S.D. Smith's Blog, page 4

A Health Update From Sam

Dear Friends, thank you so much to everyone who has been praying for me. It has been a very challenging few days, but I am recovering and really grateful that I’m not alone in this. To our surprise, I am now recovering at home. My family has been awesome. It’s a little weird that we still need to sort of show up during these days when folks tend to invest in gifts. It’s important to me as a provider (not THE Provider) for my family to try to be faithful here and honestly, even though I don’t “feel great,” I do feel great about sharing these stories we’ve worked so hard to bring to you. God is good. I’m grateful for our little team at our family business working hard to share our best with you. I am acutely aware of my frailty, and of God’s mercy, and I can say very sincerely that I love you all and I give thanks for you. —Your pal, Sam

Best Sellers

We signed many thousands of copies of The Lost Key for you a few days ago and soon they will be headed your way! While signing, my daughter asked me some questions about this new book. Here’s what it was like diving back into Green Ember and how long it took me to write The Lost Key.

In addition to The Lost Key, here is what you have been loving at our family store:

Gift Guides

With so many new and wonderful gifts at the store, we’ve put together some gift guides. If you’re looking for ways to support our small business on this Small Business Saturday, take a look!

New ArrivalsGreen Ember Fan Starter PackGreen Ember Super FanGifts for MomGifts for DadBeyond Green EmberJack Zulu FanFor the One Who Loves (or Needs) to Laugh

*All orders $50+ get Free Standard Shipping*

We are so grateful for you,

Sam

Shop Story Warren Store

P.S. McCarty Party  Join Glenn and Andrew (Story Warren Publisher, stepping in for me) at the live Tumbleweed Launch Party on YouTube or Facebook today, Saturday, at 12PM ET for a Q&A, readings, and giveaways!

The post Our Best Gifts for Your Precious Kids (Plus a Health Update from Sam) appeared first on S. D. Smith.

A Word About Sam’s Health

*** Sam wrote this a couple of days ago, but is now in the hospital having just come through an appendectomy that had some complications. He’s doing well and is in recovery. Would you please pray for strength and healing for him? We are so thankful for you all! – Gina (Mrs. S. D. Smith)

Black Friday Deals

We’re pleased to bring you the best deals of the year at our family store!

*All orders $50+ get Free Standard Shipping*

.kt-sc_5048e5-3f .kt-sc-imgcol {min-height:450px;}

If you’re new to Green Ember or trying to introduce someone to Green Ember, the best deal is the Green Ember Christmas Special (signed!) with the main 4 books and the newest Green Ember book, The Lost Key. And we’re throwing in the Green Ember Character Cards along with the Oath Ornament. Originally $100, on sale for $55.

Shop Now.kt-sc_83ccdf-e5 .kt-sc-imgcol {min-height:450px;}

If you already have the core four and are looking for the other stories in the series, the Green Ember Trilogies Special (signed!) is for you. Get Green Ember Old Natalia, Green Ember Archer, Character Cards, and the Oath Ornament. Originally $90, on sale for $50.

To get all the Green Ember books in the series, you can pair those two specials together for a sweet deal or get the SIGNED 11 Book Bundle.

Thank you so much for supporting our family business!

I’m on your side,

Sam

Shop Story Warren Store

The post Green Ember Black Friday Deals + FREE Shipping! appeared first on S. D. Smith.

It’s been THREE years since the last Green Ember book, but what if the last Green Ember book wasn’t the the last Green Ember book? 

It wasn’t. All of your FAVORITE characters are back! Heather, Picket, Jo, and……Helmer!

Get New Book

The first few thousand are signed. They will go fast. Order yours NOW!

Share Our Fun Video With Your Kids!

Do me a favor and check out our launch day video and share it with your kids! Comment with their reactions, please. And share it with your friends!
Instagram — Facebook — YouTube

FREE Shipping & New Merch

We’ve also launched our family store’s Christmas Deals and we’ve got you covered for awesome gifts! We’ve got new My Place Beside You t-shirts and sweatshirts (our first ever)! We’ve also added some cool character cards that are perfect for stocking stuffers. All orders over $50 will get FREE SHIPPING.

Thank you so much for supporting my work and our family business!

God bless you all,

Sam

The post NEW Green Ember Book! The Lost Key appeared first on S. D. Smith.

Hey Friends,

I hope you are having a wonderful week. I pray that we’ll all remember who and Whose we are and that we will look to bless and not curse everywhere we live and work and worship and show up.

It’s a big week for little things. Do them! Hug your kids. Make a good meal and eat it with loved ones. Teach a child to read, or ride a bike. Clean your room. Write a poem. Read your Bible. Text your discouraged friend. Don’t violate the 9th commandment. Eat a cookie. Love your neighbor. Pray for leaders, present and future. Take out the trash. Shoot some hoops. Kiss your beloved. Give to the poor.

