Walking Leonard and Other Stories, is a short story collection of roughly 30,000 words in the literary fiction genre. The stories depict unspoken pivot points in the lives of ordinary people. Themes include responsibility and violation between parent and child, nature as a protective force, and the shucking off of various selves in the process of a lifetime. The stories spring from the foothills of southern Alberta, specifically Calgary, and some even more specifically from the historic neighborhood of Bowness, once a small town in its own right.

Burdened by the notion that a career should encompass everything, Sophie Stocking changed her major so often, she narrowly escaped a degree in General Studies. Chapters in social work, architecture and motherhood followed. She finally noticed she’d always been writing, and in terms of encompassing everything, stories fit the bill. Sophie found the courage to pursue fiction at the Alexandra Writer’s Centre and went on to study under Aritha van Herk at the University of Calgary. Her debut novel Corridor Nine was released by Thistledown Press in 2019.

Sophie Stocking's profile page

The slow-burn of Sophie Stocking’s debut short story collection is lovely in language, superb in detail, gorgeous in naming all that lies around and within us. Stocking writes the small in order to capture the sometimes-soundless revelations that largely impact the course of her narrators’ lives. Quiet hearts coupled with pondering minds; this story collection is an exquisite read.

Lee Kvern, Author of 7 Ways To Sunday

Stocking weaves a story of heartache and grace. Her stories draw us in and we identify with each character; Shakti, who finds nature offering what her parents do not, Clarice, who discovers another world much warmer than the cold and arrogant one of her parents, and finally Mollie who knows that taking responsibility is the order of the day. There are many things to ponder with each story, and as readers we can discover something new with each reading.

Prairie Fire Magazine

Sophie Stocking is a writer with a keen eye fixed to her world which she expertly bridges to ours. Her stories are told with language that evokes the intensity of being a small daughter, a junior high student, a young mother— all fighting expectations that those roles and relationships bring. Stocking illuminates these identities and struggles through landscape. The flora of each story’s terrain pairs with a character to scent identity, adding layers of colour to germinate legacies. The characters in each of the stories in have survived decades of Calgary’s seasons thus giving readers something to learn from or identify with. Ultimately, her stories dare us to close our books and walk outside, to find the stories, the colours, and the scents of the plants that grow around us. This collection challenges us to pay attention to our own stories.

Lisa Murphy Lamb, author Jesus on the Dashboard (Stonehouse Publishing, 2017)