Q. What has been the most rewarding moment in your writing journey so far?
A. Winning eight awards for Beautiful and Terrible Things that represent different aspects of the novel: Indies Today named it Best Literary Book of 2024 and it won awards for LGBTQ fiction and social issues fiction.
Q. How important is humor in the books you write?
A. It is essential. I dig into heavy topics—social justice, mental health, gender and sexuality, incest—so it’s critical to balance the weighty parts with laughter and love. Just like life, I might add.
Q. What feedback from readers has meant the most to you?
A. Beautiful and Terrible Things: “If you’ve ever felt lost, if you’ve ever wrestled with who you are, if you’ve ever needed a reminder that you are more than your worst moments – read this book.” The Wallace House of Pain: “Absolutely gut-wrenching in the best way.”
Also, it meant the world to me when a therapist gave Horseshoes and Hand Grenades to a client because she thought it would help with her treatment.
If your book were turned into a movie, who would play the main character?
In my new book due out in 2027, Unraveling Caro Dunn, Allison Janney would be perfect in the lead role. She nails complex characters you love one minute and hate the next. (“Mom” anyone?)
Q. What kind of research do you typically do while writing?
A. I start with the Internet, of course, which makes book research easily ten times faster than “the old days” and I end with sensitivity readers who review the manuscript’s portrayal of a particular segment of our population. For example, when writing Beautiful and Terrible Things, I enlisted readers to comment on my representation of minorities, immigrants and people with various mental health conditions.
Q. What was the biggest obstacle you faced while writing a book?
A. Finding the time to do it! Then I broke my pelvis in a horseback-riding accident and found myself with three months of healing time on my hands. A year later, I underwent five months of treatment for ovarian cancer. I used those breaks from my job and domestic duties to start writing fiction.
Q. What advice would you give someone who wants to become a writer?
A. Stephen King said it first – read, read, read. How can you produce a product without understanding the competition, those who succeed and those who don’t? But be forewarned – reading to inform your own writing will change the way you read and it’s hard to go back.
Check out her blog at https://authorsmstevens.com/blog/. People who subscribe get a free copy of her award-winning novella, The Wallace House of Pain.
Visit S.M. Stevens’ page at https://nhauthors.com/s-m-stevens/.