‘Jaws at 35,000 feet’: the flight attendant whose thriller debut sold for seven figures

TJ Newman dreamt up her terror-in-the-skies novel Falling while guarding the cockpit as the pilots took a toilet break. She reveals how she kept going through furlough and 41 rejectionsFlight attendant Torri Newman was working on the red-eye flight from Los Angeles to New York when the idea for her debut novel came to her. To be precise, she was blocking access to the cockpit, a security procedure required when pilots take a toilet break. “I was standing at the front of the airplane,” she says, “looking out at the passengers. It was dark and they were all asleep. And I had this thought, ‘All of their lives, our lives, are in the hands of the pilots.’ That’s not exactly new – but the flipside of that also came to mind. With that much power and responsibility, how vulnerable does that make a commercial pilot?”Newman, speaking via Zoom from her home in Phoenix, Arizona, was rattled. “I just couldn’t shake the thought. A few days later, I was working a different trip with a different set of pilots, and I said to the captain, ‘Hey, what would you do if your family was taken, and you were told that if you didn’t crash the plane, they would be killed?” What was his reaction? “He had no clue what he would do – the thought terrified him.”I almost gave up. But seeing two authors at a Q&A reminded my why I had to keep going Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2021-05-04 05:00:21 UTC ]
News tagged with: #flight attendant #debut novel

Other Publishing stories related to: '‘Jaws at 35,000 feet’: the flight attendant whose thriller debut sold for seven figures'


How Fortune draws from 5,000 outside contributors

Heeding the call for traffic growth, Fortune has joined the ranks of publishers including The Huffington Post and Forbes in cultivating a contributor network. Today, 6 percent of the business-news site's content comes from outside contributors. The site has taken a careful approach to platform... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2016-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #huffington post #traffic growth #publishers including #platform publishing


Attendance drops at revamped Livre Paris

The revamped four-day Paris Book Fair, now called Livre Paris, closed last night with a drop in visitor numbers of about 15% from last year’s 180,000, which in turn were 10% fewer than the year before. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #visitor numbers


PRH and Daily Mail launch £20k debut novel contest

Penguin Random House and the Daily Mail have launched a “major” competition which will offer new writing talent a publishing deal and a £20,000 advance. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #daily mail #writing talent #publishing deal


Atom buys YA debut by music journalist

Atom, the YA imprint of Little, Brown Book Group, has acquired the debut novel by music journalist Rebecca Denton. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #music journalist #ya imprint


Graham Norton pens 'darkly funny' fiction debut

Hodder & Stoughton has acquired Graham Norton's "darkly funny" fiction debut. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #darkly funny #fiction debut #hodder stoughton


Texture Debuts Exclusive Series with Eyes on Producing Original Content

Seven-part serial produced by The Atavist Magazine will enjoy exclusive first-runs on the digital reader app. The post Texture Debuts Exclusive Series with Eyes on Producing Original Content appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2016-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Viking pre-empts psychological thriller in 'substantial' deal

Viking has pre-empted world rights for a debut psychological thriller My Sister’s Bones by British author Nuala Ellwood. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Scribd, After Pivoting, Adds 6,000 Macmillan Titles

On the heels of a change in its business model, the monthly ebook subscription service is adding 6,000 additional titles from Macmillan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #business model


Roosevelt knocks out Fairfax in double-overtime thriller

It's the year of the guard in high school basketball, and Wednesday night's double-overtime thriller between Fairfax and Eastvale Roosevelt on the opening night of the state playoffs only validated the quality and quantity of the guard play in Southern California this season. Freshman Ethan... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #wednesday night #eastvale roosevelt #opening night #southern california


Sky News editor pens non-fiction debut on British identity

Jonathan Cape is publishing BRIT(ish): Getting Under the Skin of Britain’s Race Problem by Afua Hirsch, social affairs editor for Sky News. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #jonathan cape #afua hirsch #sky news


'Chilling' BBC exec's debut The Girlfriend to Pan Mac

Pan Macmillan has acquired a debut psychological thriller The Girlfriend by BBC drama development executive Michelle Frances. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pan mac #pan macmillan


Sceptre to publish 'raw' award-winning Swedish debut

Sceptre is publishing a prize-winning and bestselling Swedish debut novel by poet Tom Malmquist. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Discovering how Elizabeth sold a million copies

After five years of writing, how did Emma Healey’s Elizabeth is Missing go on to become a bestseller? Amy Lankester-Owen finds out. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #million copies #emma healey


British novelist Hadley wins $150,000 Windham-Campbell Prize

UK writer Tessa Hadley has won a Windham-Campbell Prize, worth $150,000 (£107,000).  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


The New Republic Sold to Tin House’s Win McCormack

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes officially bails on his attempt to right the ship after putting the magazine up for sale in January. The post The New Republic Sold to Tin House’s Win McCormack appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2016-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tin house #win mccormack


iBooks Bestsellers: Debut Author Barton Hits #2

Released on February 16, 'The Widow' by Fiona Barton came in at #2 on the iBooks bestsellers chart for the week ended February 21. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ibooks bestsellers #fiona barton


More than 2.5m Minecraft books sold by Egmont Publishing

Book titles which tie in with the game include Blockopedia, a bestseller in the children’s nonfiction category in 2015More than 2.5m copies of books spun-off from the Minecraft video game have now been sold across the UK, it has been revealed.The series of books, which launched in 2013 with four... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #egmont publishing #book titles #nonfiction category #8m copies


Little, Brown to publish investigative journalist's debut

Little, Brown is to publish White Highlands, a debut novel by John McGhie set in "one of the least known and darkest episodes in British colonial history". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Richard T Kelly's 'political thriller' to Faber

Faber is to publish Richard T. Kelly's third novel, a "riveting drama" entitled The Knives. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #political thriller


Canelo acquires Isabel Costello's debut

Digital publisher Canelo is to publish Paris Mon Amour, a story of "desire, betrayal and devastating loss" by The Literary Sofa founder, Isabel Costello. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #devastating loss