Be Part of The Movie!

My Friend, Syd Blue... Pilot, Author, Business Owner and all around great lady is doing something spectacular and would like you to become part of the creation. One of her books, Circle is going to become a movie.

 

"Circle is about a 14 year old, Spencer, who finds an ET girl living in his house. You'd think discovering an extraterrestrial girl hiding under his bed would be shocking enough! But it's not until Spencer finds out why Mandy came to earth that the real surprise comes.

Ever since the jet she stowed away on crashed in the desert behind Spencer’s home, Mandy has been lost and alone. The pilot was captured by the Air Force. She asks Spencer to risk everything to rescue the pilot from Edwards Air Force Base and help them get back home with the one thing their civilization needs to survive.

On the run from soldiers, fighter jets and attack helicopters, Spencer and his family fall apart when Mandy's secret is revealed. The one thing her people need is the ONE THING they can NOT let her take." 

 

Circle Project Kickstarter Campaign 

Meet the Author:

"I had my 1st flying lesson on my 14th birthday. Now I’m a commercial pilot living a life in the skies. As Chief Pilot running an aviation business specializing in aerial surveillance, I fly above the Southwest. On the ground, I wrote, edited and produced for everything from TV stations to production companies, from book publishers to national magazines. I have had over 40 articles published and screenplays optioned, and supervised writing staffs around the world at magazines and news services. I also produced an award-winning documentary, TV shows, commercials and short films. A pilot passionate about producing? Only when I’m on the ground. 

This is the plane it all started

My parents had more children than seats in their single-engine airplane, so I started writing novels in the back of their Mooney when I was small enough to fit in the baggage compartment. – There’s nothing else to do in the baggage compartment! Trips to grandma’s house were even more fun in a plane, especially when I could get the yoke away from my 3 brothers, all of whom are pilots too."

The Trailer...

Syd is working on getting the word out for her book, via a trailer on YouTube and other sites. But this is no ordinary trailer. This is a live-action trailer... the making of a movie!

Why make a live-action trailer for a book? 

I’m tired of seeing panels of words strung together with uninteresting still images. We have the technology to do better. Yes, it’s expensive, but why not bring a book to life visually? It also serves as a visual tool when talking to producers for the movie version. This trailer will be used to raise the funding to produce the feature-length film.

 

What makes this book special?

"Circle is unique because Spencer takes on the U.S. Air Force. Growing up on Air Force bases excited my imagination. What if drones, attack helicopters and fighter jets were after you? No other book features a 14 year old involved in military action. Plus, the flying. I write my flying scenes in a way even non-pilots can understand and get a taste of life in the skies."

• The book is being read in middle schools as class curriculum.
• At book signings, I average selling a book every 8 minutes – just as fast as I can sign them and briefly chat with a new friend.

 

Become Involved in the Process:

Syd is using Kickstarter to help fund her movie trailer. I have had many people send links asking me to help fund a movie, or a project via kickstarter. But I never felt confident that any of it was real... Not until now, that is.

I know Syd, and she is an awesome individual doing something great.Why is she using kickstarter?

"The trailer for my last book FlyGirl was done on a shoestring budget – super, super low-budget. This time I’d like to hire professional actors, a full crew consisting of Oktay Ortabasi and his experienced pros at The Dreaming Tree Productions. He’s an amazing DP (Cinematographer) and his wife is a fabulous editor. They are the real deal. 

So, we need some real money. With your help, the project can be absolutely amazing and exciting. The budget has been created to keep costs down; however, we won’t go cheap on the talent. Oktay is the one who can pull this off and he’s worth every penny. In my opinion, he’s the best in the biz, bringing intelligence, vision, and invention to getting the hard shots to look good without a studio budget. 

The shoot will consist of 3 days for all the locations. We’ll work hard and fast to create awesome footage. We will only need a little CGI for the jet crash and some of the jet scenes. Joining Blue Blaze Productions and The Dreaming Tree Productions is Stoutheart Entertainment. Damon Stout recently raised the budget for his short film on Kickstarter. 

For info about Damon and his team of producers, check out StoutheartEntertainment.com. Damon brings years of experience and his fabulous Emmy-award-winning film making skills and mastery. With this team, we’ll have the best production possible!

