Liz Booker - Pilot, Writer, Aviation Diversity Advocate

Literary Aviatrix: The Power of Story - Women in Aviation

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Join Liz Booker as she interviews authors whose books feature women in aviation from across genres, historical periods, and types of flying, and be inspired by the tenacity, adventure, and courage of our sisters in the air. * Liz not only promotes books featuring women in aviation, but also provides the tools and information for other women to tell their stories. Check out Writers' Room interviews for in-depth discussions on writing, publishing, and book promotion. * Liz is a retired Coast Guard helicopter pilot and writer, and host of the Aviatrix Book Club, Aviatrix Writers' Group, an...

Author

Liz Booker - Pilot, Writer, Aviation Diversity Advocate

Episodes

AN15: Publisher Brook Warner of SheWrites Press and Sparks Press on hybrid publishing 14.05.2023 9:51

Send us Fan Mail In this portion of my interview with publisher Brooke Warner of SheWrites Press and Sparks Press, we do a deep dive into hybrid publishing. Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Bookshop.org affiliate links on my website? If a book is available on Bookshop.org, you'll find a link to it on the book page. By shopping through the...

WP30: General aviation pilot Erin Seidemann on the fun and not-so-fun aspects of being a woman in aviation 13.05.2023 8:36

Send us Fan Mail In this excerpt from my interview with general aviation enthusiast and pilot Erin Seidemann about her book Postcards from the Sky: Adventures of an Aviatrix, we talk about how being a young woman in her twenties who owned an aircraft made her relatively popular with the fellas, and she writes about some of the fun aspects of that in the book. We also talk about some of the not so...

WP29: Bush pilot and author of the memoir THEY CALLED ME SKY HUNTER, Myriam Huser, talks about how a relationship in her twenties delayed her progress as a pilot 09.05.2023 6:39

Send us Fan Mail In this excerpt from my interview with Myriam Huser about her memoir They Called Me Sky hunter, about how a relationship in her twenties held her back from pursuing her dream to fly. You’ll be happy to know Myriam is thriving as a pilot today, and just headed out for another season of fire-fighting in the Canadian Bush. Her book was recently released in audio format. Did you kn...

AN14: Author and writing professor, Lauren Kessler, talks about how, as a narrative non-fiction writer, she might approach research for memoir 07.05.2023 6:14

Send us Fan Mail In this Writers' Room portion of my interview with author and writing professor Lauren Kessler , we talk about how she might approach the question of memory in memoir writing. Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Bookshop.org affiliate links on my website? If a book is available on Bookshop.org, you'll find a link to it o...

Three-Eight Charlie publisher Wendy Hollinger, children's author Nancy Roe Pimm, and round-the-world solo pilot Shaesta Waiz talk about Jerrie Mock's inspiring record-setting flight 02.05.2023 53:36

Send us Fan Mail In April, the Aviatrix Book Club discussed Three-Eight Charlie: 1st Woman to Fly Solo Around the World – 1964, by Jerrie Mock. I was thrilled by the enthusiasm about the story from our members, and very pleasantly surprised by how well the book was written. It truly has broad appeal and will entertain audiences from avgeeks to young adults to Better Homes and Gardens fans. I am so...

WP28: Author Ann McCallum Staats talks about the women pilots and astronauts she highlights in her biography collection High Flyers, including Army helicopter combat veteran, Purple Heart recipient, and U.S. Senator, Tammy Duckworth 27.04.2023 7:33

Send us Fan Mail In this excerpt from m y interview with Ann McCallum Staats about her middle-grade biography collection HighFlyers: 15 Inspiring Women Pilots and Astronauts, she introduces the book and does a reading about Army helicopter combat veteran, Purple Heart recipient, and U.S. Senator, Tammy Duckworth. Senator Duckworth was an Army Blackhawk pilot whose aircraft was shot down in Iraq in...

WP27: Airline pilot and SPCA volunteer Erin Mariah Murphy talks about animal air rescue and her picture book Halfway Home 25.04.2023 11:50

Send us Fan Mail In this portion of my interview with Erin Mariah Murphy about her picture book, Halfway Home, she talks about how pilots, volunteers, and donations can support animal air rescue. You can find more info at Erin's website www.erinmurphybooks.com . Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Bookshop.org affiliate links on my websi...

