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Launch of Space Shuttle Novel Coincides with NASA's Summer Launch

Fri, 23 Jun 2006, 21:30:00 EDT

Edited by Liisa Sullivan

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 23 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- "Shuttle Rising: Rendezvous with a Rumor" (ISBN: 0965721450), authored by NASA alumnus Charles Boyle, will launch on the same day that the space shuttle is scheduled to lift off - July 1, 2006.

"Considering NASA's decision to phase out the space shuttle by 2010," Boyle said, "I've written a tribute of sorts to the shuttle, its legacy, and its daring people."

"Shuttle Rising: Rendezvous with a Rumor," is a space adventure/thriller/romance set in the year 2030. The main character, astronaut Adam MacGregor, is sent to capture a mysterious derelict rumored to be the tomb of a cosmonaut from the early days of Soviet Space flight.

The U.S. President plans to televise its contents live to the world. By refuting Moscow's claim that no cosmonaut ever died in orbit, he will show that communists lie and cannot be trusted. At stake are wavering votes for a United Nations' treaty to inspect for weapons of mass destruction. Russia, recently returned to Communism, denounces the plan, saying, "The integrity of our word makes inspection unnecessary."

Moscow detects MacGregor's rendezvous and warns him to retreat. However, he presses on and discovers what the Communists have really been hiding: a sensational early space exploit that ended in tragedy.

As the Russians attack, MacGregor fights for his life and for a chance at undying love with an aroused enemy - a cosmonaut who revives from a personal experiment in preservation. However, reminiscent of leaving Shangri-La, Ylena will die if she leaves orbit; Earth's gravity will kill her.

Both nations, wanting to know the secret to Ylena's survival, send forces to capture the couple, who, defying orders to land, desperately seek options for a future together.

"It was so refreshing to find an old-fashioned love story tucked into a space adventure," one reader said.

After its nine years in the making, Boyle, a veteran of 32 years with NASA, is excited to share his novel with the world.

"One of the reasons it took so long," Boyle explained, "was that, while decades of writing for the government inspired me, it built a style I had to change. That meant learning novel writing, creating dialogue, and avoiding passive voice."

Boyle pursued this transition in writing styles through seminars, courses, critique groups and tubs of rough drafts.

"According to reviewers, 'Shuttle Rising' shows some gratifying results," Boyle stated.

The novel will be obtainable from all major book retailers, including Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. It is made available by distributors Ingram Industries, and Baker & Taylor.

Pat O'Connell, author of "Knight Hawk," had this to say: "This is a great palm sweater of a read from one of NASA's own."

Boyle completed his NASA career as the Educational Programs Manager for Earth Sciences at the Goddard Space Flight Center near Washington D.C. Prior to his NASA decades, he worked at Bell Labs, Esso, Scott Paper, Western Electric and US Steel.

Boyle is also the author of "Tailey Whaley," an illustrated children's book, and "Space Among Us," a 1970's classic forecasting some emerging effects of space research on society. His writings have appeared in "Science," and "Omni," and he served for a year as the space flight editor for the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology.

When Boyle is not writing about space, he enjoys scuba diving, sailboat racing and track. A self-described "Ancient Athlete," he is a National Senior Olympics gold medalist; in 2004, he set a new American age-group record in the USA Track & Field Masters 3000 meter racewalk.

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