I never set out to start a small business. I set out to tell a story to my kids, an improvised tale on a porch in West Virginia that somehow grew into a family vocation that just launched the 12th Green Ember book and its companion game.

The reason it grew is simple: you showed up. You supported our very first Kickstarter. You took a chance on a little book of rabbits with swords, and you passed it along. You shared it with your kids, your friends, your libraries, your classrooms. You left kind reviews. You became our allies, and this small family business exists because of that partnership.

We aren’t a big corporation with endless resources or teams of marketers. We’re just a family and a handful of friends trying to make good things—stories that help children imagine their place in a world that desperately needs them. That’s our work. And when you support us, you aren’t just buying a book. You’re enabling us to keep doing this strange and beautiful work the world needs.

All an author asks for is a chance.
Give us a chance, and we’ll give you our hearts.
You gave me a chance.
You changed our story.
I will never forget it.

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.

I’m on your side,
 
Sam

P.S. Tell me your story. Leave a comment here about your family business. I want to hear what you make, grow, write, fix, or sell. What is the strange and beautiful work you do that the world needs more of? Be sure to tag your business!

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