AN13: LGBTQ+ romance writer and retired Air Force and airline pilot Julie Tizard talks about conflict in storytelling and we both share how we seek and find inspiration to fuel our creativity 22.04.2023 11:06

Send us Fan Mail In this portion of my Writers’ Room interview with Julie Tizard about her military lesbian romance novel, The Road to Wings , she starts off talking about developing conflict for her fictional characters and then we transition to talking about where we draw our creative inspiration. Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Books...

WP26: Retired Air Force Colonel and U2 pilot, Merryl Tengesdal, talks about her path from the Bronx to an electrical engineering degree to U.S. Naval Aviation 13.04.2023 7:25

Send us Fan Mail In this clip from my interview with Merryl Tengesdal , author of Shatter the Sky: What Going to the Stratosphere Taught Me about Self-Worth, Sacrifice, and Discipline she talks about how her dream of becoming an astronaut led her to join the U.S. Navy where she flew as an H60 helicopter pilot before transitioning to the U.S. Air Force to fly the U-2. Did you know you can suppor...

WP25: Bush pilot Myriam Huser talks about the joys and challenges of flying humanitarian missions in Chad with Air Serv. 11.04.2023 6:05

Send us Fan Mail This excerpt is from my interview with author Myriam Huser about her memoir They Called Me Sky Hunter . Myriam is a Swiss-Canadian pilot who has flown international missions in rugged locations around the Middle East and Africa, and most recently, fighting forest fires in the Canadian bush. In this excerpt, she talks about living in Chad and flying humanitarian service missions wi...

AN12: Book Publicist Jen Coburn talks timelines, costs, and the relationship between an author and her publicist. 09.04.2023 11:10

Send us Fan Mail We’re jumping ahead in the process in this excerpt from my interview with book publicist Jennifer Coburn . Once you publish your book, you’re probably going to want to sell it. Some publishers will include a budget for book launch promotion, and others won’t. In this clip, Jennifer, who is the author of eight of her own books, worked as Robing Kardon’s publicist for the launch of...

WP24: Author Kathy Mexted talks about how Deborah Lawrie fought a ground-breaking equal opportunity case in the Australian courts in 1980 to become the first female airline pilot in Australia. 23.03.2023 4:58

Send us Fan Mail In this excerpt from my interview with Kathy Mexted about her book, Australian Women Pilots , she talks about the battle that Deborah Lawrie fought in the Australian courts to be able to fly for Ansett Airlines in 1980. Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Bookshop.org affiliate links on my website? If a book is available on B...

WP23: Pilot, journalist, and author Kathy Mexted talks about Australian pilot Patricia Toole and her adventures flying in Papua, New Guinea as the first female commercial pilot in the 1950s. 21.03.2023 10:57

Send us Fan Mail In honor of the Australian Women Pilots Association conference, and my visit to meet the author this week, here is Kathy Mexted reading about Patricia Toole , who was the inspiration for her book, Australian Women Pilots: Amazing True Stories of Women in the Air. Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Bookshop.org affiliate link...

AN11: Thriller novelist and co-author of Niloofar Rahmani's memoir, Open Skies, Adam Sikes talks about the challenges of putting emotions on the page. 19.03.2023 9:04

Send us Fan Mail As military members, and/or as pilots, we are not accustomed to exposing our emotions, but in order for our stories to resonate with an audience, we need to make an emotional connection. Author Adam Sikes and I commiserate. Check out Adam's debut espionage thriller novel, Landslide . Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my B...

WP22: Historian Amy Shira Teitel talks about why she wanted to write the story of the women who tested for the early NASA space program with more context than was offered in previous tellings in her book Fighting for Space. 16.03.2023 5:06

Send us Fan Mail In this excerpt from my interview with historian and author Amy Shira Teitel , she talks about why she wrote the book Fighting for Space: Two Pilots and their Historic Battle for Female Space Flight. Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Bookshop.org affiliate links on my website? If a book is available on Bookshop.org, you'll...

WP21: Clare Mulley talks about the trail that led her to the hidden and untold story of Melitta von Stauffenberg (Schiller), and her role as a Nazi aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and resistor, which she juxtaposes with Hannah Reitsch in The Women who 14.03.2023 6:51

Send us Fan Mail In this excerpt of my interview with Clare Mulley , she talks about how she came to write the book The Women Who Flew for Hitler: A True Story of Soaring Ambition and Searing Rivalry, which is a narrative non-fiction dual biography of Hannah Reistch and Melitta Schiller. Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Bookshop.org affili...

