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I’m On Your Side

Why do I keep saying “I’m on your side?”
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I’ll tell you why. You have these kids you love, and you know stories shape them like nothing else. You have a mission, and you are looking for help.

Some of the languages Green Ember has been translated in to! Can you identify them all? Let me know in the comments.

I have a clear calling on my life. It’s to be your ally. Your ally in imagination. You have allies in other places (I pray) and I am your ally on this front. The front of the stories and imagination.

You want to share virtue-forming, courage-inspiring, faithful adventures with your kids that are more than merely lessons. You (and they) want delightful stories to enjoy, not just endure. My stories are the vegetables and the protein and the dessert all in one. They aren’t just lessons to choke down, but a fantastic feast for the imagination that shapes them deep in their souls and produces smiles on their faces.

Too much media is an effort to undermine the bond between parents and their children. I hate that. I’m against that, and I’m for you and your kids. Since these stories started as tales I told my kids in our own home, my motivation has always been clear and my heart has always been sincere about this. I am aiming for generosity, for hospitality, and all of it is rooted in love. I didn’t have to pretend to love and sincerely want to serve the first audience, and I don’t have to do that with the audience that has grown up over the years with our family’s stories.

I love you. I’m called to serve you. I am up for the mission. I won’t always get it perfect, but my heart is in the battle. And you are not alone in your mission to love your kids and the men and women they are becoming. You are doing an amazing job, even when it’s hard, and I am so keen to show up at your side in this crucial part of the war.

So, I’m on your side.
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I say it often because I believe it so deeply and I want you to know it, too.
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Let’s bless these kids, together.

Your friend,

Sam

shop story warren store

P.S. The Lost Cause launches in one week! Have fun with this brand new coloring page from the new book while you wait.

P.P.S. Last week’s merch reveal was a two-for-one: a Heather & Picket Mug! Complete with their quotes you know and love. Now guess the next one (or two? 🤔) Leave your comment down below and we’ll pick one winner to send it to once it’s at our store.

S. D. Smith is the author of The Green Ember Series, a bestselling middle-grade adventure saga. When he’s not writing adventurous tales of #RabbitsWithSwords in his writing shed, dubbed The Forge, Smith loves to speak to audiences about storytelling, imagination, and seeing yourself as a character in the Story. S. D. Smith lives in West Virginia with his wife and four kids.

120 Comments

  20. The way you sign “I’m on your side” is such an encouragement that I appreciate very much. There is so much not on the side of parents these days, it’s a gift to remember who and what is 🙂

    New merch guess – a green ember notebook? 🤔

    Reply

  21. Yay new mugs!!! I’m guessing a shirt, maybe Lost Tales or one of the other Trilogy’s. In the blurred merch photo are you signing the new Lost Tales book?🤨
    When is the new merch coming in the Green Ember store?
    I’ve been eyeing the Helmer bundle and I am hoping to be able to look at the new merch before Christmas. 😁

    Reply

  36. New t-shirt!! Can’t wait! I’m so excited for all this new merch, and I might own half of it when it officially drops haha.

    Reply

  40. Me and my brothers think it’s the Lost Cause signed book, and a tee that says “Get lost in the stories that won’t get you lost.” If not that would be so neat!

    Reply

  53. Oooo I think it’s a green ember T-shirt! Can’t wait! Also… very excited for the new book!!!📖 🐇 ⚔️ 🏹🐇

    Reply

  58. It’s the green t-shirt you are wearing in your reels on Facebook! It seems to have a green flame with the outline of rabbits inside. 💚

    Reply

  64. A green Green Ember shirt with the quote:
    “The Green Ember burns; the seed of the New World smolders. Healing is on the horizon, but a fire comes first. Bear the flame.”

    Reply

  65. A signed copy of the new lost tales book!
    And a t-shirt, potentially with Picket or Heather, or one of the other main characters from the book!

    Reply

  69. If it’s a two for one I think the first one would be a new T-shirt. A picket T-shirt, with the word: ‘Protector/Defender’ below it.

    The second one would be another T-shirt. This one a Heather T-Shirt with the word: ‘StoryTeller’ below it.
    I can’t wait!

    And the second one would be the new book, signed!

    Reply

  76. Love the heart behind “I’m on our side”. It’s refreshing to have amazing stories we all enjoy without worry. We’re hoping for costumes!!! (8, 6, and 2 year olds!) hoping your ears and sword are hints!

    Reply

  80. it’s a lost key T-shirt with a quote on it or Heather and Picket are on it with “My place beside you my blood for yours til the Green Ember rises or the end of the world.”

    Reply

  87. Hi Sam!!! Thanks for all that you do!!! I am thankful that you are not just writing books for money, but you really care for us!!! I think that the merch is a lost tales shirt of some kind i hope?
    I am on you side!
    Abery

    Reply

  90. A signed copy of The Lost Cause!! I love hearing, “I’m on your side!” It’s a huge encouragement that I have in turn spoken to my kids & others, sometimes in hard times when they don’t feel like I’m on their side. Keep up the good work!!

    Reply

  99. Heather and Picket T-shirt.
    P.S. I love your books
    P.P.S. all my friends love your books ( well at least three of my friends)
    P.P.P.S. I love Jack Zulu too ( I have both , but I have not read Jack Zulu and the Girl with Golden Wings yet )

    Reply

  108. How about a hat?

    So appreciate your emails—they are one of the very very few email subscriptions that I actually read through every time, all the way.

    Reply

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