The four Cole boys suffer
abuse at the hands of an alcoholic father, while largely being left to their
own devices by a heartbroken and overworked mother. Their adventures on their
island home have become a welcome escape, and one of the only things in life the boys can
truly rely on. Jessie, the youngest and a
dreamer, become enamored with US plans for manned space flight and its race to
the moon, stirring his own dreams of one day becoming an astronaut. In a
strange twist of fate, it is
the space program and the momentum it gains that abruptly brings their beloved
island life to an end. The family is forced to move to the city and start anew.
Life in town creates new
challenges, financial pressures, news of the Vietnam War and the impending
threat of the military draft for Max the eldest of the Cole brothers.
Interview:
Your last three books were centered on female
lead characters. Why did you choose to write a story about teenage boys?
I have no idea! For the
most part, the characters choose me; most of my characters or plot ideas come
to me at night. As soon as I turn off the light I start getting glimpses of the
character or words start rolling around my brain. There is a letter from
Virginia in this book that came to me one night and I couldn’t get to sleep
until I got up and wrote it all down.
What was your biggest challenge writing about
teenage boys? Was it easy or difficult to relate to them? Did you discover
something about boys that you had never imagined?
In a lot of ways I think
writing about teenage boys was easier than any of my adult female characters. I
had a lot of guy friends in high school and college. My mom was so excited when
I was chosen to be a Resident Assistant in my college dorm my senior year,
thinking it would help me make more female friends. Instead I ended up in the
one co-ed dorm and had even more guy friends. Since I spent so much time around
these guys I learned what made them tick. I can’t think of
anything I discovered that I didn’t already know about boys.
Jessie’s
father is an alcoholic and your Beta readers indicated you are spot on in
explaining Jessie’s emotions regarding
his father. Where did that insight come from?
I was never exposed to
drunken behavior as a child, but I’ve always been a keen observer of human
nature. As an adult, I’ve seen my share of drunks, but, ultimately, I think the
details that have resonated with beta readers who’ve lived with
alcoholic parents were divinely inspired.
The race
for the moon was initiated by President John F Kennedy. What was the influence or inspiration to
entwine the space race in Jessie’s
life? I wanted to tell a story
about the town I grew up in, but needed an interesting angle and what could be
more interesting than the space program? Many families lived in small
communities on Merritt Island when the government chose to base the space
program there. The conflict of Jessie’s love for the space program and the loss of
their home because of the program was the first spark of inspiration for this
book.
This book only goes to the 1969 moon landing. Do
you plan a follow up on the lives of the four Cole boys?
I had a hard time deciding
where to end this book. I wanted to honor and recognize all of the brave men
and women who’ve dedicated themselves to space exploration, but didn’t want the book
to be the size of War & Peace. The moon landing was such a tremendous
milestone and emotional moment, not only in the United States, but also around
the world. The more I researched it and watched a variety of news reports on
it, the more it felt like the right spot to end this book. Once I settled on
that, a follow up storyline developed, so there will definitely be another book
coming, perhaps from a different character’s point of
view.
Set Back
April 25, 1961
Jessie stood at the edge of the playground with two other
boys, anxious for the next space launch. Recess would be over any minute. There
would be no time for a hold in the countdown. Two weeks earlier the Russians
had announced the successful launch of Yuri Gagarin
into space. Once again the Americans had been left behind but today’s launch would hopefully be the last before
America put their own man into space.
Jessie held his breath as the rocket appeared
above the trees. Then it happened. The plume of white smoke erupted
into a fiery ball, debris flying in all directions. Jessie didn’t wait for the teacher’s frantic call to take shelter in the school. He shook
his head and turned his back on the carnage. At the
door, the teacher gently laid a hand on his shoulder and gave him a sympathetic
look. Any other day and Jessie might have resented it, but he knew, today, it
had nothing to do with his father and the reputation he’d developed for himself the past couple of
years.
When school was out, Jessie dragged his feet
along the familiar path home. He kept walking when he came upon his brothers,
his head down, watching the sand shift beneath his worn-out sneakers.
“I heard the explosion.” Max draped an arm over Jessie’s shoulders. “Sorry.”
Jessie nodded.
“Maybe we should go out
to the beach, see if we can find any pieces,” Ricky suggested.
The thought turned Jessie’s stomach, but then he stopped. “That’s not a bad idea. I’d like to have
something to remember we at least tried to get to space.”
“Don’t talk like that,” Sam said. “We’ll get there, it’s just going to take
time.”
Jessie knew Sam was trying to be encouraging,
and so attempted a smile of thanks before shifting course across the large
field of scrub grass.
The boys spread out when they reached the beach. The tide
was low but turning. Jessie took the section closest to the water, knowing the
rising tide would cover it in another hour. The salty tang of sea spray filled
his nostrils and he inhaled, while his eyes and ears locked away every detail
of the sand and surf.
He saw a flash of light ten feet ahead and quickened his
pace, keeping his eyes on the spot. The ocean foamed up, then slowly retreated.
Jessie squatted down to find a silver and black triangle, partially buried in
the sand. Another wave rushed toward him, splashing over his feet and soaking
the bottom of his shorts. He held onto the metal afraid the undertow would pull
it out to sea. When the water receded, Jessie pulled the debris free of the
remaining sand. It was five inches tall and three wide. Turning it over in his
hands he noted scorch marks and part of what he thought might be the letter U
or A from the USA painted on the side of the rocket.