AN10: General aviation pilot and author Erin Seidemann talks about her writing journey and the daunting process of publishing her memoir, Postcards from the Sky: Adventures of an Aviatrix. 12.03.2023 7:15

Send us Fan Mail In this excerpt from my Writers' Room discussion with Erin Seidemann, she talks about her writing journey, shares her thoughts on memoir, and talks about the challenges of getting published traditionally. Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Bookshop.org affiliate links on my website? If a book is available on Bookshop.or...

WP20: Pulitzer Prize-winning author Beverly Weintraub talks about the first women Naval Aviators, featured in her book, Wings of Gold, as we prepare to celebrate fifty years of women in Naval Aviation with the Blue Angels' performance in El Centro 09.03.2023 7:51

Send us Fan Mail In this excerpt from my interview with Beverly Weintraub about her book Wings of Gold, she talks about the inception of women in Naval Aviation in the early 1970's. Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Bookshop.org affiliate links on my website? If a book is available on Bookshop.org, you'll find a link to it on the book...

Aviatrix Book Club - March 2023: Captain Manisha M. Puri talks about Indian women in aviation history starting with their first licensed pilot in 1936, to today, as the global leader with 12% women in commercial aviation 08.03.2023 1:04:52

Send us Fan Mail Happy International Women's Day 2023! In this interview with Captain Manisha M. Puri, an accomplished airline pilot and author of the book, From Sarees to Stripes: True Stories of Commercial Pilots in India , we talk about her flying career, the history of women in aviation in India, and celebrate India's place as the world leader with 12% women pilots in commercial avia...

WP19: Amy Goodpaster Strebe talks about the similarities and differences between the WASP and the Night Witches' experiences as female pilots flying for their countries during WWII 07.03.2023 10:04

Send us Fan Mail In this excerpt from my interview with Amy Goodpaster Strebe , author of Flying for Her Country: The American and Soviet Women Military Pilots of World War II , she talks about the similarities and differences she discovered in her research. Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Bookshop.org affiliate links on my website? If a...

AN9: Award-winning Children and Young Adult author Sherri L. Smith talks bout her writing journey to publish the novel Flygirl about a fair-skinned black woman who passes as white to serve in the WASP 05.03.2023 10:53

Send us Fan Mail In this excerpt from my interview with ward-winning Children and Young Adult author Sherri L. Smith, she talks bout her writing journey to publish the novel Flygirl about a fair-skinned black woman who passes as white to serve in the WASP Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Bookshop.org affiliate links on my website? If a boo...

WP18: Author Mary S. Lovell talks about the vintage aircraft she owned that led her to the aviation pioneer and author of the book West with the Night, Beryl Markham, in Kenya. 02.03.2023 7:51

Send us Fan Mail In this excerpt from my interview with Mary S. Lovell , author of Straight on Till Morning; The Life of Beryl Markham , she talks about the vintage aircraft that she owned with her ex-husband, one of which was featured in the movie Out of Africa , and which led her to Berly Markham, famous as the first woman to cross the Atlantic solo in an aircraft ‘the hard way’ (from East to...

WP17: Author Keith O'Brien introduces his narrative non-fiction Fly Girls about the Women's Air Races of the 1920s and 1930s 28.02.2023 7:48

Send us Fan Mail In this excerpt from my interview with author Keith O'Brien , he introduces his book, Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History , and does a reading featuring Florence Kingensmith, whose story illustrates the very challenging times in which these brave women pursued their passion for aviation. Did you know you can support your local independe...

AN8: Professional editor-for-hire Marylin Noble talks about the different types of editing and the importance of hiring an editor 28.02.2023 6:00

Send us Fan Mail In this excerpt from my interview with ghost writer and editor Marylin Noble , we talk about structural editing versus copy and line editing, and the importance of hiring an editor, particularly if you self-publish. You can find Marylin at her website https://marilynnoble.com/ Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Bookshop.org a...

WP16: Merryl Tengesdal, former US Navy and Air Force pilot, talks about taking off and flying solo in the U2 Reconnaissance 'Dragon Lady' Aircraft 23.02.2023 7:03

Send us Fan Mail In this except from my conversation with Retired Air Forces Colonel Merryl Tengesdal, she talks about taking off in the U2 Reconnaissance aircraft with the assistance of 'pogos' - training wheels for the wings on this bicycle-gear configured aircraft with a 103' wingspan. Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Boo...