Literary Aviatrix Literary Aviatrix

In this interview with Leona Cobham, granddaughter of pioneering pilot and aviation advocate, Sir Alan Cobham, we talk about her wonderful middle grade book, Flying Circus Takes to the Skies, which features the adventures of four anthropomorphic vintage aircraft: Spiff, the Spitfire; Vul, the Vulcan; Tom, the Tomcat; and Woody, the Tiger Moth. Leona was inspired to write the book by her experience working with children and her concern over boys becoming ever-more reluctant readers. She created these characters in the hopes that boys would get excited about both reading and aviation history. Her next installment of Airplane Adventures will include a female Nighthawk.

The story is well-complemented by line drawings from aviation artist Timothy O'Brien. https://www.timobrienart.co.uk/

Leona's book is very thoughtfully available in two English versions - one with British spellings, and one with American, so be sure to select the one appropriate for your young reader. Affiliate links for both can be found on the Literary Aviatrix website:

British: https://literaryaviatrix.com/product/aeroplane-adventures-flying-circus-takes-to-the-skies/

American: https://literaryaviatrix.com/product/airplane-adventures-flying-circus-takes-to-the-skies/

Toward the end of our interview,  we talk about Frederick Forsyth's The Shepherd, and the Canadian Broadcast Company's annual broadcast of a 1979 reading done by "Fireside Al" Maitland. If you'd like to join us in the Christmas Eve tradition, here's a link: CBC - As it Happens



Thanks so much for listening!


Stay up to date on book releases, author events, and Aviatrix Book Club discussion dates with the Literary Aviatrix Newsletter. Visit the Literary Aviatrix website to find over 600 books featuring women in aviation in all genres for all ages. Become a Literary Aviatrix Patron and help amplify the voices of women in aviation. Follow me on social media, join the book club, and find all of the things on the Literary Aviatrix linkt.ree.
Blue skies, happy reading, and happy listening!

-Liz Booker

In this interview with Astronaut Pilot Eileen Collins, she talks about her path, from her childhood in Elmira, New York, through community college and ROTC, to Air Force Flight Training, Instructing, a combat mission in Grenada, Stanford, and Test Pilot School, to becoming the first female, and mother, NASA Space Shuttle pilot and mission commander. 


Thanks so much for listening!


Stay up to date on book releases, author events, and Aviatrix Book Club discussion dates with the Literary Aviatrix Newsletter. Visit the Literary Aviatrix website to find over 600 books featuring women in aviation in all genres for all ages. Become a Literary Aviatrix Patron and help amplify the voices of women in aviation. Follow me on social media, join the book club, and find all of the things on the Literary Aviatrix linkt.ree.
Blue skies, happy reading, and happy listening!

-Liz Booker

In this interview with Coast Guard Aviation Electronics Technician and H65 Dolphin Helicopter Flight Mechanic, Ashlee Leppert, we talk about her memoir The Hurricane Within, which recounts her experiences in the Hurricane Harvey disaster response while she simultaneously endured troubling and mysterious physical symptoms that eventually grounded her from flying. Ashlee talks about her medical journey, how her faith guided her through her PTSD, her transition to civilian life, and how she hopes to pay it forward as an author, speaker, and life coach. 

Ashlee earned an air medal for contributions to Harvey recovery efforts and was an honored guest at the State of the Union Address. 

Thank you, Ashlee, for showing the world what it looks like to be a Coast Guard helicopter flight mechanic, and for sharing your story for others to benefit.
Thanks so much for listening!


Stay up to date on book releases, author events, and Aviatrix Book Club discussion dates with the Literary Aviatrix Newsletter. Visit the Literary Aviatrix website to find over 600 books featuring women in aviation in all genres for all ages. Become a Literary Aviatrix Patron and help amplify the voices of women in aviation. Follow me on social media, join the book club, and find all of the things on the Literary Aviatrix linkt.ree.
Blue skies, happy reading, and happy listening!