Do the work you have been called to. It’s small and simple and (usually) unknown and it is cosmically important. Thank you for doing the little things. God sees. I know what you’re doing matters—especially when it involves blessing kids.

I’m working on my calling, which is to love and serve and bless families with soul-shaping, memory-making, darkness-shaking adventures. And I am stoked about that work!

Earlier this week I finished up recording an audiobook. More on that soon! (If you’d like, take a guess at what the book is here.)

Get These eBooks

November 6-8 | Free

Jack Zulu and the Waylander’s Key

November 6-10 | $0.99

Team Burger Shed ,  Jack Zulu and the Girl with Golden Wings ,  Mooses with Bazookas

That’s it for me. God bless you all! Keep your chin up.

I’m on your side,

Sam

The post All The Little Things + eBooks appeared first on S. D. Smith.

I’m so excited to share this with you! The Found Boys will make you laugh, cry, and spur on crucial conversations about loving your neighbor.

This will be my first time partnering with a traditional publisher, and I’m very happy to be working alongside Harvest House.

Learn More

I told my kids the Green Ember stories and they’re about keeping faith amid chaos.

I told them this story, The Found Boys, and it’s a fun adventure about friendship and forgiveness. 

What are you feeding your kids—souls?

It’s easy to find examples all over of strife and bitterness and hatred, and plenty of parents are happy to eat from that septic snack shack and feed their kids there too.

But not you.

You love your kids and you want to give them good nourishing food—good food for their souls. This book, The Found Boys, is for you.

It’s an exciting adventure about friendship and forgiveness. Like The Green Ember, it started in my home as a gift to my kids.

It’s a new story with an old soul, from my home to yours.

Limited Signed First Editions

Signed first editions are available! You can get them at Christianbook or at our store.

I am so happy to share this story with you. My intention is to give you a gift, to love and serve you with a delightful, moving, inspiring, and soul-shaping adventure.

Get Found Boys

The post My First Book with a Traditional Publisher! appeared first on S. D. Smith.

TWO New Books!

Dear Friends,

Parents often ask me what I’d recommend their family reads after The Green Ember and my other books. These are families who love Little House and Anne of Green Gables and Tom Sawyer and other classic, enchanting stories. Well, we have got you covered in a big way.

I am so happy to share that our family business, Story Warren, is releasing TWO books for you!

Please take a moment to watch this video and pre-order yours today:

Pre-order now to get it signed!pre-order nowWelcome to the Tumbleweed Thompson Adventures

Author Glenn McCarty takes readers on wild-west adventures from the American frontier. Follow Eugene Appleton, a pastor’s kid who doesn’t usually find himself in much trouble, until he meets a new friend: Tumbleweed Thompson. Eugene, Tumbleweed, and their friend, Charlotte, find themselves in adventure after adventure, most often because of Tumbleweed’s own machinations.

For families who love the action and humor of series like the Green Ember, the Wingfeather Saga, Mr. Limoncello’s Library, and the Mysterious Benedict Society, the Tumbleweed Thompson Adventures provide fast-paced, hijinks-filled middle-grade novels with the added beauty of the American west and the classic feel of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.

I Highly Recommend This Author

I’ve known Glenn for many years and am a BIG fan of his work. He’s an amazing writer and a fantastic guy. My whole family loves Tumbleweed Thompson so much. Trust me, you want these books for your family!

Thank you for supporting us on day one by placing your order today.

We’re on your side,

Sam

shop tumbleweed thompson

The post Two New Books From our Family Business | Tumbleweed Thompson appeared first on S. D. Smith.

It’s time to announce the winners for this quarter’s Green Ember Kid Art contest! Watch the video.

Best Green Ember Kid Art

The FIRST prize goes to the Best #GreenEmberKidArt, judged according to the artist’s age. The winner will receive a $25 gift certificate at the S. D. Smith Store (along with Unimaginable Glory & Prodigious Esteem). 

And the winner is… 

Chloe, age 14!

Cole BlackstarRandomly Selected Kid Artist

For our next prize: Wild Glee, Contagious Joy, and $20 Gift Certificate at the S. D. Smith Store, everyone who submits art is entered.

And the winner is…

Egan, age 8!

“Picket Packslayer! Created with stuff found at his grandparents’ farm.“

Congratulations to these winners!

We had so many wonderful submissions!! Here are some of them:

Check out this video for more!

The contest for the next quarter starts now. Here are the official rules:

To enter, submit your art here.

