Rebekah’s Space Flight Research Library

In the process of writing the Jessie Cole series I immersed myself in extensive research. I grew up on Florida’s Space Coast and I wanted this series to capture what amazing and inspiring story lie behind the headlines. If you are interested in space exploration, this is a list of books I enjoyed reading while writing the series. I hope you enjoy them too.

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance

Loved this book! So often great minds are misunderstood in their own time, it’s not until years later that history looks back and sees their brilliance. This book gives me hope that this great mind may find appreciation before he has passed away.

Gemini: A Personal Account of Man’s Venture into Space by Virgil “Gus” Grissom

I admit, I have a bit of a crush on Grissom, so finding a copy of this book became a quest for me. I’ve read it two or three times now and learn something new each time.

We Seven by the Astronauts Themselves

Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Virgil Grissom, Walter Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton

An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Col. Chris Hadfield

Probably my favorite contemporary astronaut biography. It is funny and so conversational I felt like we were sitting around his kitchen table.

Live from Cape Canaveral: Covering the SpaceRace From Sputnik to Today by Jay Barberre

Another book that I truly loved from a reporter who was on site for every single launch. I had the honor of doing a joint book signing with him in 2014 and listening to his stories was a once in a lifetime experience.

Neil Armstrong: A Life of Flight by Jay Barbree

Having known Armstrong for 50 years, Barbree has a unique perspective on the life and achievements of this pioneer. Written in a style that makes the reader feel they are hearing an account from a close friend, this is an excellent read.

Before Liftoff: The Making of a Space Shuttle Crew by Henry S.F. Cooper Jr

This book helped me get the lay of the land at JSC as well as what the day-to-day training for a mission looked like. I was glad I had read it before meeting Astronaut Jon McBride so I had some specific questions that weren’t answered in the book. An invaluable tool for understanding how astronauts trained and getting a lay of the land out at Johnson Space Center.

The Space Shuttle Operator’s Manual

I picked this up on eBay. My dad had one but he tossed it when he moved.This is an interesting guide that’s only available as a used book. If you want to know specifics about the layout of the Space Shuttle, procedures during launch, how to put on a spacesuit for extravehicular activity and more, this is a good starting place.

The Last Man on the Moon by Eugene Cernan and Don Davis

I was in Houston researching Destiny’s Call at the time this legend passed away. As with most other astronaut memoirs, you see the portrait of a driven individual but you also get a glimpse at his family and what they sacrified, as all military families do, to support Cernan’s dream.

Spacewalker by Jerry Ross

A classic tale of one man’s dream of space and how he made it to the astronaut corps. His descriptions of spacewalks and time on the International Space Station provided interesting insight.

Report to the President by the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident

How We’ll Live on Mars by Stephen Petranek

This is a high-level look at what it will take to get humanity to a colony on Mars. It’s a great springboard for thinking about the challenges that lie ahead and how we can overcome them.

How to Make a Spaceship by Julian Guthrie

From the days of Charles Lindbergh to the first successful launch of SpaceShipOne and the many attempts in between, this is a detailed account of teams around the world striving to achieve private launch success. I loved learning about the many teams that competed for the Prize, awarded in 2004, and the enduring desire to explore space.

Packing for Mars by Mary Roach

From the title one would think this is about getting to Mars, but it’s more about the history of the program, and is rather disjointed at that. There are some funny stories and she strips away a lot of the glamour associated with astronauts.For research purposes, I found this book invaluable int providing details about jobs astronauts do when they aren’t training for an assigned flight, training simulators, food on orbit, and other every-day details.

Endurance: My Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly

This book has great detail about life aboard the Space Station, training with the Russians, and launching from Russia aboard a Soyuz compared to a Space Shuttle launch.

Leaving Orbit by Margaret Lazarus Dean

This is an account not just of the final three Space Shuttle launches, but how each impacted the author and the personal loss those who worked on the program felt as it came to an end.

The Silence and the Salvage by Lamar Russell

I picked up a copy of this at the US Space Walk of Fame Museum and I’m glad I did. This is an insider’s account of searching for the remains of Columbia and the months of work that went into reconstruction to help understand what went wrong. My dad was on the reconstruction crew at Kennedy Space Center, one of the workers intimately familiar with the pieces, specifically of the crew cabin. Reading these stories of the pieces being recovered and shipped to Florida helped me grasp the emotional toll that reconstruction work took on my dad and everyone else involved.

