In this episode, Holly Packiam and Jaime Showmaker talk with the popular children's book author, Sam Smith. Sam is a deep well and also quite the jokester as you will observe by how much we laughed throughout the entire podcast!
The Green Ember was his debut novel and The Black Star of Kingston is a prequel. Smith’s newest book is the highly-anticipated sequel to The Green Ember, Ember Falls (The Green Ember: Book II).
Sam has been a runner-up for the West Virginia Fiction Award, World Magazine’s Children’s Book of the Year, and Audible’s Kids Audiobook of the Year. He has also lost every other literary award ever given over the entire course of human history.
Sam is a co-founder of Story Warren, a site for parents and others dedicated to helping foster holy imagination in children. He is passionate about kindling 'Imagination for Kingdom Anticipation', about how stories and play can train us for a richer faith and more intentional lives.
Sam has spoken at conferences and classrooms across the country. He enjoys soccer, West Virginia sports, reading, eating chocolate chip cookies, getting letters from readers, and spending time with his family.
Topics include:
- Sam's recent decision to quite his current job to become a full-time author
- How we can see ourselves as characters in God’s grand narrative, and see God as the ultimate hero of the story.
- How to be a creator or a curator versus a critic.
Click HERE to listen to the podcast and to find out how to be involved in Sam's campaign called, Gimme5!