I am so excited to host Julie Holmes and her debut novel, Murder in Plane Sight. Julie has been writing since elementary school and been published in small press magazines such as “Fighting Chance” and “The Galactic Citizen”. She lives in south-central Minnesota on a small hobby farm with her husband, their two college-aged children, one cat, two dogs, three chickens, and an abundance of chipmunks, squirrels, and rabbits. When she isn’t writing, she likes to read, go for walks, or tend her vegetable garden. I’m happy to hear that she is working on the next Sierra Bauer mystery.
Today, Julie is sharing thoughts on “write what you know” and for Julie, that is aircraft mechanics–perfect for her new book:
Hi Jacqui! Thank you so much for helping me spread the word about my debut novel. High five for book release blog tours!
As writers, one of the favorite pieces of advice is “write what you know”. I always thought it was more fun to do research and write what I learned instead. I mean, no one wants to hear about the day in, day out of an IT professional who deals with everything from broken printers to basic programming. And technical writing isn’t a whiz-bang job either.
There was something, though, in my pre-IT days that seemed to interest people. Aviation maintenance is a part of the industry few get to see close up, and even fewer of those are women. Most books with an aviation component are either military-flavored thrillers, or have protagonists who are pilots or airport managers or aircraft inspectors, with flight attendants tossed in for good measure. And more men star in those roles than women.
I wanted to do something different. I needed to write a story about an aircraft mechanic, or these days, aviation maintenance technician. It’s what I know. It’s the world in which I made a living for a handful of years.
It’s the type of story I want to read. So I wrote it. Hey, I knew those years swinging a wrench were good for something besides the oh-so-enjoyable shock factor. There’s nothing quite like the look on someone’s face when you tell them you work on airplanes. Especially when you are a woman.
These days women in aviation maintenance are not the rarity they once were, but as much as we like to tell ourselves differently, there are still occupations seen as male-dominated and aviation is one of them.
It’s not the occupation, though, that matters. It’s the characters that truly matter. Sierra Bauer is a strong, confident woman working in a man’s world, with her own scars to bear. Quinn Moore is no slouch either, despite the losses in his own past. Together they make a great team.
Buy the book
Murder in Plane Sight is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble and wherever books are sold.
Blurb:
Sierra Bauer is nobody’s fool—a skilled and confident aircraft mechanic, a woman operating in a man’s world. But her world is about to be turned upside down, and her confidence challenged.
After her stalker was sent to prison, and she was cleared of wrongdoing by the FAA in her brother’s fatal plane crash, Sierra has finally reclaimed her life. But in the dead of winter at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, she makes a gruesome discovery—a woman’s frozen body hidden inside the maintenance bay of a Range Airlines plane Sierra was inspecting. Her life is pitched into a tailspin.
Enter Detective Quinn Moore of the Airport Police Department, who finds himself attracted to Sierra despite mounting evidence forcing him to consider her the prime suspect.
Sierra’s stalker may be back, and someone is trying to frame her for the murder. The woman Sierra blames for her brother’s death may hold the key to uncovering a conspiracy that threatens the entire aviation industry. She and Quinn must expose the truth before Sierra becomes the next casualty.
Review
I am going to review Julie’s book on a future post–not quite finished yet with her story–but my early thoughts:
Reading this story is as disappointing as, say, winning the lottery. You know what I mean?
Author bio:
You can reach Julie at any of these social media locations:
Web | Blog | Amazon Author Page | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy, the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers, and the Man vs. Nature saga. She is also the author/editor of over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, adjunct professor of technology in education, an Amazon Vine Voice, and a columnist for NEA Today and TeachHUB. Look for her next prehistoric fiction, Quest for Home, Fall 2019. You can find her tech ed books at her publisher’s website, Structured Learning
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Thanks for dropping in.
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Love the title! 😄 Great review, Jacqui – you always know how to hook on readers. 😉
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I was hooked on the title too–and the cover… and the story… well, everything.
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dengan idea idea semua ini bisa bermanfaatkan saya
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Thanks for visiting.
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Thank you for stopping by!
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Way to go for stepping outside of the box in career choices, Julie! My question is; what made you go in that direction?
