Exploring the Theme of Found Families with Author Pamela Stockwell -83

Author Express

Award-winning author Pamela Stockwell was born in Texas and raised in South Carolina. In between, she lived in the Philippines and, along with her big sister, became fluent in Tagalog name-calling. She abandoned her foreign language studies at age five and went on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the University of South Carolina. Pamela lives with her husband in Central New Jersey. She has three children in various stages of young adulthood, one dog, and too many cats. Her first novel, A Boundless Place, debuted in 2021. Her second novel, The Tender Silver Stars, was published in April of this year. Her poetry and creative nonfiction have appeared in several online literary journals and anthologies.

In her newest book, The Tender Silver Stars, her main characters are two women who meet by chance after each impetuously derails her life. Together, they forge new paths forward and form strong bonds. This theme of found families has played out in her life—her three children were adopted, and she got so close to the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, she donated a kidney to fellow member Kelly Hartog.

Although Pamela has always wanted to be a writer, she didn’t publish her first novel until she was 58. She worked in corporate writing for fifteen years, then she adopted her children and accidently became a stay-at-home mom. Being alone all day with three young kids forced her to be creative with motherhood—such as conceiving her own home camp she named Camp Stockwell, which was really just her and her kids. Now she pours that creativity into writing—novels, poetry, short stories, and essays.

Her two novels are set in a trailer park—very much modeled after the neighborhood where she grew up in South Carolina. And while not a series, some of the characters from her first novel are featured in her second. She has had people tell her that after reading her first book, A Boundless Place, they had a sudden urge to move to a trailer park because they loved the characters so much.

You can learn more about Pamela on her website www.pamelastockwell.com — and this is also the best place to buy her book, The Tender Silver Stars. You can also support your local bookstore & this podcast by getting your copy of The Tender Silver Stars at Bookshop.org at this link bookshop.org.

You can also follow her on Substack at https://pamelastockwellauthor.substack.com/publish/posts where she writes quick easy to read posts about life and life’s lessons.

A little about today's host-

Author and musical composer Kathleen Basi is mother to three boys and one chromosomally-gifted daughter. Her debut novel, A SONG FOR THE ROAD, follows a musician on an unconventional road trip. Bestselling author Kerry Anne King writes, “In a novel filled with music, heartbreak, and surprising laughter, Basi takes us on a journey that encompasses both unimaginable loss and the powerful resilience of the human heart.”

Meaty, earnest, occasionally humorous, and ultimately uplifting, Kathleen’s fiction highlights the best within ourselves and each other. She writes monthly reflections on life, writing and beauty on her newsletter. Subscribe at https://kathleenbasi.substack.com/.

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