Shannon Hitchcock Writes a Sequel (13 years later)

Middle grade fans are in for a treat -- coming March 3, 2026. Shannon Hitchcock's forthcoming novel, Wild Mountain Ivy, is a sequel to her historical fiction The Ballad of Jessie Pearl, and let me tell you, the thirteen year wait was worth it! Not only that, I've got a cover reveal for a 13-year old novel ... Read on!

Shannon Hitchcock writes middle grade and picture books. Many of her stories are inspired by her childhood growing up on a North Carolina farm. The Ballad of Jessie Pearl, published in 2013, was her first. That book, based on Shannon's own family history, is set in North Carolina in the 1920s, during the tuberculosis outbreak. The TB pandemic upends 14-year-old Jessie Pearl's plans for her future as she must stay home and take care of her nephew and the family farm. You can read more about Shannon's writing process here.

Although a friend urged Shannon to write a sequel about what happened next in Jessie Pearl's life, she turned instead to other writing projects, both fiction and nonfiction. Then Covid-19 arrived. 

While she was writing about tuberculosis, Shannon never suspected she'd live through a subsequent pandemic herself. But the arrival of Covid brought inspiration for the plot of a Jessie Pearl sequel. As Shannon contemplated the similarities between the two pandemics, she decided to write a ghost story weaving together the stories of two young protagonists from two different pandemics, a century apart. 

In Wild Mountain Ivy, 12-year-old Ivy is suffering from long Covid. Hoping it will help her to rest and recover, Ivy's mother takes her to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina for the summer. Ivy's uncle owns an inn there, an inn that was once a tuberculosis sanitarium. Ivy becomes intrigued with the mystery of the fate of a long-ago sanitarium resident, Jessie Pearl. Without spoiling the story, I can say there's a bit of the supernatural in this tale about illness and resilience, music and family, healing and hope. I particularly enjoyed the musical elements, including watching Ivy learn to play the dulcimer, and the actual Ballad of Jessie Pearl. This is a lovely, heartfelt, and uplifting read.

And there's some bonus good news. Years ago, the original Ballad of Jessie Pearl publisher, namelos, closed down and returned all rights to the authors. In March, after being out of print for some time, The Ballad of Jessie Pearl will be back! Lerner/Carolrhoda Books, in addition to publishing the sequel, is re-releasing The Ballad of Jessie Pearl, with brand new cover art. Ta-DA!

New Cover, 2026

Wild Mountain Ivy is available for pre-order now. You can order direct from the publisher here, at IndieBound here, or visit your favorite local bookseller. You'll be glad you did! 

Shannon Hitchcock lives in Asheville, North Carolina, where she can see the mountains. She is the author of many books for children, including Flying Over Water, cowritten with N.H. Senzai (a Kirkus Best Book of the Year) and Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection Dancing in the Storm, co-written with Amie Darnell Specht. Visit her website to find out more.  

Alex Thayer's debut, "Happy & Sad & Everything True" ~Christy Mihaly

Alex Thayer

Last month at the inaugural New England SCBWI Acadia Retreat, I had the great pleasure of meeting Alex Thayer. She is delightful and talented, and, if you haven't heard Alex's name yet, I predict you soon will. That's because her new novel is sure to make a splash. 

Happy & Sad & Everything True (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster, Nov. 12, 2024) involves middle grade issues of family, new friends and old ones, true friends and fake ones. The protagonist, Dee, is devastated when she and her best friend Juniper are assigned to separate classes for sixth grade, and she is lonely and increasingly confused about Juniper's odd new behavior. She's also embarrassed about her eccentric single mother and has questions about why her dad left. 

Dee starts hiding in the girls' restroom each day to avoid the dreaded "Snack & Stretch." She discovers that a grate in the wall communicates with the boy's restroom, and before long she is dispensing advice and support through the grate to students with all kinds of worries. Word of Dee's good counsel spreads and more students approach her for advice. Dee enjoys listening and helping people, but meanwhile, her attempts to make a new friend seem to result only in more embarrassment. 

Hurtful discoveries, academic failures, mysterious secret notes, and unexpected treachery all come to a head in a satisfying series of resolutions. Dee realizes her own strengths and gains pride in being herself. I devoured this book (in ARC form) straight through in a day and a half, and Dee and the other characters have taken up residence in my brain. Nicely done, Alex! This is a beautifully engaging novel. I highly recommend it. 

Below, Alex answers some questions I had about her book and her writing (and other) life. So read on!  

GROG: When you began writing, did you know you wanted to write for the middle school crew?

Alex: I love the middle school crew. It’s a time when so many things might be changing. Schools, teachers, friendships, families, bodies, ideas, beliefs… The list of possibly changing things is endless. Which makes it an interesting age to write about.

Alex and friends at the Acadia Retreat last month

GROG: Exactly! An age group that presents rich dramatic possibilities, right? And speaking of drama, your first career was acting, for TV and movies. I happen to know you have some juicy stories from those days. Does that dramatic background affect your writing?

 

Alex: Great question! Absolutely! There’s something in acting called “Method Acting” when an actor stays in character on set. Even when the camera is not rolling, the actor doesn’t break character. I think I might do this as a writer. “Method Writing,” if you will! Sometimes I’ll dress up like my character to get myself going. Sometimes I’ll bake something that my character would love to eat. Sometimes I’ll write in my journal as if my character were writing in her journal. Sometimes I’ll pretend I’m on stage and I’ll speak as if my character’s giving a monologue to the audience. I think the element of play is very important in writing. Play takes the pressure off! Acting is a great way to play around as a writer.

GROG: I love that! Method writing! It seems to have worked for you. Dee comes across as genuine and real.

I'm wondering about the delightfully original premise of Happy & Sad & Everything True. Where did you get the initial idea?

 

Alex: Thank you! I’m glad you like the premise. I wish I could say it was my great idea, but really, the premise came from my main character, Dee. I thought about Dee for a long time before I started writing this book. I knew what she looked like, her personality, what people in her life would say about her. I also knew the things she would never tell anyone. I knew Dee very well, but I felt overwhelmed about writing a whole book. So, I started small. I put Dee in a place, a bathroom, and I listened. I realized other kids come into the bathroom and speak to Dee. I knew Dee would want to help them. Voila! My premise was born.

GROG: Beautiful -- I guess this is how your "method writing" works.

I also love how in the book you gradually reveal the depth of the relationship between Dee and her mother, with Dee's impatience/annoyance/embarrassment gradually giving way to understanding and appreciation of their mutual love. Was that always a main focus of the book?

 

Alex: The mom character really surprised me. When I first started writing this book, I thought the mom was humorous and quirky. But, as the novel moved along, I realized the mom cared deeply about her daughter. I think Dee realized this, too. The arc that Dee and her mom were able to make together was very satisfying to write.

GROG: Which character in Happy & Sad is most like you?

 

Alex reading at her launch,
shortly after publication

Alex: I think all the characters have little pieces of me in them. That said, Dee is probably the most like me. Like Dee, I make lists in my head. Like Dee, I like to help people. Like Dee, I feel insecure sometimes. Like Dee, I love my cat.

GROG: Wonderful! One last question for today:

What did you do on your book’s birthday?

 

Alex: I woke up early and I wrote in my journal. (I do this every morning.) I took my kids to school. I came home and made myself a big bowl of Hot Brown Rice Cereal and topped it with milk and berries. Delightful!

Congratulations and thanks again, Alex, and very best wishes with your beautiful new book.

~Christy

Alex Thayer is a former film and television actress and elementary school teacher. She lives in New England with her two sons. Happy & Sad & Everything True is her debut novel.

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