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It is quite a career change. Good question!
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Hi Jacquie! That’s a story, but the Cliff Notes version is: my first choice was pilot, but that is way expensive, so I figured I’d work as an aircraft mechanic to help pay for flight training (since aircraft mechanics make more than burger-flippers). Then I learned I wasn’t as cut out to be a pilot as I thought. And I met my husband ❤ 😀
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Very cool! And it ends with a romance 😊
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Sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing such a great review!
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And I’ll have more later! Just savoring the book right now.
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Thank you, Kate!
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This book sounds terrific, Jacqui. I read Jacquie Biggar’s post about it too.
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I may have met Julie over there–can’t remember! I’m really excited for Julie’s debut. I know what an accomplishment this is.
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Thanks, Robbie! I missed that post …
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Sorry I’m late popping in. I’ve been on vacation but wanted to give a shout-out to Julie for her excellent novel. I’ve already read it and given her a five star review. She delivered an intriguing mystery with great characters!
Great seeing her here on your blog, Jacqui!
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Julie has made a great start on her series. I’m all in!
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Thank you so much, Mae! So glad you enjoyed it!
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I love the title of this one, and the blurb makes it very intriguing. I look forward to reading your review.
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Thanks for stopping by, Norah!
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My pleasure, Julie.
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The title–and the cover–are what got me first. I can’t wait to read it.
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I LOVEU MY FIRENDS
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Thank you for visiting, Shah!
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Thanks for stopping by!
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I like it
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Thanks for stopping by!
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Thanks for visiting!
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An Aussie author friend, Helene Young, was an airline pilot and trainer, and she did the same thing. Her heroine was a pilot. Makes sense to write what you know and if it’s a little different it’s sure to catch people’s (readers) eye.
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Totally agree, AJ! I’ll have to find some of her books; they look great! Thanks for stopping by!
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I’ll have to look her up. I haven’t read any series related to flying airplanes and I always look for new ideas.
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Nice to see Julie and her new book featured here today. Wishing you tons of success Julie! 🙂
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I am excited to host her because it is such an unusual book. Can’t wait to get to it!
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Bookmarked! 🙂
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Thank you, Debby! Crossing my fingers 😀
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You’ve got this girl! 🙂
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I always enjoy women in roles that we aren’t used to seeing them in. And a mystery. Cool.
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Me too. Fixing airplanes–this is new to me!
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There aren’t a lot of stories out there, but there are more than there used to be. Thanks for stopping by, Liz!
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Sounds like a terrific read. I’m a female construction worker, so I can relate. Sharing…
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A big-time male job. You must be strong!
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No, it’s waterproofing and caulking. It’s still physically demanding, but it’s more finesse than brute strength. 🙂
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No manicures for you, it sounds like.
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Excellent! High-five to a fellow non-trad career gal! Thank you so much for sharing, Cathleen!
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that was great 🙂
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Hey, that sounds like a good book. Thanks so much for sharing about it. 😉 🙂 🙂
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LOL! Snarky ~ 😀 😀 😀
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Heh Heh. 🙂
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Definitely a must-read, Betsy, if you like strong competent women surviving in a man’s world.
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This sounds like such an interesting book to read, from the clever title to the unusual setting to a main character I’ve never before encountered. Female car mechanic, yet, female airplane mechanic, no. Julie, I bet you didn’t realize you’d be learning an industry that would be the focus of a book one day – I bet you just thought you were paying the bills. Best wishes to you on the success of the book, now on my TBR list. Too enticing not to be.
And Jacqui, for a short review, you sure lobbed this one over the goalpost.
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Thank you, Sharon! Yes, back then I was paying the bills. I was writing back then, but my projects were more fantasy, less mystery. I have to say I’m glad I have that interesting piece of my past to pick on 😀 Enjoy!
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Hehee–thanks, Shari. I was inspired!
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Great post:) That was one of the things I so enjoyed about “In Plane Sight” was a female working in a male dominated world. Kudos for that. It really brought an extra dimension to a already good story. I’m enjoying your tour Julie and thanks for hosting Jacqui!
