Flygirl

by R. D. Kardon

Overview

Reeling from guilt and grief over a tragic loss, can an ambitious pilot earn the respect she craves? Tris Miles is held back by her job as a First Officer for tiny Clear Sky Airlines. She needs to be a Captain--the only way she knows to prove her worth as a pilot and atone for a deadly mistake that cost the life of a loved one. Tris accepts a prestigious job with Tetrix, Inc. where she hopes to advance quickly. As the company's first woman pilot, she encounters resistance, marginalization, and harassment on a daily basis. Fortunately, Tris has one thing her co-workers can't deny--skill. In the skies over Europe, Tris, her passengers, and crew are in real danger. Can Tris lead the airplane to a safe landing? And if this is the end, can she find the strength to forgive herself?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781947392229
Publisher:	R. D. Kardon, Author
Publication date:	01/03/2019
Series:	Flygirl Series , #1
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.81(d)

Editorial Reviews

Kardon’s narrative is both thoughtful and gripping. She vividly portrays the fine line between respect and familiarity that women in nontraditional roles must walk to do their jobs well in the face of sexual harassment on one hand and antagonistic resistance on the other. Tris is an appealing and relatable character who struggles to keep both her self-respect and her ambition intact while negotiating the slippery morality of the corporate world.

-- Kirkus Reviews

Kardon creates a relatable heroine in Tris, a character who, along with her grit and determination to succeed, displays a range of authentic emotions and vulnerabilities...[I]nterpersonal conflicts and the heroine's clear aspirations result in a satisfying narrative arc.

The BookLife Prize

Tris Miles is a heroine for our times. Set in the late 1990s, Flygirl by R.D. Kardon examines one tenacious woman’s struggle to survive in a vocation dominated by men who want nothing more than to see her fail. Readers will fall in love with Tris, who is a force to be reckoned with. Based on Kardon’s own experiences as a female pilot, Flygirl is written with both authenticity and heart.

— T. Greenwood, author of Rust & Stardust, Where I Lost Her, and Two Rivers

In R.D. Kardon’s debut novel, she has created an inspirational character in Tris Miles. Flygirl is vivid, energetic, and fast-paced. It is a story about striving to reach for your goals despite astronomical odds.

— Jill G. Hall, author of The Black Velvet Coat and The Silver Shoes

The phenomenal debut novel from R.D. Kardon buckles you in for a nonstop flight of secrets and backstabbing. Kardon’s prose and dialogue give life to honest characters with true emotional depth.

— Mikel J. Wilson, author of Murder on the Lake of Fire and Death Opens a Window

Flygirl is an astounding peek behind the scenes of pilot life. You’ll have to fasten your seat belt when you read this riveting story, as Tris Miles captivates and lifts you high above ground.

— E.P. Sery, author of The Scent of Heat

A fantastic read! This book and the scenarios R.D. Kardon places before us fascinated me. I felt I sat in the cockpit as a silent observer, a part of the tension. This book portrays challenges woman still face today.

— Lois Letchford, author of Reversed: A Memoir

From the Publisher

2019-08-21
A determined female commercial pilot must navigate complex company politics and personal drama as she attempts to advance her career in this debut romantic suspense novel.

Tris Miles is a turboprop pilot on a small commuter airline in the late 1990s when she gets the opportunity to interview with the flight department of a large corporation. Enthralled by aviation since childhood, Tris is eager to earn the rank of captain and gain certification on big corporate jets. She also has a deeply personal reason for proving herself, tied to the guilt she feels over the death of Bron, her lover and fellow pilot. A competent and cool-headed aviator, Tris has become accustomed to being on the receiving end of casual sexism, frequently being mistaken for a flight attendant. But as she starts her new job at Tetrix, Inc., she steps into a new level of professional pressure and intrigue. Working alongside Larry Ross, an alcoholic with an unhappy home life, and Ed Deter, overtly hostile to female aviators, and under the supervision of Brian Zorn, a manipulator with a tendency to hold dangerous grudges, Tris soon begins to miss the camaraderie among the pilots at her old job. As she doggedly tries to get the training she needs to make captain, she feels increasingly alone in a fight to resist being drawn into deception and danger. Kardon's narrative is both thoughtful and gripping. She vividly portrays the fine line between respect and familiarity that women in nontraditional roles must walk to do their jobs well in the face of sexual harassment on one hand and antagonistic resistance on the other. Tris is an appealing and relatable character who struggles to keep both her self-respect and her ambition intact while negotiating the slippery morality of the corporate world. The conclusion comes a bit too abruptly and is perhaps too grounded in realism to provide a satisfying win, but it remains true to Tris' character. The details of the "true ballet" of piloting a plane add an evocative dimension to the text that may leave readers longing to take to the air.

An absorbing, if somewhat abbreviated, portrait of a woman's experience in the largely male world of aviation.

Kirkus Reviews

01/06/2020

Kardon’s exciting, spirited debut follows a new female pilot as she vies to move up to the captain’s seat. Thirty-something Patricia “Tris” Miles abandons her career as a middle school English teacher to pursue a lifelong dream of learning to fly planes. After training with a commuter airline, she accepts an offer to become a copilot for a corporation’s private jet, which she thinks will allow her to advance in her career more quickly. Instead, she faces stiff, rude competition with male counterparts such as Ed Deter, a misogynist ex-military pilot who “hadn’t met a woman yet whose hands he’d put his life into,” and who resents the assignment to train Tris. Another pilot, Larry Ross, considers standing up for Tris, but worries that his coworkers will tease him for having a crush on her. Tris brushes off Ross’s flirtation, driven by her laser focus on achieving her goals, and eventually an opportunity presents itself to shine next to Deter and save the day. Kardon, a pilot, convincingly describes the intricacies of flying, and a passage in which a plane must be flown through thick fog, with nothing but the instruments for guidance (“Woman and machine entwined in the exceptional conversation of flight”) is particularly well done. This soaring testament to the value of following one’s dreams delivers the goods. (Self-published)

Publishers Weekly