Book Details:
Book Title: FlightLog: The Novel Adventures of a Stewardess Wannabe Who Becomes a Flight Attendant by Susan Humphrey
Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 338 pages
Genre: Women's Fiction, Chick Lit, Memoir(ish), Coming-of-age
Publisher: Majuscule Press
Release date: August, 2022
Content Rating: PG. A few romantic encounters but light on the details. Reference to tobacco use.
Book Title: FlightLog: The Novel Adventures of a Stewardess Wannabe Who Becomes a Flight Attendant by Susan Humphrey
Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 338 pages
Genre: Women's Fiction, Chick Lit, Memoir(ish), Coming-of-age
Publisher: Majuscule Press
Release date: August, 2022
Content Rating: PG. A few romantic encounters but light on the details. Reference to tobacco use.
Book Description:
“It was 1978. People didn’t have home computers, video players, or answering machines. We rented our telephones from local phone companies and hand-wrote letters. The terms ‘politically correct’ and ‘African-American’ had not been coined. ‘Eating disorders’ and ‘alternate lifestyles’ were not yet common household phrases. Only strippers wore thongs, which made perfect sense to me, as they only caused one to gyrate their hynie in a desperate attempt to dislodge the bothersome wedgie.”
So writes Sherri Van Ness, an unassuming girl from the burbs of Kansas who’s about to embark on the adventure of her life when she signs up to become a stewardess. But it’s much more turbulent than this doughy-eyed 19-year-old ever imagined as she tries to navigate past grouchy passengers, fly-by-night relationships and the unforgiving, relentless, humiliating, monthly weigh-ins. Some dreams come true. Others require a vomit bag.
That’s not to say Sherri doesn’t enjoy herself. Au contraire! There are friends to be made and men to be made and the maid who made up her room in New York is so nice!
Yes, the work is difficult at times and the money isn’t always good, but there are perks: free flights and an endless supply of tiny vodka bottles and salted peanuts (peanut allergies hadn’t been invented yet.)
Like Dorothy Gale sans Toto, Sherri leaves Kansas and finds herself amidst a cast of characters as strange to her as the Scarecrow and the Munchkins were to Dorothy. Her whirlwind journey takes her from innocent, insecure stewardess to mature and confident flight attendant. Or does she?
Book your flight now with this very enjoyable read, put your seat back in the upright position, and enjoy the ride!
“It was 1978. People didn’t have home computers, video players, or answering machines. We rented our telephones from local phone companies and hand-wrote letters. The terms ‘politically correct’ and ‘African-American’ had not been coined. ‘Eating disorders’ and ‘alternate lifestyles’ were not yet common household phrases. Only strippers wore thongs, which made perfect sense to me, as they only caused one to gyrate their hynie in a desperate attempt to dislodge the bothersome wedgie.”
So writes Sherri Van Ness, an unassuming girl from the burbs of Kansas who’s about to embark on the adventure of her life when she signs up to become a stewardess. But it’s much more turbulent than this doughy-eyed 19-year-old ever imagined as she tries to navigate past grouchy passengers, fly-by-night relationships and the unforgiving, relentless, humiliating, monthly weigh-ins. Some dreams come true. Others require a vomit bag.
That’s not to say Sherri doesn’t enjoy herself. Au contraire! There are friends to be made and men to be made and the maid who made up her room in New York is so nice!
Yes, the work is difficult at times and the money isn’t always good, but there are perks: free flights and an endless supply of tiny vodka bottles and salted peanuts (peanut allergies hadn’t been invented yet.)
Like Dorothy Gale sans Toto, Sherri leaves Kansas and finds herself amidst a cast of characters as strange to her as the Scarecrow and the Munchkins were to Dorothy. Her whirlwind journey takes her from innocent, insecure stewardess to mature and confident flight attendant. Or does she?
Book your flight now with this very enjoyable read, put your seat back in the upright position, and enjoy the ride!
Author Interview with Susan Humphrey
Q. WriterSuz – I’m calling you that because of your website title. You grew up overseas, worked for an airline, then leapt into healthcare where you’re still on the go as a travel nurse. If you had to do it all over again, would you follow the same path?
A. I don’t think so. No regrets - those careers have been wonderful for me. I wanted to be a ‘stewardess,’ as a kid; but I’d go right into travel writing. That would keep me happily on the road while starting my writing career earlier and honing my craft.
