East County Magazine Bookshelf Radio interview of author Ken Schafer

May 10, 2024 (San Diego) – East County Magazine Bookshelf host Reina Menasche recently interviewed author Ken Schafer regarding his first young adult novel,

An Otherwise Perfect Plan: A Novel of Mystery, Love, and Chocolate that Defies Description.

Schafer started his professional writing career as a screenwriter, working for companies as diverse as Disney, Paramount and ABC, and on projects ranging from a prequel to "Sleeping Beauty" to "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and ABC Night at the Movies. He also founded Moon Jumper Press.

Kirkus Reviews praised the novel's cinematic structure, though Schafer says,"Screenwriting and novel writing are two completely different beasts," because screenplays are fundamentally visual. But he says screenplay writing's tight time requirements have influenced his writing.

An unusual facet of this coming-of-age novel is that there are no villains, Menasche notes. Schafer says this arose from the story and decisions made by the young girl's mother. "The conflict is just getting through life," he says. "We all know there's enough stress in the world without actual bad people."

The novel is available in paperback, hardback, Kindle and Audiobook versions.

His passion for all kinds of writing, and the enthusiasm of his daughter for all things word-related, inspired him to branch out to children's books--including his forthcoming "A... is for Ahhhhhhh!" A Halloween Alphabeastiary", and "The Cow who Conquered the Moon"--along with both adult historical/Fantasy novels, and now, a young adult novel with a witty, sardonic style.

His creation of children's stories arose after his daughter, as a young child, constantly asked him to write a story. Schafer came up with a tale of a cow sneaking out of the barn to hear a farmer telling stories to his children, then aspired to jump over the moon--finding a novel solution to a seemingly insurmountable problem.

He's also created a visualization program that's been used in TV shows such as Downton Abbey, winning an Emmy Award.

Next up, he's working on a novel, Greensleeves, which is a historical fantasy combining English monarchs and a contemporary mythological world.