Bringing Columbia Home by Michael Leinbach and Jonathan Ward

This book, along with Silence and Salvage, helped me come to terms with my own anger toward NASA for the tragic loss of Columbia. It is gut wrenching at times to read about the amount of debris that was found, both large and small pieces. This book was pivotal in helping me provide a very high-level look at the recovery effort in Legacy, the final book of the Jessie Cole Trilogy.

Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration by Buzz Aldrin

As one of the few men to walk on the moon, it must be baffling to Aldrin how humanity hasn’t progressed further in space exploration. This book lays out how he believes trips to Mars could be accomplished. Dreams like Aldrin are what drove our initial success in space and are our only hope for moving beyond low earth orbit.

The Case for Mars- The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must by Robert Zubrin

From propellant and trajectories to how we can create fuel for return launches from Mars, Zubrin covers it all. There are a lot of technical details that I don’t completely comprehend but sound logical to me. In some ways Zubrin is a controversial figure, but I have to wonder if that isn’t partly because he pushes against the boundaries of the establishment and dares to dream big. There has been a great deal of stagnation in exploration and his frustration with that comes through in this book.

Undaunted and Destiny’s Call are available on Amazon as well as most online retailers.

Available Now for Pre-Order

Legacies are woven that bind fate or ignite dreams.

Jessie Cole worked hard to rise from humble beginnings to achieve his dream of becoming an astronaut. He didn’t think he’d face a more difficult challenge until he became a father. Now, he must weigh his decisions and endeavor to raise his children with the values of faith, perseverance, and love that shaped his own life.

Mariana Cole has gazed up at the heavens with wonder since infancy. Tales of her father’s trips to space feed her curiosity and drive her to understand why humanity hasn’t traveled beyond our own moon. Will she follow her father’s path or blaze her own trail to change the trajectory of space exploration?

Caselli Family Series Blog Tour

We are hosting Ta’mara Hanscom’s blog tour and she has two books to share! The Caselli Family novels first came to my attention on Twitter. I visited the author’s website and definitely wanted to read at least the first book. I downloaded The Pretender: A Blackguard in Disguise, in November 2017 while deep into my Christmas reading fest.

I was tempted to read it right away, but resisted. I was buried in Christmas stories and needed to wade through them before the season was over. As I flipped the final page of my last holiday novel, I was excited to move on to The Caselli family. Between binging on Hallmark movies and Christmas novels, I was ready for a story with some “meat.”

My official, sort of review. 😆

The Caselli family consisting of two parents, three sons and a baby on the way, emigrated from Italy in 1956. The baby, Tillie was the delight of the family and her brother’s nicknamed her Angel. As she grew up, she became a talented artist whose paintings caught the emotions of the subjects. She was also an obedient Italian daughter, that is until the day she went to a Junior Artist of American competition and became obsessed with Noah, a wild young man with a troubled past and a motorcycle.

Angel returns home full of hope, but soon a misunderstanding breaks her heart and a long time friend vies for her hand.

The interactions of the Caselli family were real as they faced their own challenges. The brothers knew that something was troubling their Angel, but had no idea how to help her. I enjoyed this book and hope to find time to read the next one in the series, Pit of Ambition. I do hope Angel finds true love and happiness!

Now the official blurb:

The Pretender: A Blackguard in Disguise is the first volume of 5 in the family epic series The Caselli Family Series. It begins in South Dakota in 1975 where eighteen-year-olds could order 3.2 beers in a bar and loaded guns were kept under the counter. Frankie Valli sang My Eyes Adored You, and American soldiers returning from Vietnam struggled with their new reality.

It’s within this tumultuous season of American history that Tillie Caselli meets Noah Hansen, and they are never the same again. Their lives were mysteriously intertwined – and had been for many years – yet they had no idea.

From the moment they met, Tillie and Noah wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, but a deliberate omission will keep them apart – and that same omission will be responsible for the escape of a murderer, and a bride’s deception.

These compelling stories are interwoven with Biblical truths and light-hearted, real life events from the author’s own past. Easy to understand and relate to, as well as encouraging.

One of the brothers, Marquette, with his flowing ponytail and larger than life personality captured my curiosity so I asked the author for a character interview.

Character Spotlight Marquette

I was born in what some would consider a shack, but I loved our home in Castellina, Italia, which is located in Chianti. We were poor farmers, but my parents provided good food and clothing. We acquired running water and electricity when I was about ten years of age. My brothers and I used to sleep together in one room, until our parents decided we were old enough and they allowed us to sleep in the barn. We wanted for nothing in those days. But God had so much more planned for us. He knew that the valley could offer us only poverty and wine, and by the time I was fifteen years of age He’d begun the tender creation of our little sister. It was then our father decided to bring us to America.

