Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Blurb


I haven’t gone after many blurbs over the years, but I’m happy and very genuinely honored to post word of a blurb that came in recently for Moonshot:

“Reading Moonshot gave me the feeling I was back up in space.”

Those words came in a short note from Michael Collins, BGen USAF (Ret.), Command Module Pilot of Apollo 11.

There are many people I grew to respect and find fascinating as I did the research for Moonshot, but none more than Collins, not least because of his book Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut’s Journey, a fascinating account of life as an astronaut, written with honesty, intelligence, humor, and clarity. It was a key book for me as I was trying to figure out how and if I could make a book of my own out of Apollo.

So for all those reasons the Collins blurb is meaningful. And then there’s this, too: Back in September 2006, I mailed my editor, Dick Jackson, the proposal for Moonshot just before heading down to Texas to visit family. I traveled in a state of suspense. While I was in Texas, Dick called with the good news: he liked the proposal. Just a few days later, I was still high on the news as I rode the tram at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, going from Gate A to Gate C or wherever, on my way back to New York. Then the tram door opened, and maybe it’s just that I still had Carrying the Fire on the brain — I’d been looking at it a lot while putting together the proposal — but in walked this guy who looked like Michael Collins. Who really looked like Michael Collins. And so finally I asked, and he didn’t hear me. On a tram full of people, that felt pretty awkward. So I hesitated, but then asked again, and he looked like Michael Collins because he was Michael Collins. Signs and wonders! He was on his way to Tucson. He was very gracious, and I tried not to act like a fanatic. True story.

8 comments:

sdn said...

this is the best story ever.

www.juliadenos.com said...

That is an awesome story! Isn't fate so cool? The illustration in this post is fantastic...very cool to have your "hero" get so much from the art as well!

tim b said...

It's a very good story and if there's any justice at all, you'll be telling it into some prestigious microphones over the next 18 months or so...

johanna said...

Wowza, talk about meant to be. I love that story!

Lauren Castillo said...

How great Brian! And I'm with Tim B -- I've got a very good feeling about this Moonshot of yours :-)

Matt Phelan said...

Wow. Did you remind him of that when you contacted him for the blurb? I hope you took that as a definite grade A omen.

Z-Kids said...

How cool!
Love your books... Looking forward to Moonshot!
-AZ

Brian Floca said...

Thanks for the kind comments, all!