Author Guest Post with Ben Gartner: One Giant Leap

“I’m pretty sure I’m about to die in space. And I just turned twelve and a half.”

Welcome to one of the February 23rd stops on the blog tour for One Giant Leap by Ben Gartner with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, more author guest posts, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.

Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which means there is no additional cost to you if you shop using my links, but I will earn a small percentage in commission. A program-specific disclaimer is at the bottom of this post.

Author Guest Post

Inspired by Headlines: How I Put My Spin on Real Life Events

One Giant Leap is most definitely inspired by real life events, since it aims to be true to the plans and science of the upcoming Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. That is partly what makes it so intriguing to read, I’d say! It is realistic enough to pull you in and grab you by the collar and make you feel the tension that the characters are feeling, recognizing that this could actually happen. I hope to heck it never does, but space junk poses a very real threat to our astronauts, and we absolutely have to do something about the growing danger or we will inevitably experience catastrophic loss of life and property.

As another concrete example, the opening scene of peril for Fin adrift in space was based on a real-life event. With water leaking into his suit threatening to drown him because the surface tension of the water means the liquid clings to your face and mouth, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano experienced this very frightening threat to his life. But even with this looming mortal danger, his voice did not betray any fear. He was calm, cool, and collected as he relayed over the comms the developing incident about water in his suit. And then during the arduous journey back to the airlock, hand over hand, water got in his eyes and obstructed his nose, and eventually he couldn’t even speak. Can you imagine the terror?! There is publicly-available footage of the incident, and the relative laissez-faire attitude that Luca demonstrates is astounding. In the end, he was fine and the source of the leak identified. He’s seen smiling into the camera in the ISS, but I can’t imagine what he must have been feeling.

Oh wait, I can try to imagine! That’s the whole point of a story, right? Getting into another’s head, experiencing a little sliver of what they might have gone through, and thinking about how you might have reacted in that situation—physically and emotionally. Empathy is the name of the game. And, for me, using real life events as a springboard helps with that goal.

One Giant Leap is first and foremost an action-adventure story with characters that are forced to grow, but by peppering in real-life events I hope to bring the story to life with vivid details. And in the end, there’s an “Author’s Note: Fact v. Fiction” as well as a Glossary, which further elaborates on all the details subtly included in the story for those who want to continue the learning.

About the Book

One Giant Leap
by Ben Gartner

Published 21 February 2023
Crescent Vista Press

Genre: Middle Grade Science Fiction
Page Count: 235
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

“I’m pretty sure I’m about to die in space. And I just turned twelve and a half.”

Blast off with the four winners of the StellarKid Project on a trip to the International Space Station and then to the Gateway outpost orbiting the Moon! It’s a dream come true until space junk collides with the ISS, turning their epic trip into a nightmare of survival. Alone aboard the Aether starship, the kids have to work as a team to save the adults before the ISS is destroyed. Suit up, cadet, and launch into adventure with One Giant Leap!

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Excerpt

My recurring nightmare starts out awesome. I’m the pilot of an F/A-18 Navy fighter jet, rip-roaring through the atmosphere at Mach 1, the speed of sound, almost 800 miles per hour. I tip my wings and can feel the extra vibration shudder through the frame. It’s an extreme feeling of power, and I love it, but then my jet jumps, and I know something is wrong even before the alarm starts blaring and the red lights start flashing.

The computer tells me one of my turbofan engines is on fire.

I’m losing altitude. The impact with the earth will kill me, but I’ll explode before that if the fire hits my fuel.

EJECT EJECT EJECT flashes on my heads-up display. I’m frozen. I stare at the HUD.

The jet jerks violently to the side, and I’m thrown against my harness. My helmet smashes into the canopy. I see stars.

EJECT EJECT EJECT

I know it’s going to hurt if I do it, if I abandon my aircraft. I’m terrified. But there are no good options here, and I know what I have to do.

I yank on the ejection handle, and the canopy explodes up and away. My eardrums burst. The wind howls. A bomb detonates underneath me and shoots me up and out like a bullet. The launch whips my head forward, my chin crushing into my chest, cranking my neck too hard, much too hard. The pain is incredible. My body compresses with unbearable g-forces, I can’t breathe, my vision blurs, and . . .

That’s when I wake in a cold sweat.

I try to wiggle my toes, but I can’t move them. Sleep paralysis. It usually goes away after a few seconds, but when I wake with that immediate sense of impending doom, and I can’t move, it’s petrifying.

About the Author

Ben Gartner is the award-winning author of adventure books for middle graders. His stories take readers for a thrilling ride, maybe even teaching them something on the journey. Ben can be found living and writing near the mountains with his wife and two boys.

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Giveaway Alert!

Ben Gartner will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B&N gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.