Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway: One Giant Leap by Ben Gartner

Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for One Giant Leap by Ben Gartner. This book tour was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt from the book as well as a guest post about where the author gets his ideas for his characters. There's also the tour wide giveaway for a chance to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card. Be sure to visit the other stops on the tour for more content. Enjoy!

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Title: One Giant Leap

Author: Ben Gartner

Publisher: Crescent Vista Press

Publication Date: February 21st 2023

Print Length: 235 pages

Genre: Middle Grade Science Fiction Action Adventure

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"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:

The absence of any sound after the turbulent ride up was all-encompassing. I heard my own breathing, my heart pounding.

No one spoke.

Then it hit me.

I did it. Something I’d dreamed of all my life and I was here in outer space.

I felt lighter.

Literally. I was weightless.

I swallowed, which required a little force to do. It made me chuckle. Just giddy, I guess.

It was amazing.

Everyone stared out the windows together, down at Earth skimming below. We were over some stretch of brown land, a desert, laced with a river that reflected the sunlight. I wondered if it was the Nile in Egypt.

Tilting my head up, I could see the horizon and the thin blue line of our atmosphere, no thicker than a layer of water on a bowling ball.

Amazing. I had a feeling I would be repeating that word a lot.

And I must admit, I got a little choked up seeing Earth in that way, for real, in person, right in front of me as one giant whole like never before. I’d seen pictures of this view, but just like photos of the mountains or a beautiful sunset, it’s never quite the same as it is in person.

You gotta try it.

I’d read about this inspirational moment, called the overview effect, of seeing fragile Earth from afar, but this time it was me experiencing it, personally.

Our precious little blue marble hovering in space with millions of miles of nothing all around.

I imagined the billions of people below us. The activities and work they were doing, unaware that I was floating right above them, looking down.

Someone hugging their mom before school.

Someone reading a book, snuggled in bed.

Someone drinking water after a hard hike.

Someone crying because their dog ran away.

Someone laughing because their cat licked their nose.

I could see them all below me, in my mind’s eye.

It’s hard to describe, but it made me feel both large and small at the same time. Like a god’s view from the Aether, the upper sky. But instead of feeling like a god, I was reminded more of the people down there, and how I’m just like them, how we’re more alike than different. There are no borders visible from space. We’re all the same, reaching for the stars.

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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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GUEST POST:

- Where do you get your ideas for your characters?

I typically have a very rough idea of my characters when starting out, but the biggest influence on who they end up in the final draft is the plot outline and the themes on which I choose to focus. The characters are deliberately crafted to act as foils and emphasize the ideas being explored. For example, in One Giant Leap I wanted the main character, Fin, to be a brave, smart kid that other kids might aspire to be like. But then on the inside, I wanted to show that Fin did not in fact have it all together, that he was grappling with trauma just like everyone else – floundering adrift, if you will, subject to bouts of doubt and tantrums. Until he recognizes his own weakness, his own shortcomings and fear, and then admits that to a trusted friend, he can be redeemed. Thus begins his healing process. Now, if only he’d been able to figure that out before almost dying in space . . . ;)

The other characters also personify significant aspects of their emotional journey as well as noteworthy plot points. And I very much like to incorporate bits from the research into my characters. From little things like their names (which are often an homage to a real person, as enumerated in the ending. Author’s Note: Fact vs. Fiction) or their specialty that won them a seat on the StellarKid Project mission.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t also admit that my characters’ traits are drawn from my own personal experience, from what I see in others, and from what I want to teach my own children. None of the characters are direct portraits, of course, but there are subtle elements that might sneak into their consciousness from mine.

Character development is one of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of crafting a believable story, even when the plot is full of non-stop action. Especially when the plot is full of non-stop action! If the reader is not invested in the characters, then the action becomes pointless.

We are surrounded by an almost infinite variety of characters in our everyday lives, so there is no shortage of raw material from which to draw!

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GIVEAWAY:

Ben Gartner will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Good luck!

(All the Ups and Downs is not responsible for this giveaway, its entries, or the prize. Goddess Fish Promotions and the author assume all responsibility over this giveaway.)

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