“Guys,” he
waved to his brothers.
Max arrived first. “What’d you find?”
Jessie handed him the piece of metal.
“Cool.” Ricky
joined them and reached for the newfound treasure.
“Good job, Jess.” Sam
clapped his brother on the back. “I didn’t think we’d find
anything that big.”
Jessie reached for the metal and traced the rough edges. “You don’t
think they will give up do you?”
Sam shook his head. "Since the Russians have gotten
into space already, I don’t see
how we can give up now."
"I hope they don’t.” Jessie tore his gaze away from his find and looked at
his brothers. “I want to be an astronaut."
Max laughed. "You can't be an astronaut."
"Why not?"
"Cause you gotta have money to be an astronaut. You
don't think Shepard and Grissom and all those other guys are dirt poor do
you?"
"Maybe they’re not
dirt poor, but they aren’t filthy rich. They were chosen because they were in the
military and had good records."
"So you gonna enlist when you turn eighteen? We'll
probably still be in that dag gum Vietnam and you'll go and get yourself killed
the first day in the jungle."
"Nuh-huh. I know how to take care of myself. I hide
from you in the woods all the time." Jessie balled his hands into fists
and planted his feet.
Sam stepped between them. "Cool it, Max. If Jessie
wants to be an astronaut, then maybe he can be. Lots of things are changing."
Max snorted. "Yeah, and I could be President."
"If that happens, then I'm moving to Mexico,"
Ricky quipped.
Jessie laughed and unclenched his fists. Yet again Sam
had brokered peace without anyone coming to blows. Maybe Sam was the one who
would become President.
Sam stepped back. “Let’s head home.”
“Did you hear Mom and Pop got another letter from the
government yesterday?" Max asked as they walked along the hard packed
sand.
"About what?" Jessie asked, turning up the
beach, shuffling through the soft sand to a well-worn path across the dunes.
Thick saw palmettos, sea grapes, and sea oats grew on either side of the path,
slowly thinning as the boys moved farther from the beach.
"About buying our land. They want to expand the
missile complex more. They've been buying up all the land around here."
Max swatted at a dragonfly buzzing around his head.
"But they already have so much land, what do they
need more for?" Jessie ducked under the wispy needles of an Australian
Pine tree, his brothers close behind.
"How'm I supposed to know? I didn't see the letter,
I just heard them arguing about it after we went to bed. Mom wants to take
their offer, but Pop doesn't want to move."
"I don't want to move either," Ricky agreed.
"I like being close to the beach and huntin' in the woods."
"I don't think we have much choice. Sounded like the
government letter said we take the offer or they'll just take the land away
from us."
"They can't do that," Jessie cried. "We've
lived here forever."
"Not forever, you moron," Max sneered.
"Mom and Pop only moved here during the war, when Pop got assigned to the
Banana River Naval Air Station."
"Still, that's practically forever." Jessie let
his fingers run through the thin pine needles as they emerged from the copse of
trees into a clearing.
"There are families that have lived here since the
1800s and they’re being bought out too. I don't think the government is
going to consider our twenty years here more important," Sam replied.
Jessie rolled his eyes. Leave it to Sam to know the
history of the island.
"But they can't just take our land," Jessie
insisted.
"Yes, they can, it's called eminent domain. If they
can prove to the court that private property is needed for public use and fair
compensation has been offered, the court will likely rule in favor of the
government."
"But this isn't public use," Ricky interjected.
"Yes and no." Sam leaned forward, obviously
warming to the subject. "A public park isn't being created, but the
research being conducted and the satellites being launched are for the public
good. Plus, the government will probably be able to make a pretty good case for
public safety. Think about how close this piece of the rocket landed to our
house. The government can use this incident and the others before as evidence
of danger to the people still living on this end of the island."
"All right, professor, we get it, but it still
doesn't mean I want to move," Ricky interrupted.
Up ahead, Jessie could see the orange grove that bordered
their land, and glanced back over his shoulder. He couldn’t see the beach through the trees, but it had taken less
than five minutes to stroll home. Sam was right. This one had been a little too
close for comfort.
About
The Author
Rebekah
is a Christian with a heart for new beginnings. She is a Florida native and a
graduate of Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, Fl. A love of history,
research and journaling led naturally to a passion for writing. She enjoys
travel and has traveled extensively across the United States and Canada as well
as Europe and the Caribbean. Her reading taste run from the classics to light
fiction. When she is not working or writing, she enjoys cooking, baking and
sharing recipes on her blog.
Her
current works include, Summer Storms and Winter's End, books one and two in The
Seasons of Faith series, and Julianne the first book in The Coastal Chronicle
series. She is currently working on Jessie a coming of age novel set in coastal
Florida during the early days of the United States manned space flight program.
Jessie is the second book in the Coastal Chronicles Series.
Connect
with Rebekah through:
Blog: http://www.rebekahlynskitchen.wordpress.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/RebekahLyn1
Facebook: http://facebook.com/authorRebekahLyn
Independent
Authors Network: http://www.independentauthornetwork.com/rebekah-lyn.html
Rebekah Lyn Books
Faith-Adventure-Hope
379 Cheney Highway #230
Titusville, Fl 32780
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