Q&A with Camille Di Maio

 

 

 

Camille Di Maio is the author of the new novel Come Fly with Me. Her other books include The Beautiful Strangers.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Come Fly with Me, and how did you create your characters Judy and Beverly?

 

A: My original inspiration came many years ago when I came across a nonfiction book about the jet set era while traveling in Austin. It sat on my shelf for a long time, but it is a concept I kept returning to. I'm glad l didn't write this book then. I think I needed more experience as a writer to tackle a subject as vast as that. 

 

The character of Judy came to me when I learned that being married was something you could be fired for when working for Pan Am - and most airlines at that time. I thought - what if she was married and was hiding it? So I began to create her circumstance and set her life in Red Lion, Pennsylvania, where I went to high school.

 

I wanted a character who had an opposite circumstance, but a similar dream. So Beverly was both. Born into a wealthy banking family, she was still imprisoned by her circumstance - and longed to get out of it to pursue life on her own terms.

 

Although they had differing backgrounds, they share the goal of freedom. And help each other gain it.

 

Q: How did you research the novel, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?

 

A: I knew from the start that I wanted to try to interview women who had been Pan Am stewardesses in the early 1960s. I got in touch with World Wings, International, which is a philanthropic organization of Pan Am stewardesses. (Their preferred name, by the way.)

 

After some serious vetting - they guard their legacy carefully - they enthusiastically "adopted" me into the family and gave me incredible access to their stories and their archives. Many of them have since become good friends. 

 

My favorite things to learn were little details - like about the galley kitchen and the training. But the thing that surprised me the most was that Hong Kong was almost universally their favorite layover.

Q: Did you know how the story would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: I had a vague idea of how the story would end. No spoilers here, though! I will say that I am a "pantser" - I write by the seat of my pants. That means I leave myself lots of room to see where the story takes me, even the end. So I did have a concept of where it would go, but it became more defined as time went on.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?

 

A: I hope readers take away inspiration at what pioneers these women were at a time when career opportunities were so limited. I hope they are inspired to push past obstacles and pursue their dreams. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I am actually working on FOUR books right now! I never thought I'd say something like that. And it's not my norm.

 

I have co-written a Christmas book and we are currently editing our completed manuscript. I'm early on in co-writing a contemporary book with a woman inspired by her amazing true story. And I am about four chapters in (each) of two more historical fiction books - one set in New York and one set in Virginia.

 

Three of my four kids are flying the coop, so I am about to have more time than I have before to complete these.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I would like people to know two things about Come Fly With Me.

 

One is that the scope of this airline is vast. In 2027, it will be a hundred years old. And they traveled to just about every corner of the planet. As much as I would have loved to encompass even more about this magnificent airline, I had to narrow myself to one slice in order to make it a more intimate look at it. So it is a sliver of something enormous.

 

Additionally, this, as well as all of my books, has (low heat) romantic storylines. Yes - this is a book about women seizing new opportunities and female empowerment. But I don't think that has to come at the expense of romance.

 

And, it's also true to the era. The career span of a Pan Am stewardesses in that day was 18 months - mostly because they married passengers and had to leave! So there was definitely some romance in the skies.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Camille Di Maio.