Rocket Boys - The Musical!

The story of Rocket Boys continues!
Believe it or not – the book is now being turned into a Broadway Musical.

Rocket Boys, a musical based on the NY Times #1 bestseller by NASA engineer Homer Hickam (also immortalized in the hit film, October Sky), has received a huge and overwhelmingly positive reaction from the musical theatre community since its initial stages.
Read all about it - here is a link to the website:

http://www.rocketboysthemusical.com/index.html

What We're Reading: Sky of Stone

Well, it's been a long and wonderful trip! I assume that we've all spent a lot of time (at least mentally) amongst the mountains and tipples of Coalwood, West Virginia. The last book in the series, Sky of Stone, is perhaps my favorite and well worth your time if you're done with the first two - Rocket Boys and The Coalwood Way. Sky of Stone picks up after Sonny's first year at college. He's looking forward to a summer spent with his mother at her new house in Myrtle Beach. However, trouble is brewing in Coalwood and he resigns himself to a vacation spent in his hometown, in the mines. There is a mystery he must unravel here, which culminates in the trials against his father after an accidental death. It seems as though all the residents of Coalwood are hiding something. Sonny begrudgingly takes on the task of finding out the truth.

This book, like the others, reads like a novel. I'm not saying it's untrue. Hickam has the amazing ability to take his real life and spin it into something that propels you to the edge of your seat. The last book reads like a good murder mystery. Sonny the rocket boy becomes Sonny the detective. Click on the link above to see if a copy is currently available at the Burbank Libraries.

After Rocket Boys...

If you've already finished our Burbank Reads selection, don't fret! For those who were sad to leave the Coalwood boys behind, you will be as delighted as I to discover that Homer "Sonny" Hickam actually wrote several memoirs. The next in this series of sorts is The Coalwood Way, which takes us back to his senior year. At first I was wary, thinking "No, I want to know what happens next". Well, there was more to this West Virginia mining town than the launching of rockets. When you read between the lines of the first story, as it were, and drill down further into the life of this boy and town during a particularly tumultuous period, the miracle of rocket flight will mean even more to you. What happens when a young man is searching for the cause of his sadness, the town rails against the Hickam family, and even murder finds its way into this close-knit community? Pick up The Coalwood Way and find out! Look for a review of Sky of Stone, the final book in this saga, in the coming weeks. I'm giving you all a chance to catch up. You're welcome.

Homer Hickam said . . .

What a wonderful honor to have Rocket Boys chosen for Burbank Reads! The book has been picked by hundreds of cities as their annual read but I have to say being selected by Burbank is especially meaningful. I am often in the area and have always admired your sweet city.

If I may, I would suggest you contact a couple of local folks to perhaps come by and chat at one of your gatherings: Chuck Gordon who produced October Sky and now heads up Daybreak Productions, and Mickey Freiberg of the Acme Agency who was and is my agent and steered my book to Universal Studios. Not sure if they're vailable but you never know. Of course, you can also see if Jake Gyllenhaal is in town, too! Yes, the movie is quite a bit different from the book but the people who made it definitely had their hearts in the right place and made very good film, one I'm proud to be associated with.

To contact me, just go to http://www.homerhickam.com and go to the Contact Us page.

Thanks again and best wishes for a successful Burbank Reads!

Homer Hickam
February 8, 2008 11:48 AM

Homer Hickam

Watch a clip of a speech by Homer Hickam @
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Check out Homer's Blog @ Homer Hickam Online