As a flight attendant, I always told tales about my international adventures when I returned to the States. The listeners constantly encouraged me to write a book. I joined a memoir class at our local library and learned how to put those harrowing stories into the written word.

When we were going through flight attendant training, we were encouraged to always smile. Our airline wanted their passengers to have pleasant experiences, and we were to show them that we were happy and accommodating on every flight. Behind the scenes of a flight attendant during those wonderful years of working in the air, however, were not always as they seemed. Some incidents were impressive and extravagant while others were terrifying and shocking.

My next book is titled, Life’s Too Short. It’s a creative nonfiction memoir about my 18-month trip around the world: backpacking, flyfishing, and exploring. Some of my experiences included climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Kenya, having my hand threatened to be cut off in Iran, and being charged by a lion in South Africa. During this venture, I also flyfished from Lapland above the Arctic Circle to the tip of New Zealand’s South Island and most places in between.

Behind the Smile is available from Amazon, at some Barnes and Noble locations, and (for a signed copy) from my website. It is also available as an eBook on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Sony Reader, Apple iBooks, Copia, Baker & Taylor, Gardner, eSentral, Scribd, and PagePusher.