The funds cover:

1. 1. The filming crew, such as the DP, the sound technician, a grip/gaffer, the PA, the makeup artist/script supervisor.
2. The cast, including the casting agency, audition location, actors gas to get to the sets and expenses.
3. Insurance.
4. Props such as airplane flights.
5. Food on set.
6. Video editing.

This trailer will be used to kick off the feature film fundraising, too. Shooting a trailer properly takes time, experience and vision.

I’m confident that I can keep everything on schedule, but should the project require additional time (due to a natural disaster, a mega mothership making contact or an act of ET AI taking over my brainwaves) I’ll let everyone who pledged know as soon as possible, and I won’t sleep until this thing is ready to dazzle audiences worldwide. "

Syd Blue is the real thing. She is a friend of mine. Her movie will be on the big screen one day. So if you want to tell your kids you were part of the making... check this out: 

Circle Project Kickstarter Campaign

For more info, check out SydBlue.com 

and visit her on 

Twitter @SydBlue

I'm seeing Disney Studios wanting this movie... It's going to be great! Good luck Syd!

Enjoy the journey.... and become part of it! 

XO Karlene

1500 Hour Rule

What Do YOU Think? 

Martin Knife, is a student attending Sinclair Community College to get an Associates in Professional Piloting/ Airway Science, with plans to transfer to University of Dayton in a few years, to get a Bachelors in Business Administration. 

He is writing a paper for one of his aviation classes about the FAA's new 1500 Hour Rule. Martin is looking for opinions on the issue. 

Is it necessary? 

Is it a good rule? 

Will it accomplish anything? 

Tell us what you think. And if you would please leave your name and profession in the comment, in the event he would like to quote you, that would be beneficial. I'll be posting my thoughts soon, too. 

Thank you!

Enjoy the Journey!
XO Karlene 

#WritersRoad Takes to the Sky!

"Dreams are written in the sky,

while Inspiration is found in life"

 

I am done with another revision of my novel, Flight For Safety! A few more reads, and it will be in your hands. But an interesting comment came from one of my proofreaders. 

She said, "I noticed you had a lot of products in your book. Why do you say MacBook Pro versus a laptop, or Diet Pepsi versus soda? Is this someothing new? Are they teaching this today?"

I thought about this for a minute but knew instantly why I do this. My friend, Heather McCorkle sponsors a writer's chat every Monday night called #WritersRoad. 

Tonight we'll be talking about this exact thing!

Why I use products: 

For me it's about creating a visual. I didn't learn it. But I see my chapters as movie scenes. If said she pulled a beer out of the fridge... beer is a "word" for an alcoholic drink. But a bottle of Coors Light creates a picture that also says Darby is not a hard core beer drinker, she likes glass over a can, and is weight conscious.

A beer doesn't tell anything about the person. A bottle of Coors Light gives us a glimpse of the person.

A laptop versus a MacBook Pro might tell where that person is financially, and with technology, etc. If their phone flips open... we know they are a bit behind the times for cell phone technology.

• Authors, do you do this in your writing?
• Do readers create a better visual when they identify and can see a product?
• Do you believe there is a legality, or copyright issue?
• This is free marketing for these products... why would they care? Maybe they should pay us.

Join us at #WritersRoad tonight 

on Twitter for a great discussion! 

Easy way to navigate the Writers Road discussion is to download TweetDeck and search #WritersRoad. But you'll still have to type the #WritersRoad hashtag on your tweets.

I hope to see you all tonight! From 6-630 (1800-1830)
 
Enjoy the journey!

XOX Karlene

@KarlenePetitt

In Memory Of...

The pilots...

A pilot friend wrote to me with a broken heart about an accident that occurred too close to home. He said,

A Bearskin Airline crashed last night killing 5 people including both pilots. I didn't know anyone but the captain was a grad from my school and had 3 kids :(  Ever since last night it's been affecting me more than I expected. And it's made me think of two flights I've felt most uncomfortable being in an airplane.

It also made me think of a post I once wrote:

The Sky Is Not Our home

And I read this on avcanada.ca that someone posted it and it really hit me and even made me tear up.

