S.D. Smith's Blog, page 33

We are very happy to announce that after 9 days, we have reached our initial goal of $40,000! This means that, no matter what else happens, this Kickstarter has been a big success!

58% of publishing projects on Kickstarter fail, and only 2.6% of publishing projects succeed above the 20K mark. So this is a rare and wonderful experience! And YOU made it happen.

We can’t tell you how grateful we are for your support. So many of you have been more than just backers, you have been enthusiastic advocates for this project and the whole series. We have watched gratefully as you’ve given our small voice a loud amplifier, allowing us to reach many, many more readers. What a gift!

So, this was a big, ambitious goal. I know. I know. I got some emails from people early on saying, “Umm, why do you think you could possibly reach such a huge goal?!” It was frightening, for sure. But we wanted to have a challenge, to be bold, and most of all we wanted to try to reach the many thousands of readers who loved The Green Ember to let them know the series was carrying on. Usually, readership of second books in a series tend to drop off dramatically. We believe in this story and in this series, and we want to find the tens of thousands of readers who connected with the first book and let them know there’s more. We also wanted to invite more and more new readers to the series.

We have around 750 backers. That’s amazing! But it doesn’t take a Math Wiz (thankfully) to figure out that we have connected with only a fraction of those who loved the first book.

We have reached our base goal, and we are so delighted! But this campaign has two more weeks and we want to stay after it. It’s not over. You guys have been an unbelievable team! Thank you! This feels like a big home run. But, it’s a home run in the bottom of the fourth inning. It’s huge, but there’s a lot of ballgame left. (

I know there are questions about Stretch Goals. We’ll have more details about those soon. For now, do a cartwheel and let loose a gleeful yowl! We made our initial goal! Success! Thank you so much!

When we made our $10K goal and The Green Ember was funded (October 4, 2014), it was 1am and Gina and I were the only ones awake.

This time, we pulled off the road and shared the news with the whole family!

Thank you!

We are 9 days into this…and over 90% of the way to our base goal in this Kickstarter! Thank you so much.

This is exciting! Most exciting of all to me is the new readers we are reaching and that we’re inching closer and closer to getting Ember Falls into your hands!

And now, may I present to you a bold sentence wherein I shall refer to myself in the third person?

Bringing S. D. Smith To Your School/Homeschool Group For An Author Visit Is EASIER Than You Think

A homeschool group in Pennsylvania just nabbed the first Author Visit tier. That’s great! I’m excited about that because it means I get to go speak to and meet awesome reader kids.

I know that tier can feel like a lot of cash, but really all you need are 50 families to do 20 bucks each. Does your school or homeschool have that? Or 33 families to do $30 each. And you will each get a book, which I will sloppily sign in person.

Great news! We’re changing that tier to add more books. Now, if you get the Author Tier, you will get 50 books instead of 30!

And lastly, you will get 50 (50!) copies of The Green Ember audiobook download card to keep or giveaway. Those are worth $19.95 each. (That means the cards alone are worth just under $1,000.)

I hope some of you will take us up on this offer that just got a LOT sweeter!

Two Reviews

This is the latest review of The Green Ember. It’s by an 11 year old boy in Illinois. It is wonderful and contains this:

“It is the best book I have ever read. It’s filled with betrayal, fights, attacks, retreats, and mysteries that you can’t put down. I thought that I had already read it and that it was boring but I read it anyways. I was totally wrong. I love this book.”

How amazing is that?

And this is the first (and only) review of Ember Falls in the world. It’s from my friend, author Glenn McCarty.

I’m very grateful for both!

Thanks again for your incredible support. We are getting super close to our target!

Onward! And thanks again!

Your friend and mine,

Sam

(This was my update a couple of days ago, after we passed the halfway mark.) 

It’s so hard sometimes in life, to keep from referencing Bon Jovi. Especially when you are literally halfway there and simultaneously living on a prayer. But I managed to do it, somehow.

Thank you so much for your generous support of this project. We believe that, though it is a really big challenge, we can make our goal.

It’s not going to be easy. Kickstarter projects nearly always dip sharply after the first few days. So we’ll need your help sharing this story with all our friends to reach our ambitious goal.

One thing we have going for us is a really large group of readers who loved the book. That’s huge! Just have a peep over at the Amazon reviews and you’ll see a sample of the reaction people have had to the book. My point is that there are lots of fans of The Green Ember out there, people who will eagerly support this project–IF THEY HEAR ABOUT IT.

So we’ll keep sharing and inviting friends, new and old, to embrace and help spread the word about this new story with an old soul.

Why?

I think it’s a great way to love kids.