It was November of 1956 when we made the move, and I could barely speak English. My parents put me in a public school in the heart of the Midwest, and I had to work part-time in their ristorante. I was very depressed at the time because I had left my only true love, Tara, behind in Italia. And after only a month in America we learned that she had died in a terrible train crash in Rome. Those were dark days for me.

I excelled in math as a young man, which is how I broke into the business of investigating. I was challenged with a secret code used by the evil Ponerello family of Sicilia. I broke the code in 1968, shortly after a great earthquake had hit the island. In breaking the code I was able to lead authorities in the capture of thirty-eight of the evil Ponerellos. That single event launched what has been a prosperous and rewarding career for me. And it was also during that very investigation that I learned of the heinous plot to keep me away from my Tara.

I found my Tara, alive and well, in Chicago, and we were married within weeks. She now travels with me wherever I go, and has proven to be an articulate investigator in her own right.

Two of the Ponerellos have never been captured. They elude me still, and that troubles me to my core. I know they are here somewhere in the United States, and I will keep searching for them until I find them.

Sounds good? I think so. Ta’Mara is generously offering a $50 Amazon gift card! There are many different ways in the Rafflecopter to enter. The more you choose, the better chance you have of winning.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The second book in the series I haven’t read yet but I hope to read it soon. I miss the Casellis!

Pit of Ambition is the second volume of 5 in the family epic series The Caselli Family Series.

Five years have passed since Noah and Tillie’s “chance” meeting. They’ve married other people by now, and are both beginning their families.

In the pursuit of professional and political success, Alex runs headlong into a pit of pride and ambition…and Giuseppe begins to hate the husband he chose for his daughter.

Alex and Noah are doing business on many fronts, which will bring Noah to town for an unintended meeting with Giuseppe. Tension abounds as he attempts to conceal his daughter’s identity from Noah.

Alex strays when Tillie needs him the most, and it’s Noah who will bring him home. But, instead of learning Tillie’s identity, he connects with her brothers, especially Marquette.

Unbeknownst to Noah, his new foreman is a member of the crime family Marquette has sought since 1968.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HT5IZHO/

I think you will enjoy this except from Pit of Ambition.

Maggie sighed and shook her head as she glanced at the haunting painting that still hung in her bar…It was the spring of 1975, only five years ago, and she had been so beautiful…The name of the painting was Obedience, and it was a very dramatic depiction of a woman, whom Angel had claimed was her mother, with an old horse. Maggie had bought it at an art show from the girl who’d claimed to be Angel. Tucked in the frame was a snapshot Maggie’s sister, Estelle, had taken of Noah and Angel standing together at the bar. That had been her last night in town and Noah had fallen in love. In fact, Angel had agreed to marry him before she left.

Maggie let out her breath as she studied the painting. Noah hasn’t had a drink since you left…you’d be so proud of what he’s done with his life.

Estelle came out of the kitchen and noticed Maggie’s pensive stare.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about, Maggie?” she asked, even though she knew the answer, because Estelle thought about it every day, too.

Maggie slowly shook her head and looked at her sister. “Nothin’, baby.”

Estelle only nodded…Why don’tcha just pray about it, Maggie, and get it over with?

Maggie glanced at the corner booth and shook her head. Mona had met Estelle in the bar once a week for the last two years. They read their Bibles and prayed together, and often invited Maggie to join them. Maggie always refused. She didn’t believe in God and had no desire to waste her time reading about Him. She softly snorted as she watched them…This is the dumbest thing Estelle’s ever done.

About the Author

I was born and raised in South Dakota, and I love her people and rich history. For many years I’ve also had a deep love for Italy and her colorful chronology. I was fortunate enough to visit Italy on my 25^th wedding anniversary, and I added some of the details of my travels to my fictional series The Caselli Family Series.

My favorite sport is baseball – Detroit Tigers – and I can’t wait until the next time I get to see them play in Comerica Park.

I live for the next family barbeque.

My husband and I own a national pizza franchise in Iowa, where we currently reside. We have three grown children and one grandson. We’ve rescued two cats and one Pomeranian.

