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- [00:00]
A
A big night too. Oh, I, I always take it easy. I have a one year old.
- [00:10]
B
So it was a big party tonight or something?
- [00:12]
A
Well, the, the CEO of this company that's coming in.
- [00:15]
B
Oh, cool.
- [00:15]
A
He's taking us all out to 1000 North. Are you familiar with that place?
- [00:19]
B
No, it's in Jupiter. Okay.
- [00:21]
A
But it's where all like Michael Jordan is an owner. All the.
- [00:25]
B
Is it by the breakers and all that right there?
- [00:26]
A
No, no, that's. Breakers is down here in Palm Beach.
- [00:29]
B
Okay.
- [00:29]
A
This is up in Jupiter, so like a half hour north of here.
- [00:32]
B
Okay.
- [00:32]
A
On the water. But it's, it's not cheap. It's. It's like a hoity toity place that I don't normally go to. He said, you know, this would be fun for, for he's, he's coming all the way from San Francisco. So take him to the, the hot spot in Jupiter. Yeah, not really. Way overrated. Everybody knows that though.
- [01:06]
B
You just go because of what it is.
- [01:08]
A
Because of what it is. Most people go because they want to say they went to 1000 North. I generally don't care about that. My wife and I went once for anniversary. When we first moved here like three years ago, we left. We were like, that was okay. We're never going again.
- [01:19]
B
No need.
- [01:19]
A
No need.
- [01:24]
B
My husband's a great cook, so I'm usually like, let's just stay in.
- [01:29]
A
That's me. My wife always wants to go out, but I love to just stay in and cook and eat and drink at my leisure. I, I'm not a fan of going out, but my wife loves to. I say dinner is not, it's not entertainment, it's a meal to sustain nourishment. Like that's not an activity.
- [01:48]
B
Move on.
- [01:48]
A
That's right. That's my. That's the way I look at it. Look at this. Got some chips in it. Move me. Yeah, you move a little bit more. There you go. All right. And so we got in order. Firefighting, law enforcement, ambulance, agriculture.
- [02:37]
B
And I already have five in mind, but I don't know if I'm gonna
- [02:40]
A
talk about it on there. Oh, yeah, I was gonna say, how many, how many more can you do?
- [02:43]
B
Oh, I have like 20 some titles planned. We're in a long term relationship, you and I, Andy.
- [02:48]
A
I'm excited. I love it.
- [02:49]
B
As long as my husband will be okay.
- [02:51]
A
I love it. It's great.
- [03:01]
B
As long as you have me and as long as Barbara will stick around because her artwork also makes it.
- [03:06]
A
Yeah, well, I want to talk about that. Too. Finding the illustrator and that relationship.
- [03:12]
B
Yeah.
- [03:12]
A
I don't know if I know. We have a few that have done three. He might be the only. No, that's not true.
- [03:18]
B
Like a series wise.
- [03:19]
A
Yeah. Two other the why nots they've done. I think they're on five now. Then we had another author who did like 12 all at the same time.
- [03:30]
B
Oh, I think I saw that recently.
- [03:32]
A
That's a tough one. Tough on production. Is Kaylee your production editor for all of yours?
- [03:41]
B
Yeah, Lauren and Kaylee.
- [03:43]
A
Oh, I guess Lauren say. Yeah, of course. Lauren.
- [03:46]
B
She's.
- [03:46]
A
She's the vice president, but she still stays involved.
- [03:48]
B
She's super high. Touch.
- [03:49]
A
Yes, she is. Yeah. Because you initially came in with Lauren, right? Yeah. So she's not letting you go.
- [03:59]
B
Probably not letting her go.
- [04:00]
A
True.
- [04:01]
B
Me neither.
- [04:02]
A
Me neither. Yep.
- [04:22]
B
Do you like whole intro sp spiel that you do?
- [04:25]
A
Not really. Just welcome to the show.
- [04:27]
B
Yay.
- [04:28]
A
That's about it. More like the Joe. Like, if you listen to Joe Rogan, they're just already in the middle of a conversation when they start rolling. Sean Ryan does this whole long diatribe. I'm like, please, just.
