Shelf Media hosts the annual Shelf Unbound Indie Best Book Competition for best self-published or independently published book. You can find the winner, finalists, long-listed, and more than 100 notable books from the competition in the December/January 2023 issue of Shelf Unbound.
About The Author: S.M. Stevens
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.
Interview with S.M. Stevens
Could you give us a glimpse into the heart of your book?
SMS: Charley Byrne is an introverted, superstitious bookstore manager who is drawn out of social isolation by a group of diverse friends. She takes a chance on life, even joining in on marches and rallies, until betrayal strikes. While social justice challenges swirl around the characters, at its heart this novel is about friendship and its power to validate, transform, destroy and save lives.
With my group of six friends, I was striving to replicate the camaraderie of the movie The Big Chill, or the TV shows Friends, New Girl and the Big Bang Theory. So it was incredibly rewarding to have many reviewers—professional and readers alike—make those same comparisons, and to voice that the friends represented a group they wanted to hang out with, be a part of, and not leave behind at the book’s end.
What sparked the initial idea for your story?
SMS: I have two daughters and they and their friends are as far from the lazy, entitled Millennial stereotype as you can get. They are smart, motivated and passionate about equality. So first, I wanted to paint a more accurate picture of that generation. From there, I decided that to convey them accurately, I had to dig into not one or two social justice challenges, but the whole array of issues in our country, including racism, immigration and mental health, in order to present a realistic portrait. Interestingly, some of my readers in their 70s have said their eyes were opened; my readers in their 20s say, “Yep, that’s life in America today.”
How did writing this book impact you personally?
SMS:It drove home to me that there is not a single Black or Brown person in this country who has not experienced racism in some form. I am so grateful to my sensitivity readers who shared their painful stories and then let me use their pain to educate.
Were there any unexpected insights or discoveries along the way?
SMS:I learned more about how mindsets must evolve in order to effect social change. My character Xander, an activist, calls this the “spectrum of change.” What might start as apathy or ignorance has to be transformed into awareness, then understanding, then empathy and then outrage before people will stand up and fight for disenfranchised populations.
What lasting message or experience do you hope readers will carry with them?
SMS: First, there are many paths to greater social engagement; people should follow the one that works for them.
Second, regardless of your views on an issue, there are always real people behind the statistics. Real human beings are affected by society’s attitudes and government policies every single day.
And third, friendship is a powerful thing. Wield it carefully, use it wisely, nurture it and never throw it away.
Can you share a sneak peek of what you’re working on next?
SMS:I am seeking a publisher for my next contemporary novel about a cranky, outspoken, successful business owner and grandmother who posts snarky, sarcastic parenting advice on social media, while harboring a series of secrets some would say make her the world’s worst mother. And also, for something completely different, I’m helping two friends write their true crime memoir—a very dramatic story about a horrific crime, how the victim escaped, how she helped the police catch the perpetrator, and how she and the investigating detective fell in love decades later.
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Article originally Published in the December/January 2024 Issue “2024 Indie Best Award Winners”