I teach AWANA Cubbies and speak at women’s events.

www.TaMaraHanscomBooks.com.

https://tamarahanscom.wordpress.com/

https://www.facebook.com/TaMara-Hanscom-Author-473920855079/?ref=bookmarks

https://twitter.com/TaMaraHanscom?lang=en&lang=en

I hope you visit the other blogs on the tour where you will find more reviews as well as character spotlights, author interviews and excerpts. PLUS you can enter the giveaway more than once!

February 26

Bookish Orchestration – Introductory post

Rachel Rossano’s Words – Author Interview

Adventures in Publishing – Author Interview

Rebekah Lyn Books – Book Review and Character Spotlight

February 27

Simply Kelina – Book Review

Letters from Annie Douglass Lima – Character Spotlight

February 28

Little Homeschool on the Prairie – Book Spotlight

Seasons of Opportunities – Book Review

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting – Book Review

March 1

Moments – Book Spotlight

Reader’s Cozy Corner – Book Review

Fiction to Ignite Your Faith – Post from the author

March 2

New Horizon Reviews – Book Review

God’s Peculiar Treasure Rae – Book Review and Author Interview

Adventures Of A King Daughter – Book Review

March 3

Bookish Orchestrations – Giveaway Winner

A Review and Blog Tour~Just a Closer Walk

If you have read any mail order bride stories, you’ve probably noticed that even though the bride and groom never met each other, they are both genuinely good people. It’s a rare story that has a scam or a truly bad person either write or respond to the mail order bride advertisement. Faith Blum took that rare theme and wrote three novellas about five young ladies duped into becoming mail order brides only to find out the men they were supposed to marry weren’t what they had appeared in the letters. The first of those novellas just released on June 26th and Faith is here today to share a little about it.

About the Book

I am weak, but Thou art strong/Jesus, keep me from all wrong/I’ll be satisfied as long/As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Katie and Joanna meet on a train headed to Cheyenne, Wyoming. They start talking and find out they are both headed there to become mail order brides. They quickly become good friends. When they get on a stagecoach with three other young women, Katie becomes suspicious. What is going to happen to them? Or is it really possible that nothing untoward is happening?

Buy on Amazon

My Review of Just a Closer Walk

I have read other books by Faith Blum and enjoyed her stories of life in the old west. Mail order brides in the era of western expansion were a viable method for men in remote locations to secure a wife. The women who chose this adventure were brave souls or foolhardy, but the novels written about them always end in a match being made. In this novella, the author threw in a twist that leaves the women in the lurch. Fortunately, there are good people in the town who provide a safe place for Katie and Joanna. They each have a past, one a secret past and the other fleeing an odious suitor. The two soon become friends, sharing their fears as well as their dreams. In the process of finding their place in town as well as love, their faith in Christ grows stronger as they encourage each other to seek God and grant Him control of their lives.

Continue reading “A Review and Blog Tour~Just a Closer Walk”

Go West~The final chapter

Chapter 57 the final chapter

Go West

by DiVoran Lites

Chapter Fifty Seven

The Final Chapter

Ellie

After supper, Ellie changed into work shoes so she could help clean the kitchen. She then walked out the back door to breathe some cool air. The moon spread its light over the fence, the barn, and the mountains. She should have been exhausted after all the excitement of the past few days, but at first, she felt exhilarated and restless. She was glad she and Aldon weren’t enemies anymore, but now they would go their separate ways, she with her grandparents and he to take over Bill’s job in Hollywoodland so he could send money home. She knew, though that he was excited about working with horses. A sense of loss washed over her. What could life possibly be without Aldon? The answer came: without Aldon, life was nothing.

“How about a ride in the moonlight?” Aldon came out of the house pulling the screen door closed behind him.

“I’d be delighted,” she said forcing herself to sound cheerful. If these were their last moments together, she wanted him to remember her as a strong woman, not a fussy feminine chit who could cry and embarrass him.

In the barn, they saddled Chief and Summer and decided to allow Sunrise to follow along. No need in leaving him so that he would whinny for the rest of the evening calling the mare.

Ellie knew that if she didn’t go back inside and change, she’d have to ride in her chiffon dress. If, however, she left Aldon waiting while she changed, someone else would come along and claim his attention.

He cupped his hands so she could use them as a stirrup. He boosted her into the saddle. As she settled in she pulled her skirt down so he wouldn’t see her knees, but then a heady surge of freedom replaced her embarrassment. So what if Aldon saw her knees?

Ellie had no idea where they were heading as they rode upward. She just wanted to be with Aldon. When the road became a trail, she fell back and let him take the lead. Looking at his straight back in the moonlight she gave a sigh of thanksgiving. If there was ever anyone, anywhere, that she wanted to be friends with, it was Aldon.

