Known for her humorous look at life, former Arizona Republic columnist and New York Times best-selling author Laurie Notaro joins us to talk about her new book “Crossing the Horizon”.
TED SIMONS: NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR AND FORMER ARIZONA REPUBLIC COLUMNIST LAURIE NOTARO IS BEST KNOWN AS A COMEDIAN WRITER BUT HER NEW BOOK IS A HISTORICAL NOVEL THAT FOCUSES ON THE RACE TO BE THE FIRST WOMAN PILOT TO FLY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC. TITLED "CROSSING THE HORIZON" AND IT IS INSPIRED BY REAL PEOPLE AND REAL EVENTS. JOINING ME IS THE VERY REAL LAURIE NOTARO. IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU.
LAURIE NOTARO: IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU.
TED SIMONS: SEEMS LIKE YOU WERE JUST HERE WITH YOUR HUMOR BOOK AND WE WERE LAUGHING. HUMOR COLUMNIST WRITES A NOVEL -- WHY?
LAURIE NOTARO: REMEMBER BEFORE I WAS A HUMOR COLUMNIST I WAS A REPORTER. I LOVE DOING RESEARCH AND LOVE TELLING STORIES. YOU KNOW, I HAVE WRITTEN LIKE 14 VOLUMES OF MEMOIRS AND I AM TIRED OF TALKING ABOUT MYSELF.
TED SIMONS: YOU TALK ABOUT THREE WOMEN PILOTS IN THE LATE '20S VYING TO BE THE FIRST TO FLY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC. WHY THIS PARTICULAR SUBJECT?
LAURIE NOTARO: YOU KNOW, I GOT A LINE ON THIS STORY. IT WAS A TECHNICAL MALFUNCTION ON TIVO'S PART. IT IS NOT A VERY GOOD PRODUCT BUT I AM GLAD IT IS PUT TOGETHER LIKE THIS. I WENT TO TAPE THE "REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW JERSEY" AND INSTEAD TAPED A SHOW CALLED VANISHING ON THE BBC AND IT TALKED ABOUT SEVERAL WOMEN, ONE BEING A PRINCESS FROM GERMANY, ONE WOODROW'S NIECE AND ONE WAS ELSIE MCKAY, ONE OF MY MAIN CHARACTERS IN HERE, ABOUT HOW THESE WOMEN WENT OVER AND MADE TRANSATLANTIC ATTEMPTS AND I THOUGHT WHY DON'T WE KNOW THIS? WHY DO WE THINK THAT AMELIA EARHART WAS THE ONLY ONE? AND THE MORE I LOOKED INTO THIS THE MORE RIDICULOUS THAT NOTION IS OF HER MAKING IT ON HER FIRST TRY.
TED SIMONS: ITS INTERESTING BECAUSE AMELIA EARHART KIND OF TOWARD THE END OF THE BOOK HAS A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A ROLE. STILL NOT ALL THAT MUCH. THESE THREE WOMEN ARE PROMINENT AND ONE OF THESE WOMAN WOUND UP WITH A TICKER-TAPE PARADE IN NEW YORK AND A BIG DEAL AND NO ONE WOULD RECOGNIZE HER. RUTH ELDER. NO ONE RECOGNIZES THE NAME.
LAURIE NOTARO: ABSOLUTELY. THESE GIRLS, AS I STARTED DOING THE RESEARCH MORE AND MORE I REALIZED DIGGING THROUGH THE ARCHIVE AND THE LONDON TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES AND AUSTRALIAN ARCHIVES THAT THESE WOMEN WERE ON THE FRONT PAGE ALMOST EVERY SINGLE DAY. THEY WERE LIKE THE KARDASHIAN'S WITHOUT GETTING ROBBED. THEY WERE ROCK STARS.
TED SIMONS: AND AMELIA EARHART CAME ALONG AND POOF.
