Million-Selling Adventure Series to be Released in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth

Leyland, UK—S. D. Smith, Author of the million-selling middle grade adventure saga, announces that The Green Ember will be released in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.

Many fans have asked for many years when these rabbits and their swords would make their way across the pond. The wait is over! The books are available for preorder right now in the UK and include free shipping.

The first two Green Ember books, The Green Ember & Ember Falls, will be the first to be release in the UK (and Commonwealth). Those are available at the end of this month.

The next two books, Ember Rising & Ember’s End, will follow in 2024.

Story Warren—S. D. Smith’s publishing, events, and IP development house based in rural West Virginia—is partnering with Reformation Lightning, a wonderful publisher and distributor with an emphasis on books that are faithful to a Christian worldview. Reformation Lighting, an imprint of 10Publishing, is fantastic at connecting with readers at conferences and events. Story Warren is delighted to be partnering with them.

I am so grateful. I pray this leads to soul-shaping, memory-making, darkness-shaking gifts for many UK children and families!

S. D. Smith

S. D. Smith’s Green Ember Live Draws Big Crowds Around the Country

Richmond, VA—S. D. Smith, Author of the million-selling middle grade adventure saga, is back on the road drawing big crowds from Virginia to California with Green Ember LIVE.

S. D. Smith says, “Green Ember LIVE has been amazing! We’ve had thousands of fans enjoying songs and stories and signing alongside me and my family. It’s been a huge hit. Sarah Mackenzie from Read-Aloud Revival joined me on stage to perform the story.”

Green Ember Live is a new, never-released Green Ember story performed LIVE by S. D. Smith, a songwriter as well as a bestselling author. It’s an exciting event for the whole family to enjoy. During Green Ember Live, he and family members share songs from Green Ember books and invite you to sing along. 

“The icing on the cake to reading The Green Ember series as a family was seeing The Green Ember Live. It was an up close and personal way to get to know S. D. Smith and his talented family. We sang, we laughed, we lingered over songs and stories and characters that have shaped family memories we’ll cherish for many years.”

Angie Cole

In addition to Green Ember Live, the book signings, sessions, and workshops on tour have been a whirlwind of laughter, stories, and heartfelt conversations. S. D. Smith has had the privilege of connecting with thousands of readers in person to hear how these stories have resonated with their lives.

There are still a few opportunities to join S. D. Smith on tour:

JULY

• 6-8: GHC Texas | Register Here (Green Ember LIVE on Thursday 7-6 at 8pm)
• 14-15: Arizona Home Education Convention by AFHE – Phoenix, AZ | Register Here

More information here on how to book Green Ember LIVE or an Author Event with S. D. Smith.

Beckley, WV—Author S. D. Smith recently had the pleasure of speaking with his local Rotary Club about how he’s sharing the wonders of West Virginia with the world. Smith spoke about the humble beginnings of The Green Ember Series, now a million-selling middle grade adventure saga.

THE GREEN EMBER ORIGIN STORY, AS TOLD BY S. D. SMITH:

“There were rabbits in the yard…

I was on the porch with my young daughter, and it was time for one of our stories. I often told her tales from out of my mind, improvised in the moment for her delight. Today felt different, and I scanned the natural beauty seen everywhere around us in West Virginia and found these furry, vulnerable creatures hopping around. So it began.

The stories we started that day were about a rabbit family caught up in a surprising, epic adventure. Joined by little brother, we shared this narrative at bedtimes, on walks, and at other stolen moments. These tales carried on for years and became our own private serial adventures. What my daughter and I didn’t know that first day, and would only learn years later, was that hundreds of thousands of children would one day share our little adventure—that it would outgrow the hills of West Virginia and make its way onto every continent on earth. We couldn’t have known then that a surprising adventure awaited us as well, an adventure in hospitality, sharing our stories with families around the world.

Like the seemingly harmless rabbits of our Appalachian landscape, we never expected to see our stories rise and fight. But hope is worth fighting for, and these are stories anchored in hope.”

---

There’s more to come. Along with author, S. D. Smith is a founder and owner of Story Warren, a publishing, events, and IP development house based in rural West Virginia. Smith is currently working with his son on the sequel to Jack Zulu and the Waylander’s Key, a thrilling fantasy for readers who are hungry for “new stories with an old soul.”

