Literary Aviatrix: The Power of Story - Women in Aviation

Send us Fan Mail In this Writers' Room discussion with author Sandy Parks, she shares her journey from traditionally published author to creating her own imprint for self-publishing: True Airspeed Press, and talks about learning to do her own cover designs. Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Bookshop.org affiliate links on my website? If...

Send us Fan Mail In this interview with author Sandy Parks, we discuss her thriller/suspense novel UNDER THE RADAR: A TAKING RISKS NOVEL. The book features protagonist Joni Bell, who is a helicopter pilot tasked by her South African employer with retrieving critical information from neighboring Zimbabwe. This fast paced read was the April 2022 Aviatrix Book Club discussion book. Sandy is the autho...

Send us Fan Mail Amy Collins is a Literary Agent with 30 years of experience in the publishing industry. In the introduction to this interview I say that it's focused on traditional publishing, but in the first 30 minutes Amy imparts her wisdom on ALL of the publishing options, so I highly recommend you take a listen if you're considering how to send your baby into the world. In the rest...

Send us Fan Mail In this interview with Amy Shira Teitel, author of FIGHTING FOR SPACE, she talks about the research she did to write this dual biography, the proposal process, and the challenges of launching and promoting a book at the start of Covid. 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...

Send us Fan Mail In this interview with historian, author, and host of The Vintage Space YouTube Channel, Amy Shira Teitel, we talk about the fascinating stories of Jerrie Cobb and Jackie Cochran in the context of the early space program, which she writes about in her dual biography, FIGHTING FOR SPACE. Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Book...

Send us Fan Mail Black history in aviation. In this interview with Casey Grant, one of the first Black women to serve as a flight attendant (stewardess) for Delta, we talk about her successful initiative to designate February 16th as International Black Aviation Day (IBAD), and her books STARS IN THE SKY, STARS AND BEYOND, and its accompanying children's activity book. We also talk about her...

Send us Fan Mail In this Writers’ Room conversation with Merryl Tengesdal, the first and only Black woman to fly the U2 reconnaissance aircraft, we talk about what she learned by working with a ghost writer and going the self-publishing route to tell her story. This is a great interview to listen to if you’re someone who has had many people tell you that you should write a book, but you don’t nece...

Send us Fan Mail SHATTER THE SKY is the Aviatrix Book Club discussion book for January 2022. In this interview with Col. Merryl Tengesdal, USAF (ret.), the first and only Black woman to fly the U2 reconnaissance plane and a contestant on the reality televisions series TOUGH AS NAILS, we talk about growing up in the Bronx, her start in aviation with the Navy, flying H60 helicopters at sea, challeng...

Send us Fan Mail Los Angeles 99s Aviatrix Book Club host, Arhynn Descy, and I talk about the 12 books featuring women in aviation we read and discussed this year, and I offer a preview of the 2022 reading list.  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...

Send us Fan Mail In this Writers’ Room interview with Julie Tizard, author of THE ROAD TO WINGS and two other lesbian romance novels, she talks about her writing journey, the incredible support she receives from her publishing company, Bold Strokes, and the ways in which she actively seeks inspiration for her creativity.  Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopp...

Send us Fan Mail In this interview with retired Air Force Colonel and airline pilot, Julie Tizard, we talk about her flying careers and her book, THE ROAD TO WINGS, a lesbian romance novel set in Air Force Flight Training in the early 1990s. This book is the Aviatrix Book Club discussion book for December 2021. It incorporates the intensity of military flight training from both the student's...

Send us Fan Mail In this conversation with Kristin L. Gray, author of THE AMELIA SIX and three other children’s books, she talks about her writing and publishing journey, and offers advice for aspiring writers.  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...

Send us Fan Mail In this interview with author Kristin L. Gray, she talks about her middle-grade novel THE AMELIA SIX: AN AMELIA EARHART MYSTERY. Set in Amelia Earhart’s childhood home, this is a fun read for ages 8-12 that incorporates quirky characters, fun facts about Amelia, and the rich history of the Ninety-Nines. It’s also a great book for promoting STEM with young girls and boys (my 9-year...

Send us Fan Mail In this continuation of my conversation with author Melody Foreman, we talk more about the co-authoring relationship, her creative process, the business end of publishing, and her advice for writers interested in preserving our aviation history through writing.  Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Bookshop.org affiliate links...

Send us Fan Mail In this interview with journalist and author Melody Foreman, we talk about the subject of the Aviatrix Book Club November 2021 discussion book, A SPITFIRE GIRL, Mary Ellis, and her fellow British Air Transport Auxiliary pilots during WWII. Foreman has several other books, either published or forthcoming, featuring WWII topics, including THE WRECK HUNTER: THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN AND...

Send us Fan Mail In this interview with co-author Adam Sikes, we talk about his journey from U.S. Marine and Intel Analyst to writer, the co-author relationship, book promotion, and other exciting projects he's working on. 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...

Send us Fan Mail In this interview with award winning children's and young adult author, Nancy Roe Pimm, she talks about her writing and publishing journey, working without an agent, and the picture book FLY, GIRL, GLY's success from #PBPitch Wars. 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 b...

Send us Fan Mail Niloofar Rahmani endured incredible pressures to pursue her dream of flight as the first female fixed wing pilot for the Afghan Air Force. Her co-author, Adam Sikes, did a brilliant job of helping Niloofar tell her story in OPEN SKIES. 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...

Send us Fan Mail While FLY, GIRL, FLY is a beautiful picture book for young readers, this interview is for everyone. Shaesta Waiz, an Afghan refugee, became the youngest woman to fly solo around the world at thirty years old. That mission, with 32 outreach events around the world, was focused on inspiring young people in aviation and STEM and to show them that if you dream it, you can do it. In th...

Send us Fan Mail Sherri L. Smith is an award-winning Children’s and Young Adult author who has published ten books. She also writes comics, including Bart Simpson Comics, James Cameron’s Avatar, and most recently, Wonder Woman. Her novel, Flygirl, is the Aviatrix Book Club discussion book for September 2021, which imagines a fair-skinned Black girl passing as white to join the Women Airforce Servi...

Send us Fan Mail In this interview with award winning Children's and Young Adult Author, Sherri L. Smith, we talk about her writing journey from short story to novel, the evolution of Flygirl from Master's thesis to published novel, upcoming writing workshops she will facilitate, and her advice for new writers.  You can find her at her website www.sherrilsmith.com Did you know you can su...

Send us Fan Mail Aviatrix Book Club August 2021 - POSTCARDS FROM THE SKY - Interview with general aviation pilot, author, and Renaissance Woman, Erin Seidemann about her memoir of her flight training and flying escapades, aircraft ownership, and relationships. Find Erin on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ErinSeidemann Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shop...

Send us Fan Mail In this conversation with Erin Seidemann, author of POSTCARDS FROM THE SKY: ADVENTURES OF AN AVIATRIX, she talks about the editing and publishing process, book promotion, and shares one of her stories that didn’t make it into the book.  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 i...

Send us Fan Mail In this interview with Army combat veteran and Kiowa Warrior helicopter pilot, Amber Smith, we talk about her memoir, DANGER CLOSE: MY EPIC JOURNEY AS A COMBAT HELICOPTER PILOT IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN. 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...

Send us Fan Mail In the book portion of my interview with Amber Smith, she talks about how getting outside of her comfort zone to attend graduate school gave her the confidence to write. In this portion, we go more in-depth on what the writing process looked like for her, the editing process, and book promotion. Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping throug...