-Liz Booker

In this interview with Liz McConaghy, we talk about her experiences serving as aircrew on RAF Chinooks in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the mental challenges she faced after being medically grounded and leaving the service, which she writes about in her memoir Chinook Crew 'Chick': Highs and Lows of Forces Life from the Longest Serving Female Chinook Force Crewmember
Thanks so much for listening!


Stay up to date on book releases, author events, and Aviatrix Book Club discussion dates with the Literary Aviatrix Newsletter. Visit the Literary Aviatrix website to find over 600 books featuring women in aviation in all genres for all ages. Become a Literary Aviatrix Patron and help amplify the voices of women in aviation. Follow me on social media, join the book club, and find all of the things on the Literary Aviatrix linkt.ree.
Blue skies, happy reading, and happy listening!

-Liz Booker

In this interview with USAF Academy graduate, F-16 combat veteran pilot, former no. 3 Thunderbird demonstration team pilot, and boy-mom, Caroline ‘Blaze’ Jensen, we talk about her sweet new picture book, Thundermouse, her career, and how she managed one of the most visible and demanding jobs imaginable as the mother of a toddler. Blaze is the granddaughter of a WWII SPAR (as am I) and a Coast Guard Grandfather, and daughter of a U.S. Marine, but we’ll forgive her for joining the Air Force. She was inspired by Top Gun and guided by the legacy of the WASP and is currently the Board President-Elect of the WASP Museum in Sweetwater, Texas. Her illustrious Air Force career included a stint as a Congressional Liaison, where she met Erin Miller while she was on her crusade to secure WASP rights to interment at Arlington on behalf of her Gammy. Blaze is a motivational speaker for hire and offers mentoring to aspiring and junior military aviators. She will be celebrating the launch of Thundermouse at the WWII Commemorative Air Force Museum Minnesotta Wing this Friday, October 13th, at 6pm. 
Thundermouse launches tomorrow, Tuesday October 10th. If you order from Blaze’s website, she will sign and personalize a book for you. https://www.diamondechelonllc.com/
Thanks so much for listening!


Stay up to date on book releases, author events, and Aviatrix Book Club discussion dates with the Literary Aviatrix Newsletter. Visit the Literary Aviatrix website to find over 600 books featuring women in aviation in all genres for all ages. Become a Literary Aviatrix Patron and help amplify the voices of women in aviation. Follow me on social media, join the book club, and find all of the things on the Literary Aviatrix linkt.ree.
Blue skies, happy reading, and happy listening!

-Liz Booker

In this interview with author Mary Carroll Moore, we talk about her new book, A Woman’s Guide to Search and Rescue, which is available for preorder and launches on October 24th, 2023. In a former life, Mary was a syndicated food journalist who wrote many food and cooking-related articles and books. At fifty, she went back to school for her MFA and began not only writing, but also teaching fiction.  
 
Mary’s curiosity about aviation was piqued by her mother, Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Hartz Carroll, who earned her pilot license in 1942 and flew with the Women Airforce Service Pilots during WWII. That curiosity inspired her to create two modern-day aviation characters, one an inland search and rescue pilot, and one an aerobatic pilot, in this new thriller novel that features a false murder accusation, a run from the law, and estranged sisters who reunite. 
 
Mary was also inspired to try flying herself. She recently started taking lessons and is both excited and overwhelmed by all there is to learn. Let’s give her a warm welcome to the community, and support her by buying her new book! 
 
We also talk in-depth about her writing and publishing journey during this conversation. A Woman’s Guide to Search and Rescue is a stand-alone novel but is also the sequel to Mary’s first work of fiction, Qualities of Light. You can find Mary at her website MaryCarrollMoore.com and on LinkedIn @MaryCarrollMoore. 
 
Thanks so much for listening!


Stay up to date on book releases, author events, and Aviatrix Book Club discussion dates with the Literary Aviatrix Newsletter. Visit the Literary Aviatrix website to find over 600 books featuring women in aviation in all genres for all ages. Become a Literary Aviatrix Patron and help amplify the voices of women in aviation. Follow me on social media, join the book club, and find all of the things on the Literary Aviatrix linkt.ree.
Blue skies, happy reading, and happy listening!

-Liz Booker