As the mother of one child with brain cancer and another with ADHD, and as an RSD/CRPS patient herself, Shannon Stocker is passionate about advocating for children with disabilities. She’s authored picture books like the ALA Schneider Family Book Award winner and Notable Book Listen: How Evelyn Glennie, A Deaf Girl, Changed Percussion, Warrior: A Patient's Courageous Quest, Izzy's Wheels: How Two Sisters Reinvented the Wheel (PRH, 2026), and Get a Hug (S&S, 2026). Shannon lives in Louisville, KY, with her husband, her children Cassidy and Tye, and way too many critters.
Stronger at the Seams (Blink/HarperCollins Focus) is Shannon’s debut YA novel. She is represented by Allison Remcheck of Stimola Literary Studio.
WEBSITE: www.shannonstocker.com
Twitter/Insta/Bluesky/TikTok/Threads: @ShannonStocker_
1. How do you know your idea will make a great book for kids?
Isn’t this the million-dollar question! I’m not sure anyone ever knows their idea will make a great book, but I think we all operate on a bit of a gut instinct. For me, there are a few factors that give me confidence that a book is worth writing.
First, there’s the “chills” factor. If it’s a nonfiction story, did I get chills when I first learned about the subject? Then, was I able to find a “moment” that connected with me while doing my research? A good nonfiction story doesn’t just cover someone’s life—it hones in on a moment when something changed for that character. As an example, in Listen, it was the moment Evelyn Glennie (who is deaf) realized she could feel vibrations from the timpani by putting her hand on the wall and kicking off her shoes. For a fiction story, I get chills when I think of an idea that’s particularly universal, hasn’t been covered in whatever way I’m pondering, and/or if the theme is not in-your-face, but easy to understand in a kid-friendly way. Think The Rabbit Listened. It's about the power of listening—the fact that sometimes, we don’t need (or want) to be fixed when we’re upset. It’s a beautiful way of showing a reader that others sometimes feel this way, too. The second thing that gives me confidence an idea is worth writing is re-readability. Is this a story kids will want to revisit? Can I write it in a way that’s fun enough to read and listen to that a child—and a parent—will want to read it over and over again? And finally, with picture books, I ask myself if there is plenty of room in the story for great illustrations. My manuscript is only half of a picture book, because I don’t illustrate. I need to be certain that I’m telling a story that will come to life in an illustrator’s hands, and I’m leaving them plenty of room for their own creativity.
2. When you begin creating a book, do you always know where the story is going?
With my novels, I always know my beginning and my ending before I begin writing. Then I’ll work on a beat sheet (an outline), often leaving the middle muddied (but knowing the development that needs to happen with my characters). Sometimes, characters take me unexpected places as they reveal themselves to me, but I spend a lot of time on character development before I ever begin typing the actual manuscript. With picture books, though, I don’t always know where I'm going. Sometimes, I just start typing and the idea fizzles, and then I put the story in a folder to let it simmer. Other times, it fleshes out in wonderful, unexpected ways. I have several stories I love where the ending isn’t quite right yet. When that idea keeps me up at night, that’s when I know it’s time to noodle it more intensely.
3. To what extent is your work inspired by your own experience, or by your childrens’ experience?
I’m a firm believer in “write what you know.” There are so many fascinating, important topics in this world, why choose ones that I know nothing about? When I write from experience, I’ve seen people react in a very visceral way when they read my work. I’ve been through a lot of tough things in my life, as have my children. Life can be very hard. Why not tap into those experiences? It can be very therapeutic to work through my own emotions, but it’s also empowering to think that others who go through similar experiences might have a book to read that makes them feel seen. A book that I wish I’d had when I was a kid, feeling isolated and alone. I also find that when I write from my own experience, or about my family’s experiences, my writing flows in a very organic way. Writing from the heart can create very powerful connections. It will always be important to me that I write from a raw, honest place.
4. Where did you get the idea for this book? What was your inspiration?
During my last year of medical school, I began having strange medical symptoms—nerve pain and shoulder spasms, primarily. Eventually a tumor was found and removed, and I was left with a condition called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, better known now as CRPS (a disorder of the autonomic nervous system). But over the course of five years following medical school, my pain was dismissed by over thirty physicians. Even when I needed a wheelchair to get around and was covered in ulcers, too many medical professionals dismissed me. I was misdiagnosed with a number of things, including multiple sclerosis. I was called a head case and a drug seeker. As a woman, I was an infuriated. But as someone who’d spent years studying to be a physician, I was appalled. I finally went to Mayo for a diagnosis, but my condition was so advanced at that point that the United States offered me no hope. So I left the country and went through an experimental treatment—a ketamine-induced coma—that gave me back my life.
Then, many years later, my daughter struggled to find a diagnosis for over two years. She, too, was misdiagnosed, brushed aside, and told her problem was all in her head. I don’t want to give away the ending of my book, but suffice it say that they were very, very wrong. Stronger at the Seams grew from these experiences. My inspiration for the characters is taken from family and friends. Many of Wolfie’s quotes are taken directly from my son, Twyla has my daughter’s tenacity, and Dustin has my husband’s gentle heart. Almost all the characters are rooted in real people, actually—many of whom were near and dear to me in high school. It’s true what they say—if you impact an author, either positively or negatively, you may well wind up as a character in their next book!
5. If you read this book to a room filled with kids, what message would you want them to leave with?
Without a doubt, I would want those kids to leave feeling empowered. It is so important that our children learn to self-advocate, particularly in the context of health issues. No one knows your body better than you do. When adults in positions of power dismiss kids who are hurting, the damage can be lifelong. Distrust can build toward both medical workers and the institution in general, which can lead to avoidance and denial—which can also be quite dangerous. I want kids to look at healthcare providers as a source of information, but I also want them to learn to speak up for themselves. If something doesn’t feel right, say so. And always, always, always, I hope my readers understand that they are not alone. Whatever battle they’re facing, someone has faced it before them (or something similar). Medical issues can be isolating, but we are rarely walking an unworn path.
6. How was the editorial process? Did you have any revisions?
I first want to say that I have gotten incredibly lucky with my editors. I had two phenomenal editors for Stronger—Katherine Easter and Jacque Alberta. But the editorial process itself was actually quite similar to that for a picture book. First, I got big-picture feedback. In the case of Stronger, I had submitted it as a middle grade novel. Katherine came back asking me if I’d be open to revising it as a “young” young adult novel. Interestingly, I had actually originally envisioned it that way, but I thought it would be too hard to sell with a fourteen-year-old protagonist! I had several new chapters to write and several more to revise, but I really loved the back-and-forth. Revising and collaborating is my favorite part of the writing process. Once we exchanged a few big-picture revisions, then Jacque took over with line edits. Once she was done, a sensitivity reader read through the book as well, and then I did another round of edits. I think the whole revision process took about six months, in total.
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