About Steve
Steve Schafer is the author of two young adult novels. His first novel, The Border, was a finalist for the Joan F. Kaywell ‘Books Save Lives’ award based on the empathic way it addresses our conversation around immigration. His second novel, eMortal, examines the tricky questions, nebulous ethics, and surprising twists that may arise with quickly evolving AI.
Steve’s curiosity for exploring diverse perspectives on life has led him to live, work, study, volunteer, and travel to over 65 countries across 6 continents. Steve lives near Philadelphia with his wife and two kids.
The Extended Cut:
Many writers will tell you they developed an interest in writing at a young age. Steve is not one of those writers. Growing up, he always felt creative, but he had regular outlets for that creativity in day-to-day life. He was a goofy kid with lots of opportunities to do goofy things. It wasn’t until entering the “real world” after college that those other creative avenues began to evaporate. Steve briefly explored music—it was a colossal failure, filled with songs you’ll never hear for all the right reasons. As this truth sunk in, he came across a tiny blurb in the margin of a magazine. It went something like this:
- Percent of people who think they can write a novel: 90%
- Percent of people who do: 2%
Steve took it as a challenge. Armed with a kernel of an idea, he penned his first novel. He wrote quickly. He wrote freely. He wrote like no one was reading, which turned out to be an accurate prediction. Only two people professed liking it—one of them was his mother. But still, when he held that finished manuscript, he felt a kind of pride he had never before experienced. And he knew he could do better.
Two books later, Steve wrote The Border, his first published novel.
Having finally sold a novel, Steve thought repeating the process would be easier. He spent seven years learning just how wrong he was. But persistence counts for a lot in life. eMortal was re-written more times than Steve would like to admit, but it finally found a home and will find bookshelves in November of 2024.
Steve would be the first to admit that the topics of his two books (immigrants and AI) don’t have much in common. He has never been great about staying in one lane. He’s curious about pretty much anything and he especially enjoys cultural hot topics, which if anything, loosely connect these two book ideas.
When he’s not writing, Steve is playing some kind of sport, coaching, being Dad, doing honey-do’s, or taking the family on their next travel adventure.
