Commercial Fiction/Historical Fiction/Womens Fiction
Date Published: January 15, 2019
It’s 1997. Women stand beside men in combat and fly fighter jets. Pilot Tris Miles is not content with her job as a First Officer for tiny Clear Sky Airlines. She wants to be a Captain—the only way she knows to prove her worth as a pilot and atone for a deadly mistake.
To further her career, Tris accepts a prestigious job with Tetrix, Inc. But her dream of becoming pilot-in-command twists into a nightmare.
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.
When Tris finds herself in a crippled airplane thousands of miles from home she must prove she can lead. With her career on the line, can Tris earn the respect she’s been craving? And if this is the end, can she find the strength to forgive herself?
Advance Praise
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"
"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"
About the Author
Robin “R.D.” Kardon is a native New Yorker, educated in the New York City public school system. She attended New York University where she earned a B.A. in Journalism and Sociology, magna cum laude, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
After college, Robin went to law school at The American University, Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C. There, she was a Moot Court champion and earned her J.D. Thus began her ten-year career as a commercial litigator.
Disillusioned with the law, Robin sought out another career and started training to become a pilot in 1991. She eventually earned her Certified Flight Instructor ratings, quit practicing, and started teaching to build flight time. Eventually, she worked as both a corporate and airline pilot, and has flown all kinds of aircraft from single-engine Cessnas to the Boeing 737 all over the US and the world. Robin has an FAA Airline Transport Pilot certificate with three Captain qualifications (type-ratings) and is also a Commercial/Instrument-rated helicopter pilot.
The tragedy of September 11, 2001 decimated the aviation industry. Unfortunately, Robin was furloughed from the airline job she held on that date, and her career never recovered from the blow. She left aviation voluntarily in 2004, and began a career as an executive search consultant specializing in helping companies hire in-house attorneys.
Flygirl existed for twenty years as 83 pages printed in WordPerfect on blue notepaper until Robin decided to finish the novel in 2015. After so many drafts and revisions she’s lost count, Flygirl enters the world on January 15, 2019 via Acorn Publishing, a hybrid imprint.
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