- [04:38]
B
Just get to it.
- [04:39]
A
Just get to it. So I try to do a little combo of the two. Check, check. One, two. Check, check.
- [04:48]
B
Yep. Hello. Good. One, two.
- [04:50]
A
Does that need to be closer to her?
- [04:53]
B
Hello. One, two. Good. All right. Better. You're like, no, it's not better. Don't be lying to me.
- [05:03]
A
Better, but not good enough.
- [05:06]
B
All right. Like my whole face gonna be on the. Cody back here somewhere.
- [05:10]
A
Somewhere back there.
- [05:13]
B
Yeah.
- [05:13]
A
I try to drop it, like below on my chin. All right. Welcome to another episode of the Ballast Book launch. Today, it's actually the Blue balloon book launch. We're thrilled when we get some of our children's authors in here. And today it's Cody Bogart, who is the author of four separate Hilo Girls titles with us. Cody, welcome to the show. We're thrilled to have you.
- [05:51]
B
Yeah. Thank you any. I'm super excited to be here. I've seen all your podcasts online and so I was a little jealous, so I'm glad I'm here.
- [05:58]
A
So you were the one that watched them.
- [05:59]
B
I was angry. Emails, like, when am I getting there?
- [06:02]
A
Yeah, no, it's been a long time coming because you. When did. When did Hilo, your first Hilo Girls book, come out?
- [06:08]
B
So I reached out to Blue Balloon via your contact form web submission in early 2023.
- [06:15]
A
Okay.
- [06:15]
B
And so each book takes about a year. And so the first book, the Firefighting One was published in early 2024 January.
- [06:24]
A
So, so we're, we're two years. Although I don't even know if I had the podcast at that point. But yeah, this is a long time coming.
- [06:29]
B
Yeah, three relationship, two years into publication.
- [06:31]
A
But as you just told me off camera, you have 20 different Hilo girls titles that you have.
- [06:36]
B
Yes, I have a whole, a whole plethora of books planned now. We'll see if what comes to fruition.
- [06:43]
A
Right.
- [06:43]
B
But my mind constantly goes, there's so many different things that helicopters can do, so why not share that with kids?
- [06:49]
A
Yeah, well, working with you for the past three plus years, I have no doubt that you'll be able to do all of those because you, you're, you're definitely a force to be reckoned with as I think that, that most people, especially women, I'd say it's probably more difficult who are helicopter pilots and have the background that you've done. So why don't we start there. Tell us a little bit about your background, how you got into flying, what you've flown, maybe some cool stories.
- [07:14]
B
Yeah, absolutely. So I started out in the military actually. When I first joined the military I was 17 and I was not in aviation. Sometime during that point I went on a morale flight. So basically where your unit gets to kind of go up and basically go on rides in the helicopter. And I was like heck yeah, I'm pretty sure I elbowed a bunch of people to go up at least five times that day.
- [07:34]
A
So you loved it?
- [07:35]
B
Oh my God, I loved it so much.
- [07:36]
A
And sorry to not, not to age.
- [07:38]
B
That's okay.
- [07:39]
A
But what year was this? Was this pre 9 11?
- [07:42]
B
Yeah. So I joined in 97.
- [07:43]
A
Okay.
- [07:44]
B
So I'm 46. I'm not afraid to say my age, you know, you should be proud to be where you are.
- [07:47]
A
That's right.
- [07:48]
B
Okay. Some people never get a chance to get there.
- [07:49]
A
So you joined, you joined pre 9 11?
- [07:52]
B
Yep.
- [07:52]
A
And in the army. And what were you, what did you join to do?
- [07:56]
B
Army. So I did the best thing that every kid should do and I say that with a joke cuz I literally went to my recruiter and I was like, hey, I'm ready to go this week, like whatever you want me to do. So the recruiter must have eyes wide
- [08:09]
A
as sauce cuz usually they're going to get you do whatever they want anyway. But usually they have to lie to you.
