , Congratulations!

Congratulations to the winners!

Follow this tag: #GreenEmberKidArt to see the wonderful art by the kids (posted by parents) on Instagram.

And here for the same tag on Facebook.

#GreenEmberKidArt 2019 Official Rules

Official Rules: To enter, simply share your child’s Green Ember art (publicly) on Instagram or Facebook. Use the hashtag #GreenEmberKidArt (along with #RabbitsWithSwords and #TheGreenEmber if you would) and tag Sam’s author account in either Facebook or Instagram (both for more entries). Please indicate the child’s age. Use of child’s first name or picture is optional, and up to parents’ judgement. Parents are entering for kids. Kids may not enter on their own. Good luck!

Quarterly Winners

1) Randomly Selected Kid Artist!
EVERYONE who does the above is entered to win this! Any age. Any skill-level. Just have fun!Prize: Wild Glee, Contagious Joy, and $20 Gift Certificate at www.SDSmith.net/Store!

2) Best #GreenEmberKidArt of the Quarter
This will be the piece judged (by our secret, unscientific formulas) to be the “best.” Age will be considered, so each will be judged against expectations appropriate for the artist’s age. Come all ye diligent artists!Prize: Unimaginable Glory, Prodigious Esteem, and $25 Gift Certificate at www.SDSmith.net/Store!

Year-End Winners

A GRAND PRIZE will be awarded in both categories at the end of the year. All quarterly winners of the “Best” Category are entered for one Grand Prize.

Everyone who posts (according to the rules) is entered for the Random Grand Prize!

Grand Prizes will include an on-line Author Visit with S. D. Smith, a signed set of the The Green Ember Series, and more!

Note: Q1 (Jan-March) Winners will be announced in April, Q2 (April-June) Winners will be announced in July, Q3 July-Sept) Winners will be announced in October, and Q4 (Oct-Dec) Winners will be announced in January. 2019 Grand Prize Winners will be announced in January as well.

The post Q2 (April-June) #GreenEmberKidArt Winners appeared first on S. D. Smith.

What a privilege to work with Zach Franzen on The Green Ember Series. It’s hard to adequately express how much he has contributed to what goodness is in it. (And it goes far beyond his excellent art.) What a gift from God to me and to our readers.

What do you think of Zach’s art? Which of his Green Ember cover artwork is your favorite?

The post “It takes two flints to make a fire.” – Louisa May Alcott appeared first on S. D. Smith.

Hear ye, hear ye! The Green Ember is FREE Today on Kindle.

The post The Green Ember FREE on Kindle appeared first on S. D. Smith.

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 alongside Pastor Sithole (pr. sit-holy), 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.

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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.

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“Disappointment is an endless wellspring of comedy inspiration.”
Martin Freeman

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Today is Saint George’s Day, and I am happy to have it. I need a reminder that the dragon can and must be defeated. How fitting that his day is during Easter (which is fifty days long!), when the greatest Hero defeats his (and our) greatest enemy, the dragon (Rev. 12).

So I am wearing my Saint George shirt today. Most of my book-writing in recent years has been on a computer bearing the same device. It says Sic Semper Draconis, or “thus always to dragons.” This design is by Chris Koelle, who is brilliant and also designed our “Green Ember Mended Wood” shirts. I’m not certain where the clever alteration of sic temper tyrannis—sic temper draconis—originated, but I know N. D. Wilson’s heroic Smiths in the Ashtown Burials series have it as their family motto. And I, a Smith working in the Forge right now, claim it as my own heraldic arms. 

I claim it because I think Saint George is a true story, regardless of the technical accuracy of all the details. No evidence exists that I know of to disprove the story’s veracity, but that’s not the point. It is true because it tells the truth about Reality. It depicts in simple terms the real Story of the world. We are in a “kill the dragon, save the girl” story, as so many have said. These kinds of stories are scandalous to zealous moderns who would rather have simply misunderstood enemies be hugged into harmony at the end of silly conflicts, rather than run through with a satisfying thrust that sounds both slick and bone-crunchingly meaty. Have some of that, dragon! This is to say nothing of the puritanical zeal of progressive fundamentalist scolds who loathe the idea of a male hero doing anything besides selfishly messing everything up. (Sadly, we men offer so much evidence for their claim it is—pathetically—somewhat understandable.)

But the truth is this is our story, and we are that saved princess. Those belonging to Christ are called his bride. When you go to a Christian wedding, even if you are a man, look at the bride and see your example. Marriage is a picture of the deeper, truer reality of our relationship to our Savior. Christ and his bride are not like marriage, marriage is like Christ and his bride. One pictures the other. We are playing roles in a bigger story than we can fathom. The stories are true and they are ours. 

We need a hero. We need saving. We need to be rescued. That’s what Jesus does. And because he does, we can be part of his story. The Story. And we are called to be like him.

He is in the dragon-killing business. So too, in our various vocations and in our beautifully diverse capacities and gifts, should we be battling the darkness of dragonkind. It doesn’t have to be a grand and glorious battle in every moment. In fact, I am an enthusiastic advocate of thinking small. But many smalls together stack up fast. Lay all our little defiances together, row upon row, and we will find that we have fought, and fought well.

So battle on, brothers and sisters, and tell the story of Saint George to your children. Better still, tell the story of the victorious Christ, whose heroic heart and lavish love mean rescue, redemption, and restoration!

(These are only a recent few of the hundreds of pieces of art I receive from kids all over the world who are desperately hungry for heroic stories. God bless them!)

A far more serious attack on the fairy tale as children’s literature comes from those who do not wish children to be frightened…I think it possible that by confining your child to blameless stories of child life in which nothing at all alarming ever happens, you would fail to banish the terrors, and would succeed in banishing all that can ennoble them or make them endurable. For in the fairy tales, side by side with the terrible figures, we find the immemorial comforters and protectors, the radiant ones; and the terrible figures are not merely terrible, but sublime. It would be nice if no little boy in bed, hearing, or thinking he hears, a sound, were ever at all frightened. But if he is going to be frightened, I think it better that he should think of giants and dragons than merely of burglars. And I think St. George, or any bright champion in armour, is a better comfort than the idea of the police.”

C. S. Lewis
from On Three Ways of Writing for Children

Fairy tales, then, are not responsible for producing in children fear, or any of the shapes of fear; fairy tales do not give the child the idea of the evil or the ugly; that is in the child already, because it is in the world already. Fairy tales do not give the child his first idea of bogey. What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon.”

G. K. Chesterton
from Tremendous Trifles

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