Adam Higginbotham was touring with his first book when got the idea from a frequent question.
The New York Times bestselling author of "Midnight in Chernobyl," Higginbotham had spent years researching the April 26, 1986 explosion, which caused the worst nuclear disaster in history.
"People often asked me whether I remembered where I was when I heard the news about Chernobyl," said Higginbotham in an interview with collectSPACE.com. "And I always had to admit I didn't, but what I did remember very clearly was where I was when I heard about Challenger, which happened almost exactly three months before."
"So when I started looking for something to write for my second book, Challenger was already on my mind," he said.
"Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space" hit store shelves on Tuesday (May 14).
Related: Space shuttle Challenger and the disaster that changed NASA forever
