Kemptville author's book being sent to the moon

An author from North Grenville, Ont., is going to be part of a small club of authors whose works will be sent to the moon.

Michael Blouinof Kemptville says he's been interested in space travel since the Apollo 11 mission that landed humans on the moon for the first time.

To be part of a group of hundreds ofauthors having their work immortalized within the vast expanse of space has him "gobsmacked."

"I take comfort in the fact that no matter what happens, it looks like my books will survive and be there," he said.

"I sometimes wake up at night and say 'Oh yeah, I'm going to the moon. Wow.' It's kind of amazing."

How it came to be

Blouin said he's been a lifelong fan of NASA and space exploration, so when the opportunity to get his work in theWriters on the Moon project came up, he had to take it.

Then around the deadline to apply, his house burned down.

Amidthe chaos of not having anywhere to liveand then moving into his son's house, he realized he'd missed his chance.

"I had missed the deadline to apply for this program for books to go to the moon by 12 hours and I was just kicking myself," he said.

"I lost everything and now I'd missed out on my chance to do something I'd always dreamed about doing."

Luckily a friend and author in Newfoundland, Carolyn R. Parsons, said she had managed to get some of her work included in the project and had enough space on her microdisk to include him as well.

When do thebooks go?

The NASA launch is scheduled for Feb. 25 at Cape Canaveralin Florida, which will see his book Skin House brought to the stars along with other works of independent fiction.

Blouin is getting the chance to see the launch.

"These launches sometimes get delayed due to technical reasons or due to weather," he said.

"But I'm hoping to give myself a big enough window that I'll actually be on site."

Blouin had some advice for people who aspire to write or create.

"Any young person aspiring in the arts just shouldn't give up. Keep trying," he said."Itcan be a tough go but it's worth every moment."

He's getting another of his books I am Billy the Kid up to the moon in 2024.