George Jehn of Bayville, an airline pilot, has just published his first book, and the novel is taking off.
Flying Too Close To The Sun was published in December of last year.
The fast-paced story tells the tale of airline pilots who are struggling financially, and come up with a scheme to end their woes. The original plot and well-developed characters draw the reader in from the outset, and the story is told with visual language in a way that allows one to envision it on the big screen (which, by the way, Jehn hinted might be a possibility).
“The first lesson I learned as a writer is to always write about something you know,” says Jehn, who was a pilot for Eastern Airlines for 18 years and US Airways for 18 years.
His knowledge of aircrafts and flying is evident in his novel. The story centers around a female airline captain and a young man new on the job. Both have their share of personal and family troubles to go along with the financial problems, and their stories unfold and intertwine in a way that is both real and engaging. The technical aspects of the airplane are woven into the story, providing the necessary details to make the plot line that much more believable.
Jehn says the seed for the story was planted by his wife, who jokingly wondered how they could get their hands on money being transported by the airplane. Rather than doing something illegal, Jehn opted for writing a book about it, and letting the drama play out with the pen.
When he began writing it, he says he didn’t know the ending, but rather let the story develop as he wrote it. And originally, he says the captain was not female, but a friend suggested he make the role into a woman.
“Once I did that, it opened up a lot of the subplots,” he says.
The story delves into each character’s dark sides, while also adding in a bit of romance and personal history to give them more depth and give the story more flavor. The novel is gripping, one that can cause you staying up all night to finish just to find out how it ends.
“I really enjoyed writing it,” says Jehn. “The characterization is the hardest part of writing a novel.”
The manuscript for Sun was written about six years before Jehn finally took it to a publisher. He says he was considering using a literary agent, then went with Ring of Fire publishing once he learned they accepted manuscripts without an agent.
“I got an email three days later to submit the full manuscript, and about a week after that, they wanted to publish it,” says Jehn.
Though this is Jehn’s first attempt at fiction, he has written numerous nonfiction pieces, including publishing an airline magazine. His second book, a nonfiction book, is due out in May
The book has received a number of positive reviews on Amazon.com, where it can be purchased in both paperback and Kindle editions, and is currently one of Ring of Fire’s best selling books.
“It’s working out really well,” says Jehn. “Better than I ever expected.”