LAURIE NOTARO: SHE'S LITERALLY THE LAST PERSON ON THE SCENE AND WHEN I UNDERSTOOD THAT SHE DID NOT PILOT THAT FLIGHT OVER, THAT SHE WAS SIMPLY A PASSENGER, THAT WAS ANOTHER REVELATION TO ME.
TED SIMONS: DIDN'T SHE CALL HERSELF LIKE A SACK OF POTATOES?
LAURIE NOTARO: SHE DID. SHE SAID I SAT THERE LIKE A BAG OF POTATOES AND HID THE BOTTLE OF GIN FROM HER DRUNK PILOT.
TED SIMONS: THE BOOK IS METICULOUSLY RESEARCHED. HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO DO IT?
LAURIE NOTARO: IT WAS A COUPLE OF YEARS. I FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS STORY IN 2010 AND I WAS PITCHING DIFFERENT EDITORS AND NOBODY THOUGHT I COULD DO IT JUST BECAUSE I HAVE THIS HUMOR BACKGROUND AND I'M KIND OF TYPECAST AS THAT. SO I JUST THOUGHT, YOU KNOW WHAT, I'M JUST GOING TO DO IT AND I GOT A NEW DEAL WITH A PUBLISHER AND TOOK THE EDITOR TO LUNCH AND GAVE HER THREE GLASSES OF WINE AND BY THE END SHE WAS A LITTLE TIPSY AND IT WAS GREEN LIGHTED. AND SO IT WORKED.
TED SIMONS: SO YOU LEARNED ABOUT THESE PEOPLE, YOU LEARNED ABOUT THE TIMES, YOU LEARNED ABOUT THE EVENTS AND THESE SORTS OF THINGS. BUT THERE IS A TON ABOUT FLYING IN THE BOOK. DO YOU KNOW MUCH ABOUT FLYING OTHERWISE?
LAURIE NOTARO: NO, I DIDN'T THEN BUT I DO NOW. I DIDN'T KNOW THERE WAS A 30 YEAR SPAN BETWEEN THE WRIGHT BROTHERS TOOK OFF. I DIDN'T KNOW COMMERCIAL AVIATION STARTED IN THE 1920'S. I DIDN'T KNOW THERE WAS A BRIEF PERIOD OF TIME BETWEEN WOMEN GETTING THE RIGHT TO VOTE AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION THAT WOMEN WERE TRYING EVERYTHING. IT WAS THIS OPEN SEASON FOR WOMEN TO TAKE ON ROLES HELD BY MEN AND THAT WINDOW THEN CLOSED IN 1929 AND DIDN'T OPEN AGAIN REALLY UNTIL THE 60S.
TED SIMONS: WHO WAS RUTH ELDER?
LAURIE NOTARO: RUTH ELDER WAS A MAGNIFICENT, CHARMING, AND CHARISMATIC GIRL FROM ALABAMA WHO IS POOR. SHE WAS LIKE ONE OF 12 CHILDREN. HER FATHER WAS A POSTMASTER. THEY DIDN'T GET A CAR UNTIL THEIR HORSE DIED. THEY WERE SO POOR. SHE WOULD ENTER BEAUTY CONTESTS IN ORDER TO EARN MONEY AND DID THAT IN HIGH SCHOOL. AFTER SHE GOT OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL SHE DECIDED WHEN LINDBERG, SHE WAS FLYING BEFORE THAT AND REALLY WANTED TO FLY AND WAS PAYING FOR THE FLYING LESSONS. ON THE DAY LINDBERG LANDED IN PARIS SHE WON A BEAUTY CONTEST AND THEY SAID RUTH ELDER WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THE PRIZE MONEY AND SHE SAID I AM THE FIRST WOMAN THE FLY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO PARIS. THEY POSTED HER PICTURE IN THE NEWSPAPER AND THESE BUSINESS MEN GOT INVOLVED BECAUSE LINDBERG JUST MADE A TON OF MONEY AND EVERYBODY WANTED IN ON THE ACTION. THERE WAS A PRIZE THAT WAS $25,000, FOR THE FIRST WOMAN ACROSS AND SHE WENT FOR IT.