"...I don't know anyone on board the flight. I don't know anyone at the Bear actually. But I do know that these people went before their time. I recognized, sitting in the cockpit today, the fragility of our jobs, our lives. The effort we put in, and the sacrifices that sometimes, unfortunately, come out. It's with that, that I feel so deeply for the pilots, the passengers, the two that survived as well. 

I couldn't imagine living with such memories, nightmares rather. Its things like this that made this morning go a little slower, made me look at the checklist a little closer, and to fly a little better. I can't really describe through a keyboard, but in my heart, I know I feel something. Something for everyone involved...."

My company flew a couple of reporters to the crash site today because it's only an hour flight away from here. And I've flown to that airport many times."

Then.... 

On Sunday four died in a plane crash in the Bahamas.  And last month a plane crashed in Nairobi equally impacting those involved. November 17, a 737 crashed in Russia.

 

Today is in memory of all the pilots that have passed before their time... We know there are risks, but today let's all go a little slower and pay a little more attention to details.

Enjoy the Journey!
XO Karlene 

Our Experiences

T.H.ursday with Tom Hill

I mentor a couple of fantastic flight test professionals. Some people who aren't familiar with mentoring think of it as a one way street--mentor tells mentee what to do. My situation certainly isn't that. I receive as much as I give. One day a while back, one of the Flight Test Engineers I've worked with over the years, told me her philosophy of life. 

 

She said, "Sulu, it's all about the epic story."

 

"Huh?" I responded. 

 

"Sure, if you try to do epic things either they're successes and therefore make epic stories, or you fail. But they STILL become epic stories." 

 

 

 

Considering myself a fairly deep philosophical kind of guy, I was surprised I hadn't heard about this angle on life before. After thinking about it, I realized I follow this philosophy without even knowing about it. Let me explain.

I've always tried to do things that were interesting, but not quite on the beaten path. When there was a fork in the road, if most people headed one way, I would most likely take the other way and not worry about what everyone else was doing. That’s not to say I would always do the opposite of everyone else, just to be contrary. I just wasn't afraid of not taking the normal path. I mostly pursued my own course and didn’t really worry about what everyone else was doing.

My primary business is flying. Not only that, it's flight test, which is definitely off the beaten path as far as career directions go. I had a general officer ask me before I went to Test Pilot School, “Sulu, why do you want to do that?” He may have thought my talents as a tactical aviator would be wasted going to TPS. I had no other answer to give him except that it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.

Even within flight test I've tried to do what I thought was right for me, even if the path was less conventional. I took that assignment up in Canada when most people would’ve gone off to a staff job. I retired without trying to get promoted to Colonel, unlike most of my peers. Actually, I purposefully set myself up to retire at 20ish years because I consciously did not do after work, at night Professional Military Education courses like most of my peers. I wanted to leave the active duty to do other interesting things. Not doing the prescribed training was a sure way to guarantee that result. 

 

 

 

After retiring from the USAF, I left Edwards AFB for Holloman AFB, while most folks were saying, “Why leave all this?" (There’s a lot of “this” at Edwards.) What I knew and they didn’t was that Holloman AFB was yet another special opportunity with big impact. When I returned to Edwards AFB a few months ago, people were looking at me funny once again. “Why go back?” 

 

I’ve tried to do "new and different"--emphasis on different--as much as I could. As wonderful as Holloman was, I was doing the same job for almost eight years. It was time for new adventures. Coming back to the Test Pilot School was a bit of an epic story in that it made no conventional sense since I’d been to TPS before. It is because I essentially created the duties I am doing. I hadn't done any of them before. It’s satisfying and definitely feels new and different. Looking back, the "epic story" philosophy has been a characteristic at every step in my career.

Why does this matter? I don't think it matters. I might have more feathers in my cap from doing cool interesting things compared to most people. The feathers certainly aren't what drive me. 

 

What drives me is 

doing things that make a difference, 

doing things that matter. 

 

 

If that is an allegory for the "epic story," then perfect, even if it doesn't make conventional sense. That's what I'm doing.

I'm not saying people who lead simple well contained lives are doing something wrong. Nor am I saying people who jump off cliffs for no apparent reason are doing things right. Leading a life that matters, a life with the "epic story," is much deeper than the simple day-to-day content of your life. 