At the beginning of the trail that led to the warm spring, Ellie pulled back on Summer’s reins and the horse paused. “This is where we got kidnapped,” Ellie said

Aldon half turned in the saddle to look back at her. He locked his eyes with hers. “That’s all over. You’re with me now

She tapped the mare’s belly with her heels. Yes, she knew she was safe with Aldon. He’d protect her with everything he had in him. When they arrived at the pond, the well-trained horses waited for the couple to dismount before they began to graze.

“Do you ever feel sorry for horses not being able to lie down to sleep?” She asked dropping the reins in order to “ground-tie” the mare and dismounting.

“I never thought about it,” Aldon said as they approached a fall of boulders at the edge of the spring. “Their knees lock, you know, to keep them upright. Would you like to dangle your toes in the spring?”

“Oh, yes,” said she. “I’ve heard so much about it. I’ve never been in a warm spring before. I always love the water.”

Aldon steadied her as she sank onto a big rock then he knelt to remove her shoes. He looked at her silk stockings as if he didn’t know what to do with them. Not at all shy, which surprised her, she reached under the skirt to release the garter tabs and showed him how to roll the stockings down. He finished the first one, pulling it off her foot, and he stuck the roll into his shirt pocket. She could see that her feet looked pale in the bright moonlight.

“Your feet,” he said taking one in both hands. “They’re so beautiful.” He lowered his head and kissed the top of it. His eyelashes tickled and she sighed. When he looked up at her, the reflection of the moon caught in his eyes and gave them a shine like that of a sweet and vulnerable child’s.

“Oh,” she thought. “He truly loves me. He loves me as much as I love him.” Warmth spread through her entire body as peace filled her soul. She sighed.

He drew her to her feet and lifted her so he could carry her. Her arms slid around his neck as she snuggled against him with her head on his shoulder. Heedless of his boots, he walked into the water. It soon crept as high as her waist. She was bathed in joy. From somewhere she thought she heard a melody. Overhead, the stars swirled like dancing angels.

“Ellie, Honey,” he said, his deep voice resonating in her ear. “Do you know that I love you more than life?”

“I know,” she answered breathless. “I’m so glad.”

“Why?” He asked.

“What do you love about me?” she questioned him ignoring the fact that he had asked first.

“Your eyes, your hair, your long slender limbs, your smile, your sweetness, your sense of humor, your excellence in everything you do, your kindness, your courtesy, your willingness to be a servant to all”

“Stop!” She said, laughing. “That’s enough!”

“But none of that matters. It’s you I love and always will, no matter what.”

“How do you know?” she asked charmed and receptive.

“It’s the way I’m made. Good old Aldon, steady as a plow horse, sets his mind to something, goes straight at it, and keeps plowing until his days come to an end… until death do us part.”

“Maybe we’ll never die,” she said.

“My love for you will never die, because God put it in my heart. He wants you to be my mate for life. Would you consider that, big-city girl? I don’t have a lot of this world’s goods to offer, but I know I can make you happy.”

“Yes, I would consider it.” She pondered, holding her breath. She then made him wait while she counted to ten. “Yes, I’ve considered–I will be your mate for life.”

“Yippee-e-e,” his voice rose into a triumphal yell that echoed off the boulders. They had come to a deep place in the pond and Ellie felt her body grow light as if she would float right out of his arms. Aldon stepped into a hole and began to sink. There was nothing either of them could do, he lowered her into the water in time for her to stand on the bottom. He bent his head. She lifted her face to his. His mouth touched hers. They stood immersed in each other until her whole body was tingling. She wished he could hold her like this forever. She opened her eyes and saw over his shoulder that cloud sized green lights waved above the peaks. She had heard that sometimes the Arora Borealis could be seen from the pond. It was the seal of God’s love and approval on their approaching union.

The End

elegant lines

Epilogue

The same Sunday, Pastor Rudd performed the marriage ceremony in the church in town. The entire community attended. The bride wore a creamy satin dress decorated in imported lace loaned to her by her employer. She carried a small Bible borrowed from her mother. A silver dollar nestled in her pocket, and tiny, blue ribbon- rosettes held her veil at her temples. The groom wore a Western suit and a new pair of tooled boots that Ellie’s grandfather had brought from the store in Chicago.

On Monday they loaded their horses in the train and began the long journey to California, making plans as they went. Ellie knew that her family would soon follow, but they would buy a place nearby so they could still be a family.