Ted: WE WILL NOT GIVE AWAY TOO MUCH OF WHAT HAPPENS TO EACH CHARACTER.
LAURIE NOTARO: SHE WAS A SILENT FILM STAR AND MARRIED THE MANAGER OF MADISON SQUARE GARDEN AND MARRIED THE SET DIRECTOR AND SPECIAL EFFECTS GUY WHO DID EVERYTHING IN THE WIZARD OF OZ. AMAZING.
TED SIMONS: THAT IS RUTH ELDER. ONE OF THE THREE. MABLE BOWL.
LAURIE NOTARO: I LOVE MABLE.
TED SIMONS: SHE IS A CHARACTER AND A HALF.
LAURIE NOTARO: SHE IS. SHE IS MY COMIC RELIEF IN THIS. MABLE IS JUST -- SHE JUST HAD A LOT OF MONEY. SHE WAS LEFT A LOT OF MONEY. SHE GOT MARRIED YOUNG TO A WEALTHY OLDER MAN WHO DIED AND FOUR MONTHS LATER SHE FOUND OUT BECAUSE OF AN OLD NEWSPAPER SHE DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS DEAD. SO SHE WENT TO COLUMBIA, HE WAS A COFFEE KING, AND GOT ALL HIS MONEY. SHE SAID I AM THE QUEEN OF DIAMONDS AND MIGHT AS WELL BE THE QUEEN OF THE AIR. SHE STALKED CHARLES LEVINE AND IT IS A COMPLICATED PLOT BUT HE WAS THE OWNER OF COLOMBIA AIRCRAFT CORP WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO SELL THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS BUT CHANGED HIS MIND AT THE LAST MINUTE.
TED SIMONS: HE IS A VERY BIG CHARACTER IN THE BOOK. HE HAS QUITE THE STORY HIMSELF. BUT MABLE IS OUT OF HER MIND.
LAURIE NOTARO: SHE IS A STEAMROLLER. I TALKED TO HER NEPHEW AND HE SAID SHE WAS FORCEFUL AND PEOPLE WERE AFRAID OF HER AND NEVER SAW HER LOSE CONTROL BECAUSE PEOPLE WERE AFRAID SHE WOULD BEAT THEM UP AND SHE BEATS A LOT OF MEN UP.
TED SIMONS: THAT IS MABLE. ELSIE?
LAURIE NOTARO: ELSIE MCKAY IS KIND OF LIKE MY DOWNTON ABBY STORY. IT IS TYPICAL OF THE ARISTOCRATIC TIMES OF 1912-1913. WHEN THE WAR BROKE OUT SHE BECAME A VOLUNTARY AID ATTACHMENT AND THEN EVENTUALLY GOT TRANSFERRED TO NORTH HOLD WHICH BECAME THE BIG ARROW DRONE FOR WHAT WAS GOING TO BECOME THE ROYAL AIR FORCE. SHE SAW PLANES LANDING AND TAKING OFF AND WANTED IN ON THAT. SHE RODE HER HORSES VERY FAST AND ROVE HER CARS VERY FAST AND WANTED A PIECE OF THE AIR. SHE WAS ONE OF THE RICHEST WOMEN IN ENGLAND.
TED SIMONS: AND FAMILY NOT PLEASED?
LAURIE NOTARO: EVEN TO THIS DAY THE FAMILY WILL NOT TALK ABOUT HER.
TED SIMONS: THAT IS TRUE?
LAURIE NOTARO: THEY WERE NEVER ALLOWED TO MENTION HER NAME. I CONTACTED THE FAMILY TO SEE IF THEY COULD TELL ME WHAT THEY KNEW ABOUT HER AND THEY KNEW NOTHING. THE LADY TOLD ME VERY GOOD AND GOOD LUCK ON YOUR BOOK. I HOPE IT TURNS OUT WELL FOR YOU. THAT WAS IT.
