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S.M. Stevens

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

https://authorsmstevens.com/

Twitter

@SMStevens17

Genre

Fiction, Young Adult, Children's

Influences

Toni Morrison, Kurt Vonnegut, Kristin Hannah

Member Since

May 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/smstevens

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S.M. Stevens is the author of contemporary novels including Beautiful and Terrible Things, which was named Indies Today Best Literary Book of 2024, and Horseshoes and Hand Grenades. She is also author of a YA series set in a high school drama program, and a Middle Grade adventure for animal-lovers.

A lifelong business writer who dabbled in creative writing on the side, Stevens found her opportunity to write fiction in earnest when she broke her pelvis in three places in a horseback riding fall. On crutches for three months and unable to commute to work, cook, clean or shuttle kids to activities, she turned to writing. The result was Shannon’s Odyssey, a middle-grade novel written for her younger daughter.

The following year, Stevens was diag S.M. Stevens is the author of contemporary novels including Beautiful and Terrible Things, which was named Indies Today Best Literary Book of 2024, and Horseshoes and Hand Grenades. She is also author of a YA series set in a high school drama program, and a Middle Grade adventure for animal-lovers.

A lifelong business writer who dabbled in creative writing on the side, Stevens found her opportunity to write fiction in earnest when she broke her pelvis in three places in a horseback riding fall. On crutches for three months and unable to commute to work, cook, clean or shuttle kids to activities, she turned to writing. The result was Shannon’s Odyssey, a middle-grade novel written for her younger daughter.

The following year, Stevens was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, which was treated with surgery and five months of chemotherapy. During this recovery, she wrote Bit Players, Has-Been Actors and Other Posers for her older daughter and all musical theatre-loving teens. Two additional Bit Players novels followed, filling the void in fiction for fans of performance shows like the Glee TV series and the High School Musical movies.

Beautiful and Terrible Things: A Novel, explores social justice themes including racism, immigration and mental health through the eyes of six friends. It reminds us that friendship has the power to validate, transform, destroy and save lives. The book has won multiple awards in general fiction, LGBTQIA+ fiction, and social issues fiction.

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades was her first adult novel, which was prompted by the #metoo movement. Fascinated by the parallels between workplace sexual harassment and childhood incest, specifically how society asks many of the same questions of both types of victim, she wrote the dual narrative of Shelby and Astrid, two women starting their careers in 1980s Boston while struggling with past and present demons.

Her business career includes executive positions at Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations including the Franklin Park Zoo and the USS Constitution (“Old Ironsides”) Museum in Boston. Currently, she consults and provides marketing and public relations services to solar energy companies.

Her freelance writing career includes articles and columns published in the Boston Globe, Bay State Parent, Bay State Realtor, Strategic Communications Magazine and Guitar & Bass Magazine, plus too many ghost-written articles to list.

Stevens has a bachelor’s degree in English from Cornell University. She also studied at University College at the University of London. She lives in New Hampshire.
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Combine Editions
S.M. Stevens’s books

Average rating: 4.3 · 236 ratings · 153 reviews · 7 distinct works • Similar authors

	Beautiful & Terrible Things 4.44 avg rating — 108 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Horseshoes and Hand Grenades: A Novel by S.M. Stevens (Goodreads Author), Natalie Simone (Goodreads Author) (illustrator) 4.10 avg rating — 40 ratings — published 2019 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wallace House of Pain 4.27 avg rating — 37 ratings — published 2022 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bit Players, Has-Been Actors and Other Posers (Bit Players, #1) 3.94 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bit Players, Bullies and Righteous Rebels 4.23 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bit Players, Bird Girls and Fake Break-Ups 4.15 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Shannon's Odyssey 4.75 avg rating — 8 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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S.M. Stevens's Blog

My Semi-Autobiography: Did I or Didn’t I?

“Some day we’ll sit down and talk, and you can tell me which parts of Horseshoes and Hand Grenades are true.” So said my daughter over dinner one night.

She was referring to the fact that my novel about two young woman building their lives — careers, friendships and romances — in 1980s Boston is based in large part on my life. My “semi-autobiography” also wraps in themes of incest and workplace se

S.M. is Currently Reading

S.M. Stevens is currently reading

Beautiful & Terrible Things

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Aug 01, 2024 06:16AM

S.M. Stevens is currently reading

Shannon's Odyssey

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Aug 23, 2022 04:28AM

S.M. Stevens is currently reading

The Wallace House of Pain

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S.M. Stevens said: " Oh, how I wish people who rate a book would take 30 seconds to also write a sentence about why they chose that rating! Especially if the rating is poor. Just imagine your teacher handing you back a paper with a low grade but refusing to tell you why ...more "

