S.D. Smith's Blog, page 37

The Green Ember is FREE. Get it now. Share it now. 

—

This little adventure has been fun. Writing is necessarily a lonely vocation, and the “self-promotion” part of the job is fraught with real and imagined perils. But one thing I’ve been so grateful for has been the constant, enthusiastic support we’ve had from our friends. That’s you. You have shared your enthusiasm for the book(s) with everyone you know and helped us reach a surprisingly big audience. We never would have imagined that in less than 8 months, The Green Ember would reach over 20,000 readers.

While sales have been incredible for a small-time debut, most of those readers got copies when the book was free. You helped us reach a LOT of people. We think that led to many folks buying the book in print after they read it. We heard from some people who said just that.

When you offer a book for free, you run the risk of getting a bunch of negative reviews. In fact, most of our less-than-favorable feedback on Amazon did come from people who downloaded it for free. Consequently,  it wasn’t the kind of book they might typically have chosen or enjoyed. No big deal. The great thing was that the so many other people who got the book left great reviews, and their “verified purchase” status lends credence to their recommendation. That has helped a lot of new readers take the plunge. (Amazon reviews are massively important for small-timers like us.)

I share all of that with you to shed some light on why it helps (in a number of ways) when you share the news that Ember is free. Some folks have asked if we are losing money, and though I know it might seem like it, we are mostly concerned with growing our readership. We have confidence that the book will connect with the audience it’s meant for and one of the best ways to reach them is through a limited giveaway.

Can you help spread the word? The Green Ember is free on Kindle for the next three days (July 7,8, & 9). We want to reach new readers and hope, additionally, to encourage people to order a copy of The Black Star of Kingston.

Black Star releases in just six days. (Got your copy ordered yet?)

What can you do?

Just share it, man. If you think it’s something readers of any age would enjoy, then share it.

The best thing would be to share a picture of your family/kids with the book and a thumbs up, along with the link. (http://bit.ly/TheGreenEmberIsFree)

If you’re not sure how to do that, then you can copy and paste this:

For Twitter

FREE TODAY! A new adventure with an old soul, #TheGreenEmber. And check out @SDSmith_’s new book, #BlackStarOK. http://bit.ly/TheGreenEmberIsFree #Free

For Facebook

FREE TODAY! If your family loves a new adventure with an old soul, get The Green Ember, for $0. Also, check out S. D. Smith’s new book, The Black Star of Kingston. http://bit.ly/TheGreenEmberIsFree #RabbitsWithSwords

—

Thank you, friends! Your help is so greatly appreciated.

The Green Ember is FREE. Get it now. Share it now. 

—

This little adventure has been fun. Writing is necessarily a lonely vocation, and the “self-promotion” part of the job is fraught with real and imagined perils. But one thing I’ve been so grateful for has been the constant, enthusiastic support we’ve had from our friends. That’s you. You have shared your enthusiasm for the book(s) with everyone you know and helped us reach a surprisingly big audience. We never would have imagined that in less than 8 months, The Green Ember would reach over 20,000 readers.

While sales have been incredible for a small-time debut, most of those readers got copies when the book was free. You helped us reach a LOT of people. We think that led to many folks buying the book in print after they read it. We heard from some people who said just that.

When you offer a book for free, you run the risk of getting a bunch of negative reviews. In fact, most of our less-than-favorable feedback on Amazon did come from people who downloaded it for free. Consequently,  it wasn’t the kind of book they might typically have chosen or enjoyed. No big deal. The great thing was that the so many other people who got the book left great reviews, and their “verified purchase” status lends credence to their recommendation. That has helped a lot of new readers take the plunge. (Amazon reviews are massively important for small-timers like us.)

I share all of that with you to shed some light on why it helps (in a number of ways) when you share the news that Ember is free. Some folks have asked if we are losing money, and though I know it might seem like it, we are mostly concerned with growing our readership. We have confidence that the book will connect with the audience it’s meant for and one of the best ways to reach them is through a limited giveaway.

Can you help spread the word? The Green Ember is free on Kindle for the next three days (July 7,8, & 9). We want to reach new readers and hope, additionally, to encourage people to order a copy of The Black Star of Kingston.

Black Star releases in just six days. (Got your copy ordered yet?)

What can you do?