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Thank you so much, Denise! It’s like the universe said, “You spent how many years doing that? You should use it in a story!” Or maybe it was my Muse…. 😀
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I jumped on this one, Denise. This is exactly the type of mystery I love reading.
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It’s good to learn more about Julie here, Jacqui. Her book sounds intriguing. I’d love to be disappointed!.
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Thank you, Jina! Clever how you took Jacqui’s quick review 😀
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I can’t wait to get to it on my list. I think I have about four in front of it.
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I’ll be on the lookout for it!
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Yay for Julie’s blog tour! I’m really enjoying making the rounds.
I’ve already finished reading the book and will post my review on my blog soon, but I have to say I loved your early thoughts, Jacqui. Thanks for hosting.
Julie, wishing you all the best.
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Her ability to engage me with a bunch of new information I know nothing about and make me eagerly turn pages– it’s spectacular.
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Thank you, Staci! This tour has been fun!
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That’s a gripping blurb – I’m off to check it out.
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Thank you, Deborah! Hope you enjoy it!
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I like (among other things) that Julie actually worked on these planes. Pretty cool.
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Yep, another layer of authenticity – like my inclusion of horses in my fantasy books. You can’t beat adding a little of what you know 😀
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Good luck with the book, Julie.
I love this quote: “Hey, I knew those years swinging a wrench were good for something besides the oh-so-enjoyable shock factor. There’s nothing quite like the look on someone’s face when you tell them you work on airplanes. Especially when you are a woman.”
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Thanks, Neil! It was a fun exercise back in the day 😀
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That’s what made me pick the book up the first time. Then, I turned the first page, and the second, and third…
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Thank you so much for hosting me today, Jacqui! This has been a fun tour, and I am grateful for such wonderful writing friends!
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I’m excited to host you, Julie. Your book is so fresh, I’m looking forward to reader comments.
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Jacqui,
Helping to spread the love. Shared Julie’s debut book on Twitter. I’m sure it’s a good story. The plot sounds interesting and I love the book title but not being a book reader I think I’ll wait for the movie version. 🙂 Best of luck to you, Julie! 🙂
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Hmm, movie version? I like the way you think, Cathy! Thank you for sharing, and thanks for stopping by!
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I’m only about 15% into the book but I’ve already discovered a love interest! Who knows where that will go.
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Jacqui, lovely to see Julie on your blog with her first published novel. I’m smiling at your mini-review! This will have Julie beaming for the rest of the day! 😀
Julie, I loved learning how you came to write this book … at a book talk the other day the author said exactly what you mention here … writing the book you want to read! I think this is elementary and the passion for the subject and in the writing truly comes across at such times! Yeah, I’m loving books that focus on women in what was seen as male-dominated work places. A great premise and blurb. Wishing you the best for the rest of the tour and with your book. Well done, my friend! You did it! 😀🎉
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Thank you, Annika! I think a lot of writers end up writing books they want to read, rather than “writing to the market”, simply because those are the books we want to write 😀 So glad you stopped by!
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And those are seriously the best books! I have met writers trying to copy a popular genre hoping for instant success and these mostly never work well. Happy Blogging Tour, Julie! Xx
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I’m excited to help with a debut novel on such an amazing topic. This will be a good day.
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Thanks for sharing Julie’s new release with us, Jacqui. I’m really looking forward to reading this. Congratulations to Julie!
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Thank you, Jill! Glad you stopped by!
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I can already tell she’s a wonderful storyteller. And I like that her strong female protagonist is sturdy and not whiney!
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I just finished reading some of her blog. Since I have decided to start writing a novel, taking it very seriously I´m now much more focus in reading published authors and first time published authors like Julie, and also non public authors, I can always learn from all type of people really. Like you also a great author.
Thank you for this post, gave me another person to learn a bit more as my university seems to be WordPress .
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Thank you for stopping by, Charly! Never stop learning about the craft, and persistence is the key!
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Persistance-hardwork is the key
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I can tell you, Julie’s doing it right. She has a great story, professionally produced, and is taking on the marketing with gusto. Kudos to her!
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I get it – I’m a pilot.
Congratulations and good luck with your new novel. 🙂
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Hello to a fellow aviation woman! Thank you so much for stopping by, Lynette!
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I think she has a winner!
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