Spotlight & Giveaway: Girls of Flight City by Lorraine Heath

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Lorraine Heath to HJ!

Hi Lorraine Heath and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Girls of Flight City!

 
Hello! It’s such a pleasure to be here.
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Girls of Flight City is the story of three women in a small Texas town whose lives are forever
changed when they are called upon to train British pilots for the Royal Air Force.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

“Jessie? Jessie? Wake up, sweetheart. Come on now.”
She didn’t want to. Her head hurt. Everything hurt.
The cockpit was at an odd angle, her harness digging into one shoulder. She touched her hand to her forehead. It was wet, with something sticky and thick. Oil? Looking at her fingers, she wondered why it was such a bright red.
“Can you move?”
Gingerly, she turned toward the voice. Royce. With his features tight and furrowed with concern, he was leaning over her. “You have such blue eyes. Like the sky. I could fly into them.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• During WWII, there were six British Flying Training Schools in the U.S. where more than 6,600
  British pilots were trained for the RAF. The first was in Terrell, TX.
• Women played a role in training the pilots, serving as instructors, flight simulator operators,
  control tower operators, mechanics, and more.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Royce is first drawn to Jessie because of her dedication in training the cadets to take to the skies as
well as her skills at piloting a plane.
Jessie is first drawn to Royce because of his determination to do what is necessary to bring an end to
the war.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

The scene where Jessie and her best friend are discussing whether the Brits will celebrate the 4th of July had me grinning.

“Do you think the Brits will celebrate the Fourth?”

Sitting behind the LT controls, Jessie glanced over at Rhonda, who was studying her calf, ensuring
the line of her nylons was straight. This was the first morning the cadets had engaged in shooting
practice, and she wondered if the continual popping sound had reminded Rhonda of fireworks and
prompted her question. “I hadn’t given it any thought.”

Rhonda looked up. “Would it be awkward if they did? Sour grapes if they didn’t?”

Readers should read this book….

Readers should read this book because it’s the fictionalized account of the training of British pilots
that took place in the U.S. from 1941-1945 and women played a role in this little known aspect of
our history. While this story is not classified a romance, it has several love stories in it, some with
happy endings, some not. But then the setting is war.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

July will see the release of The Return of the Duke, the last book in the Once Upon a Dukedom
series.

I’m currently working on The Lady Takes All, the first book in The Chessmen: Master of Seduction
series which will be out in February 2023. The hero is a scoundrel and the heroine is determined to
rid the world of scoundrels. An enemies to lovers tale.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: A Print copy of GIRLS OF FLIGHT CITY By Lorraine Heath

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What is your favorite WWII book or what is an interesting aspect to WWII that you’ve read about or would like to read about?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from Girls of Flight City:

CHAPTER 1

In the skies above North Texas
Sunday, March 9, 1941

IT HAD BEEN DUBBED THE DANCE OF DEATH.
The aerial stunt was Jessie Lovelace’s favorite because of the precision required to align the double wings of the Jenny so that they overlapped and hovered between those of the biplane flying alongside hers. It demanded a great deal of trust in the other pilot’s skill as they both cruised over the airdrome in tandem at a predetermined altitude and speed. It also necessitated an exorbitant amount of concentration not to crash into the other aircraft, sending both barreling toward earth, where the fliers might not only fail to survive but could take with them a few of the gathered spectators who had each paid a dollar to be thrilled by the daring exploits of the two women aviators.
Focusing on the task made it impossible to drift into thoughts regarding the men in her life who had recently betrayed her. Her brother, who’d gone off to fight in a war that wasn’t theirs to fight. “It will be,” he’d said. “Eventually Hitler will come for us, especially if England falls.”
Their father, who’d died unexpectedly in his sleep three days after Christmas. He hadn’t left any instructions or made any arrangements regarding his half of the flight school he’d established with his brother following their return home after flying planes for the army during the last war with Germany. As a result, Uncle Joe wanted to abandon the business, sell the whole kit and kaboodle, and find employment elsewhere.
Her boyfriend—a term that had worked when she and Luke Caldwell were in high school, but now that she was twenty-four seemed juvenile. However, when she’d mentioned that little tidbit to him, he’d grinned and said, “Fiancée works. Or wife.” Since her dad’s passing, Luke had been pushing for them to marry. Even her mom was dropping not-so- subtle hints that it was long past time Jessie became a homemaker. Try as she might, however, Jessie couldn’t envision finding satisfaction in the before-sunup-to-after-sundown life of a rancher’s wife.
The truth was, she resented her brother for finding a way out of Terrence, resented even more that his flight skills had made his escape possible. Her ability to handle an aircraft was equal to his, but the only aviation avenues she’d had any luck securing were crop dusting and barnstorming, neither providing consistent employment, sufficient income, or the more fulfilling life she craved. Occasionally she gave flying lessons at the Lovelace School of Aviation, but she was growing weary of constantly searching for work, being forced to take the odd job where she could find it, and feeling like she’d gone into a stall, unable to regain lift.
As she neared Annette Gibson’s airplane, she took a deep cleansing breath and cleared her mind of everything except the matter at hand, focusing completely on lining up her wingtips between Annette’s, then slowly, carefully, easing closer until the edges intersected slightly, stopping just shy of making contact with the struts bracing the upper and lower wings.
As they sailed along together, she experienced a rush of pleasure. She might not always be in control of her life, but she was in control of this baby, her father’s Curtiss Jenny, which he’d purchased nearly twenty years earlier as the start to his business.
After passing over the crowd, she and Annette peeled away from each other, going into a ballet of loops and rolls. Then another dash over the gathering, coming in so low that people ducked—even though they were in no danger of being hit by the wheels. Annette carried on to land, but Jessie wasn’t quite done yet. She considered being a daredevil in the sky to be an art form, taking a wide blue canvas and painting images over it that those who viewed the creation, no matter how briefly, would never forget. Although recently she’d begun losing her enthusiasm for barnstorming. People were less impressed with stunts and more interested in witnessing a fiery catastrophe. Still, she was determined to give them a show that would take their breath away.
She opened the throttle and pushed the stick forward, using gravity to accelerate. When she was satisfied with the momentum she’d gained, she pulled back on the stick, lifting the nose until the aircraft was practically standing on its tail, and then continuing over until she was flying upside down. After several seconds, she rolled upright and soared a good distance away from the fallow field. Banking wide and heading back, she determined she’d allowed plenty of room for landing. The Jenny wasn’t without its design flaws, one of them being its absence of brakes. Once her wheels touched the ground, she reduced the throttle and taxied toward her destination. When she was close enough, she cut off the mixture control to stop the engine, coasted to a stop, and shut off the mags.
She removed her tinted goggles and leather helmet, then combed her fingers through her mahogany curls. While in high school, she’d chopped off her shoulder-length waves as a tribute to Amelia Earhart, after her idol had made her first solo transatlantic flight. She’d always wanted to be as much like the intrepid female pilot as possible—except for the going missing part. She’d mourned for days after hearing the news on the radio, and still held out hope that they would find the beloved aviatrix on an island somewhere in the Pacific.
Jessie climbed out of the cockpit and hit the ground. A gaggle of youngsters immediately surrounded her, several excitedly waving a leaflet advertising the airshow and asking her to sign it. She answered their shouted questions, giving extra attention to the girls, assuring them they, too, could touch the clouds. When she’d applied her signature to the last handbill and the children had wandered off, she turned to find Annette waiting for her.
“That was fun,” her fellow aviatrix said. She’d met Annette at an airshow a few years earlier. They’d gone to instructor training school together, both getting certified to teach others how to fly. “It’s good to have you back.”
“It’s good to be back.” She hadn’t done any stunt work since her father had passed. When she was six, he’d flown her into the skies, and she’d fallen madly in love, not only with the sensation of flight but with the vast and different world that surrounded her. Sweeping from horizon to horizon, the colors seemed brighter, the possibilities endless, and the freedom from earthly constraints seductive. After that, nothing could keep her on the ground if she had a chance to soar among the clouds. While she’d taken the Jenny up several times since December, she hadn’t participated in an airshow. It had been difficult enough performing after her brother had left, because they’d always been a team. While she did a lot of maneuvers solo, some were better with a partner, especially when mimicking a dogfight.
“I know I’m no substitute for Jack,” Annette said.
“You held your own.”
“How’s he doing?”
“Exhausted, I imagine. He’s not writing as much, what with all the bombing going on over there. It’s like the Germans are trying to sink the island.” She made it a point to attend the movies at least once a week, simply to see the latest newsreels. She read the newspapers voraciously and listened to the radio whenever she could, hoping to catch some news about the war—preferably when her mother wasn’t around, because any reports on the devastation taking place across the ocean upset her. “It’s terrifying. Have to admire the Brits for not surrendering, though. I want it all to stop, and I’m not in the middle of it.”
“I’m glad we’re not. I voted for Roosevelt because he promised we wouldn’t get into the war.”
At that moment, the organizer of the show walked up. “Here you are, ladies.” He handed them each fifty dollars. “We’ll be in Oklahoma City next weekend. Hope to see you there.” He ambled away, passing out flyers about the upcoming airshow as he went.
“I’m going to fuel up and head home,” Jessie said. She held out her hand. “Thanks again, Annette. I appreciate that you took the risk of doing the Dance of Death with me.”
“I live for the thrills, and that particular maneuver never fails to get my heart to pumping. Maybe I’ll see you in Oklahoma.”
“Don’t see why not.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Inspired by true events, a breathtaking WWII historical novel about the brave American women who trained the British Royal Air Force, by New York Times bestselling author Lorraine Heath.

1941. A talented flier, Jessie Lovelace yearns for a career in aviation. When the civilian flight school in her small Texas town begins to clandestinely train British pilots for the RAF, she fights to become an instructor. But the task isn’t without its perils of near-misses and death. Faced with the weight of her responsibilities, she finds solace with a British officer who knows firsthand the heavy price paid in war . . . until he returns to the battles he never truly left behind.

Rhonda Monroe might not be skilled in the air but can give a trainee a wild ride in a flight simulator. Fearing little, she dares to jeopardize everything for a forbidden relationship with a charismatic airman…

Innocent and fun-loving Kitty Lovelace, Jessie’s younger sister, adores dancing with these charming newcomers, realizing too late the risks they pose to her heart.

As the war intensifies and America becomes involved, the Girls of Flight City do their part to bring a victorious end to the conflict, pouring all their energy into preparing the young cadets to take to the skies and defeat the dangers that await. And lives from both sides of the Atlantic will be forever changed by love and loss…
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Meet the Author:

The daughter of a British beauty and a Texan stationed at RAF Bovingdon near London, multiple New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lorraine Heath was born in England but soon after moved to Texas with her family. Her dual nationality has given her a love for all things British and Texan, and she enjoys weaving both her heritages through her stories.
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