- [08:12]
B
Right. And they have a quota, they have certain billets that they have to fill and that, you know, whatever I My home life wasn't the best and I was just ready to get out and get away. So I became a truck driver. But honestly, that job was great. You got to. I met some great people. I was here in Florida. So when it come to hurricanes, definitely down in the Keys a lot. Driving the truck down there, taking supplies and helping people, that was great. Didn't keep me busy. Busy enough. Like, I. I love to work with my hands. I love to be busy. I went to my unit commander and I said, hey, I would like to go work on tanks and trucks. Like, I love mechanics. I like working on things. And so I went to school for that. During that time, I moved and I was closer to another unit. And I also at the same time found out I could not be a pilot because of my eyesight.
- [09:00]
A
So when you say a pilot. A fixed wing pilot.
- [09:03]
B
No, helicopter pilot. A military aviator in general, I could not do because of my eyesight. Okay, so this was after all that morale flight where I was like, yes, this is what I want to do. They're like, oh, no, you can't. Because of my refraction, whatever my eyesight at the time. So I was like, well, that kind of. That kind of sucks. But, you know, you adapt, you overcome. I ended up switching into human resources and I worked in St. Augustine and I loved it. I did that for, I think, five years. That was a really good job. It was nice to get people into positions that they wanted to do. So working at state headquarters here in Florida was really great. I got to meet a lot of good people. And a gentleman who's my mentor to this day came to me and he said, hey, the army and the Navy are getting together on a research program for pilots to have refractive surgery. He's like, do you still want a flight? And I was like, heck yes.
- [09:52]
A
So the whole time you're still wanting to. Still want it to, but you know,
- [09:56]
B
it is what it is. And I was like, yes, I'm definitely going to apply. So I applied to the study, was accepted. I had my, you could do LASIK or prk. So I'm not even going to try to say what PRK is because it's way beyond my pay grade. But I went to the Navy. They did my eye surgery. I did my military flight tests, physical tests, and went in front of a flight board and was selected and then went off to flight school in 2004. And honestly, just a life changing moment, in all honesty, being able to have the opportunities to go on those morale flights early in my Military career was the life changing because that gave me a purpose. Even though at the time I couldn't fly it in the military, I still think at some point I might have done it on the civilian side. I just hadn't gotten there yet. But being able to do that through the military was just catapulted and changed the trajectory of my life.
- [10:45]
A
They paid you to do your dream job.
- [10:47]
B
Yes. And do it well with some awesome aircraft and with some awesome people.
- [10:51]
A
Yeah. So what was flight school like? What kind of aircraft did you start on?
- [10:54]
B
So it's Basically a Bell 206. So a two bladed aircraft, single engine turbine. Wonderful trainer. You know, it was really good for me to learn on. I loved flight school. I'm the type of person when we would be in formation running and it's raining, I'm the one who's gonna jump in the puddles and get everybody wet. Because I firmly believe in embracing the suck. Like listen, it sucks for everybody. We're all out in this rain. None of us want to be here. Let's just embrace it. I felt that same way through flight school. When lessons were hard or challenging, I was like, we had a really good group of guys and we would all go to the library together and we would study together.
- [11:31]
A
Were there any other women?
- [11:32]
B
There were a couple. They weren't none in my immediate peer group. I had, let's see, there were probably six of us in my immediate group and we all just really supported each other. Our families would know we knew each other. A couple of the guys were married and had kids. We all hung out together and supported each other all through that. So that was really beneficial to help get through flight school. That peer group and teamwork side.
- [11:54]
A
Yeah, that's great to find that camaraderie too.
- [11:56]
B
And to this day I'm still have them as friends and their, their kids have my books, which is awesome.
- [12:03]
A
So let's talk a little bit about, you know, being a woman in a male dominate. Because the, the, the whole idea of book these are for girls, right. This is to let girls know that they can do this, that they can. You know, someone with two young daughters who love these books, you know, it's important for them to know they can do, they can do any of these things was it was. Did you find that to be a challenge during flight school or being in the military at all, being a woman? Or was it just hey, meritocracy, I'm just as good as these guys and so that's the way it is.
