Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Krakover.
Hi Jamie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m a Rocket Scientist by day and an Author by night. I always loved math and science and was fascinated with space growing up. I wanted to be an astronaut. I also hated to write. In first grade, I used to sit at the kitchen table and cry because I didn’t know how to finish the story starters they sent home and thought my ideas were dumb. Meanwhile, my younger sister would dance circles around the table, spouting one idea after the next, driving me crazy. As I got older, my love for science and math (and space grew). While I occasionally found books I liked, I never saw my passion for writing. When I considered degree options in high school, my mom encouraged me to consider engineering. While my Dad was an engineer, I had no idea what engineers did. So, my mom signed me up for a summer program at Missouri S&T. They took us into a lab and pulled on a steel rod, explaining the behaviors it exhibited as it stretched and eventually broke with a bang. I thought it was the coolest thing. From then on, I was hooked on engineering. When I got to Purdue and considered majors, I learned I could combine my love of space with engineering and pursue aerospace engineering. On the first day of my sophomore structures class, the professor showed us a video of a structural test on a 747 wing where they bent the end until it broke. I was again in awe, cementing that I had found the right calling. But when I worked full-time for a few years and read a lot of young adult literature, I started to play with ideas and characters and write my own stories. Admittedly, they weren’t great at first, but I was able to hone my craft and combine my love of engineering with my writing, mainly focusing on women in STEM in my stories. I originally started writing for fun but eventually wanted to seek out publication. After about 8 years of writing and seeking out representation, I was able to find an agent; unfortunately, she left agenting 6 months after I signed with her, so I ended up changing directions and self-publishing my Young Adult Sci-Fi book Tracker220 through an indie co-op Snowy Wings Publishing and the sequel Authority comes out 8/20/2024.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road for either of my careers. For writing, I spent 8 years finding a literary agent to champion my book. When she initially reached out, it was to request a revision and resubmit (she offered notes; if I resonated with them, I could revise based on those notes and submit my new manuscript based on those suggestions). It paid off because the agent eventually offered, but six months into our journey, she left agenting for another role in publishing. I felt lost on my journey. Ultimately, I decided to do something for myself, which was self-publishing my book. On the engineering side, engineering is not an easy career, and being a woman in a male-dominated field is always challenging. One of my biggest struggles was getting a D as a final grade in a class in college. (The story is outlined here: https://alltogether.swe.org/2019/02/finding-confidence-in-engineering/) I also had to take extra steps to be heard, prove myself as an engineer, or face adversity. But joining the Society of Women Engineers was a turning point in my career to find other strong women who had faced the same challenges but were banding together to share stories and advice.
Thanks for sharing that. Can you tell us more about your work next?
I write Middle Grade and Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy as an author. I love marrying my STEM career with my writing and using stories to show young, solid women in STEM. I also enjoy mixing my Jewish roots into my stories and playing with how it intersects with technology. My favorite question to use when I write is “What if?” That question, ‘What if we never got lost again?’ launched my YA sci-fi TRACKER220. Going through the whole process of writing and self-publishing my book was one of my proudest accomplishments, especially since I knew very little about the self-publishing process when I started. But one of the most incredible life goals I ever knew I had occurred recently. It began in 2021 when a fellow aerospace engineer and indie author started a Writers on the Moon project. She bought cargo space on Astrobotic’s Peregrine One Lunar lander, the first commercial lander. The payload of a single SD carrying hundreds of authors’ work, including my book, would land on the moon and become a time capsule. Fast forward to January 2024. The lander launched aboard a Vulcan rocket. It was a beautiful night launch, and everything looked great. But once the lander reached space, it was struggling to orient toward the sun so it could charge its batteries. Against many odds, the team could orient the craft to sun-facing, but the craft was leaking fuel. The crew thought they had about 30 hours of fuel. Against all odds, the craft made it to cislunar orbit (but the moon was not there, nor was it planned to be for that approach). I headed back to Earth to slingshot around Earth, then headed to lunar orbit and met with the moon. Against all odds, the lander’s remaining fuel well exceeded expectations. Alas, it did not have enough to land on the moon safely. Ultimately, Astrobotics let the lander return home and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. And while the time capsule never reached the moon, seeing my book launch into space was realizing a dream I never knew I had come true.
What matters most to you? Why?
My family, which includes my chosen family, is essential to me. I love helping others be successful and find and walk the paths they are passionate about. This is why I spend a lot of time mentoring others, especially women in engineering, to help them succeed in their careers. I want to ensure that the people behind me follow a path with fewer obstacles than mine.
Pricing:
- Tracker220 Hardcover – $1.7.99
- Tracker220 Paperback – $12.99
- Tracker220 Ebook – $3.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jamiekrakover.blogspot.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamiekrakover/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rockets2Writing
- Other: https://bsky.app/profile/rockets2writing.bsky.social