Oct 31, 2022 06:15AM · see review

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S.M.’s Recent Updates

S.M. Stevens wrote a new blog post My Semi-Autobiography: Did I or Didn’t I? “Some day we’ll sit down and talk, and you can tell me which parts of Horseshoes and Hand Grenades are true.” So said my daughter over dinner one nigh Read more of this blog post »
Mar 04, 2026 01:45AM · like
S.M. Stevens wants to read A Slice of Orange: loving and leaving the Osho/Rajneesh cult by Nicola Ranson (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 03, 2026 12:40PM · like
S.M. Stevens rated a book it was amazing Don't Look in the Freezer: The Very Strange Life of a Veterinarian's Wife by Patti Eddington	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Reading Don’t Look in the Freezer is like sitting down with a friend in front of a roaring fire and trading your best, funniest, and most poignant pet stories. I consider myself the perfect reader for this book as my childhood dream was to be a veteri ...more
Feb 27, 2026 07:28AM · like · see review
S.M. Stevens rated a book it was amazing True Grace: A Black Woman's Journey to Save Her Family by Karen E. Osborne (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This is one of those hardship stories that pulls you along through the sheer force of the main character's will. Grace is a unique heroine, coming to New York City via the Congo, Jamaica and England, her hair prematurely white at age 27. The mother o ...more
Feb 27, 2026 07:14AM · like · see review
S.M. Stevens is now following Jill Caugherty Author of The View from Half Dome
Feb 12, 2026 05:51AM · like
S.M. Stevens rated a book it was amazing More Than Luck Required: A Journey of Healing, Hope, and Love by Connie Morgan	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
More Than Luck Required is a classic romance—will they get together or won’t they—but so much more. It is also a heartwarming tale of found family, and a thorough exploration of how grief can drag us down, but can be fought through so you emerge inta ...more
Feb 07, 2026 12:10PM · like · see review
S.M. Stevens rated a book it was amazing Rapid City Summer by Connie Richardson (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Rapid City Summer is a unique Young Adult offering, if you want a break from vampires and mean girls. Fifteen-year-old Natalie has moved from Chicago to South Dakota and is dealing with all the issues such a move includes, as well as getting to know ...more
Jan 31, 2026 08:55AM · 1 like · like · see review
S.M. Stevens made a comment on elena j.’s review of Beautiful & Terrible Things " Thank you for this lovely review, Elena. Your own writing is insightful. I especially like the line, "what it takes to step back into life after you’v ...more "
Jan 31, 2026 05:58AM · see review
S.M. Stevens liked elena j.'s review of Beautiful & Terrible Things: "Beautiful & Terrible Things by S.M. Stevens is a quietly powerful novel about fear, friendship, and what it takes to step back into life after you’ve learned how to hide from it. Charley Byrne isn’t just anxious, she’s suspended. At twenty-nine, she " Read more of this review »
Jan 31, 2026 05:57AM · see review
S.M. Stevens rated a book it was amazing Smoky Blue Sunrise (The Elizabeth's Mountain Series #2) by Lucille Guarino (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I love a book series in which the sequel keeps the main characters from the first book, but intertwines them with new main characters. Smoky Blue Sunrise does that, introducing recent college graduate Jolie and inserting her into the lives of Amanda ...more
Jan 21, 2026 09:59AM · 1 like · like · see review

More of S.M.'s books…

Quotes by S.M. Stevens (?)

“When a show ends, for a few days, my body sizzles with leftover energy, like a tree in the wake of a lightning strike.”
― S.M. Stevens

tags: arts, bit-players, musical, theater, theatre, young-adult

12 likes

“When you're in a show, all through rehearsals Tech Week hovers out there like a magical holy grail. In reality, Tech Week is always a train wreck of missed cues, forgotten lines, malfunctioning set pieces and short tempers.”
― S.M. Stevens

tags: arts, bit-players, musical, theater, theatre, young-adult

11 likes

“This was awkward to infinity. Alex living here would change my entire routine. I was sharing a bathroom with my boyfriend. How scary was that? I had tampons and pads and everything in there. He was going to be naked in the shower on the other side of my bedroom wall. And I was going to be naked in the shower with him in my house.”
― S.M. Stevens, Bit Players, Bird Girls and Fake Break-Ups

tags: arts, bit-players, musical, theater, theatre, young-adult

0 likes

See all S.M. Stevens's quotes »

S.M.’s Quotes

“When a show ends, for a few days, my body sizzles with leftover energy, like a tree in the wake of a lightning strike.”
― S.M. Stevens

tags: arts, bit-players, musical, theater, theatre, young-adult

12 likes

tags: arts, bit-players, musical, theater, theatre, young-adult

0 likes

tags: arts, bit-players, musical, theater, theatre, young-adult

11 likes

“The first few weeks of school were always surreal, like you landed on an alien planet with strange teachers and unfamiliar classrooms, even though the lockers and cafeteria seemed familiar.”
― S.M. Stevens, Bit Players, Has-Been Actors and Other Posers

tags: arts, bit-players, musical, theater, theatre, young-adult

0 likes