ANDY WEIR has always been fascinated by space travel and like most kids growing up wanted to be an astronaut. Instead, he wrote a book - The Martian - which he self published on Amazon in 2012. It went on to receive 1,500 reviews on Amazon, averaging 4.7 out of 5 stars, with similar success on Goodreads. The film rights have been bought by Fox. Andy hopes this will be the first of many trips into space.