Stanley and Hazel by Jo Schaffer

Stanley and Hazel

Book One

Jo Schaffer


Genre: Historical Fiction


Publisher: Month9Books

Date of Publication: May 15, 2018

ISBN: 978-1946700650

ASIN: B07982QYX4

Number of pages: 280

Cover Artist: AM Design Studios

Book Description:

A great depression grips the city of St. Louis in 1934. Stanley, an orphaned newsy, 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 of all 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 stop Hazel from becoming the next victim.

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Excerpt:

Hazel stumbled
down the grassy hill of the moonlit park. Stanley glanced at her from several
steps ahead. “You with me, Bananas?”

“Yeah.” She
swallowed back the urge to be sick. Hazel’s legs moved her forward but nothing
seemed real. She was in Forest Park at night with a newsie boy she’d just met
and Sandy’s runaway sister was back there, slumped against the statue of St.
Louis with her head cracked open.

She couldn’t
make her brain take it all in. Evelyn’s face—caved in on one side, her mouth
slack, teeth showing like gravestones covered in blood. Gripped with panic,
Hazel quickened her step to catch up with Stanley—her only guide in this
darkness. He was a part of it. This was his world, not hers.

About the Author:

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.

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Jo Schaffer

Interview with Jo Schaffer

BIO:

Jo Schaffer was born and raised in the California Bay Area. She is a YA novelist, speaker, writes for TV and film and is a Taekwondo black belt. Jo is a founding member of the nonprofit, Teen Author Boot Camp, one of the nation’s biggest writing conferences for teens. She lives in the mountains with her three amazing sons and a cat named Hero.

Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?

My characters can sometimes totally steer the story! I may have something in mind that they would say and then they say something else that makes way more sense in the moment. And in some cases, they appear at will. Arthur, the brooding, dark newsie, appeared in his first scene before I even knew who he was. But once I started to write him I knew he belonged there. He’s like the shadow version of Stanley and needed to be part of the story.

Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.

Stanley and Hazel is a fun ride into the past. Intrigue, murder, forbidden relationships and snappy dialog. You don’t want to miss what happens to Stanley and Hazel as they try to uncover the secrets of the Veiled Prophet! Plus, with book two coming out—you gotta read Book 1 to get ready for the crazy twists and turns to come!

On a deeper level, it’s a story about the misuse of power and is so relevant to today. If we can’t learn from our past we can’t prevent the horrors of the 20th Century from repeating.

Have you written any other books that are not published?

Yes! I have another trilogy that is a touch supernatural. Another one that is a ghosty story. And a couple others that are contemporary teen. I am excited to pull those back out and revise them so I can eventually share them with readers! Each book taught me so much about the writing process.

Pen or type writer or computer?

When I first started writing several years ago I wrote everything by hand on big yellow, legal pads. When I would try to type them they wouldn’t flow. But after a while I adjusted to typing them in Word and the convenience of editing has me sold.

Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?

I hope you enjoy the journey into the 1930s with me! It’s cool to think that people have always been people no matter what era they lived in. Stanley and Hazel are like typical teens in many ways. One is from poverty and one from privilege but they face many of the same things we do now. I hope it’s a fun read and one that makes you think!

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