Just share it, man. If you think it’s something readers of any age would enjoy, then share it.

The best thing would be to share a picture of your family/kids with the book and a thumbs up, along with the link. (http://bit.ly/TheGreenEmberIsFree)

If you’re not sure how to do that, then you can copy and paste this:

For Twitter

FREE TODAY! A new adventure with an old soul, #TheGreenEmber. And check out @SDSmith_’s new book, #BlackStarOK. http://bit.ly/TheGreenEmberIsFree #Free

For Facebook

FREE TODAY! If your family loves a new adventure with an old soul, get The Green Ember, for $0. Also, check out S. D. Smith’s new book, The Black Star of Kingston. http://bit.ly/TheGreenEmberIsFree #RabbitsWithSwords

—

Thank you, friends! Your help is so greatly appreciated.

The Green Ember is FREE. Get it now. Share it now. 

—

This little adventure has been fun. Writing is necessarily a lonely vocation, and the “self-promotion” part of the job is fraught with real and imagined perils. But one thing I’ve been so grateful for has been the constant, enthusiastic support we’ve had from our friends. That’s you. You have shared your enthusiasm for the book(s) with everyone you know and helped us reach a surprisingly big audience. We never would have imagined that in less than 8 months, The Green Ember would reach over 20,000 readers.

While sales have been incredible for a small-time debut, most of those readers got copies when the book was free. You helped us reach a LOT of people. We think that led to many folks buying the book in print after they read it. We heard from some people who said just that.

When you offer a book for free, you run the risk of getting a bunch of negative reviews. In fact, most of our less-than-favorable feedback on Amazon did come from people who downloaded it for free. Consequently,  it wasn’t the kind of book they might typically have chosen or enjoyed. No big deal. The great thing was that the so many other people who got the book left great reviews, and their “verified purchase” status lends credence to their recommendation. That has helped a lot of new readers take the plunge. (Amazon reviews are massively important for small-timers like us.)

I share all of that with you to shed some light on why it helps (in a number of ways) when you share the news that Ember is free. Some folks have asked if we are losing money, and though I know it might seem like it, we are mostly concerned with growing our readership. We have confidence that the book will connect with the audience it’s meant for and one of the best ways to reach them is through a limited giveaway.

Can you help spread the word? The Green Ember is free on Kindle for the next three days (July 7,8, & 9). We want to reach new readers and hope, additionally, to encourage people to order a copy of The Black Star of Kingston.

Black Star releases in just six days.

What can you do?

Just share it, man. If you think it’s something readers of any age would enjoy, then share it.

The best thing would be to share a picture of your family/kids with the book and a thumbs up, along with the link. (http://bit.ly/TheGreenEmberIsFree)

If you’re not sure how to do that, then you can copy and paste this:

For Twitter

FREE TODAY! A new adventure with an old soul, #TheGreenEmber. And check out @SDSmith_’s new book, #BlackStarOK. http://bit.ly/TheGreenEmberIsFree #Free

For Facebook

FREE TODAY! If your family loves a new adventure with an old soul, get The Green Ember, for $0. Also, check out S. D. Smith’s new book, The Black Star of Kingston. http://bit.ly/TheGreenEmberIsFree #RabbitsWithSwords

—

Thank you, friends! Your help is so greatly appreciated.

Shirts for Sale!

Tree Shirt? Get yours here!

These feel really comfortable. I’ve had mine for a few weeks and I love it. It’s a very soft, high-quality shirt. Still feels the same after many washes.We have just about every size, including toddlers. The toddler shirts are light grey, with black print.



We have a limited inventory, so you need to hustle to be sure we still have your size.

We like ‘em.

Now, a word about the designer of this fine item of clothing.

Our friend Erin Tegeler, an amazing artist, created this design. It’s based on an illustration Zach did in The Green Ember of an attacking rabbit. It features the oath that resounds in Ember and ties the two books (Black Star and Ember) together.

Erin has an eye for beautiful things, is a compassionate, thoughtful person, and one of the world’s very bets photographers. She’s also funny and cool. Her and Pete live in Washington, with their beautiful kids.

We loved this design so much that Andrew (the publisher) put it on the back of the new book.

Thank you, Erin, for this awesome design and for all the encouragement you Tegelers have been to us.

