In this portion of my interview with retired USAF Colonel Merryl Tengesdal about her book Shatter the Sky, she talks about the physical challenges and long term physiological effects flying the U-2 had on her and her fellow Dragon Lady pilots.
In this portion of my interview with Erin Seidemann about her memoir, Postcards from the Sky, she talks about flying as a general aviation pilot to the Bahamas.
In this portion of my interview with author Lauren Kessler, she does a reading from her book, The Happy Bottom Riding Club, that describes the 1929 Women’s Transcontinental Air Race.
In this portion of my interview with author Amy Goodpaster Strebe, she does a reading from her book Flying for Her Country: The American and Soviet Women Military Pilots of WWII.
In this portion of my interview with co-authors Raquel Ramsey and Tricia Aurand about the book Taking Flight: The Nadine Ramsey Story, Tricia shares the impact that working on this story and learning about the Women Airforce Service Pilots had on her and her understanding of the importance and continued relevance of WWII.
In this portion of my interview with Kathy Mexted about her book Australian Women Pilots, she talks about two of the women she highlights in the book: WWII ATA pilot Marty Gething and Royal Flying Doctor Service pilot Esther Veldestra.
In this excerpt from my interview with author Keith O’Brien about his book Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History, he talks about the most blatant and egregious illustration of the misogyny and sexism of the day in his book, which he reveals with Florence Klingensmith’ story.
In this excerpt from my interview with author Clare Mulley about her book The Women Who Flew for Hitler, she talks about her research experience in a glider and being two degrees of separation from Hitler through Hanna Reitsch.
In honor of Pride Month, I’m highlighting this excerpt from my interview with Julie Tizard about her Lesbian romance novel, The Road to Wings. Julie has written three books I’ve been able to find that feature both women in aviation and LGBTQ+ characters, and soon you’ll be able to sort the books on my new website, www.LitararyAviatrix.com, which will launch in the next few weeks.
In this excerpt from my interview with Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, Beverly Weintraub, about her book Wings of Gold, we talk about how Rosemary Mariner took on not only men who wanted to restrict women’s roles in the military, but also the very vocal and influential anti-feminism activists Phyllis Schlafly and Elain Donnelly.
In this excerpt from my interview with author and United Airlines Pilot Carole Hopson about her historical novel about the life of Bessie Coleman, A Pair of Wings, she talks about the context in which Bessie’s story is told, then talks about how she learned about Bessie and shares a little about the start of her own aviation journey.
In this portion of my interview with Sherri L. Smith she talks about the inception of the idea for the character, Ida Mae, who is a fair skinned Black woman living in the South as WWII begins, who passes as white to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots.
In this excerpt of my interview with children’s author Kristin L. Gray about her middle grade mystery novel The Amelia Six, she talks about how Amelia’s birthplace home inspired the story. The Amelia Six is a fun read for ages 7-11.
In this excerpt from my interview with Patty Bear about her book From Plain to Plane: My Mennonite Childhood, a National Scandal, and an Unconventional Soar to Freedom, she introduces the book and talks about how her brother’s interest in flying led her to the Air Force Academy.
In this portion of my interview with co-authors Racquel Ramsey and Tricia Aurand, Racqui reads a passage from Taking Flight: The Nadine Ramsey Story, in which her sister-in-law and WASP pilot, Nadine, purchases a P38.
In this portion of my interview with Kate Quinn she introduces her historical novel The Huntress and talks about the trail that led her to create the fierce and fearless character, Nina Markova, who she based on the Russian women combat pilots in WWII, the Nacht Hexen, or Night Witches.
This is a very well-crafted and entertaining book, and the audio book is in my top ten favorites. A great pick for a long car trip.
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 pleasant surprises we each discovered in aviation culture.
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.
In this excerpt from my 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 2004. The crash resulted in the loss of both of her legs. She tells her story in her memoir, Every Day is a Gift.
I love what Ann did in High Flyers to offer younger readers role models from diverse backgrounds in diverse areas of aviation. While the book is intended for teen readers, these short biographies are also engaging and inspiring for adults.
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.
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.
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 with Air Serv.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 West), and author of the classic Aviatrix memoir, West with the Night
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.
