Jodie Lynn Zdrok
asked
Phil Stamper:
Having gone to Kennedy Space Center just a couple of weeks ago, I'm ready for GRAVITY *now*! What inspired the space element of your novel?
Phil Stamper
I'm OBSESSED with spaceflight, and I always have been. But writing sci-fi just isn't my thing (though I love to read it!) so I never knew how to incorporate my love of space into my contemporary YA writing.
I've read just about every Mercury- and Apollo-era memoir out there, and while reading THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB, I realized that I was equally obsessed with the dynamics of the astronaut families—those who were left on the ground, thrust into the spotlight, and expected to be picture-perfect American families... all while dealing with the stress of knowing the astronauts are risking their lives every day.
Though this is a present-day story of a NASA mission to Mars, I wanted to pull in the family dynamics of the space race era and build in a love story between two sons of astronauts. And I'm so excited to share it with the world! :)
I've read just about every Mercury- and Apollo-era memoir out there, and while reading THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB, I realized that I was equally obsessed with the dynamics of the astronaut families—those who were left on the ground, thrust into the spotlight, and expected to be picture-perfect American families... all while dealing with the stress of knowing the astronauts are risking their lives every day.
Though this is a present-day story of a NASA mission to Mars, I wanted to pull in the family dynamics of the space race era and build in a love story between two sons of astronauts. And I'm so excited to share it with the world! :)
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