Read Time: 5 Minutes
Embark on a journey beyond the pages as we unravel the captivating story behind “Danger 9b and his Goddess of Fortune,” the latest young adult novel by versatile creator Richard J. Hatch. Rooted in the author’s own coming-of-age experiences in 1960s Turkey, this tale of teenage love, espionage, and a treasure hunt began with a serendipitous discovery in his attic – a treasure trove of coded notes and vivid memories.
In our exclusive interview, Richard sheds light on the real-life inspirations woven into the narrative, the transition from NPR storytelling to a full-fledged audio drama featuring Beatles’ songs, and the delicate balance of crafting a memoir-based story. Join us as we delve into the fascinating intersections of reality and fiction with Richard Hatch and his new book “Danger 9b and his Goddess of Fortune”
M: Richard, your press release mentions that the story stems from a long-lost treasure of coded notes discovered in your attic. Could you share more about how this discovery inspired the narrative?
R: To tell the truth, this old man set out to write his own coming-of-age love story that stemmed from cleaning out his attic. My wife was highly sceptical. “Really?” she tells me, “At 71 you are going to write a teen love story?” Tucked in a far corner of my storage area was a deteriorating cardboard fruit box filled with treasures of my past, living in the country of Turkey in the 1960s. There was my catcher’s glove, my little-league all-star baseball cap, a patch celebrating our victorious season, two trophies, one of a guy swinging a bat (minus the bat) and the other playing tennis, the program from my school musical, “The Wizard of Oz” with my credit as, “The Cowardly Lion”.
But hiding in the bottom was a pile of crumpled papers and letters. There I saw, after 50 years or more, the letters from Jill and Marie, along with their photos. Below that was a collection of the scribbled notes we used to pass back and forth in school, our only way of “texting”. They were addressed and signed by strange names, Danger9b, Fortuna, Athena, Spitball.
Then it all came back to me. These were our codenames to hide our identities from our teachers at our military-run school. My family would have no idea what to do with this stuff when I was gone, so I took some pictures and threw the rest away, along with many other items collected through a long career as a filmmaker, writer-director-producer.
Only a few days passed when I realized what a mistake I had made. The notes were gold. I realized my silly antics with my first big crush of my life would make a great story for a couple of podcasts on National Public Radio. I pitched the story to “Snap Judgement”, a program aired in the US and Canada on Saturdays over NPR. They tell stories “With a beat”. They loved my pitch, and we spent four hours recording my story. They edited it down to a sixteen-minute feature, added music and aired in May of 2022. It was supposed to be on Valentines Day, but their composer got ill.
By the time the segment aired, I was already nine months into writing my first draft which took until April of 2023 to feel good about. At that point, I decided to make it a full audio production with full sound design and started my negotiation with Paul McCartney (he and his licensing company) of the Beatles to use some of their songs (covers – not their recordings) in the audiobook.
I was not new to this process. I produced and directed an audacious version of Charles Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” as an audio radio drama, using the exact words as written by Dickens. This has a full cast of professional character voices, sound design and effects and original music. It was among the winners in the New York Festivals Best Radio Drama awards in 2011-2012. It can be found, along with a collection of much of my work in my career on my YouTube channel.
M: You make mention of it growing out of a true story. How much of the story is rooted in your own life experiences in the Middle East?
R: The print copy of the book has a fifty-page appendix with photos reviewing every episode in the book and how it was integrated into the fictional story. So, although the plot is fiction, it is based on many experiences and antics I lived to tell about. I think the richness of detail comes from those vivid memories. Almost every page has something that I lived with a slight twist.
Most importantly, there really was a Jill, my bodacious lie, an “invasion” of the Soviet Embassy, two dads with very sensitive military and government positions put in jeopardy. All the locations were real, many of the actions and dumb stunts were based on what I and my friends did. I have aged up my characters which required a little more sophistication. So, I must admit, it is based on my memoirs, then upgraded to more exciting and fun plot lines.
M: Are there any more adventures planned for Danger 9b? Do you have anything else you’re working on right now you can tell us about?
I am not sure there will be more of Fortuna and Danger9b. It depends on the demand. My career was in writing scripts and producing visual media. “Danger9b and his Goddess of Fortune” is my first official novel. I have several other unfinished screenplays that have been sitting around that I was thinking of picking back up. But the reality is, fifteen and counting grandchildren are my focus now.
M: Richard, thank you so much for you time!
For our readers, you can follow and find out more about what Richard is up to at his socials:
– YouTube
– Facebook
Be sure to visit Danger9b.com to take you to Audible where you can grab your copy.