I’ve had several book ideas swirling around inside of me for quite a while now, and I do believe the time is NOW to put it down on paper and release it to the world.

After several scrubbed book launch dates from July 20 through August 7, if all conditions are right this time, my first book will be self-published with a new release date of August 21st, early 2010 to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11.

The title of the book is: Reaching for the Moon and the Stars: The Legacy and Influence of the Apollo Generation and will include a collection of untold stories, unsung heroes and dreams fulfilled during that time period.

Inspiration From Everyday People In Our Lives
A lot of different factors came together at the same time to compel me to move forward with the idea of writing the book. My dad is one of the major inspirations for the book and I’ll be sharing his story and his influence along with other similar stories of regular everyday folks who happen to have played a part in the historic Apollo mission. I’ll also feature the stories of observers from the ground who remember watching that great moment and how it influenced the choices they eventually made in life and the examples that they have set for the next generation.

How Social Media Plays A Part
Although the book is not about Social Media, what I have been discovering over the last week or so, is the tremendous circle of influence and invaluable resources coming from my Social Media contacts, both old and new.

Connections Made Using Social Media
A connection on Twitter led to the influence of futurist Rod Pitman (@7thscreen), who has shared his vision and knowledge as a transmedia storyteller, which in turn, inspired me to conceptualize and create this project. In addition, interviews are well underway via phone, email and Skype with various people that I’ve connected with through Twitter and Facebook including Apollo experts, space enthusiasts, engineers and grown children of the original Apollo generation. I also met Rick Wolff, a graphic designer on Twitter who I’ve commissioned to design the book cover that you see above. There will be many other people to acknowledge in the next few weeks from both on-line connections, as well as off-line contacts, including my local printer in New Jersey who is on stand-by ready to print the book, research assistants following up with ISBN numbers, copyright and permissions, and others I have yet to meet who will assist with the many details that need to be taken care of.

Creating Reality: A Single Collective Vision
The learning curve is pretty steep since this is my first venture in writing and publishing a book but I look to the inspiration of the Apollo generation who did the most amazing thing of creating reality… by having many people focused on a single collective vision.

I hope to do the same thing, albeit on a much smaller scale, of seeing my published book in bookstores, in libraries, in classrooms and in the hands of children and adults alike, so the legacy can be passed along to future generations. In order to create this reality, I’ll need to rely on a little help from my friends… and all of us focused on a single collective vision.

What’s your vision? What’s your dream? Make connections, collaborate, create, share a collective vision using Social Media. Ask me how. I’d love to help.

~Eva Abreu
Email: eva {at} evaabreu {dot} com

Image from Flickr CC www.flickr.com/photos/19762676@N00/1225274637 thanks to austinevan