 

 

Oh, man. Our Story Warren Family Conference, Inkwell, was incredible. I’m so grateful for how it went. We had around 250 kids with their families together all day for an amazing experience.

Inkwell is a day for Unbottling Imagination. Why? For Kingdom Anticipation. It’s a fun, funny, and friendly event. But the heart of the thing is serious. As our culture withers in many ways, we aim to be a part of tending the soil, of cultivating again a love of Beauty, Truth, and Goodness. It’s a day where kids can be exposed to ideas and instruction, but can also be inspired and given a vision for hope and a kindled imagination.

I think one of the most wonderful things that happens is that the kids get to meet, hear from, and be close to some amazing people. Men and women who are submitted to the lordship of Christ in all of life and who are pursuing creative vocations with excellence. I have often said that I would do the whole thing just for my own kids to have this experience.

The kids were immersed in Storytelling with Andrew Peterson, Illustration with Zach Franzen, Poetry With Rebecca Reynolds, and Songwriting with Randall Goodgame. And there was so much more! Joe Sutphin wowed the kids with his amazing drawings and kindness. We had countless volunteers from the Church at Charlotte, an amazing ally for us in this endeavor.

For me, it’s a bit of a blur. I did speak a few times, to everyone at the opening and closing, and in a session for parents. I also got to help my brother Josiah teach kids a Zulu song and another song about longing for the kingdom of God with Skye Peterson. (That girl can sing!) But my perspective on the conference was as a leader, and so I took a lot of joy from the incredible work our team put in and am overwhelmed by the generosity of our volunteers and partners.

I wanted to do a big, thoughtful post about the day, but this is the best I can do at the moment. It’s from my perspective so lots of pictures of me (sorry!), but it might give you a flavor of the day.

This was also the very first place  The Black Star of Kingston  was available. Many readers got their copies and I must have signed a hundred books! That was fun. I LOVED meeting all the enthusiastic readers, the kids and the parents, and it was a big encouragement for me to hear from many of you in person.

Thank you!

I hope we can keep doing Inkwell every year. It’s a special day. I love being a part of Story Warren.

Here’s some more pictures, most either taken by Tim Briggs, Josiah Smith, or Jessi Smith.

Laura Peterson. So awesome. And the rest of our group captains. James Witmer, Kelly Keller, Kristen Peterson, and Glenn McCarty.

Peterson twins with magic photographic awareness.

I also got to teach the kids at Church at Charlotte on Sunday while Zach painted! The lesson was from Daniel 3. The three Hebrew young men and the fiery furnace. Fun fact: Afterwards, I told Zach that CAC had an art gallery and they would probably be thrilled if he wanted to donate his painting to their gallery. He replied. “Well, I already donated the painting to their dumpster.”

Jon Aman, beginning to put the letters together and form words. Proud of you, Jon!

Joe and Gina Sutphin. Joe is feeling good because of his hair situation.

Zach telling a fish story and relating it to the intriguing reality pointed out by Scandinavian art historian Vilhelm Volfjhelm’s theory that salt makes fish taste salty.  Ergo, chaos of the first order and social change in the politics of English soccer hooligans.

AP writing Christian cuss words on his board and refusing to apologize.

 

 

This is the Dream (Merch) Team! Will Smith and his Immortals. Jon Aman, Ming Selig, Lynn Holloway, and Will. Lynn’s hair alone brought in hundreds in sales.

The art project for 7 and 8 year olds was amazing.

Rebecca Reynolds is brilliant and fun.

My favorite Inkwell picture. This is a wonderful human being, I’m sure of it.

This is also my favorite. I love this kid (my nephew) and this man (my Randy).

These are the AMAZING art ladies. Eva and Deborah, take a bow!

Randy challenging kids to take over the class “IF YOU CAN” by the ancient right of trial by combat.

Becca deciding the fate of yet another gladiator.

–

Here’s a picture of many of the staff and volunteers who came early and stayed late.

Thank you.

