Interview with Stan Schatt

Posted by: Allison Helps Cats on: May 26, 2016

• In: Authors N-Z | Current (After 1999) | Grades 3-5 | Grades 6-8 | Mystery | Realistic | Suspense | Teasers
• 2 Comments

Dr. Stan Schatt and his grand-daughter are the co-authoring team of the young adult novel Jane Blond International Spy. Shatt has taught at the university level, spent many years “as a futurist responsible for forecasting future technology products and markets for Fortune 500 companies,” and authored over thirty books. Below is my interview with Schatt.

According to Tiffany Clark Kent, when Shatt’s grandchildren were young, he began making up stories to tell them at night. As they grew older, his stories became longer and more complex, and he ended up inspiring his grandchildren to write too.

His grand-daughter, who came up with the basic plot and major characters of Jane Blond International Spy. She also wrote dialogue that captured the way teenagers actually talk. Tomorrow I’ll review Jane Blond International Spy. Save the date: May 27!

ALLISON: Have you always wanted to write?

STAN: My childhood consisted of lots and lots of reading. I set out at 12 to write a novel because I wasn’t happy with the selection in my school library.

ALLISON: Why did you start to write?

STAN: I loved reading and couldn’t find the book I wanted to read.

ALLISON: What appeals to each of your about spies?

STAN: There is something fascinating about people forced to play secret roles. There’s a lot of drama built into the notion of someone who is in danger should their real identity be discovered.

ALLISON: How easy or difficult was the collaboration process?

STAN: Very easy — Brianna came up with the characters and plot and later added dialog.

ALLISON: Talk about the road to publication.

STAN: The biggest problem was finding a cover that we both liked; Brianna is much more visually aware than I am. The book went through a number of publishers until we hit upon Booktrope.

ALLISON: Sell my readers on Jane Blond.

STAN: Jane is a normal 14-year old girl with a world of problems that most girls her age don’t have. It’s bad enough having a father in prison and a mother who insists on having her boyfriend living with her, but poor Jane finds herself under constant attack at school from a bully and queen bee. What I think makes the book fun is that Jane is forced to use a lot of skills and traits she doesn’t even realize she has in order to save the day. She’s one of the few people who is nice to or pays attention to a boy with Asperger’s. He provides a clue that helps her solve a mystery. She discovers she has courage and intelligence she never realized. So, in that way the story is very satisfying since most of us would like to believe that we are all superheroes just under the surface.

To read more about the process behind Jane Blond International Spy, check out the below links:

• Blog Tour with Guest Post
• Jane Blond International Spy

• Review of Jane Blond International Spy

Tags: Allison's Book Bag, author interviews, Jane Blond International Spy, reviews of books for young people, Stan and Brianna Schatt