“I am a children’s book author and a few years ago, I scribbled out a new manuscript about kindergarten being a metaphor for an astronaut launching into a new adventure. I didn’t finish it then  – but tossed it in a drawer waiting for more inspiration. I had loved space as a kid which inspired the story. Then my best friend and her family moved to Orlando one summer and we went to visit them. We spent three days at the Disney parks and on the fourth day, she suggested we go to Kennedy Space Center.  I was hoping for one more day at the theme parks with our kids. But my husband was done with the theme parks and was excited to go.

Once I got there, I fell in love with space all over again…The astronaut suits, real moon rock, simulated mission, rocket garden, and recreated Mission Control re-inspired my interest and I went home and finished my manuscript and named it PLANET KINDERGARTEN.  I was hoping the book would get kids excited about space, but I found that I became more and more excited and involved in it. I started noticing the multitude of stars at night – and learned to spot the planets.  I remembered what it was like to watch that first moon walk on TV and shared it with kids at schools who had never seen it before and they were just as awed as I was as a kid…

Planet Kindergarten Illustration by Shane Prigmore

I went to visit NASA JPL, SpaceX, and NASA Armstrong where Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier. I read a dozen space books and  I went back to Kennedy Space Center for a rocket launch and I couldn’t believe that my book was actually at the NASA Space Shop. The mission got scrubbed a few times with some days in between. While sitting around waiting I wrote another manuscript to get girls excited about space…so I have to say that my writing has inspired my wanderlust and my wanderlust keeps inspiring my writing…”

– Sue Ganz-Schmitt

039/100 of #100DaysofConfessions Instagram Project