Thanks to all our team, but I’ll single out Andrew Mackay, my partner, who was a beast. So much behind-the-scenes work and sacrifice. I am “out front,” but that’s not possible unless Andrew is working incredibly hard behind the scenes. Julie Silander’s hospitality and enthusiasm is a pillar of Story Warren. Without her, this conference doesn’t happen and probably Story Warren would not exist either. She’s our ambassador extraordinaire and a key to Inkwell. Carrie Givens was the link between Story Warren (she’s on our staff) and Church at Charlotte (her day job). She coordinated volunteers, endured hardship from my frazzled self, and basically was like the glue putting it all together. Thank you, Carrie! And to Tim Briggs (and Ken, Jimmy, Dave, etc.) and everyone at CAC, thank you. You guys made it so much easier on us and were tremendous partners. We feel really blessed to be connected with you.

I thank God for what he has done at Inkwell.

 

It’s available, friends! Please do us a solid and order yourself a copy (or several) and share this with your friends! (And in case you’re wondering, we DO want you to order from Amazon and please use our link.) Black Star releases on July 13.

Thank you so much!

Paperback link.          Kindle link. 

Now, a bit about this book. I have heard from so many readers of The Green Ember who have shared with me that they really connected with the oath.

My place beside you, my blood for yours,

Till the Green Ember rises, or the end of the world!

It’s neat to me that the t-shirt (which features the oath) is almost ready at around the same time that The Black Star of Kingston is available to order. (I love Erin Tegeler’s design.)

Black Star is the origin story for that oath, and an engaging prequel to The Green Ember.

It is not the sequel I keep hearing demands to produce. I’m very happy so many of you (especially kids) are excited to find out what happens next with Picket and Heather and the others. I AM working on that. I’m making good progress but, as many of you have pointed out, it takes time to “make it good.”

For now, here is Black Star. Ready to satisfy for the moment, I hope, your cravings for #RabbitsWithSwords.

I am delighted with this story and I hope you will be too. It is wonderfully illustrated, as was The Green Ember, by Zach Franzen. I love how it came out and I certainly hope you will enjoy it.

It is shorter than Ember, closer to the usual length for a middle-grade novel. It is set around a century before The Green Ember and is the first in a new series we are calling Tales of Old Natalia.

The Green Ember is full of references to this past and these characters, most especially in the oath. It is something like the Star Wars prequels, or, perhaps more accurately (but less reverent?), a kind of “Old Testament” to Ember’s “New.”

The Tales of Old Natalia will, I hope, feature more books, as will The Green Ember. Our plan is for them to grow up together, each developing the story and back story of the rabbits of Natalia.

If that’s confusing, just ignore it. The case is pretty simple.

Here’s a story about rabbits fighting for survival. They have hands and they use swords. They also have hearts.

This one is about Fleck, a common coal miner with uncommon virtue, rare vision, and a heroic soul. He takes his place beside King Whitson Mariner in a desperate defense of a their new world.

I hope you’ll pop over to Amazon and preorder your copy now.

(What follows is merely part of my newsletter…a day late and shorn of the crummy special offers and pathetic exclusives you can only have if you are subscribed. Do it here, yo.)

—-

Hey Friends!

This is gonna be a quick one. Life has been good. Good and busy. My second book has gone to press! The Black Star of Kingston is out of my hands and about to get printed in terrifyingly large quantities.

The book should be available to pre-order very soon.

Also, I am VERY excited to share the cover with you today.

Thanks to Zach Franzen for the amazing art and to Paul Boekell and Andrew Mackay for the design. I think it looks amazing.

I just wanted more and more fireballs. Because I believe you can never have too many fireballs. That’s my take. But the suits were all like “image composition” and “there is such a thing as too many fireballs” and I’m all like uh, what? like, okay? for real? and stuff.

We have a page set up for all things Black Star here.

Events!

I’m excited to be coming to Lewisburg, West Virginia on this Thursday, May 28th, at 3:30! I’ll be at the Open Book talking to kids/grownups/whomever and signing copies of The Green Ember. If you’re close, I hope you can come. I will be handing out high-fives, stickers, bookmarks, and laundry advice maybe who knows.

Here’s the Facebook Event page. If you’re local, please share the event. If you aren’t local, move here by Thursday.

We are getting ready for Inkwell in just a few weeks, our second ever family conference in Charlotte. (Our first ever was last year. Our third ever will be next year, probably). I’m excited about what’s happening with Story Warren, and Inkwell in particular. I hope to see many of you there! I’ll be the bald guy who is talking too much about the Women’s World Cup. (Go USA!)

