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A novel by Jennifer Davis · on sale November 29

The Blackwell Letters

The demon’s guide to ruining your life, so you don’t have to.

Plucked from the depths of hell, these letters introduce you to Dredmira Blackwell. As a senior career mentor, she coaches a younger tempter on how to quietly undo a young woman, one distraction or misdirection at a time. You read it upside down. What devils call “good” is actually for your harm. It’s a funny and poignant field guide, behind enemy lines, to finding your way through the noise. Written for twenty-somethings and those who love them. The countdown has begun for the launch on November 29th through Ellenwood Publishing House.

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Cover of The Blackwell Letters by Jennifer Davis, showing the title in ornate purple lettering over a scorched, handwritten page.
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When reading from a demon’s point of view, one must read backwards. The letters are intercepted, written by a demon who remembers the Garden of Eden and is intent on never going back. In her voice, “the Enemy” is God, and every piece of advice might be exactly backwards, or might be truth with a twist. It’s a spiritual battle for a soul, so read it against the grain, and prepare to be surprised by what the demons fear and celebrate.

The Book

A Fresh Take on Temptation

Across thirty-one letters, Ms. Dredmira Blackwell explains her craft and shares secrets hell has hidden for centuries. In them, you learn how small, ordinary blessings terrify those trying to keep you asleep, how a phone becomes an altar, how labels mislead, and how to swallow a decade. You’ll be lured in and jolted by how demonkind thinks about God, the world, and you.

The young demon protege, Smudge, never has to make her target do anything dramatic. She needs only to keep her busy, tired, comparing, and in her head. The Blackwell Letters is satire which makes you question what you thought you knew. There is a discussion guide in the back for groups who want to laugh and be unsettled together.

Love a Story Where a Soul is at Stake?

The Blackwell Letters is for readers who like their fantasy with real teeth. In hell, the supernatural is not glittery decoration, but a war zone. The telling is bold, wry, cinematic, and will make you rethink what you thought you knew for sure. If you found your way here from Goodreads or BookTok, or from a late-night rabbit hole about angels and demons, you found the right place.

Who it’s for

Written for Those in the Noise

For the Twenty-Somethings Finding Their Way

If you are building a life in the middle of the chaos, the demon’s playbook may read like a description of your Tuesday, but from a different lens. That is the point. Read against the grain, it becomes your guide to honestly assessing the world and finding true hope.

For the Parents and Mentors Who Love Them

If you love someone in this season and want to better understand the waters in which they are swimming, these letters are your guide. A rare book that you can enjoy with belly laughs, and gift to your kid.

For Fans of Satire with a Soul

If you love an epistolary novel, a story told entirely in letters, this one is inverted, sharp, and unmistakably messed up. Read it against the grain and be surprised by what the demons fear and celebrate.

Praise

What Readers Are Saying

New endorsements and reader recommendations appear here as they arrive. Share yours →

“A marvelous book. The theology is right on in every place, and Jennifer Davis has done a beautiful job of weaving in Scripture. I was convicted of my own behavior in several places.”

— Connie, Doctor of Ministry, Lipscomb University

“The Blackwell Letters is an insightful treatment of what is going on in the world today and how hard hell is fighting to win battles, in a losing war. Davis’ first novel is thoughtful and engaging. It is the kind of book that sticks with you, informs your perspective, and will come back to mind as you weigh choices, see headlines, and need to be reminded that God loves you best.”

— Bruce Cook, Author of Follow the Evidence and Founder of Choosing the Best

“The Blackwell Letters is an engaging and darkly funny look at spiritual warfare, offering a fresh approach to biblical truth. It challenges readers to stay alert to the subtle distractions that can pull their hearts away from God and invites deeper personal reflection on how they live out their faith.”

— Beth Davies, Ministry Leader, Fellowship Bible Church of NWA

“Most of us don’t lose our way with God in a single dramatic turn. We drift. Something shifts, a little at a time, in how we see our work, our worth, other people, and God himself. The Blackwell Letters shows how quietly that happens. Sometimes it’s an old lie we’ve stopped questioning. Sometimes it doesn’t arrive as temptation at all. It arrives as a notification, in a world where the sheer volume of technology, social media, and artificial intelligence can clutter our minds, hearts, and spirits until there’s little room left for God. I’ve spent years thinking about how people stay fully human in that kind of noise, and this book is the clearest and most practical treatment of it I’ve read.”

— Matt Randerson, CEO & Founder, HumanCulture

“Jennifer Davis’ fresh and modern retelling of C.S. Lewis’ classic The Screwtape Letters captures the Biblical truth that our ‘adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour’ (1 Pet 5:8b). However much today’s young adults face the onslaught of the enemy, this book reminds them how much heaven loves them. It is a lighthearted and enlightening read.”

— Belinda Bullard

“If you have ever thought that you are not enough, then you’ll probably recognize the cruel and cutting voice of Dredmira. Reading The Blackwell Letters helps me recognize and reject these lies more quickly.”

— Early reader

“Young professionals need to hear this: your work matters to God! In The Blackwell Letters, my good friend and faith-and-work champion Jennifer Davis shows that we can’t separate our faith from any part of our lives, especially our work. By letting us listen in on the enemy’s voice, she exposes what hell is doing to thwart our good work, so we can recognize the attack, stand firm, and run to grace. God forms us more into the image of Christ in work, at work and through work. This compelling book helps make that happen.”

— Brandon Swoboda, CEO, Workmatters

“This novel portrays God as so lavish and loving. You just want evil to lose. I loved every page.”

— Early reader

“Looking forward to using The Blackwell Letters and the questions at the back with a group of people. I can almost hear the discussion already. Fantastic from start to finish.”

