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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.
“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!
Hello readers! I am delighted to offer my first guest post as a newly published novelist. Noticing many authors share writing hints, I pondered: What insight can I bring you that non-writers might use; how about Speech tips?
Think you’ll never need one? Aren’t there weddings, funerals and graduations in your future? Maybe you’ll win a cooking contest and as the blue-ribbon recipient, you’ll need to speak about why you love this all-important ingredient and how you’ve used it in the past.
Perhaps your best friend receives an award and you’ve agreed to introduce them. “You’ll need to say a few words,” the chairperson says on the phone. You hang up with a beaming smile because - you’re flattered! Then, panic ensues: WHAT am I going to SAY?
First: Speed-read internet tips on: ‘How to Write a Speech’. They’re helpful, straightforward, and offer sound advice such as: Know your audience (write different speeches for Basketball Teams than Mensa Society Chapters). Begin with a powerful opener like a great joke. Make eye contact with audience members, hold for several seconds, and practice, practice, practice!
What not to do is also important. After that opener, don’t explain that you got this request on short notice, your catalytic converter conked out, your Mother-In-Law sent all her money to feral cats in Timbuktu …. Do NOT read word-for-word from your notes or Power Point clicks. Briefly checking them is fine but MEMORIZE your lines. Don’t fidget, jerk, scratch your head or repeat ‘Um’.
Solid foundational tips, but as a seasoned presenter, here’s what I’ll add to polish your performance, ensuring you’re coolly confident. Record yourself repeatedly, then analyze and adapt. It’s easy; everyone has a cell phone! You’ll hate the way you look or sound at first, but that’s how you’ll learn what works, spot spastic body movements, notice the ‘Ums’ and - find out how long you’re taking. Speakers have time-limits; respect them. Forget Q&As; they ruin great presentations! You’ve been in that classroom; nervous students think if they ask enough silly questions, time will run out and they’ll escape their turn that day. (Maybe you were one of them; suffer from glossophobia?)
Lastly, improvise; add or delete as needed. Once, I’d planned to use Mayo Angelou’s quote, “… people will forget what you said … but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Then the speaker before me used the quote! Wow, Angelou was wrong; if I repeated her words EVERYONE would remember what I’d said! Fortunately, I didn’t. (Ask the organizers which presenter you’ll be but be prepared for changes.) Scenario: You’re the 17th speaker, the event’s running late, it’s hot enough to gag-a-maggot, babies are screaming. Even if your speech is so spectacular, Oscar Nominees will be burning up your phone, quash it. “Hey,” you might clown as you bop up to the podium. “I had a speech but there’s ice cream waiting at the back of the room; let’s go!” You just became the evening’s shining-star. She was right: they’ll remember how you made them FEEL.
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
She forms relationships with her coworkers, both male, and female, and has a few affairs that don't go so well but ultimately love what she does and is good at it.
I found this novel to be a quick and enjoyable read from start to finish! Learned about the airline business as well. Written with light prose, a character-driven pace that is easy to read. Although there are some instances that would never fly now (no pun intended) just the atmosphere of sexism and male ego prevail, it gives the reader exactly what it was like for a young woman wanting to pursue a career in the aviation business.
As I said I really enjoyed the book, hope to read more by this author!
I give the book 5 stars!