It’s exciting and enjoyable for children. Rabbits with swords! Adventure! Yeah! It works on that level. And I LOVE that level. But beneath the adventure, there’s a well of meaning that resonates with parents and kids in a deep way.

In an era marked by hostility to children, from slight regard to real abuse and violence, sharing soul-shaping tales can be a profound act of hospitality. And what’s more, it can offer a kind of armor of the heart for the battles ahead of them.

I see storytelling as a vocation rooted in love. I love, and want to serve, young readers.

I want to serve families. Your family. Serious business.

Thank you SO MUCH for helping us share this story with the world.

There’s still a steep mountain to climb, but it’s bracing to look left and right and see so many fellow mountaineers. We can do this, together.

With love and deep gratitude,

Sam

Go HERE to ORDER at Kickstarter! Then SHARE with your friends!

I want to tell new stories with an old soul.

I want to look forward, to hope and dream, to gaze through the fog to the certain dawn of the true New World. I’m optimistic. In a big way.

But I also love looking back. I want to echo. I want my tales to resound with old words, old ways, and old wisdom.

I want to make vintage adventure.

Stories matter. Fiction shapes our affections like nothing else can. This is perhaps especially true when we are young. But why new stories with an old soul?

My friend (and the illustrator for my books) Zach Franzen is kind of a genius. When I run out of clever things to say, I usually pull out a Zachism and run with it. (Warning: It’s about to happen again.) He has been a cheerleader for the “New Stories, Old Soul” side from the beginning. He contends that most publishers don’t want to release new books with old virtues. If people want those, it’s easier and cheaper for the publishers to just release the old books again. So the virtues featured in those books are for now, he says, trapped in amber. They are museum pieces. So Zach has been a partner in more ways than just by illustrating my books. He’s been an encouragement, believing that those old virtues can live on in new adventures—that they can be seen in the wild again.

I want to uncork some vintage adventure on a generation of thirsty young souls.

When I wrote The Green Ember for my children, I hoped they would love it and that the story would capture their hearts. I’m so grateful that it did and that they wanted to give others a chance to enjoy it too. When we were finally able to share it with other families, we began to hear that many of them also seemed to resonate with this new story and its old soul. That made us glad, like seeing the look on a dinner guest’s face who loved the food and enjoyed the laughter at the table. We shared something of our family’s life and other families welcomed it into their own homes and hearts. What an honor. What a privilege!

I want to keep doing it. So I wrote The Back Star of Kingston for my kids. And for all the kids who loved (or might love) The Green Ember. And now I want to share Ember Falls with you. My kids loved it, and I hope yours do too.

Ember Falls is a story and that’s it. It’s not a tricky vehicle to teach truth. But I hope it is truthful. It’s not meant to sneak in a moral lesson, but I hope it burns with the fire of moral imagination.

I hope you enjoy it.

Ember Falls will launch on Kickstarter in one week, on May 16, 2016.

Note: This is adapted from a piece that first appeared at my friend Sally Clarkson’s blog.

Dear Friends and Allies,

We have a date! A date for what, Sam? A date for The Green Ember Book II: Ember Falls Kickstarter!

The Kickstarter will launch on May 16. We are stoked! I hope you are too.

One of the many amazing things I’ve experienced in this author adventure is how many of you have started off as readers, but moved on to become friends and allies. My place beside you! Lots of you have asked what you can do to help when the next book comes out. Thank you! Here’s what would help, mucho:

Join our Ember Falls Facebook Launch Group!

This group will be the place where I’ll be sharing behind-the-scenes stuff. It will be THE place to stay informed of what’s happening before, during, and after the Kickstarter is done–and when the books begin shipping. Launch missions will start before the Kickstarter begins, so please join today!

Kristen Usher has joined our team (official title:High Lady of Contagious Pizzazz, Supreme Executive of High Fives, and Secretary General of Ginger Outreach). She is leading this launch group that will help spread the word about The Green Ember series far and wide.

Are you on board for this New Stories With An Old Soul project?

Join up! (Go here and ask to be added.)

I think this is going to be fun. Kristen isn’t called “High Lady of Contagious Pizzazz” for nothing. The launch group will be awesome.

I hope you’ll join up and join in. Launch Missions start soon.

Thank you!

Sam

P.S. Ember Falls is coming!

N. D. Wilson is the Master of American Magic. There is no other middle-grade author who writes such powerful fantasy with an American accent. And I don’t mean Wilson’s own accent, though he does go in for hard Rs. I mean the stories themselves. They are the kinds of tales you can’t imagine being narrated by one of our cousins from across the pond. How many fantasy stories do you know like that? His stories are wide open and wild, full of fastballs and six-shooters. The settings are Kansas, Wisconsin, Arizona, and (best of all) West Virginia.