GRANDVIEW, WV—The 2023 Book Tour had an incredible kickoff for S. D. Smith. So far he’s made appearances in Missouri, South Carolina, Ohio and more. He met families who drove from all over just to see their favorite author. Hundreds of wonderful fans stood in line for hours while he signed thousands of books, gave away lots of prizes, and had high-fives with happy kids and hugs with tearful moms.

In Ohio, Green Ember fans were treated to a special appearance by Sarah Mackenzie from Read-Aloud Revival during Green Ember Live.

Green Ember Live is a new, never-released Green Ember story performed LIVE by S. D. Smith, a songwriter as well as a bestselling author. It’s an exciting event for the whole family to enjoy. During Green Ember Live, he and family members share songs from Green Ember books and invite you to sing along. 

Currently, S. D. Smith is back in West Virginia serving in his community while as he prepares to get back out to Virginia, Texas, California, and Arizona.

Find media from the tour here and tour information here.

SHADY SPRING, WV—Shady Spring Middle School received a visit from one of the top middle-grade authors in the country last week. S. D. Smith, author of the million-plus-selling Green Ember Series, not only spoke to the middle-schoolers, but also donated hundreds of books so that each student could go home with their own signed copy.

Why would a best-selling author popular in California, Texas, Florida, and all across the country, be available to speak at a small middle school in rural West Virginia? 

He lives down the road. 

Adriane Wilson, ELA Instructor at Shady Middle, invited Smith to appear at the school. “I don’t think people realize that we have this incredible author,” Wilson said, “who does book tours all across the country and gets tons of fan mail from all over the world, is living kind of quietly in our community.”

S. D. Smith, “Sam” to his friends, is a native West Virginian who, despite opportunities that have tempted many creative professionals away from the state, has decided to stay. He coaches local kids soccer and stays involved in the community. Donating hundreds of books to local kids is simply an extension of that community focus. 

“I dream of giving every middle schooler in West Virginia a copy The Green Ember,” Smith says. “I want to share the adventure and virtue and delight the story holds, for sure, but it’s more than that. I also want West Virginia kids to see that they can pursue a dream, pursue a creative business, and accomplish that in our state.”

Wilson said the students at Shady Middle were inspired. “He doesn’t just talk about a big, audacious story. He’s living it. And he’s living proof that these students can do amazing things.”

Many say that the Mountain State’s best export is her people, but Smith is intent on proving that wrong. “I want to demonstrate and advocate for the cause of pursuing big visions here. I want us to export amazing stories and values to other states and the world, not our most talented people. I want talented people to move here to work with us because we’re creating something world class, not follow the sad path of losing our best people. I’m staying. And I want to share my adventures with every kid in West Virginia. This was a fun part of that dream becoming a reality.”

The Green Ember has become a best-seller and Smith has been approached by multiple studios eager to make a film or TV series from the hit books. But Smith is focused on his audience. “We are open to collaborating with great partners—studios, investors, and talent—for our show or film series, but everything is about serving the kids who read the books, and will watch the shows or movies. These books have always been made with love and aimed at being a gift to every family they reach. And we are eager to involve our state and represent our state well.”

Andrew Mackay, Smith’s publisher at Story Warren Books, says that the popular author is an unofficial ambassador for West Virginia. “On tours through California and all over, Sam is an advocate for his home state. I can’t tell you how many people have vacationed in West Virginia after hearing about it from Sam’s tours and his online presence. He’s a great speaker and gets to speak to large crowds pretty often. When he does, he can’t help but bring West Virginia up.”

Smith frequently posts pictures of the beauty around West Virginia, and identifies its strengths in essays and poems read by thousands. “My dad taught me to love West Virginia,” the author says, “and I guess you could say it stayed with me. And I’m staying.” S. D. Smith’s eleventh book, co-written with his seventeen year old son, Josiah, is set in a small West Virginia town. The state’s culture is central to the adventure in Jack Zulu and the Waylander’s Key. A nationwide book tour is about to kick off and includes speaking at the HopeWords Conference in Bluefield, WV on March 24 and 25. But no matter where he goes, Smith is unlikely to ever forget where home is.