The Greatest Adventure in History, Hidden in Plain Sight

[robertsapp]

Are any of you out there fans of Michael Crichton style science thrillers? Would you like to help a fellow sailor launch his new career and assist with filling our cruising kitty? Then please take a look at my new novel Lunar Dance. From the boardroom to the courtroom, the halls of Congress to the launchpad, Lunar Dance tells an epic tale of ambitious dreams, bold actions and eternal love set amid today's commercial launch industry. Follow the team at Roadrunner Rockets, a small aerospace company with a big chip on its shoulder, as they secretly embark on the greatest adventure in history—the first commercial moon voyage.

http://www.amazon.com/Lunar-Dance-ebook/dp/B00AECQ440

In 1969, Neil Armstrong had just taken his one small step, and the future of spaceflight was blindingly bright. But over 40 years later, Armstrong is dead, the shuttle no longer flies, and no one born after 1935 has walked on the moon. I feel as though history let us down. So I wrote a book that attempts to recapture the spirit of "the sky's the limit" that was so pervasive during the golden age of manned spaceflight. A book that I hope will resonate with others who wish as I do that things had turned out differently, and remind them of a time when extraordinary things happened with stunning regularity.

Available in ebook (Kindle, Nook), paperback, and hardcover from your favorite online retailer. The Kindle version is only $2.99, which is a good deal for almost 400 pages of page-turning adventure.

We'd like to retire and go cruising full time, but it would help to have some form of transportable career to earn some fuel money along the way. This is my attempt to see if that's possible.

Cheers,

Robert

 

[Winkfish]

Looks good. I'm going to get it. Of course, anything to help someone go cruising full time is just a bonus.

 

[robertsapp]

Looks good. I'm going to get it. Of course, anything to help someone go cruising full time is just a bonus.

I appreciate it, thanks! If you have a chance, I'd love some feedback when you finish the book.

 

[Pooka 3]

As a retired USAF pilot who sat on alert in a Rescue squadron on Okinawa for Mercury-Restone 3 and all the rest of the Mercury flights, really enjoyed your book. Hate the museuming of the Shuttles. Appreciated having your book on Kindle - now write another as you cruise - PLEASE
Fair Winds , Mike T.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Just read the preview and purchased it on my Kindle. I see it's already up to a 4.5 star rating.

 

[robertsapp]

As a retired USAF pilot who sat on alert in a Rescue squadron on Okinawa for Mercury-Restone 3 and all the rest of the Mercury flights, really enjoyed your book. Hate the museuming of the Shuttles. Appreciated having your book on Kindle - now write another as you cruise - PLEASE
Fair Winds , Mike T.

Thanks, Mike, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm working on a few ideas for my next novel, but I haven't decided yet which one to write. In the meantime, a quick review on Amazon would really be a help, if you're willing. It's all about word-of-mouth for self-published authors, and the more positive reveiws I get, the more my book gets recommended by Amazon.

regards,

Robert

 

[Kermit]

Can I read your book on my iPhone? The man born in 1935 who walked on the moon (Charlie Duke) spent the night in our home almost 3 years ago. That was the most exciting thing in my life other than the birth of my children and grandchildren.

 

[robertsapp]

Can I read your book on my iPhone? The man born in 1935 who walked on the moon (Charlie Duke) spent the night in our home almost 3 years ago. That was the most exciting thing in my life other than the birth of my children and grandchildren.

Yes, you can either install the Kindle app for iOS on your phone and then download the book from Amazon, or you can check iTunes for the book, as it's supposed to be listed there (so my distributor says, but I haven't confirmed that personally.) Or you can also go to www.smashwords.com and search for Lunar Dance. There you can purchase and download the book in a wide variety of formats, including epub for iPad and iPhone.

Charlie Duke spoke last December at a terrific event here at the National Museum of Naval Aviation called Salute to the Pioneers of Space. It commemorated the 40th anniversary of the final moon landing (how sad is that?). We launched the book in conjunction with that event. How did he happen to end up at your house?

 

[Kermit]

How did he happen to end up at your house?

I wrote him a letter asking him and his wife, Dotty, to speak at our church. They have a Christian message to share. He talked about his experiences on the moon and he and Dotty both talked about how their Christian faith saved their marriage. Quite the interesting story. As far as how he ended up at our home, I gave them the choice of a hotel room or being guests in our home. They chose our home.