In his latest fantasy, Wilson has given us a Miracle, and more than that, Glory. Sam Miracle and Glory Spalding find themselves caught up in an old war between Father Time and Fate, trapped in a recycling series of calamities that always leave the evil Vulture cackling over the bones of his victims, including Sam’s sister. Sam and Glory are not in a race against time, but a war across time, and every line in their adventure is punctuated by pain.

Pain? But I though this was a kids books. Pain. Yes. Lots of it. This story isn’t safe. But it’s good. It’s very good.

N. D. Wilson writes scary stories on purpose. You can listen to him talk about why in this excellent podcast with Sarah Mackanzie, or read his essay in The Atlantic. Here’s a small part:

Overwhelmingly, in my own family and far beyond, the stories that land with the greatest impact are those where darkness, loss, and danger (emotional or physical) is a reality. But the goal isn’t to steer kids into stories of darkness and violence because those are the stories that grip readers. The goal is to put the darkness in its place. (read it all here)

This book puts darkness in its place, alright. It comes out, guns blazing. Fires fast as a rattler, with both hands. Yes, the main character is a boy with snake arms who shoots guns. Yes, this was somehow allowed to be published in this YOZO (Year of Our Zeitgeist Overlords) 2016. This era in publishing (not to mention education, politics, and media of every kind) is marked by a persistent hostility to boys. It’s refreshing to read a story so friendly to young male readers. I’m grateful! We all should be. There is nothing that would keep girls (who read better and more often than boys at every age level) from enjoying this excellent book. My own brilliant daughter loved it. But Outlaws of Time is rare modern fare that gives boys an example to follow, a hero willing to lay down his life, in a quest to fight evil and rescue one he loves. It’s an old story that’s never cliche. In many ways it’s the story. And here it is again, with snake arms and a time-walking Navaho priest. Wilson, a modern writer who has somehow found the escape-hatch in the tedious, boring prison of p.c. storytelling, is the real Outlaw of Time.

Nate Wilson is a friend, and (disclosure) he gave me an advanced copy of the book. I’ve heard him talk about why (good) scary stories are good (and scary) for kids before. But the recent heap of goodness on the subject came at a particularly important time for me, as I wrestle through the darkness in my next book, . His wisdom on this subject has sharpened my resolve to lead my readers, many very young, into the mirky waters of a troubling tale. The light shines bright against the darkness, but is unnoticeable when simply set against more light. N. D. Wilson’s light burns like an Arizona sunrise. Long may it light up the sky and scatter the darkness.

I loved Outlaws of Time: The Legend of Sam Miracle. My kids (both female and male he created them) loved it. My wife loved it. They read the paper version and I listened to (American) Macleod Andrews perform the audiobook with energy and mastery. I highly recommend it.

Here’s a video trailer to make the case far better than I can. Behold, a Miracle.

NOTE: If you order yours by April 23, you will receive N. D. Wilson’s Writing Course for Free!

Note: I usually don’t post my newsletters in their entirety, but I’m making an exception this month because reasons. Reasons like the new title and cover announcement!

Hello and How Are You?

I’m fine. I’m fine as a frog hare, which is a rare breed of rabbit from the inky marshes of Toadopolis. Frog hares, as I’m sure you know, are famous for their positivity and remarkable sense of wellbeing. Which is where the cliche “fine as a frog hare” comes from.

Speaking of book covers and new book titles…

The Green Ember Sequel is Coming Soon!

Before I shared the new book’s cover or title anywhere else on-line, I wanted to share it with you. Here it is!

I LOVE what Zach has done with the new cover art. It’s excellent. I’m SO EXCITED (and a little nervous) to share this book with you. It’s not the last one, but it’s the next one. I can’t wait to get it into your hands.

Ember Falls is in final edits and the plans for the launch are, as the Brits say, hotting up. We are still aiming/hoping for a Spring hatching (probably late Spring or early Summer, honestly). Do you have any suggestions for how to share the launch with as many people as possible?

We are really excited.

Of All The Events In Life, This Was One Of Them

The above is one of my father’s many maxims. So true. So unhelpful. So subtly magnificent.

I had a fantastic time meeting so many wonderful folks at the Great Homeschool Conventions event in Greenville. There were multiple highlights for me, but probably the top one was finally meeting Read-Aloud Revival mavenSarah Mackenzie in person and getting a chance to thank her for all her incredible support. What a great lady!

