Part of the setting for Astrid Maxxim and her Amazing Hoverbike, as well as the other Astrid Maxxim books, is Rachel Carson High School.  It actually went through several different name changes.  I wanted a female scientist and I didn’t want to go with the obvious Marie Curie.  She needed also to be an American.  I think Rachel Carson is the most important woman (maybe person) that most people don’t know.

Being a teacher, one of the things I enjoyed was playing with the school environment.  All of the meals at Rachel Carson are gourmet meals.  They have a Michelin Star chef.  Every child is dedicated to learning.  The students stay after to maintain the school and keep it clean.  Every student is on a specific program– designed to lead them in a different direction in life.  Some of these are revealed in the books.