Q. Do you write every day now?
A. Yes, if you stretch the definition of ‘writing’. I record wherever I am. Thank goodness for cell phones. My note and recorder apps include voluminous amusing thoughts and quips I hear or utter myself during the day. If I don’t jot them down, I lose them.
Q. Your main character in FlightLog, Sherri, does just that. She records events in her logbook. Did you do that when you were flying? Was that how you gathered material for this book?
A. Absolutely. Sadly, I didn’t keep my logs. But because I had recorded in those early years, I remembered so much; it’s mental muscle-memory.
Q. I heard you call this project ‘Faction’ – a mix of real history and fiction in your BeondTV interview. Why didn’t you write your story as non-fiction?
A. Too confining for comedy. I would have had to stay married to the behavior of characters who weren’t always funny. Instead, I took people I knew, combined them and exaggerated their playful personalities. I needed the flexibility to create more hilarity in some of the scenes.
Q. Who did you feel was your funniest character? Did your readers agree?
A. The character I thought was the most amusing was Maurice. But more readers said it was Danny they laughed at and loved the most. He is in more of the story. Sherri meets him early-on, thinks it’s ‘love at first sight’, then his shenanigans begin, and they never end.
Q. So we’ll see more of Danny in the sequel? When do you think FlightLog Two will debut?
A. Indeed; Danny and Maurice both return. I panic at the thought of broken promises, so I’ll go stretch out far: let’ say eighteen months.
Q. I’m curious about your chapter titles: All songs. Are you a musician?
A. Writers use lyrics to help set the tone and era of a scene. When I realized I’d used some as chapter titles, I went back and re-named all my chapters after songs. It made sense. I do pluck at guitars pitifully, but I haven’t given up - yet. I promise to leave songwriting to the pros.
Meet the Author:
Susan Jo Humphrey, the daughter of a diplomat, was born in Izmir, Turkey where she lived for three years. She also lived in Korea and Thailand, before returning home to the US with her family as a teenager. She has traveled all over the United States, and has called several parts of this country ‘home.’ Her many airplane rides as a child convinced her she must one day become a stewardess. Suz was a flight attendant for thirteen of her twenty-five years with UAL. She began penning FlightLog with the help of the Naperville Writer’s Group, outside of Chicago. There, she published in their annual pamphlet, had a humor piece printed in an online magazine, and contributed many articles to local newspapers. At the time of publication, she is busy working on FlightLog II.
Away from the keyboard, Suz loves yoga, reading, cooking, listening to music and playing her guitar. She still enjoys mapping out travel to faraway places she’s never seen, as well as planning return trips to her favorite spots.
She currently lives in Southern California and has two grown children. Today, she’s in healthcare, where she’s worked since 2014. Suz was the ‘baby’ of her flight attendant classes – and the ‘senior’ student in her nursing classes. She’s eager to write that story as well: a novice baby-boomer RN begins her dream career as a travel nurse – just as a pandemic breaks out!
connect with the author: website
Susan Jo Humphrey, the daughter of a diplomat, was born in Izmir, Turkey where she lived for three years. She also lived in Korea and Thailand, before returning home to the US with her family as a teenager. She has traveled all over the United States, and has called several parts of this country ‘home.’ Her many airplane rides as a child convinced her she must one day become a stewardess. Suz was a flight attendant for thirteen of her twenty-five years with UAL. She began penning FlightLog with the help of the Naperville Writer’s Group, outside of Chicago. There, she published in their annual pamphlet, had a humor piece printed in an online magazine, and contributed many articles to local newspapers. At the time of publication, she is busy working on FlightLog II.
Away from the keyboard, Suz loves yoga, reading, cooking, listening to music and playing her guitar. She still enjoys mapping out travel to faraway places she’s never seen, as well as planning return trips to her favorite spots.
She currently lives in Southern California and has two grown children. Today, she’s in healthcare, where she’s worked since 2014. Suz was the ‘baby’ of her flight attendant classes – and the ‘senior’ student in her nursing classes. She’s eager to write that story as well: a novice baby-boomer RN begins her dream career as a travel nurse – just as a pandemic breaks out!
connect with the author: website
Enter the Giveaway!
Win a signed copy of FLIGHTLOG: The Novel Adventures of a Stewardess Wannabe Who Becomes a Flight Attendant (one winner/USA only) (ends Mar 31)
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