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En Route
Novel Introduces Aviation to Juniors
“Stranded” by JE Timlin
Richard is a training captain with an international airline. His wife, Julie, is a writer. Their ten-year-old daughter, Talitha, dreams of following in her father’s footsteps and becoming a pilot one day. Talitha’s interest is not surprising as she has an aviator in her family. She sees her dad head off to exotic locations every week, hears stories of different cultures, sees pho- tos of fascinating historical sights. She experiences his passion for his career and she never hears him complain about having to leave for the office.
Talitha’s interest got her parents wondering about how children with- out the same exposure to aviation become interested in the industry. After all, they don’t come across pi- lots in their everyday life the way
they do teachers, doctors, dentists and policemen.
Julie and Richard decided to see if they could make a small contribution towards inspiring the next generation of pilots. So, drawing heavily on her husband’s expert knowledge, Julie has written a “Flight of the Phoenix” style adventure novel for children, aged 7-14, about a young aviation enthusiast who finds himself stranded in the Canadian wilderness with a crashed plane which he needs to repair and pilot out.
A book is an easily accessible pro- motional vehicle, and Julie and Rich- ard hope that the novel may start the wheels of interest turning and offer early exposure to the fascinating world of flight. Just as a child reads a
spy novel and wonders what it would be like to work for the CIA, they hope a young person may read “Stranded” and contemplate becoming a pilot. That it may encourage children to take the next step of visiting an air show or an aviation museum or joining an aviation program or camp where they will get to experience aviation.
Julie’s novel, “Stranded,” is avail- able from Amazon and major book- stores. A percentage of the proceeds of each sale will be donated to chari- ties that help to make aviation ac- cessible to all juniors. Learn more at www.jetimlin.com.
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Covington