Interview with Kim Ponders, Air Force Fighter Pilot and Novelist

Last month, I had the pleasure of introducing you to Millie Criswell, a famous award winning romance author whom I have had the pleasure of getting to know through my book club and this column. With the changing of seasons and the crisp, cool autumnal weather now settling in on the East Coast, I thought I would introduce you to an up and coming fictional writer that will make you pay a little more attention to the news and the role of women in the military.   Before I lose you, this is not a story about the rights of women in combat. It’s just about a woman’s struggles in life and by the way, she happens to be a fighter pilot.

I first stumbled upon Kim Ponders when I was selected to review her book for Harper Collins First Look program. I was drawn to her novel for a few reasons. My husband, my father, my two brother-in-laws and my father-in-law all have served in the military. Actually, my brother-in-law, Paul, is still in the army serving in Korea. Not to mention, I live close to Aberdeen Proving Ground here in Maryland and the Naval Academy is close by in Annapolis. So, the military aspect definitely piqued my interest.

Honestly, I was expecting a novel depicting the struggles and turmoil that women face on a daily basis in the military. Was I wrong! Of course, Ms. Ponders uses the military as her backdrop to support her main characters, but the book is really about a woman’s life experiences and how she survives and ultimately copes with them. The title is THE ART OF UNCONTROLLED FLIGHT and it’s a quick read at only 181 pages. But be warned! The book may be light on pages, but it is definitely heavy on emotions and drama. It’s one of those books that just make you think.  

Go grab a cup of hot cocoa and get to know Kim Ponders!

Jen: What is your educational background? How long have you served? Are you still in the Air Force?

Kim: I graduated in 1988 from Syracuse University, where I studied journalism at the Newhouse Communications School. I also have an M.S. in International Relations from the now-defunct Troy State European Campus (though it was good while it lasted) and an M.F.A. in creative writing from the Warren Wilson Program for Writers.

I was commissioned in 1989 after attending Officer Training School, and I was an active duty Air Force officer for six years, spending most of that time on temporary deployment away from my home base at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, mainly to Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Las Vegas. I also spent a year in Korea and then moved with my husband to Germany when he was assigned to NATO.

Jen: What was the driving force behind you becoming a pilot? A childhood dream? A military family?

Kim:My father was an Air Force pilot in Korea and Vietnam. He flew F- 86 Sabres, a sort of legendary fighter in the Korean War. He never talked much about it, and what he did, the whole world he lived in, was a mystery to me. Still, I never considered taking the same route until I'd graduated from college and was working as a journalist in northern California. I kept feeling like I could be doing something more, and that ended up being a tour with an AWACS flying unit. About a month after I got to the unit, Iraq invaded Kuwait.

Jen: Tell us what it was like being a woman in the Air Force.   Did the men accept you?

Kim: For the most part, yes. The most important thing for anyone in an operational world is to do your job and do it well. There were a few men who didn't seem to appreciate that I was there, and a few more who appreciated it for the wrong reasons. But mainly -- and particularly among other competent flyers--I was accepted and even, occasionally, liked.

Jen: Why write a book?

Kim: I've always wanted to write. I was a newspaper journalist before going into the Air Force. I'm a very undisciplined journal-keeper, but there were so many things I saw and heard that were funny or amazing or indescribably- - it seemed like a natural thing to start writing them down. After a while, they became a novel.

Jen: How does it feel putting your experiences in the military into words?

Kim: It feels good. The military is such a complicated place. It’s funny and frustrating and exhilarating and very often boring. There’s so much to write about. It’s almost like growing up in a dysfunctional family--I didn't even know how strange that life was until I started showing people my stories. That inspired me to keep writing and eventually finish THE ART OF UNCONTROLLED FLIGHT.

Jen: Did your peers know you were writing a book? Were they afraid you would write about them?

Kim: No! I never told them I was writing anything until the book was accepted. A few people have asked, rather hesitantly, if they're in it. I only have four main characters on the crew, so I combined what I thought were some typical traits of military flyers when I invented them, but none of my characters is “real.”

Jen: What is the premise of THE ART OF UNCONTROLLED FLIGHT?

Kim: It’s about Annie Shaw, a girl growing up under the loose supervision of her very charismatic father, and about her decision to join the Air Force herself-- both to get his attention and to prove she’s just as good as him. It’s about how she carries that desire into her relationship with her husband, Dexter, and with her aircraft commander, Jago, and how it ultimately effects her as a military pilot.  