— Early reader

“Imagine a devil working overtime to ruin your life. You don’t need to imagine. Read this book and it will make you even more grateful for grace.”

— Early reader

“I truly love this book, and I can’t wait to gift it to several people. This message has stuck with me and needs to be put out there.”

— Early reader

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Every pre-ordered paperback is signed by the author, with the title page hand-burned for a one-of-a-kind, collector’s effect. Order a single copy for yourself or a stack to give, with free shipping to continental US addresses.

Order by November 19 to have your signed copies in hand before Christmas.

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The Blackwell Letters signed paperback shown as a single copy, a pair on marble, a stack of five, and a shelf of copies ready to give.

Prefer to start reading now? Read the Preface

Sample letters will also be archived for free reading on Substack. Check back here for a link.

The author

Jennifer Davis, author of The Blackwell Letters.

About Jennifer Davis

Jennifer Davis is a mother, aunt, and friend who wrote The Blackwell Letters for her own family and their friends who are sailing in the ocean of noise that is modern-day young adulthood. She is an executive, technology enthusiast, and author of the business book Well Made Decisions (New Degree Press, 2021). She and her husband, Tony, reside in Northwest Arkansas, where they are active at their local church, enjoy a large extended family, and are lucky to regularly spend time with their twenty-something son, daughter-in-law, and daughter.

Questions

Frequently Asked

What is The Blackwell Letters about?
It is a novel, told in serialized letters, from the hand of a senior demon, Dredmira Blackwell, who is mentoring a junior tempter assigned to quietly but diligently ruin a young woman’s life. Everything is inverted and perverted through the lens of hell: God is called “the Enemy,” and the advice in her letters rings backwards to reveal a larger truth.
Why is the good guy called “the Enemy”?
The narrator is a demon, so her perspective is inverted. “The Enemy” is God, the “lord” is the devil, and her wins are devastations for the human she is hunting. That inversion brings to light truths hidden in plain sight.
Do I need to read the letters in order?
The letters are serialized and follow a progression. Although some of the concepts and descriptions can stand on their own, we recommend reading the book in order, from the preface through Chapter 31. The book is around 200 pages and can be read comfortably in a few sittings, or broken up into a month-long journey behind enemy lines.
Is this only for Christians?
Not at all. The book has a Christian point of view, but it is useful for anyone wanting to make sense of what is happening in the world, and to explore an ancient yet novel perspective.
When does it come out, and why November 29?
The book will be available for purchase on November 29, 2026, the Sunday immediately following Thanksgiving. It is also C.S. Lewis’s birthday. The preface is free to read right now, and subscribers get the opening chapters free by email in the weeks before launch, before you commit to buying it for the twenty-somethings on your Christmas list.
Is there a discussion guide for small groups, classes, or Bible studies?
Yes. A discussion guide is included in the book, and a free companion guide is available here on the site. The Blackwell Letters is a natural fit for Bible study groups, small groups, book clubs, Sunday school and adult education classes, campus and youth ministries, coffee meetups, conferences, and retreats. The letters map thematically to weekly sessions, so any group can read and discuss it together.
Be honest, was the book written by AI?
Absolutely not. Jennifer wrote the book, word by word, in Microsoft Word. She used online search and AI only to help brainstorm names for hell’s agencies, to find a synonym when she got stuck, and for some background research. She believes writing is the highest form of thinking, and these topics were worthy of deep thinking. Jennifer is an AI builder who used AI extensively for project planning, the development of this website, and other automations to keep the project moving forward.
Who created the cover art?
The cover was created by artist Rebecca Walters, and some of the script fonts were hand-lettered by Claire Davis. The flowing script running through the cover’s background is a custom font, Blackwell’s Hand, drawn by the author herself. It is meant to evoke erosion and subtle corruption, taking light into inky darkness. As Dredmira Blackwell warns her protégé in the book, “We are not arsonists. We are mold.”
What is an epistolary-style novel?
An epistolary novel tells its story through documents, most often letters. The form goes back almost three centuries, to Samuel Richardson’s Pamela and Clarissa in the 1740s. Beloved books in this tradition include Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897), C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters (1942), Alice Walker’s The Color Purple (1982), and Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary (1996), which has sold more than 15 million copies. Some are a correspondence back and forth between two parties, and others, like The Blackwell Letters, are one-sided, where you hear a single voice and infer the rest. The Bible itself uses this technique: 21 of the 27 books of the New Testament, and roughly a third of the original Greek text, are letters written to address situations we can only infer from the author’s responses to them.
What does Signed and Singed™ mean?
Signed and Singed™ is our name for the collector’s edition of the book. Each copy is personally signed by the author, and the edge of its title page is lightly hand-burned, or singed, to create a one-of-a-kind mark of Blackwell’s world. In the book, Blackwell reminds her young charge that demons are “not arsonists. We are mold.” So it is only the edge of the title page that is given the treatment, a small reminder that the work of hell is more subtle and invasive than we often imagine. The effect applies to the signed collector’s edition copies offered through pre-order here on the site. The term Signed and Singed is a trademark of Jennifer Davis under common law, with first public use on September 4, 2026. It is fitting that the two words are so easily confused for each other, given their nearly identical spelling, because that small confusion mirrors the upside-down world of The Blackwell Letters, where wrong is labeled right, and good is called bad.
Who is the publisher?
The Blackwell Letters is published by Ellenwood Publishing House. Requests to quote the book or use it in other works should be directed to info@ellenwoodpublishinghouse.com.
Is there merchandise, and where can I buy it?
Yes. Our Shop features a small collection of goods inspired by the book and its cover art, including tote bags, mugs, a scented candle, stickers, and more. The store is a pop-up shop operated by our print partner, Printify, and every item is printed to order. Merchandise is available now, before the book launches on November 29, so you can get yours early.