One Small Interview for (Wo)man ... One Giant Step Forward for Book

I just had a really enjoyable - and hugely productive - meeting with what I call a "SME" (Subject Matter Expert). This SME is an ex Air Force physician, and when I first met him back in July, I had put this novel (the one I'm working on now) on the backburner - even though the plot line was more than half done.

Much of that had to do with time constraints. But also, I think, I was stagnating in certain aspects of the plot. I don't feel my fiction needs to be 100% percent literal and accurate - it IS fiction, after all, and needs some room to breathe - but I do like believable settings, and understanding the settings enough to use them for character development (like flying with medevac before I wrote "Last Chance Rescue").

Meeting this particular SME really jump-started the novel. It was like a message from above: 'YES, I want you to write this story now, and I'm sending you the tools to do it.' I know it will be a better story because of this person's experience, insight - and willingness to share those with me. So thanks, SME (you'll know who you are)!

First Flying Lesson -- and One Hilarious Surprise

After three delays (weather – maintenance – weather), I finally got my first fixed-wing flying lesson in. Mostly I flew straight-and-level with a few shallow turns (my instructor did the take-off and landing).

Surprise #1: It was easy! Compared to flying a helicopter, it was a piece of cake. I hear landings are the hardest – but if I can learn to hover in a helicopter (now THAT was HARD) then I think I can handle this...

Surprise #2: No airsickness! I had it for the first half-dozen or more helicopter lessons but it went away as I got used to the motion. Maybe it was just a really calm day and I’ll be UN-happily surprised next time...

Surprise #3 (and this one you could NEVER guess!): in April of 2005 (yep, 4-1/2 years ago!) I took a demo flight. My logbook was signed by that instructor at the time. When we completed this lesson, my current instructor went to sign it and...it was HER signature in my logbook -- from over 4 years ago! She had married and had a different last name and I had never put it together.

How is that for cosmic karma (a topic I’ve blogged about in the past)??

Won the Scholarship - Must Fly

Wow. A double-whammy day (and I mean that in a good way). First the Indie Awards, and then a letter from the Minnesota 99s - a women pilot organization - telling me I'd won a scholarship toward flight training!

And here I had just about decided my plate was FULL - no room for anything else - and that flying would have to wait!

So perhaps this is divine intervention? Or perhaps it's simply craziness... but I am NOT one to squander opportunity! (It might, however, have to wait until fall...)