TED SIMONS: ALL THREE MAJOR CHARACTERS NOW. CHARLEY LEVINE IS A SMALLER IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE A CHARACTER. BUT FLYING IS THE MAJOR THING HERE. AS I READ THE BOOK, I KEPT THINKING THESE ARE PEOPLE DEALING WITH AIRCRAFT THAT IS LITERALLY PUT TOGETHER WITH NUTS AND BOLTS. WHEN THEY ARE FINALLY ENCLOSED THAT IS A BIG DEAL. THESE ARE REAL DAREDEVILS. MABLE BOWL MAY HAVE HAD OTHER THINGS IN MIND FOR WANTING TO BE THE FIRST ONE BUT THESE PEOPLE TOOK MAJOR RISKS.
LAURIE NOTARO: ABSOLUTELY. TO DO RESEARCH I WENT UP TO THE AIR MUSEUM IN OREGON AND SAW A PLANE SIMILAR TO WHAT TWO OF THESE PLANES WERE THAT WENT OVER AND I KNOW PEOPLE WERE SMALLER BACK THEN BUT THE COCKPIT WAS ABOUT THIS BIG. THAT MEANT THEY WERE TOUCHING EACH OTHER THE ENTIRE TIME. IT WAS VERY SMALL. THE STINSON DETROITER WAS WOOD BUT THE MISS COLOMBIA WAS CANVAS. THEY WERE CANVAS PLANES. THEY WERE VERY, VERY TINY. THEY WERE SINGLE ENGINE. THEY DIDN'T HAVE A RADIO IN THEM BECAUSE WIRELESS WAS UNRELIABLE AND IT TOOK UP TOO MUCH WEIGHT. WHEN THEY START GETTING OUT OVER THE ATLANTIC WHAT IS THE FIRST THING TO GO THE GAS GETS TOSSED OUT THE WINDOW AND ONCE THEY START SINKING IN THESE STORMS LOWER AND LOWER TO THE OCEAN THEY HAVE TO RELIEVE THE WEIGHT.
TED SIMONS: SOME OF THE STORM SCENES IN THIS BOOK ARE WELL DONE. A LOT OF THIS -- THIS IS A HISTORICAL NOVEL BUT THERE IS A TON OF DIALOGUE AND ALL SORTS OF HE FELT THIS AND SHE FELT THAT. TALK ABOUT FILLING IN THE BLANKS WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE THE INFORMATION BUT YOU HAVE TO MAKE A NOVEL OUT OF IT.
LAURIE NOTARO: RIGHT. WHEN I FIRST EMBARKED ON THIS PROJECT, I COULDN'T FIND A WHOLE LOT OF STUFF. I SUBSCRIBED TO "THE NEW YORK TIMES" AND "TIME" MAGAZINE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF THE STORY. I THOUGHT I WILL HAVE TO FILL IN THIS STUFF. MY HUSBAND IS A PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON AND HE WAS GOING TO THE LIBRARY TO RESEARCH ONE OF HIS SUBJECTS. HE SAID COME WITH ME, SEE WHAT THEY HAVE. AND I SAID WHY WASTE MY TIME? HE SAID JUST COME. I WALKED OUT OF THERE WITH 500 STORIES OF THESE WOMEN. THAT IS WHEN I FOUND OUT HOW FAMOUS THEY WERE. THE MORE I DUG AND I WOULD FIND ANTIQUARIAN BOOKS. THERE IS A LOT OF DIALOGUE IN THE BOOK THAT IS FROM THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE QUOTED FROM MAGAZINE ARTICLES AND NEWSPAPER STORIES. AND THE NEWSPAPER STORIES THAT I HAVE REPLICATED IN THE BOOK ARE ACTUAL NEWSPAPER STORIES.
