Where The Money Goes
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I was recently asked by Agence France-Presse to respond to a question many moon landing conspiracy theorists throw out, but which nevertheless contains an intriguing thought. If humanity could land on the moon using 1960s technology, why is it proving so hard to go back over half a century later?
The answers are fairly straightforward, but not what immediately comes to mind for most people. My response is in the company of some great experts here.
Rather than try and promote the books I have worked on because they are good reads (they are!) or to support my writing efforts as I work on more (although you want to do that too, right?) I thought I should mention where the proceeds go from many of them. If you are looking for a good cause to support — you can, and here's how.
For Apollo Pilot, all of the proceeds go to a fund to purchase books for Broward County Library in Florida. This library has a moon rock on display to honor Apollo astronaut Donn Eisele, at the wish of his widow, Susie. I'm proud to support this library, and it is heartwarming when every year I receive a letter saying how much more money was raised.
For my children's book Astronaut Al Travels to the Moon, written with Apollo astronaut Al Worden, my proceeds go to the Astronaut Al Worden Endeavour Scholarship Foundation, encouraging a new generation of engineers and explorers around the world. It's wonderful to see Al's legacy continue in this way.
As proceeds begin to come in from my latest, An Unlikely Astronaut, with space shuttle pilot Susan Kilrain, they will go to Earth Discovery Institute, a wonderful conservation group, and the National Ataxia Foundation, supporting a cure for this cruel disease.
Other proceeds from these and other books of mine support the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, and Kidscan children's cancer research. Additionally, my space work and donations support Higher Orbits, Elementary Institute of Science, Taking Up Space, and Novaspace. I encourage you to check out all of these links. If you already have all seven of my books — wonderful! I hope you'll now do even more to help support these good causes. Thank you!