Jen: How did you go about writing the book? Plot or characters first?

Kim: Characters, certainly. That’s always the most important thing to me. The plot takes one dramatic turn toward the end of the book, but the story is about how the characters deal with that event, more than the event itself.

Jen: How long did it take you to complete it?

Kim: Would you believe ten years? It’s a short book, but it took years of boiling it down to get the story the way I wanted it.

Jen: What message, if any, are you sending about women in the military?

Kim: I'm not sending a message about women in the military. I wanted to write a book about the experience --mine and others I knew-- of flying in the military, and of some of the difficulties you come up against as a woman, because I wanted readers to see and feel what it’s like. But I have no agenda or statement to make. It’s not, in that sense, a political novel.

Jen: Who was your inspiration for Annie? Jago?

Kim: Annie came out of my own feelings and experiences when I was flying, but also out of my imagination. Jago is my idea of a dream pilot: talented, good-looking, smart if not intellectual, cocky but not egotistical, and sexy. He also happens to be married and an adulterer, but that’s not terribly uncommon in the flying world.

Jen: What was the hardest part of writing your first book?

Kim: Wondering if it would ever be published.

Jen: How many drafts did you write?

Kim: I wrote parts of it perhaps 30 times over, and some of those drafts were eventually cut. Others got away with five or six re-writes. I probably wrote over a thousand pages altogether.

Jen: What goes through your mind as you are flying over enemy lines?

Kim: I hope there’s not a missile tracking us right now. (We spend most of our time flying very long surveillance missions over friendly territory, and in this case, I would mainly think: How much longer are we on- station? And: I hope I remembered to put my name on my lunch.)

Jen: If the book were made into a movie, who would you like to see play Annie? Jago? Dexter?

Kim: Grace Kelly. Cary Grant. Humphrey Bogart. I don't think it could get any better than that.

Jen: Was it difficult to find a publisher willing to take a chance on a new author?   How long did it take for you to receive a contract?

Kim: It was remarkably easy. My editors at HarperCollins read the book and loved it immediately.

Jen: Which authors most influenced your style of writing?

Kim: Isaac Babel, Alice Munro, James Salter, and Hemingway. I love spare, tightly controlled fiction. If it’s done well, it resonates with you long afterward.

Jen: In your free time, which authors do you enjoy reading?

Kim: I have two young children. There’s no free time. But if I had free time, I'd read all the old classics. The Bronte Sisters, Melville, Conrad, Austen, Henry James, Forster, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky. I've promised myself that someday, I will take a year and study the classics again.

Jen: When will your next book be published? Can you tell us about it?

Kim: My second novel is about the Air Force Academy. It will be out with HarperCollins next fall or winter.

Jen: Any public appearances or book signings coming up?

Kim: I have several.   They're all on my website, www.kimponders.com, but here’s the list:

I also keep a blog on military and political issues called Femme La Guerre, at www.kimponders.blogspot.com. Feel free to check it out. I've had plenty to write about over the last few months.

October 26:
AUTHOR! AUTHOR!
Reading and Panel 11:45 AM
Our Lady of the Elms
Akron, OH

October 27:
NORTHSHIRE BOOKSTORE
Reading/Signing 7:00 PM
4869 Main Street
Manchester Center, VT 05255

October 28:
THE VILLAGE SQUARE BOOKSELLERS
Book Signing 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
32 The Square
Bellows Falls, VT 05101

November 2:
UNION LEAGUE CLUB OF CHICAGO
Signing/ Lunch/ Presentation & Q&A 11:30 AM
65 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604


November 19-20:
MIAMI BOOK FAIR INTERNATIONAL
Reading/Signing
Miami, FL

Now that you have a better understanding of the book and Kim’s background, I invite you to grab a copy of THE ART OF UNCONTROLLED FLIGHT and let me know what you think.   I promise that you won't be disappointed!

Next month, I will be interviewing Michele Martinez. Her debut novel came out in September called MOST WANTED. If you like the television show C.S.I., you will love this author. Michele was a federal prosecutor in New York City for over eight years. Her novel is powerful and addictive, so plan on staying up late because you won't be able to put the book down. I guarantee it!

Happy Halloween! Until next month.....Jen