I also met Warren Cole Smith and John Stonestreet, two wise men I admire and am grateful for. They were both kind enough to send people to our booth all weekend. There were the wonderful ladies at The Homegrown Preschooler, Lesli and Kathy, and the “Classical Crowd” of delightful people from Circe and Classical Academic Press, as well as many more new friends.

I made babies cry. I made some adults cry. After some great/exhausting days, I watched my nephew’s last college basketball game and had a wee cry myself.

It was really fun. I loved meeting so many of you and your beautiful kids!

I may be doing more of this in the future. They were kind enough to ask me to consider being a featured speaker at all four events next year. What an honor!

There’s another event in the midwest in a couple of weeks.

Cincinnati, I’m coming your way. March 31-April 2. I hope some of you can stop by to say hello. And tell your friends!

The New Deal 

We keep selling lots of books, which must mean you people keep telling your friends about The Green Emberand Black Star. Thank you!

I took this screencap yesterday. Bananas! I’m so delighted to see that this book, in its various forms, continues to connect to readers.

Plus, our new bundles are available now. You can get the paperback bundle for $15 and save some moola. Maybe share it with your friends?

And you can add a t-shirt and get all three for a mere $25.

We are discontinuing the old bundle of The Green Emberhard cover + Black Star pb for $20. That one was a little insane.

Things of the Month Things

Book of the Month: John Hendrix’s The Miracle Man. We really loved this. John is an incredible artist.

Music of the Month: Sandra McCracken’s Psalms. On repeat. Balm. For heavy hearts. Lovely.

Movie of the Month: The Secret Word of Arrietty. Really beautiful. Been thinking a lot about animation lately and this was special.

Quotation of the Month: On motherhood, from G. K. Chesterton. Huge.

“I can understand how [mothering] might exhaust the mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow it. How can it be a large career to tell other people’s children about arithmetic, and a small career to tell one’s own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? No; a woman’s function is laborious because it is gigantic, not because it is minute. I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness.”

-G.K. Chesterton

Okay friends, that’s all for now. I’m so grateful for your support and for the many of you who pray for us. I have always wanted to be on your side and it’s a gift that so many of you have made it clear to me that you’re on my side as well. Thank you.

Bear the flame!

Sam

Hello Friends!

Cool news. Will you help me out by sharing it?

The Green Ember is 99 cents on Kindle today. And Black Star is Free.

We will select someone we see sharing this out on the inter webs as a winner and send them something cool. #Winning #WhinnieThePooh #NotWinningThePoo

Here’s an image you can share with THIS LINK: http://bit.ly/TGE99C-NL

Feel free to share my post on Facebook, or….

Here are some suggested posts you could copy and paste!

Facebook:

One of our family favorites is only 99 cents today! A fantastic adventure, The Green Ember by S. D. Smith is a new story with an old soul. 

Get your copy here: http://bit.ly/TGE99C-NL

Twitter:

Get a new story with an old soul… #TheGreenEmber by @SDSmith_ for only 99 cents TODAY!

#RabbitsWithSwords  http://bit.ly/TGE99C-NL

or….

The short prequel to #TheGreenEmber by @SDSmith_ is FREE TODAY on #Kindle! #BlackStarOK

#RabbitsWithSwords  http://bit.ly/TBSOKFree-NL

Two books for 99 cents. Not bad.

Thanks for your help!

I am very, very happy to welcome Kristen Usher to our team! Kristen will be leading our valiant efforts to share these old soul/new stories with the world. Her official title is…

If you follow sports, then you know that when your team signs an outstanding player in a crucial position, you rejoice. We feel like we have done just that.

Andrew is trying to do everything a publisher uses dozens of people to do, and together we are trying to cobble together a ragtag team of volunteers and friends to get this new book off the ground and not neglect the others. We somehow managed it last year, with help. But our margins have shrunk and our to-do lists have grown, so we are beyond excited that Kristen Usher is going to join us to help with telling the story of the story.

Our sequel for The Green Ember is scheduled (as of now) to appear in late Spring, and we plan to share it with the world via Kickstarter. There’s really no better way we know of to share the book and we’re excited about doing it! Having Kristen on board is a profound blessing and injects so much (much-needed) enthusiasm in our squad.

Kristen will be our queen of connection, our maven of many meetings, our oligarch of outreach. She will be leading the charge on social media and elsewhere, making sure we don’t miss opportunities to connect with potential readers.

Sometimes she’ll be posting at my Facebook Page or on my Twitter account. When she posts on Twitter, it will usually be with a “-KU” appended.

Welcome, Kristen!

Kristen is here pictured with her amazing twin sister and my friend, Laura Peterson!