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.
In this excerpt from my interview with acclaimed Children’s book author, Kristin L. Gray, she talks about how she incorporated fun details about Amelia Earhart to enhance her story about a girl who gets to spend the night at Amelia Earhart’s birthplace home.
In this excerpt from my interview with Erika Armstrong, author of A Chick in the Cockpit: My Life Up in the Air, she talks about how, since publishing the book, she’s been blown away by the number of women who have reached out to her with their own experiences of domestic abuse. If you need help, contact the National Domestic Abuse Hotline 800-799-7233, or to connect with Erika, you can find her everywhere @AChickintheCockpit.
In this excerpt from my interview with author Amy Shira Teitel about her book Fighting for Space: Two Women and Their Epic Battle for Female Spaceflight, we talk about Jerrie Cobb ferrying aircraft to Central and South America, and a forced landing after her prop seal failed leaving her windscreen covered in oil, in Jamaica that was the beginning of a love affair with Jack Ford.
In this clip from my interview with Israeli singer/song writer, Maya Johana, I talk about what her songs represent to me as a woman in aviation and a writer, why I am so thrilled to have them as my theme music, and she shares what they mean to her, and the process of writing them.
You can enjoy the full songs on YouTube:
In this excerpt from my interview with pioneering flight attendant, Casey Grant, we talk about the discrimination she and her cohorts dealt with in the pursuit of their careers, the fun and glamour of being cabin crew, and the not-so-glamourous aspects of the job.
In this clip from my interview with Carole Hopson about her book A Pair of Wings, we talk about the choices she made in her writing to bring Bessie to life for the reader.
Retired Air Force Colonel and U2 pilot, Merryl Tengesdal, and I compare notes on our tolerance levels for our male peers’ antics during our military careers in this clip from my interview about her memoir, Shatter the Sky.
The pre-Don’t Ask Don’t Tell days in the military were a challenge for members who wanted to serve their country but had to stay closeted. Even during DADT, they couldn’t talk openly about their families, received no dependent benefits for their spouses, and risked their careers if they were found out. In this portion of my interview with author Julie Tizard about her book The Road to Wings, she talks about what that life was like and why it was important to her to memorialize it in her book.
In this portion of my interview with Postcards from the Sky author, Erin Seidemann, we talk about her aircraft ownership and she shares her advice on whether and when someone should consider buying a plane.
In this excerpt of my interview with Patty Bear, author of From Plain to Plane,: My Mennonite Childhood, A National Scandal, and an Unconventional Soar to Freedom, she talks bout the similarities between her Mennonite childhood and her experience as an Air Force Academy Cadet. She shares why she wrote the book, and talks about how her father’s excommunication and shunning from the Mennonite church led her out of that world.
In this excerpt from my interview with Amber Smith about her book Danger Close: My Epic Journey as a Helicopter Pilot in Iraq and Afghanistan, she talks about assimilating into the male-dominated military culture.
In this clip from my interview with author Raquel Ramsey and co-author Tricia Aurand, we hear what it was like for the women living together during training in the barracks at Avenger Field in Sweetwater Texas from the book they wrote about Nadine’s sister-in-law, WWII Women Air Force Service Pilot Nadine Ramsey.
In this interview with Amy Shira Teitel about her book Fighting for Space: Two Pilots and Their Historic Battle for Female Spaceflight, Amy talks about whether Jerrie Cobb had a reasonable expectation that she and her cohorts who were tested for the space program by Dr. Lovelace in the 1960’s had a shot at being astronauts. She also highlights how the letters between the 13 participants revealed that not everyone was on the same page in terms of hopes and expectations. If you’re into mid-century space history, Amy is the host of The Vintage Space YouTube channel. Check it out!
In this excerpt of my interview with Lauren Kessler about her book, The Happy Bottom Riding Club: The Life and Times of Pancho Barnes, she explains how she learned about Pancho and her entertainment ranch near Edwards Air Force Base, and what was really going on behind the scenes.
In this excerpt of my interview with Kathy Mexted about her book Australian Women Pilots: Amazing True Stories of Women in the Air, she introduces us to Nancy Bird Walton, who will be inducted into the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame in February 2023.