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.
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. In the tradition of C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters, and launching on his birthday, 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.
Countdown to Book Launch
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The Blackwell Letters
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The Book
A Fresh Take on Screwtape
Across thirty-one letters, Ms. Dredmira Blackwell explains her craft and shares secrets of the centuries. How a phone becomes an altar, how labels mislead, and how to swallow a decade. In them, you learn how small, ordinary blessings terrify those trying to keep you asleep. You’ll be lured in and jolted by how demonkind thinks about God, the world, and even 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. It is satire with a hard-landing center. There is a discussion guide in the back for groups who want room 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, from your favorite C.S. Lewis fan forum, 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 Readers of Lewis and Modern Screwtape
If you loved The Screwtape Letters, this is a batch in that tradition: inverted, sharp, and unmistakably messed up. Read for the similarities and fresh differences.
Start Reading Free
Subscribe for a Head Start
Subscribe and the introduction lands in your inbox right away. Then the opening chapters arrive free, once a week, in November as we count down to the launch on the 29th. Join at any time and we’ll catch you up fast. Subscribers also get a free Discussion Guide and other bonus items planned for 2027.
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Prefer to start reading now? Read the Introduction
Sample letters will also be archived for free reading on Substack. Check back here for a link.
Praise
What Readers Are Saying
Early endorsements and reader recommendations will appear here as they come in.
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Get the book
On Sale Sunday, November 29
Launch day was set on C.S. Lewis’s birthday, November 29. Save the date on your calendar with the link below. Buying on launch day is a great way to help the book find its readers and gain visibility with online booksellers.
Buy the Book
Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, and everywhere books are sold online on November 29. Read on your Kindle, or in paperback and hardcover.
Save the Date to BuyPre-Order Signed Copies
A limited run of signed paperbacks are available for pre-order from the author and will ship right after the book launches (expected delivery in December, with no Christmas delivery guaranteed).
Pre-Order Signed CopiesGift the Book
A book makes a great gift for the twenty-something in your life. Save the date of the launch and send books to your friends.
Save the Date to BuyListen to Blackwell
After the launch of the paperback, hardcover, and ebook versions, we intend to release an audio version on all of the popular streaming services. Sign up below to receive notification when the audiobook is available.
Get Audiobook UpdatesEvents
Upcoming Events
See the schedule below for upcoming launch dates, signings, podcasts, and speaking appearances. Want Jennifer Davis at your event? Book the author.
Oct 29
Start Receiving Sample Chapters
The four free opening chapters start arriving by email, one a week, up to launch. The introduction is free to read now.
The four free opening chapters start arriving by email, one a week, up to launch. The introduction is free to read now.
Nov 1
Merch Store Opens
Prints, cover art, and apparel, printed to order, arrive in the shop.
Prints, cover art, and apparel, printed to order, arrive in the shop.
Nov 29
Launch Day
The Blackwell Letters goes on sale, online everywhere. C.S. Lewis’s birthday.
The Blackwell Letters goes on sale, online everywhere. C.S. Lewis’s birthday.
Nov 30
Cyber Monday
A great day to buy the book and gift copies for your Christmas list.
A great day to buy the book and gift copies for your Christmas list.
Shop
You’ve Bought the Book, Now Get the Merch
A small collection of prints, apparel, and other goods drawn from the book and its art, printed to order.
Merch Store Opens In
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Prints, cover art, apparel, and a few surprises, printed to order through our print partner.
The author
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 did not rely on AI to write it, because she believes writing is the highest form of thinking, and some things are worth thinking deeply about.
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. It follows the tradition C.S. Lewis began with The Screwtape Letters in 1942. 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 introduction 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, a fitting day for a book in the tradition of The Screwtape Letters. The introduction 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.