Q&A with Jo Schaffer, author of STANLEY AND HAZEL
Today we’re talking to Jo Schaffer, author of STANLEY & HAZEL, releasing May 15, 2018!
Q: Your book takes place in St. Louis in 1934. Why St. Louis? What do you love about St. Louis the most?
Jo Schaffer: St. Louis is a beautiful and diverse city with an interesting and rich history. There have been people living in that area since Pre-Columbian times. Frontiersmen, French trappers and immigrants from all over the world have settled in St. Louis, and it was at one time one of the four largest and most influential cities in America. It is a fertile and vibrant place between where the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers flow. It has great museums, beautiful gardens and parks. It is a perfect place to find good food and watch some baseball.
But, like most great places, St. Louis has a dark side. It has a long rap sheet of institutional racism and classism. Bigotry against and persecution of outliers has been a recurring theme in the story of St. Louis. During the Civil War the area was split in half and literally went to war with itself. There are some old and established power dynamics in St. Louis that I explore in my book. One of the things I love most about St. Louis is the drama and tension of it. It is like a microcosm of America and there is so much we can learn from the good and the bad things that have played out there over the centuries.
Q: Tell us more about your book!
A: My book is an exploration of another time and place that is still so relevant to today. On the surface it is an emerging love story between two people who, by cultural norms, should not love one another. By crossing the established social boundaries, Stanley and Hazel learn to see past their differences and become galvanized and united by a common cause. Even though it addresses some serious issues, the story is also fun and looks at what it’s like to be young and to question “the way things are”. There is a dead body, a secret diary, forbidden love, society parties and street gangs. Something for everyone!
Q: What were your biggest hurdles while writing this book? Biggest celebrations?
A: Finding a good home for the book was tricky because it is a little different than what is commonly out there in the YA world. But I feel like that is an opportunity more than a barrier. I like the fact that my book has turned out to be different, fun and thought provoking. There were a few things that the characters did that came as a surprise as I wrote… they took on a life of their own. One thing that both Stanley and Hazel have in common is that they do not like to be told what to do! Even by their author.
Q: Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
A: Read a wide variety of books. Don’t get stuck in a genre. Explore a variety of fiction, nonfiction and history. If you have a story idea that you are excited about but it’s not popular or trending, write it anyway! Tell the stories you are passionate about. Also, write often and let people read what you write and give honest feedback. It may take a while to get comfortable with criticism but it is the only way to get better at communicating to your reader in a rich and effective way.
Q: Finally, what are some of your favorite reads? TV shows? Movies?
A: I love to read just about anything. Some of my favorite books have been old school. Anything by Jane Austen, L.M. Montgomery, and Louisa May Alcott. Many of the classics from the nineteenth century as well as modern novels, including a lot of great Young Adult books. Most recently the Nameless trilogy by Jennifer Jenkins and anything by Jay Asher. TV shows I like span the decades. Buffy the Vampire Slayer changed my life. And I love shows like The Office, Parks and Rec, Stranger Things, This is Us and Speechless. When it comes to movies, I love classic film the best. Much of my book was inspired by movies from the 1930s like It Happened One Night, and The Thin Man mystery series. But I also grew up loving Star Wars and Indiana Jones. I like a lot of action films and creative independent films that make me think and examine things from new perspectives.
A great depression has gripped the city of St. Louis in 1934. Stanley, an orphaned newsy and son of police detective lives in a poor part of town hit especially hard by the economic downturn. One night, Stanley runs into Hazel, a restless debutante in waiting who has begun to question her posh lifestyle in the midst of the suffering she sees. She’s out and about without an escort and against her father’s wishes.
When they discover the body of a girl with her head bashed in by a baseball bat, the very different and separate realities of the two teens inform their decision. Together they will figure out what happened to her and bring those responsible to justice.
But getting involved with each other and digging into the secrets behind this murder earns them some powerful enemies, including a secret group seeking to rid society all those they deem “undesirable.” They’ve put into motion “The Winnowing”, a plan seeking to take over the city and enforce their will.
As Stanley and Hazel’s forbidden feelings for one another grow, their investigation turns deadly. Now, it is up to Stanley and his gang of street kids to save her before she becomes the next victim.
Jo Schaffer was born and raised in the California Bay Area in a huge, creative family. She is a YA novelist, speaker and a Taekwondo black belt.
She’s a founding member of the nonprofit organization that created Teen Author Boot Camp, one of the nation’s biggest conferences for teens where bestselling authors present writing workshops to nearly a thousand attendees.
Jo loves being involved in anything that promotes literacy and family. She is passionate about community, travel, books, music, healthy eating, classic films and martial arts. But her favorite thing is being mom to three strapping sons and a neurotic cat named Hero. They live together in the beautiful mountains of Utah.
STANLEY & HAZEL RELEASES MAY 15, 2018
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