If you have social media, please share your child’s Green Ember art (publicly) on social media (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube). Use the hashtag #GreenEmberKidArt (along with #RabbitsWithSwords and #TheGreenEmber if you would) and tag S. D. Smith on either Facebook or Instagram. YouTube submissions may be featured in our playlist here.

Art can include but is not limited to pictures of Green Ember drawings, paintings, songs, poems, animation, sculptures, woodwork, crochet art, and MORE! We love seeing your creativity.

Please submit 1 original piece per quarter. If you have more than one, hold onto it until our next quarterly contest opens up (every 3 months). The next contest ends in December and winners will be announced in January.

2024Q1 WinnersQ2 Winners2023Q1 WinnersQ2 WinnersQ3 WinnersQ4 Winners2022Q2 WinnersQ3 WinnersQ4 Winners

We look forward to seeing your submissions!

The post Green Ember Kid Art Winners | 2024 Q3 appeared first on S. D. Smith.

In short, no.

Does that surprise you?

I write generous, adventurous stories that are faithful to Reality. They tell the truth about the world, but there aren’t one-for-one specific truths being taught in the guise of a story. I just try to write excellent stories.

Allegory VS Application

Do the Green Ember stories resonate with you as a Christian? What you may be experiencing is application.

“I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history―true or feigned―with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think that many confuse applicability with allegory, but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author.”

―J. R. R. Tolkien

I recently received this question during my Q & A with my pal Brett Harris of Young Writers Workshop.

How do you write a biblical allegory without making the story boring or predictable? How do I “disguise” the allegory without boring Christians and turning away non-Christian readers?

Here’s my full answer, including some pitfalls to avoid when seeking to write a story that is faithful to Reality.

Telling Truthful Stories

God made the world. Vocations like farming, storytelling, and serving kids PB & J’s are good.

This world is his. Motherhood, fatherhood, brotherhood, sisterhood―it’s all his. We don’t have to pretend that it’s not and we don’t have to disguise it. We don’t have to sneak a message into fatherhood. It’s already good and doing it well is good. God invented it. It doesn’t need another sneaky, sly purpose. The same is true for stories.

We tell good stories and don’t have to be burdened with sneaking (even very good) info into them—because God made the world.

If you’re a Christian in the arts and you’re asking me what I think you need to be faithful and fruitful in your work, here’s my response. Follow Jesus and go to church. Have a high view of Holy Scripture, the Doctrine of Creation, and the Doctrine of Vocation. Then, pray and smile and sweat and do your very best work.

I’m on your side!

Sam

The post Is The Green Ember Allegory? appeared first on S. D. Smith.

Okay, you’ve got to help me out here. I’m dying to know who your favorite character is. And, related to that, who you’d like to have more stories about?

During the launch party for The Found Boys, I talked about my favorite characters and if more Green Ember books coming.

Now I want to hear from you! Invite your kids to help answer the poll below…

Which Green Ember character(s) would you like to read more about?

Heather? Picket? Jo Shanks? Helmer? Smalls? Or someone else?

Answer Here

Speaking of Green Ember, the Green Ember Kid Art contest ends in just a few days! Submit art here. Winners will be announced in October.

Can’t wait to see who you pick,

Sam

Jo Shanks from The Archer’s Cup by Lilly, age 15Shop Story warren Store

The post More Green Ember? You Tell Me! 🐰⚔️💚 appeared first on S. D. Smith.

The Found Boys

Ready for liftoff!

Launch days are crucial for an author and his or her family (a he in my case), and I’m so grateful to have your support on this my 14th book release day! It makes me so happy I’m laughing (a he he in my case).

Fun Fact: If you stacked all my books on top of each other, they would reach part of the way to the moon. Wow! Double-wow! #Science

I know many of you want to know how you can help. Thank you so much for caring!

First off, please grab a copy of the book. After that, leaving a great review (especially on Amazon) and sharing about the book with others are the most helpful things. Lastly, come to launch party at noon ET today!

Get it here: Our Store | Amazon | Audible | Kindle | Christianbook | Walmart | & more.

“It makes me so happy that S. D. Smith is putting good stuff like this out there. Books we can confidently put in our children’s hands. Books that show them how amazing it is to encounter a great story full of heart, hope, and thrills. Go Sam!”

Scott James, Author of  The Sower

Watch the Launch Party replay to hear the heart behind this book and see the crazy My Place Beside You Bundle:

Last Chance – Ends 9/10

I’m giving you an extra day – today – to get the audiobook, activity guide, and first chapter download all for free when you order the book. Once you’ve ordered the book, please enter your order info right here *crucial step* and you’ll receive all your goodies.

I’m on your side,

Sam

Get Found Boys

The post S. D. Smith’s New Book is Here 🚀 appeared first on S. D. Smith.