- [12:28]
B
Yeah, I'm gonna go with the latter of your comments. I. I have an older brother growing up, so I was always out with the boys, you know, tomboy, whatever you want to say. I never thought of myself as different when it comes to doing a job. I just get up and do it. I don't think about it. If something's too hard to do and I need assistance in something. Hey, can you help me with this? I don't fully understand it right now or, you know, this is a two to two person lift. Like let's, let's lift this together. I don't expect anyone to ever pick up my slack. I just, I do the job right. So I just, I've never thought of myself as different. I never in my brain is it ever. I'm a girl, I, I'm hindered or less capable. I'm just, I'm just a super determined, I can do it type person. And you know, and there's a lot of people in this world who aren't that way or I, I've also never been if I didn't see myself in it. That I couldn't do it, you know, for example, is really neat. Probably two and a half years ago now, my son who helps me write the books, he and I were standing in my kitchen and he full on knows he wants to be a fixed swing pilot like 100% in how old? He's now 8. So you know, he was like two and a half years ago, right? He was just a little dude. Even more little than he is now. But he's like mom, he. No, he's seen Top Gun Maverick more times than I will ever. Because I could care less about those two movies, but all in on Fix Wings, right? And he came to me in the kitchen, he's like, mom, can. Can boys fly helicopters? And it taught me representation because he had never seen a boy helicopter pilot. He had only ever seen mommy in helicopters. And then the books are girls. So because he didn't see himself, he didn't think he could. And that really just taught me how many young kids, young girls especially, have never seen themselves in a role so never thought that they could even have that as an opportunity.
- [14:14]
A
They just didn't even envision it.
- [14:15]
B
Didn't even envision it. Right.
- [14:18]
A
I know we're getting ahead of ourselves a little here, but is that kind of what the impetus was for, for doing the books?
- [14:23]
B
I think a little bit. A little bit. A lot of it was. I really wanted to highlight the mission. I want kids to see the diversity in what helicopters can do. You know, little kids see helicopters fly over. They don't know what it's for. They don't know if it's air ambulance or firefighting. You know, when we think about what happened to Palisades in California, knowing what those people do in the aircraft and the ground support that help those aircraft fly, that they're there to help you help your community. Right. And that you can do that too, as you get older. And then why not just have it be some awesome female pilots, you know, so again, little, little girls can see themselves. But when you read the books, they're really not about the female pilot at all. It really normalizes. It's just female. It is about the mission.
- [15:08]
A
The mission.
- [15:09]
B
It's educational, doing it safely with teamwork.
- [15:12]
A
Yeah. And what I really like is that you incorporate the reader, so whoever's reading it, whether it's a boy or a child, they can actually put themselves in the pilot's shoes. How do you think about this? What would you do? How do you do this? So it's a really. It's a really cool way to present the material and teach kids something when maybe they don't even realize that they're learning something.
- [15:32]
B
Yeah. And I love. Yeah, I refer to them as the observer when they're reading the book. And. Yep. I want them to feel that teamwork aspect that's so heavy in aviation. You know, a pilot cannot do their job without a good maintainer, you know, line service personnel, especially law enforcement, you need the ground officers to do their. Their part of that, the mission, you know, so it, it takes everybody, and I want that child to feel that they're part of that team. And so that's why I kind of went the observer route with them as part of that crew.
- [15:58]
A
Yeah, I think you do a really good, good job at that.
- [16:00]
B
And.
- [16:00]
A
And we'll get into the books a little bit more. But going back to your career, so now you're. You pass, you go, you get through flight school. What are your. What's your first assignment?
- [16:09]
B
And. Yeah, so I.
- [16:10]
A
What year was that?
- [16:11]
B
Yeah, one really neat thing for my career was I wasn't regular army. I was active duty for the Florida National Guard. So I ended up being active duty for the Florida guard for almost 12 years.
- [16:20]
A
Okay.
