Lisa Wilkes has spent 13 years as a flight attendant, jetting across the globe and collecting inspiration for her writings. Her debut novel, Flight Path, is a fast-paced romance laced with serendipitous encounters. The book follows a daydreaming stewardess as she learns to navigate a new terrain known as unconditional love.
In her second novel, Mid-Flight, Lisa transports readers to the year 2038. A flight attendant begins to unravel after her best friend is killed in a plane crash. In the throes of unspeakable grief, she uncovers a political ploy to decimate one-fifth of the population. To combat this sinister plan, she must risk everything. Including her breathtaking new romance.
Lisa’s writing is provocative and timely, with a focus on societal issues and powerful internal conflict. Flight Path’s readers will appreciate Mid-Flight’s emphasis on hope and redemption, while newcomers to Lisa’s work will be drawn to the power of her storytelling.
Denise: First of all, I’d like to say that I’m amazed that a flight attendant has time to write at all. What inspired you to write about a fictional flight attendant not remembering about her wild South Florida layover in your first novel Flight Path? When did you write it?
Lisa: Thanks for hosting me! I do a lot of writing on layovers, plus I derive inspiration from my travels. Overall, the job is a great fit for anyone with writing ambitions.
Flight Path was my first time writing about a flight attendant. There’s a glamorous element to this flying gig. For folks outside the industry, it seems like an alluring and mysterious lifestyle: one city today, another tomorrow. I wanted to capture that breathtaking wanderlust, the thrill of exploring new terrain on a regular basis (and enjoying every minute of it). I also wanted to give folks a glimpse inside the industry. My main character in Flight Path is a quirky, creative nonconformist with a thirst for adventure. She means well, but sometimes flying by the seat of your pants can get you into a bunch of trouble. Which Callie discovers very early on in the book.
I wrote Flight Path in December of 2018. I was in grad school at the time, and the holiday break had just begun. I had this crazy idea to finish a book I’d started writing several years prior, then abandoned because I lost all hope in ever getting published. Flight Path wasn’t my first novel; I had already written 12 books. I had hit a wall every time I tried to find a publisher or agent. Eventually, that kind of ongoing rejection takes a toll on a person, even one who considers herself a strong-willed optimist! Anyway, I decided if I could go back to grad school at age 34, I could certainly finish the novel I had started when I lived in San Francisco circa 2015.
And I did that. There were only 30 pages written when I re-opened the dormant Word doc, but I finished Flight Path within a month; the novel was completed before classes resumed in January of 2019. I signed a contract with The Wild Rose Press in July of that year. Just goes to show, you never know when you’ll write the book that changes your entire trajectory. It only takes one “yes” to rectify all the past rejections and erase all the past heartache.
Denise: Tell us about your protagonist Callie Schneider and what kind of life she wants.
Lisa: Callie is pretty simple. Interestingly, this makes her somewhat countercultural. She greets experiences and adventures with childlike enthusiasm. She loves freedom: freedom to travel, explore, express herself through art, and connect with other people. Callie doesn’t subscribe to most societal norms. Instead, she leads a life that she finds fulfilling. Material wealth and consumerism don’t appeal to her. She doesn’t own property. She doesn’t want kids. Callie is the ultimate free spirit. I see so much of myself in Callie. Of course, she loves animals. All my protagonists love animals. Any book I write will include a rescue pet! That is a given.
Denise: What threatens her carefree lifestyle?
Lisa: Without giving away too much, I’ll say that a momentary lapse in judgment set off a chain reaction. Callie was blindsided.
Denise: Does there come a time when she has to decide what is most important to her?
Lisa: Absolutely. Callie has spent most of her life evading difficult choices. This isn’t intentional, but she has always followed her heart. That made choices easy, in the sense that there wasn’t much to agonize over. She didn’t have to consider other people’s feelings. Suddenly, her life is thrown in a tailspin. Multiple people will be affected by her next steps. This time, there’s a lot more at stake.
Denise: How many publishers did you submit the manuscript to before it found a home at The Wild Rose Press?
Lisa: That’s a great question. I don’t know the exact number, but I’d estimate I sent my query to more than thirty small publishers and literary agents. Within a month, The Wild Rose Press asked to see the full manuscript. There were a couple other publishers who requested the manuscript, and one even offered me a contract. But I’m thankful I went with TWRP for my debut novel. They are an amazing publishing house. They set every author up for success and offer support during each phase of publication. There’s a reason they’ve won multiple awards over the past few years.
Denise: Your latest book is “Mid-Flight,” a futuristic thriller. This novel has taken a different path. What destructive forces is Lexi Brennan up against?
Lisa: The biggest enemy the human race has ever battled: ourselves.
Denise: Is there a connection between the deaths of her best friend and her brother and the intergalactic crisis?
Lisa: In Mid-Flight’s opening scene, Lexi’s best friend is killed in a fiery plane crash during a devastating meteor shower. An intergalactic crisis follows this horrific incident, and it takes a significant toll on Lexi’s brother. Lexi is left feeling responsible for the two most important men in her life, both of whom she was unable to protect in their moment of need.
Denise: Lexi opposes the aggressive actions that the authorities take and vows to do more than uncover lies. What does she launch to restore basic human rights?
Lisa: Lexi stumbles across some information she was not meant to see. She witnesses an egregious violation of human rights, one she cannot ignore. Lexi has spent a big chunk of her life running from the things that scare her, but this time, she decides to face the monster head-on. Her battle plan gains momentum through a series of discreet actions. Readers get to watch a small-scale revolution in the final chapters of Mid-Flight.
Denise: Why did you feel compelled to write this book? Were you satisfied with how it evolved?
Lisa: I couldn’t turn a blind eye to the jarring events that unfolded in 2021. Women were stripped of rights, the trans community was shunned, and racial injustice continued to run rampant, despite powerful testimony and video footage. Throughout that year, discrimination was codified into law. Over and over.
Some folks might consider my book controversial because it extrapolates on political and religious extremism, in a similar vein to The Handmaid’s Tale or Women Talking. Personally, I don’t believe basic human rights are controversial. I see Mid-Flight as a warning that extremism will destroy our species unless it is combated by love and acceptance. This book addresses the basic fight for equality. Lexi witnesses violence perpetuated against a specific group of people. She decides that enough is enough. She couldn’t save her best friend, unfortunately. But she can fight like hell to make sure everyone on her plane, and everyone in her circle of influence, is shielded from harm. Even if that means defying authority and risking her life in the process.
Denise: Are you writing a third book with a flight attendant theme?
Lisa: Yep! I’ve written thirty pages, but I keep going back to tweak the plot here and there. It’s about a flight attendant who’s dating a chemist. The chemist discovers a chemical compound believed to open our brain to other dimensions; instead of a physical barrier between dimensions, the chemist thinks it’s an inability for our minds, in their current state, to perceive other planes of existence.
When the chemist goes missing, it’s up to the flight attendant to try to find out what happened. And the only way she can do that is by trying this experimental drug, in hopes of reaching her beau in another realm. The book is about love that’s powerful enough to transcend time and space, literally. It’s a weird concept. Then again, aren’t all my books? I like to think that keeps things interesting!
Thanks for the interview. It’s been fun sharing my story and getting excited about Mid-Flight’s upcoming release.