Dancing in the Storm: A Middle Grade w/ Disability Representation: Craft Chat with Amie Darnell Specht & Shannon Hitchcock by Kathy Halsey

The GROG is excited to feature DANCING IN THE STORM, a realistic middle grade novel, as our first past after our summer hiatus. I've known Shannon since some of her earliest books and was excited to meet co-author Amie Darnell Specht through our craft chat. We’ll be discussing co-authoring, secondary characters, and writing about disabilities. In Amie’s case, it is a rare genetic disorder, Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP).

DANCING IN THE STORM Book Review 

DANCING IN THE STORM, a realistic, contemporary middle grade book, features the typical pursuits of changing friendships, sports, and first crushes through the lens of main character Kate who discovers at age 12 that she has FOP (fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva) a rare musculoskeletal condition with no cure. The stakes couldn’t be higher, as Kate is a competitive gymnast who can’t imagine not being a part of her school team. With this disorder comes the wish to have her old life back, or at least for others to see her without thinking she's inspirational or to be pitied. She wants to have her new normal to be accepted as "her normal".

I welcomed the opportunity to explore more children’s literature that focuses on disability representation. DANCING IN THE STORM is a solid choice to expand our experiences and knowledge of the challenges and joys that disabilities bring. This middle grade novel's authentic voice comes from author Amie and co-author Shannon Hitchcock. Having a seamless voice with 2 authors is not easy, and this duo does it well.  Kate’s character mirrors many of the same experiences and feelings Amie discovered coping with her disorder. FOP develops bone in areas of the body where it is not normally present such as ligaments, tendons, and skeletal muscles. 

The novel has an engaging epistolary style with Kate writing penpal emails to the fictional Amie Specht, her 35 year old mentor who also has FOB. With her mentor’s help, Kate sees she is able to find a new normal by keeping a “flexible mind” in an “inflexible” body. Her friends, family, and classmates also have adjustments to make, too, in their relationships to Kate. How family, friends and classmates navigate mixed feelings adds even more depth to this story. 

With her support system finally in place, Kate also conquers her fear of speaking when gives a motivational speech for her entire middle school and a call for action to raise funds and awareness for FOP.

As a former 7th grade English teacher and school librarian, I wholeheartedly recommend this book for school and classroom libraries as well as a class read aloud that will engage multiple audiences. While Kate’s story centers on a specific disability, it speaks to the universal experience we all have coping with the ups and downs of life, especially those tender, turbulent  middle school years.

Craft Chat with Amie Darnell Specht & Shannon Hitchcock

Kathy: Amie and Shannon, what are your tips for writers who have never written a book together before? What are the benefits of joint authorship? Are there any drawbacks?

We didn’t know each other very well and so we got to know each other by filling out this character worksheet: https://www.novel-software.com/character-questionnaire/. The worksheet served two purposes. It was a great conversation starter and it also allowed us to start developing our characters. 

Amie: benefit to joint authorship: I had never written a book before so Shannon was able to guide me through the process. 

Shannon: The benefit to me is that I wasn’t starting with a blank slate since much of the book is drawn from Amie’s life. The drawback to collaborating is it is a slower process since every decision requires two people to come to consensus. 

Kathy: I know from Amie's Author Note that much of this book is autobiographical. How did you weave in the fiction with the information from your life?

Amie: I changed most of the names and ages of characters that are inspired by real people. The timeline of the book differs from my life as well. I was diagnosed with FOP at four and a half rather than twelve like our main character. When I would tell Shannon about my life, (like managing my high school’s gymnastics team), she would often say we could use that in our plot and just change it to middle school.  

Kathy: Have you done any author visits together? What are you finding that readers like most about this middle grade?

Amie: We had a joint book launch and we’ve spoken to a book club. Due to my disability, travel is hard for me and so our joint in-person appearances are limited. We’d love the opportunity to connect virtually though and recently appeared on the Reading With Your Kids podcast. You can listen to us here: 

https://readingwithyourkids.libsyn.com/how-fantasy-and-realism-can-educate-and-inspire-young-readers

Amie: I find readers are very curious about what it’s like to live with a rare genetic disorder and I’m always honest in my replies.

Kathy: It's refreshing to read a book where siblings support each other as Chris and Kate do. I like the secondary cast of characters and the themes of diversity. How many secondary characters do you recommend a middle grade book have? How do you flesh out secondary characters, making them more than just the main character’s sidekick?

Amie: We don’t have a recommendation for how many secondary characters a middle grade book needs. It truly depends on the story. 

Shannon: I will share an anecdote though from a critique I had with Richard Peck on my book, The Ballad of Jessie Pearl. He pointed out that two of my characters were similar and recommended that I combine them. So… my advice is to be sure each of your characters is unique and that your story has a definite need for every one of them. To quote Richard Peck, “I’m afraid you have too many characters auditioning for a part in your novel.”

Amie: I combined characters as well. In Dancing In The Storm, the character Mindy is a combination of a lot of my friends. Izaak is a combination of my husband and other guys I have been friends with. 

Kathy: What would you both like readers to take away about the challenges of FOP and other genetic disorders? Genetics and DNA are mainstream topics, and we see advertisements from 23andMe and companies like them. What are your thoughts on gene testing as a "gift"? (I had genetic testing and counseling a few years ago when we discovered Lynch syndrome in our family. I had complicated feelings about it. One of us tested positive for it, while four of us have had various forms of cancer.)

Amie: A big problem with genetic disorders is there are so many of them and even the same disorder presents itself differently from person to person. This is a quote from page 49 of our book. “…just like no two zebras have identical stripes, no two people with FOP experience it exactly the same way.”

I have used 23andMe for fun, but it doesn’t take the place of genetic counseling. 

Shannon: The only genetic testing I’ve done was to determine if I had any of the genetic markers for breast cancer. This was done by a simple blood test at the doctor’s office. 

As for a takeaway, I hope young readers stretch their empathetic muscles and step inside the shoes of someone whose life experience is different than theirs. And if we’ve done our jobs well, they will also see that people with disabilities have a lot to offer as friends and colleagues. 

Author Contact Information

Amie Darnell Specht worked in tech support for a large computer company for many years. She and her husband live in North Carolina with lots of pets. She has Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP), and this, her first novel, is heavily influenced by her story. 

Visit amiespecht.com for more information.

Instagram: @amiespecht

Shannon Hitchcock was born and still lives in North Carolina and grew up in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She is the author of four previous acclaimed novels for children, including Flying Over Water and Ruby Lee & Me. 

Visit shannonhitchcock.com for more information. 

Instagram: @hitchcock_shannon