How did I find Austen?
Leigh: I had heard of Austen, obviously, in high school (possibly before). I first became interested in her work, however, after attending the 2005 movie premiere with my college roommate and several friends. I read Pride and Prejudice and watched other movies as I slowly became a huge fan. I found Jane Austen fan fiction while commuting on the metro to and from work when I lived in Washington, DC in 2012. I fell in love and devoured as much as I could find.
Paul: I was introduced to Jane Austen in college. It was an English class during summer school. I needed the credit and it was the only class available. So me and one other guy, 12 or 13 female students and a woman professor. Yes we read Pride and Prejudice, Little Women and some other female centric books. In hindsight it’s fun to look back at some of the class discussions of what would we do today versus the 1800s. But at the time it was a bunch of reading in a short time period. The professor was quite good and I enjoyed the class but oh I hated Jane Austen and regency manners. Let’s face it they are not easy reads and I had a ton to read that summer as a history major. You have to pay attention all the time. You can’t doze off and wake up a paragraph or two later and know what’s going on. Anyway, once Leigh set off on writing her books and found the JAFF community, I started reading the other Austen novels and other JAFF writers. I try to be interested in things my kids think are important. I generally prefer the moderns to Regency. I really like the stories told from other characters points of view. This book is a continuation, maybe the next one we can throw in a little twist or reflection from another character.
What is your favorite Austen?
Leigh: I like Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion best, but I also really enjoy Sense and Sensibility.
Paul: My favorite Austen is Pride and Prejudice, though I’ve been reading them all and I think Persuasion is next.
What makes Pride in Flight Series (The
Best Laid Flight Plans, The Flight Path Less Traveled, and Came a Flight
Gently) unique in a Austenesque Fiction?
Leigh: Well, aside from it being a modern and Darcy and Elizabeth are pilots, I think the most distinguishing feature is that there are a lot of other familiar characters to Austen fans. Aside from the ever-popular Pride and Prejudice characters, you’ll find Frederick Wentworth, Mr. Weston, the Dashwood sisters, Sir Walter, Mrs. Jennings, and others. I love mixing and mingling the various worlds of Austen and discovering how those characters would interact with each other.
Paul: First, it puts women in a modern profession—being a pilot. Second, after the first book, it is a continuation and isn’t just a rehash of the Pride and Prejudice plot. The variations are great with different points of view, but they are retellings and these books keep the story going and give Darcy and Elizabeth a new conclusion.
Could you tell us how you developed some of your favorites?
Leigh: My favorite was probably Peggy Fitzwilliam, Col. Fitzwilliam’s mother and Darcy’s aunt. I loved picturing her as a New York socialite. I was heavily inspired by the mother in the Harrison Ford version of Sabrina. I picture Peggy as a fabulous mix of her and Iris Apfel. I love codgery, prickly older women (hey there Lady Catherine!) and she was so much fun to write.
Paul: We tried to pick character names so that knowledgeable readers would wink a bit as they read. Generally, we kept to similar characteristics as the Austen character. Bad guys are bad, good guys are good. For my portion I needed two instructors, Weston and Allie, and a pit crew at Reno, Wentworth, Benwick, and Marianne. So, with Leigh’s guidance off we went. Weston from Austen’s Emma was older, and I’ll be honest, I put myself into his situation. I’ve been an instructor and would love to take time off to learn mechanics. I like to let people see humor in situations but care about them and always want the best for them. There are many quick-witted pilots with a bit of gallows humor and sarcasm, so Weston was easy to write.
Allie is a combination of several female Instructor Pilots I know and from watching a whole bunch of YouTube videos of Reno races where the women compete right alongside the men. Most women pilots become mentors to other women pilots whether they want to or not as they are still a small part of the pilot class. The best of the instructors really enjoy teaching and getting the best from their students. Allie is Elinor from Sense and Sensibility. So, I made her calm proficient and a good listener as well as instructor. Leigh and I agreed we needed a strong female as a pilot as an example and to balance out the other strong females in the other parts of Elizabeth’s new life. Allie also treats Elizabeth as an equal, less experienced, but equal in all other aspects something she doesn’t get elsewhere.
The pit crew’s job is to show Elizabeth that teams and groups who work together for common goals don’t just exist in the military. In contrast to the board room where Elizabeth’s looked down on, the pit crew includes and bonds with her. They integrate their work to help her achieve and likewise she recognizes their contribution.
Wentworth and Benwick name’s come from Austen’s Persuasion. Good friends in that book, they help move the story and help Darcy figure out his role in the effort. Marianne is Elinor’s, and thus Allie’s, sister in Sense and Sensibility. Trying to stay true to Austen she is a bit more dramatic and a bit of a chatterbox. Though seemingly a bit of an airhead, I made her the chief aerodynamicist and an intelligent important part of the team. There are no dumb women allowed in the book. Later Marianne keeps Elizabeth and Darcy informed of other activities not Reno related. I wanted all the team to be smart, likeable, and people I’d want to spend time with.
Do you have any original characters that
you are fond of?
Leigh: Dr. Abbott in this book is based on a doctor that helped me with research for book one and the doctor that did my dad’s physical for pilot training in the 80s. It’s a tribute to those medical professionals that have helped so many different people in my life.
Paul: The easiest characters to write were Homer and June Rudd. They are my in-laws and Leigh’s grandparents. All their characteristics were biographical and I can imagine them doing everything and saying everything in the book. I hit the jackpot for the world’s best in-laws.
Author Bios
Leigh Dreyer is a huge fan of Jane Austen variations and the JAFF community. She is blessed to have multi-generational military connections through herself and her husband, who she met in pilot training. She often describes her formative years in this way: “You know the ‘Great Balls of Fire’ scene in Top Gun (Goose, you big stud!) when Goose and Meg Ryan have their kid on the piano? I was that kid.” Leigh lives with her pilot husband, a plane-obsessed son, a daughter who was a pink pilot for Halloween, and a one-year-old son who is so used to F-16 noise, he does not even startle to sonic booms.
Paul Trockner was an Air Force fighter pilot for twenty-eight years. He flew the F-111, T-37, A-10, and T-38. He currently teaches fighter pilots using simulator instruction. He has been happily married for thirty-six years to his lovely wife Elizabeth. Leigh is the oldest of his five children.
Came a Flight Gently Links
Amazon US: http://bit.ly/CameaFlightGentlyUS
The Flight Path Less Traveled Links
Amazon US:http://bit.ly/FlightPathLessTraveled
Amazon UK:http://bit.ly/UKFlightPath
The Best Laid Flight Plans Links
Amazon
US link: https://amzn.to/2IkAWTF
Amazon
UK link: https://amzn.to/2SfGA9m
Contact Information
Author Name: Leigh Dreyer and Paul Trockner
Email: leighdreyerauthor@gmail.com
Facebook: Leigh Dreyer
Facebook Page: @leighdreyerauthor
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/leighdreyer
Website: http://www.leighdreyer.com/