I enjoyed a wonderful visit to Ravenswood Grade School last week! I got to speak on “What Makes a Good Character?” to over 300 kids. Peyton Manning was there. In cardboard cutout version. He was like a good angel over my shoulder yelling “Omaha!”

What a pleasure this trip was! (Adam Hagartook some pictures (see them here). Thank you!

I also got to visit Hinton Area Elementary and had a great time with Miss Tabor’s 3rd Grade class. (Fun fact: My 3rd Grade teacher was named Miss Tabor. She was a great teacher.) Thanks to Cheryl Kula for inviting me!

We’re Number 1?      

Well, we are definitely NOT number one. But in a small category (that includes, however, C. S. Lewis’sRansom Trilogy–often called the “Space Trilogy”–and Andrew Peterson’s Wingfeather Saga), we did get to see that fun little #1 Best Seller tag on The Green Ember. Yay! That was cool. Tune in for next month’s newsletter where I will brag even more.

Thanks to all of you who have rated and reviewed The Green Ember at Amazon and Audible. It helps so much and it just takes a second. And by “a second,” I mean possibly 120 to 8,000 seconds, not the traditionally understood “1″ standard second.

Raise your hand, if you hope to go bald like me?

So, would you consider helping us out by pre-ordering Black Star when it’s available? That would be amazing.

The Shirt 

Lots of people have asked about t-shirts and I’m happy to say that we’ll have those for sale soon. We were torn about it because it’s hard to get nice, high-quality shirts at a good price. But we decided to avoid the cheap stuff and to go for quality. We have to charge a bit more than we had hoped, but we think they’re going to be worth it. They are really comfortable! Soft and attractive, we think you’ll love them. And who do we have to thank for designing these amazing shirts? Our friend Erin Tegeler, from Washington state. She’s an amazing photographer and we really love this design. We hope lots of you will want one of these beauties for your own!

Needs a wee ironing, eh? Sorry, I literally just pulled it out of my drawer. 

Dear, DEAR Advocates

I just want to express how deeply grateful I am to all of you, but most especially to those of you who have adopted The Green Ember as a book and me as an author, to be your very own cause. Like Brenda Conley getting my book in the hands of 300 kids at a rural West Virginia school. Like Sarah Mackenzie and her legion of Read-Aloud Revivalers who are determined to tell everyone they know about my books. Like the countless numbers of friends new and old who have shared my story with everyone they know. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! You know who you are. My family and I are so grateful for you. I’m honored to have you as partners, allies in this adventure. Here’s to many more!

Grace and peace to you,

Sam

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 protect all the others. Such is certainly the case in the American story. From the founding our principal heroes have 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 men with guns. These men 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 understand that as Christians we are called to have an attitude of forgiveness and love. But the world is what it is and has been since the fall –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 most 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 hug my kids a little tighter, seek joy and deep meaning in the life I have. And remember the part you played in securing those joys, with thanks.

—   —   —

(Note: This is a few years old. I publish this most every year on Memorial Day because I can’t think of anything better to say.)

 

Some readers of The Green Ember, my first fantasy adventure novel for kids, found the ending to be a cliff-hanger. Some kids even shouted at their parents in frustration, “That is a horrible ending!” and “There has to be another book!” Hey, I’ll take any kind of enthusiastic, emotional response. It means they cared. So, I’ve gotten a few emails along those lines. It hasn’t been the majority. Most don’t even mention it, but there’s a few who are fired up about my “cliff-hanger.”

I didn’t mean to make a cliff-hanger. Sure, like all such books, there’s a big part of the story that remains unresolved, remains “out there” for future adventures. What I meant to do was give a mostly-satisfying resolution to the main promises I made in the “contract” with the reader–implicitly agreed at the beginning of the story.

I wanted to have significant resolution to two problems. The, “What’s wrong with the world?” problem, and the, “What’s wrong with our main characters?” problem. I hoped that when the end of this story came, the reader would feel like a big dent in the World problem happened, and that the characters would have grown to the point that the reader felt satisfied. (Of course they are both mingled.) Is Picket the same sort of rabbit when the story begins as when it ends? What about Heather? I hope not. 

That’s what I was aiming for. I don’t know how well I succeeded. The majority response from parents and kids has been very encouraging, but I know I have a lot of room to grow.

I think one problem might be that, for some readers, I failed to deliver enough of a Character story to make up for what is unresolved in the Event story.

