Wild Women Authors features author Lisa Wilkes and Mid-Flight, a dystopian sci-fi thriller. With Lisa is flight attendant Lexi Brennan who will go first.
Good
morning, Lexi. Thanks for speaking with us. To start things off, please tell us
a bit about Mid-Flight. Things
really took a turn for the worst in 2037. With several ongoing family problems and
with personal issues to tackle, I was sure my life had reached maximum suckage.
The meteor shower proved that theory wrong! My best friend died when his plane was
struck by a giant space rock. I was supposed to work that flight with Jorge. He
was my favorite person at SkyLine Airways, and I miss him every day.
After that, things really hit the fan.
A wacky space pathogen named ContaCan was transported to earth by the same meteors
that killed Jorge. Most people assumed ContaCan was an alien warfare tactic. If
you ask me, I think it was dumb luck that a deadly outer-space bug got trapped
inside a bunch of rogue meteors that landed on Earth. People want to blame bad
things on aliens but, let’s face it, humans don’t need any help when it comes
to destroying stuff. We are pretty good at ruining things all by ourselves, without
assistance from extraterrestrials.
Anyway, when a ContaCan antidote was
released in May of 2038, we all breathed a sigh of relief. But some people didn’t
respond to the medicine. It has to do with a genetic abnormality on their
fourteenth chromosome, or maybe thirteenth. Either way, about a tenth of the
world’s population was immune to the antidote. These people, labeled ARs,
became everyone’s favorite scapegoat.
I never imagined I’d witness an actual
genocide unfolding in real time, not even after all the bigoted and hateful nonsense
that occurred in the 2020s and early 2030s. This was a new low for humanity,
and it became a very public, very blatant war crime. The government started
tracking and annihilating anyone suspected of being an AR. The entire criminal
justice system collapsed. ARs were given the death penalty simply for existing.
Mid-Flight explains how I fought
back. When innocent people are dying. I put my foot down in the midst of a major
human rights violation. I made a conscious decision to save ARs. You don’t need
perfect people to start a revolution, just a few fierce souls willing to do the
right thing. Even if that mission could cost them their lives.
Along with my new man, I launched a rebellion.
Our humanitarian efforts began at SkyLine Airways but spread like wildfire. Now,
there are similar resistance efforts popping up throughout the country.
This
is . . . all so amazing. Let’s back track, again, and begin with what made you
choose to be a flight attendant? I didn’t
exactly choose to be a flight attendant; I fell into the role after three
failed attempts at teaching. Five years ago, on a whim, I applied to SkyLine
Airways. I figured it was worth a shot. I never expected to get hired as a
flight attendant, much less enjoy the job! Yet here I am, half a decade later.
This role has really grown on me. I figured I could always try to teach
Inflight classes in the future, since teaching is my first love. And in the
meantime, I wanted to enjoy the constant rush of a job that places new cities
and new adventures at your fingertips every single day.
Knowing
what you know now, if you had it to do over again, would you stick with being a
flight attendant or do something different? I wouldn’t change a thing. I
met Jorge and Jason [my new beau] through my job at SkyLine Airways. I’ve made
a million mistakes in my life. Maybe even a billion! But becoming a flight
attendant definitely was not one of them.
What
is your biggest fear? I’m scared of
failing the people I love. I wasn’t there when Jorge died. Over the years, I
have tried so hard to save [my brother] Colin, but in the end, the choice is
his to make. I can’t save anyone. All I can do is love people and try my best…which
scares the hell out of me. I sure hope my best is good enough.
What
is the best piece of advice you ever received? My best friend, Jorge, told me to keep up the good
fight. He said there’s no such thing as failure if I am motivated by compassion,
acceptance, and inclusion. If I choose kindness, I have already succeeded.
Which writer or
character[s], from either books or movies, [or both] have had a major impact on
your writing?
I met Meg Cabot at a writer’s
conference nearly twenty years ago. That interaction left a mark on me. She was
so sincere and patient. She told me that, unless I had a really compelling
reason to end my book on a sour note, I should opt for a happily-ever-after
ending. The world has enough tragedy, after all, and writing can be a powerful
source of inspiration among the vast hopelessness experienced in our everyday lives.
I took that advice to heart. All my books since then have had a nice, warm conclusion
that gives readers a sense of peace.
With regard to research,
where did you start for this novel? Did that lead you down different paths,
thereby changing the original concept? I
researched by conversing with friends and former coworkers in the tech
industry. Some of the concepts in my book, including AutoScan and PersonableSpin
and fully-automated rideshare fleets, are nearly available today. Current
technology is really close to perfecting these items. But it might take a while
for the general public to accept and utilize these functions. People tend to be
afraid of new things; sometimes there is a bit of pushback from folks who prefer
traditional, familiar services. I’ve always been intrigued by the unknown, and
I think technology can be an amazing tool for the greater good. In fact, technology
just might offer a way to preserve our planet and finally tilt the scales toward
equality. At least, I sure hope so.
I also did some experiential research while prepping to
write Mid-Flight. During grad school, I worked in the behavioral health
unit of a hospital. Since Mid-Flight addresses topics like mental
illness and systemic injustice, I explored these issues through my internship at
the hospital and my academic studies.
Tell us a bit about your
publisher. How did you hear about them; what influenced you to submit to them? My debut romance novel, Flight Path, was
released by The Wild Rose Press in 2020. They exceeded all my expectations and connected
me to amazing writers with tons of experience. In addition, the editing and
formatting processes were seamless. I was very impressed with their work.
This time around, my book was more of a dystopian sci-fi/thriller
hybrid than a romance novel, so I looked for publishers who specialized in
those genres. I landed on a small press in British Columbia. There have been a
few challenges along the road to publication, but I must admit the editors
really helped shape Mid-Flight into the novel it is today. I’m also grateful
for the flexibility they have granted me in marketing this book.
What are you reading right
now? I am currently making my way through
a popular Canadian detective series. I am also halfway done with a really interesting
book by Tom Dutta. Tom’s book is biographical but also deeply inspiring; I
hesitate to place it under the self-help umbrella, but it’s given me a lot of
insight into my own goals and motivations. It’s an intriguing book with a lot
to offer.
What's up next for you? So far, I’ve composed thirty pages of my newest novel,
a mind-bending thriller about a love powerful enough to transcend different
dimensions. The book features a Chemistry student in San Francisco who discovers
a chemical compound that can open the human mind to parallel universes. When the
student goes missing, her new flame sets out to discover what really happened
to her.
To learn more about Lisa
Wilkes and the stories she creates, go to:
website- Https://www.lisamichellewilkes.com
Amazon author page: https://amazon.com/author/lisawilkes
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Travelisa1984/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lisa.castignetti
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19785791.Lisa_Wilkes
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Travelisa1984
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@travelisa1984?_t=8aQXlT0SzlL&_r=1
IG animal rescue page: https://www.instagram.com/furever_luvd_fosters_n_flights/
To purchase Mid-Flight, go
to: Amazon- Mid-Flight:
Wilkes, Lisa: 9781487436506: Amazon.com: Books
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