 

The key point is choosing what to do, making a difference while you are doing it, and embracing the circumstances of your life. Doing all that will certainly lead to "epic stories."

Cheers
Tom

Aviation Career Advice

What would you do?

Last week I received an email from an International Pilot who is just starting his career. He is faced with an interesting dilemma and would like your advice. I sent him mine... now we're curious what you would do.

I finally got my CPL last year...

I flew a Cirrus Sr20 until January part 91/135 when I got offered a first officer position at a major airline here in Venezuela. I started my training on February for a SIC on a DC9, got type rated last June. I finished up my line training on July 30th. I have been flying as SIC since then, but now there are several rumors which I heard around the water cooler that the company is going to be on bankruptcy on the oncoming months. Now half the fleet is grounded, there are 4 aircraft flying by now 3 MD80 and a single DC9. As you may know political and economical situation here in my country is pretty unstable and this crisis is caused by the control of exchange which leads to a lack of dollars.

I am scheduled to start ground school for the MD80 this month but there's no clue about when are we going to sim in the US. I barely flew 28 hours last month and this month is going to be like 15 hours on my schedule as much. I would like to get a job out my country because salaries here suck big time. I get paid $400 monthly now. Buddies who fly corporate here make around $4000 as F/O .

The check airman who did my commercial/instrument check ride now is offering me an opportunity as co-captain on a brand new King Air 250 based at my current city so I won't have to commute again. The same company is acquiring a Citation XLS and a Stationair. There is another chance to fly 2 King Airs at the capital city, salary in $ too.

I have no idea on what to do. I would like to go to another airline more organized and better airplanes outside my country, but don't know if PIC time on a King Air and the XLS would help getting a SIC position outside my country. It is a plus to say, that I ear the highest salary in Venezuela when it comes to first officer's salaries among the Venezuelan airlines.

I currently have 457 TT. 142 Turbine, 150 ME TT. 307 SE TT. 250 PIC, 142 SIC. A FAA PPL and an ICAO CPL/IR.

What would be your advice for me? Smartest thing to do would be stay on my current position I guess, but I not flying a lot these days. I am just going to fly for 8 days this month. These airplanes I've been offered are flying a lot, indeed the 250 flew into Miami yesterday."

What would you do?

The interesting part of this story for me is a job with a major airline with 457 hours. Also, to be able to get hired by a major airline the year after you get your pilots license wouldn't happen in the US. And then the pay... so low. But this is the same pay the Guyana pilots were paid flying a 757 when I instructed there. 

Please give my friend some advice. He's just beginning his career

Enjoy the Journey!
XO Karlene 

 

The Gift of Giving...

The holidays around the corner and my writer friend, Heather McCorkle was thinking about what to give to our writer friends, that will keep on giving. This year she is doing something special and she hopes we will all join her.

Heather says, 

"My special project is a collection of writing related gifts for writers and readers from which a portion of the proceeds will go toward the IS Foundation. I've designed everything from t-shirts and ornaments, to keychains, clocks, and more all for those who love books. Some items are designed specifically for #WritersRoad peeps, others are for readers or writers, and others are for fans of my novels. Hopefully I've covered the bases and have something for everyone and every budget. To check out my store for great book related gifts, click here."

Here's the special part! Many of you know that I'm a volunteer at the Ian Somerhalder Foundation, a foundation much like the World Wildlife Fund. The IS Foundation works to empower, educate and collaborate with people and projects to positively impact the planet and its creatures. Even more of you probably know Ian from his series, The Vampire Diaries. If you're a fan and you don't know about the IS Foundation (one of Ian's greatest loves) get clicking on those links my friend. 

 

Ian's birthday is coming up this December and he has a birthday wish that I want to help come true. His wish: "If one million of the seven billion people on Earth shared just $35 with the Ian Somerhalder Foundation, we could stop wishing and create change." 

Together we can make a difference! Want to help? Buy a gift, the smallest amount helps, or give my cause a shoutout! A proceed from the portion of all sales at McCorkle Creations Zazzle store between now and December 21st will go toward the IS Foundation. I'll keep you posted with how much we raise!" 

Keep up the GREAT work Heather!! 

We love all you do. 

And... if you have any young adults you want to buy a book for this season... Heather's books are excellent!

Enjoy the Journey!

XO Karlene