Orson Scott Card talks about the main kinds of stories in his book Character and Viewpoint. In a minefield of material designed to keep writers from writing and perpetuate the Writer’s Self-help Creed of Tell, Don’t Show, or perhaps more likely, Sell, Don’t Show, Character and Viewpoint is practical, insightful, and generally helpful. Card writes about the different types of stories thus.

The M.I.C.E. Quotient

Milieu

The Milieu is the world–the planet, the society, the weather, the family–all the elements that went into creating that special world.

Idea

Idea stories are about the process of finding information. Think of Nolan’s Inception.

Character

The Character story is about the transformation of a character’s role in the communities that matter most to him or her. 

Event

Event stories focus on events which rip the fabric of the universe or disrupt the natural order and cause the world to be in a state of flux. Or, “What’s wrong with the world?”

So all stories fit into these basic types and every story I can think of emphasizes one or two and contains all. Most stories deal significantly in Character and Event.

This example might help you understand what he’s talking about.

One of my favorite parts of The Lord of the Rings is The Scouring of the Shire. When this was cut from Jackson’s film trilogy, I was sad. Why? Because Jackson gives us the Event story, but robs us of a huge part of the Character story. The Event is the destruction of the ring and fixing the “What’s wrong with the world?” problem as Aragorn is married to Arwen and enthroned in Gondor.

But what of the hobbits? What of these characters through whose eyes we have seen the Event story? What of the Character story? For me, their return to the shire and its liberation from statist bureaucrats in league with Sharky, is crucial. How many character stories are resolved in those chapters cut from Jackson’s film? So many. Sharky himself, and Wormtongue. Merry and Pippen, both now literally taller and spiritually greater, in profound ways. But also Sam and Frodo. It’s heartbreaking and glorious. It’s smaller than what happened across the wide miles in Mordor and Gondor, but it’s huge for our characters. The story isn’t over until they liberate the Shire. The Character story isn’t over until we are satisfied. And Tolkien delivers an ending to the Character story that is glorious and truthful. Jackson, as with so many other details (cough, Bombadil), misses something good and, I would argue, essential.

I’m sure my efforts in The Green Ember came up short in many ways. I’m sure those few furious kids are going to be unhappy that the next book I release will be a shorter prequel and not the sequel they are demanding. I’m working on the sequel, but it will be a little while. And part of what I’m doing with the prequel, The Black Star of Kingston, is to fill out the world. I’m delivering on some promises and making new ones. It’s a relationship I’m forming with readers. I hope that, in the end, they will be pleased with the journey we went on together.

After all, in and among a thousand motivations I have as an author, the deepest and truest one is love for those readers and a sincere effort to delight them. And what am I? Only another character in a story, not yet what I will be.

But I am going somewhere. I am growing.

You are too.

After an incredible amount of work by a lot of people, (my publisher and partner) Andrew Mackay sent the files for The Black Star of Kingston to press

today. In July, we will be shipping Black Star to you. (If you order it!) It will be available for preorder sometime in the coming weeks!

This is exhilarating and terrifying, like a ride in a hot-air balloon (probably). It’s scary because it’s final. We’ll have a few thousand copies of a book we can’t alter and need to sell. It’s exciting because we know there are people waiting for it, amazing readers who have been so encouraging, enthusiastic, and eager for what’s next after The Green Ember.

I want to keep reminding you wonderful people that this book is a prequel, so it’s not the sequel I keep getting (the most kind) threats about. I am working on the sequel, but I hope you’ll give us a little bit more time on that (next Spring?). In the meantime, I hope you like Black Star.

It takes place around a hundred years before the events in The Green Ember and it has a lot in there for Ember readers to recognize. The prologue from The Green Ember is in this book entire. In fact this is that story. It’s shorter than Ember, actually closer to a usual middle-grade novel length. Zach Franzen is back with amazing cover art and beautiful interiors. (Listen to him and our friend Sarah Mackenzie talk about illustration here.)

In fact, I’d love to show you one of Zach’s illustrations for Black Star right now.

Pretty amazing, yes?

The cover is fantastic. I can’t wait for you to see it! I’ll be sharing the first look at the cover exclusively with those who are signed up on my mailing list. (Easy to do here.)

I think you’re going to love this book. I’m so excited to share it with you VERY SOON.