My First Mate really didn't know who Charlie Duke was when I told her they were staying here. It didn't take long for her to read about him and learn a lot more. Dang that was exciting. I could go on and on but I don't want to get flamed. Dang it was exciting. But I think I said that already.

To add a little about sailing to this reply, Charlie says in his book that he finds sailing to be boring. See? No flaming necessary. I said something about sailing!

 

[Jerry Clark H356 SV Persi]

Robert:
Just bought your book! Hope it is a success. I was an Air Force pilot and had an Aunt and Uncle who lived in Melbourne and moved there when the space program first started. The space program was a fascination for me as a young teenager and I followed all of the satellite launches and the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions. That was a great time in our history when America showed it's greatness! Oh how we have screwed this county up since!

 

[Kermit]

I guess you could say I followed all of them, too. I remember my father taking us outside to see Telstar fly overhead when I was 4 years old. We watched the Mercury launches at a friend's house since they had a color TV.

 

[Kermit]

I started reading the free sample version and decided to download the entire book from iBooks. Too early to give a review right now. I'll let you know when I'm done. Congratulations on fulfilling a dream!

 

[robertsapp]

Robert:
Just bought your book! Hope it is a success. I was an Air Force pilot and had an Aunt and Uncle who lived in Melbourne and moved there when the space program first started. The space program was a fascination for me as a young teenager and I followed all of the satellite launches and the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions. That was a great time in our history when America showed it's greatness! Oh how we have screwed this county up since!

Please let me know how you liked it when you're done!

I recently put copies in the mail to Senator Harrison Schmitt, who walked on the moon during Apollo 17, and Chris Ferguson, who was the commander of the final shuttle mission. He heads up Boeing's commercial crew capsule program now.

 

[robertsapp]

I started reading the free sample version and decided to download the entire book from iBooks. Too early to give a review right now. I'll let you know when I'm done. Congratulations on fulfilling a dream!

Thanks, but right now, all I've accomplished is crossing off a bucket list item, which was to write and publish a novel. My dream will be fulfilled if it makes a little money to help support my sailing addiction!

 

[Kermit]

Thanks, but right now, all I've accomplished is crossing off a bucket list item, which was to write and publish a novel. My dream will be fulfilled if it makes a little money to help support my sailing addiction!

Yeah, you got me there. Still, great job and congratulations.

 

[Winkfish]

Robert, I'm about a third of the way through your book. It is very good, man.

I know you weren't really looking for critiques, so I hope you don't mind me giving you one. One thing I found is, at this point, I don't feel like I really know the characters, especially Carl Heinel. I'd have liked to see their characters developed more, to get inside their heads and feel what they're feeling. I love the suspense and the story, but I don't feel I'm a part of it, kinda like watching a movie. Maybe that will come later in the book.

The other big problem with your book is I'm not getting enough sleep. I can't put your book down. Very well done, my friend!! I will certainly recommend it to my friends.

 

[robertsapp]

Keep reading. I promise you'll learn more about Carl! And I suspect by the end you'll be invested enough in the characters to feel the impact of the final outcome. But I love feedback, so please keep it coming.

Regards,

Robert

 

[Winkfish]

Oh, don't worry, I'm not putting this book down!

 

[Winkfish]

Robert, I finished your book this weekend. I really enjoyed it. It didn't get too much into technical stuff, but enough to make it realistic. The only thing I wanted more of was to know what happened to the characters after the return. Maybe a sequel to come? Well done, my friend.

 

[robertsapp]

Robert, I finished your book this weekend. I really enjoyed it. It didn't get too much into technical stuff, but enough to make it realistic. The only thing I wanted more of was to know what happened to the characters after the return. Maybe a sequel to come? Well done, my friend.

Thanks, I'm delighted you enjoyed it! Now tell your friends.

I originally thought I'd do a sequel that follows the characters on their next adventure. I already have a basic story in mind. But my wife suggested that she'd like to hear more about Carl's father Kurt and the secret mission he worked on during WWII to spirit Nazi rocket scientists out of Germany at the end of the war, called Operation Paperclip. So I'm considering an historical fiction prequel. I've also learned that while everyone who's read Lunar Dance tells me they really enjoyed it, the basic story premise only seems to appeal to a narrow range of readers - people of a certain age who grew up watching the space program in the 60's. So I have an idea in mind for a post-apocalyptic pirate adventure that might appeal to a broader range of readers, and also help draw them toward reading my other works. Plus there would be sailing in the book.