January 16, 2026
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 11, Episode 3: S.M. Stevens!
S.M. Stevens shares her novel Beautiful & Terrible Things. We discuss this amazing diverse cast of friends, their social justice activities in immigration, racism, and mental health, and what it’s like to write about living in today’s America. She then shares how to get a free short story and novelette about her characters that were cut from the book.
Follow and support:
Mentioned in this episode:
Bio:
After many years as a business writer, S.M. Stevens found the time to pen her first novel when a pelvis broken in 3 places absolved her from housework and chauffeuring the kids around for several months. The result was her middle-grade novel Shannon’s Odyssey, written for adventurous animal-lovers.
A year later, while in treatment for cancer, she wrote the first of the Bit Players series to fill the void of fiction for music and theatre-loving teens. The YA series now has three books, and appeals to all teens not just drama-loving ones.
Her first adult novel (thankfully not prompted by another health crisis!) was Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, published in 2019. The story is a coming-of-age tale about two young women starting their careers in Boston while dealing with past and present demons.
Her latest novel, Beautiful & Terrible Things, was released by Black Rose Writing in Summer 2024 and has won numerous awards, including Indies Today Best Literary Book of 2024. The same characters are featured in her award-winning novelette, The Wallace House of Pain (available on Amazon).
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
Or Listen/Watch Right Here:
