Chloe Holiday's Blog, page 9

Happy Birthday to Me!

It’s my 2-year anniversary as a published author, and to celebrate, my very first one is free: Love is a Drug, a short story about love and the lengths one might go to in order to achieve that happily ever after!  Enjoy!

The Cover’s Coming April 18!

Cover Reveal Monday!

A Fading Pleasure: The Swimming Hole

Those who’ve not grown up in an un-airconditioned house in the South may not be able to grasp the sheer loveliness of a real, honest-to-goodness “swimming hole.” One features prominently in my upcoming release, Fly Boy, and it was so fun to write!

Swimming hole could mean a creek, a pond, or even a big cattle tank, but the best ones were like this pic from one of the ones I frequented, growing up: a nice, broad expanse of placid but flowing water. Bonus points for not having a lot of snaky overhangs along the banks, and for a rope swing. The cold water felt lifesaving to a kid, and it was just plain fun. Occasionally, their use was utilitarian; I was once told as a teen, “Go down to the pond and see if you can wash that stink off!” (I’d just been sprayed by a skunk).

There were dangers, of course: not only snakes, but the occasional fish hook, sunburn, and the rare but dreaded “brain-eating amoeba,” Naeglaria fowleri. Still, none were enough to deter us from the joys.

My hope is to bring the essence of the swimming hole to the readers (well, until the scene takes a turn…).

New Covers and Going Wide!

Rolling out some new covers for The Helios Series, a few at a time. So far, just the ebooks (Finders, Keepers and Submerged Hopes) and audiobooks (Finders, Keepers) but more will be coming. Will your legacy covers of Intense Broody Nick and Reaching Hands or Two Snow Hearts and Caleb be worth thousands someday? Who knows? But I hope you’ll like ’em!

The audiobooks (Finders, Keepers, A Boy & his Dog, and Fly Boy) have all been wide from the start, but Finders, Keepers is now being added as an ebook to all platforms.

Getting Your “Ticket”

 

Getting Your Ticket

“Write what you know” is reasonable advice, to bring realism to fiction and avoid “gimme a break” moments which pull readers out of a story. Thus, when I had a chance to do another All American Boy story, I jumped at it. Since each must have “Boy” in the title and there have been a lot of stories, Fly Boy seemed a natural choice, to write about a pilot.

This is a picture of my Private Pilot License (PPL), which also goes by the name of Airman’s Certificate. To obtain this certification, one must get a medical certificate by an FAA-approved medical examiner, get a Student Pilot Certificate, and do “ground school” flight training, learning about the physics, procedures, regulations, airspace, etc. After passing a written test, a student goes on to actual flight training.

In some locations, much of this is done in flight simulators, though I only logged an hour in one, instead flying a Piper Warrior. These have dual controls, and the CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) sits in the right seat, ready to step in if needed. There are certain requirements (hours, number of takeoffs and landings, distances, solo flights, etc) for signing off on a student’s competence but the CFI has great discretion.

A student might have an idea when they’ll go for their first solo, but sometimes it’s sprung on them (see my earlier blog post with the pic of the shirt being cut off my back, and also the one of my chart for my first long solo flight, which I laminated onto a coffee table). A student practices emergency procedures, does some instrument practice, some night flying, maneuvers for precision, and longer solo trips.

Finally, it’s time for the “checkride.” A certified examiner will ride with the student to a location provided the night before (this is to assess a student’s prep, which should include regional and airport hazards, the weather, airport layout, etc.). He or she watches the student’s preflight, ground procedures, and flight safety. They will ask for certain maneuvers (“Do a steep turn to the right” or “perform an engine-out landing”—for this one, they won’t have the pilot actually land in a field, just come close) and that will include being blindfolded while the examiner gradually nudge the airplane into an unsafe situation, like a dive, to see how the student does when the blindfold is removed.

Once a student passes, they get a temporary certificate and the PPL arrives in the mail. The zombie-looking figure in the picture is one of the Wright brothers, and on the back it has both Orville and Wilbur. A private pilot cannot carry passengers for hire, but can fly day or night, in all airspace, at whatever altitudes their plane can handle.

How long does it take and how much does it cost? The average is reportedly $10,000 and three months, but that can be decreased with study ahead of time and flight simulators, as well as regular flying to stay in practice. There are places that specialize in turning out new pilots within 3 weeks. One can pursue advanced certifications, like an Instrument Rating, a Multi-Engine Rating, a CFI certificate, or a Commercial Pilot license, all of which require more time. Spending 99 cents and a few hours with Fly Boy might seem like a bargain compared to that!

There are other certifications that are attractive because they take less hours or don’t require a medical certificate. A Sport Pilot license takes only 20 hours and doesn’t require a medical certificate. However, the limitations are that one must fly slower single-engine planes with lower horsepower, stay below 10,000 feet, fly only in the daytime, carry only one passenger, and avoid busier airspace. A Recreational Pilot license takes 30 hours but allows one to fly heavier, faster planes, though they are restricted to within 50 miles of their home airport—still good enough to get that “hundred-dollar hamburger.”

I hope you’ll enjoy your armchair flights with Tricia and Tavis in Fly Boy!

 

Get Your “Hundred-Dollar Hamburger” for only $99!

A “hundred-dollar hamburger” is a term that aviators use to describe the cost of flying out to a small diner in another town–the meal itself might cost only a few bucks, but when the fuel, maintenance, etc. are added in, it’s not quite so cheap. I used to fly to a little place that had tremendous fruit pies–if you’re going to need flying practice, why NOT add pie to the mix?

Better yet, if you enter my Goodreads giveaway, you could win a copy of Fly Boy! That way, you can put the $0.99 you save toward the cost of your next “hundred-dollar hamburger.” Good luck!

YES!!!!! Audiobook for Fly Boy was approved this morning by Findaway Voices!

Excited this morning to get Findaway Voices’ official notice that Fly Boy, the audiobook version, has passed their final QC checks! Still waiting for ACX…

Photo by Afif Kusuma on Unsplash

Now Hear This!

Hooray! The audio for Fly Boy was submitted today! Want to hear a sample?

Fly Boy lands on May 5th, and early readers love it! You can preorder now for a first class seat!

Hooray for my Early Reviewers!

How to get your narrator’s goat!

Here’s an outtake: https://soundcloud.com/user-952009500-464673904/how-to-get-your-narrators-goat-outtake-from-fly-boy   Sheesh! All these tongue twisters, even though I tried hard not to write it that way!

Apparently it rolls over into a sample from A Boy and His Dog. *makes note to figure out how to alter that*