A Time to Recalibrate

Greetings, friends!

It’s been a little while since we’ve provided you with an update on our Green Ember: Helmer in the Dragon Tomb progress. Things are clicking along nicely. The book is currently with our printers and will soon be winging its way into your eager hands. The game is also almost ready for release. To whet your appetite, over on our Steam page, we have a demo up! It’s available for both Mac and PC, and it’s ready to download right now.

To keep folks updated on our journey with the video game, we’ve kicked off a Longtreader Games newsletter (subscribe here!). Heading up this effort is our intrepid illustrator, Zach Franzen. Subscribers to the newsletter can look forward to behind-the-scenes info, humor, and tried and true wisdom, like the bit we’ve published below. We invite you to sign up to partake in more greatness.

Read on:

Human beings don’t run on autopilot. We catch the vibrations of the world around us. These last few weeks have been pretty sad. We’ve seen evil acts and celebrations, and if you’re like me, you’re refocusing on fundamentals. The Christian pushback to fear should really have the character of courageous, loving prudence (2 Timothy 1:7). When the darkness of our day asserts itself, we can fight it in big ways and small. Maybe children’s books and illustrations, maybe games, mowing the lawn, celebrating your neighbor’s birthday, or simply speaking the truth in love. It’s a good time to recalibrate.

Continue to pray that this work strengthens families. We want these stories to do as much good as they can and reach the audience that benefits most. If you want to showcase our game, please reach out.

If you’re enjoying the demo but are curious about the deeper story (eleven soon to be twelve books), here’s a quick take on Helmer.

The game hints he was once a farmer before a fighter—but longtime readers know him as something more: a taciturn, intimidating leader. To Picket, his apprentice, he becomes the gruff yet soft-hearted mentor. To the kingdom, he becomes a battle-scarred strategist and the symbol of every fighting buck. His most famous maxim? “I’ve fought and lost before. I’ll fight and lose again. But I’ll never stop fighting.”

Helmer’s a good character to model as we all strive to fight the darkness.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Zach Franzen

Zach Franzen is an illustrator and marketing strategist at Story Warren and Longtreader Games, where he helps shape both the art and messaging behind The Green Ember universe. He’s contributed covers and illustrations for 11 books in the series—now working full-time on the 12th as the team expands into video games. He lives in Raleigh/Durham area of North Carolina with his wife and four daughters. He occasionally enjoys a hokey adventure serial.

You can find more of his work online at zachfranzen.com and on Instagram @zachfranzen.

Latest posts by Zach Franzen (see all)

• A Time to Recalibrate - September 19, 2025
• King Arthur and the Giant of Mont Saint Michel - August 6, 2025
• Be More Human - February 17, 2020