TED SIMONS: I WAS READING THIS AND THE CONVERSATIONS AND THE THINGS THEY DID ON THEIR OWN I THOUGHT SHE HAS TO BE MAKING IT UP BUT I AM BUYING IT.
LAURIE NOTARO: THEY WERE VERY WELL DOCUMENTED ESPECIALLY RUTH ELDER, CHARLES LEVINE, MABLE BOWL AND CAPTAIN HINCHLIFFE HAD A LOT OF STUFF WRITTEN ABOUT HIM. HE WAS ELSIE MCKAY'S COPILOT. HINCHLIFFE MADE THE FLIGHT BECAUSE THE NEXT YEAR HIS PILOTS LICENSE WAS GOING TO BE PULLED BECAUSE HE WAS MISSING AN EYE AND HE HAD NO OTHER SKILLS SO HE HAD THE MAKE THE FLIGHT.
TED SIMONS: YOU GOT A LOT MORE RESEARCH THAN I THOUGHT. I THOUGHT A LOT OF FILLING IN THE BLANKS HERE, BUT MAYBE NOT. DID THE CHARACTERS WANT TO GO IN THEIR OWN DIRECTION ANYWAY?
LAURIE NOTARO: I KNEW WHEN WHERE THEY WERE GOING. IT WAS IMPORTANT TO TELL THE STORIES CORRECTLY. I DIDN'T WANT TO PUT THEM IN A SITUATION THEY DIDN'T WANT TO GO. I THOUGHT I OWED IT TO THEM TO PORTRAY IT AS ACCURATELY AS I COULD. I REALLY WANTED PEOPLE TO KNOW WHO RUTH AND ELSIE AND MABLE WERE.
TED SIMONS: THERE HAS TO BE SOME INTEREST IN HOLLYWOOD FROM THIS? ARE YOU HEARING ANYTHING?
LAURIE NOTARO: WE HEARD SOMETHING TODAY BUT THAT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME. EVERY BOOK COMES OUT AND YOU GET SOMEBODY WHO CALLS. IT IS USUALLY A RINKY DINK PRODUCTION COMPANY. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT MADE INTO A TV SERIES NOT A MOVIE.
TED SIMONS: MAYBE A PBS SERIES?
LAURIE NOTARO: THAT WOULD BE PERFECT. BUT THAT IS HIGH ECHELON.
TED SIMONS: ARE YOU EAGER TO GET BACK TO FICTION? NON-FICTION?
LAURIE NOTARO: NO, I AM DOING ANOTHER HISTORICAL FICTION.
TED SIMONS: YOU LIKE THAT REPORTING ASPECT, DON'T YOU?
LAURIE NOTARO: I DO. I SPENT THREE YOURS RESEARCHING THIS AND THIS ONE HAS A LOCAL ANGLE.
TED SIMONS: A LOCAL PHOENIX ANGLE?
LAURIE NOTARO: IT DOES.
TED SIMONS: ANYONE NAMED TED INVOLVED?
LAURIE NOTARO: THERE COULD BE. MAYBE AN EPILOGUE.
TED SIMONS: CONGRATULATIONS ON THE BOOK. GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
LAURIE NOTARO: YOU, TOO.
TED SIMONS: ON THE NEXT "ARIZONA HORIZON" WE WILL LOOK AT UPCOMING CASES IN FRONT OF THE NEW SESSION OF THE U.S. SUPREME COURT AND VISIT WITH THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PBS' GREAT PERFORMANCES. THAT IS TOMORROW ON "ARIZONA HORIZON." COVERAGE OF THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE IS NEXT AND THEN YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN US AT 8 P.M. TONIGHT FOR A SPECIAL POST-DEBATE EDITION OF "ARIZONA HORIZON" RIGHT HERE. I AM TED SIMONS. THANKS FOR JOINING US.
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