- [16:20]
B
So it's a little bit different. You have a little more flexibility where you want to move, but it's, it's the same pay grades, the same rank structure as active duty military. I knew when I went to flight school where my unit was, I Knew I was going to be flying the Apache helicopter. That was the anticipated route. Mid flight school, my unit came and said, hey, we're switching from Apaches to Blackhawks and Chinooks. And they're like, what do you want to fly? And I was like, the Apache, you
- [16:46]
A
know, not the flying school bus.
- [16:48]
B
But you know, honestly, for the state of Florida and the Hurricanes that we have annually, you know, it makes complete sense for them to have Chinooks and Blackhawks. It really did. So that made sense to me.
- [16:58]
A
You don't need an Apache and Florida.
- [17:01]
B
You don't. So it made complete sense. I really, you know, analyze the two aircraft for me. I personally love the diversity of the Blackhawk, so I chose that aircraft. So I knew again, when I went to flight school though, that when I would was done with flight school, I was going to be home for a couple months and then going to Iraq. Like we were already billed and slotted to go. So I knew that was like my 2006. Yeah, we left 05ish 06 in theater.
- [17:26]
A
Okay.
- [17:27]
B
So I, I knew that was like my first assignment. It was overseas and then our.
- [17:34]
A
Was that your first time really flying full time like now and it's in a war zone?
- [17:38]
B
Yep, absolutely. Like my first real mission flight was into downtown Baghdad with a patient on board.
- [17:43]
A
Wow. What was that like?
- [17:44]
B
You know, it was exhilarating, unique. I was flying with my unit captain. He was the gentleman I flew with most at the time. It we were flying into Baghdad, night vision goggles and, and this bright thing flew right in front of us. I was like, oh man. I think our IR searchlight just illuminated a bird that flew in front of us. He's like, no, that was a, that was an rpg. And I was like, that's, that's awesome. My first flight in and I think I was 24, 25 years old, so just a young kid. And that was my first flight in and then my last flight out. We took small arms fire and I'm like, I just can't win.
- [18:16]
A
And so that first flight, and it was, you know, a servant US service member who had been wounded and I assume a tick.
- [18:23]
B
And I think it was a US service member. I'm not 100% on that one, but I know it was a patient we were taking into the Baghdad cache. So right from the hospital, right at the base where I was at, welcome
- [18:33]
A
to being a full time pilot.
- [18:34]
B
Yeah. You know, and I loved it. The hardest part, you know, as an air ambulance pilot, you don't fly unless someone's hurt or needs a patient transfer. But when you're a young pilot, all you want to do is fly. So it's like, I hope no one gets hurt, but I really want to fly today. You know, it's a, that is quite a double edged sword. So I, I think air ambulance is a lot of fun, especially for the younger, younger aviators. But maybe it's a bit more for the seasoned ones who are like, I'm okay not flying today. Right.
- [19:01]
A
So that's who you started at as Ambulance.
- [19:03]
B
Cuz.
- [19:03]
A
Cuz. And we'll go each. Each book has a theme.
- [19:06]
B
Yep.
- [19:06]
A
And so Ambulance was the, was the first book?
- [19:10]
B
No, the firefighting was y. Oh, fire.
- [19:11]
A
I'm sorry, Firefighting was the first one.
- [19:13]
B
Ambulance was third. Yep.
- [19:14]
A
So interesting. Okay, so what did you, what did you do? What did you fly after? What was your next job? Flying?
- [19:20]
B
Yep. So I, the whole time I was in the military, I flew air ambulance.
- [19:23]
A
Oh, okay.
- [19:23]
B
Yeah, the whole time. And then when I got out of the military in 2009, I ended up at a flight school. So I wanted to get my civilian ratings. So I went and got my flight instructor rating, my instrument instructor rating, and my airline transport pilot's license. And I went from a Blackhawk, which is like a 20 max weight 22, 000 pound aircraft, to a Schweitzer, which is a small two seater at like 1750 pounds. Like super small, super small aircraft. That was entertaining. It was a bit of a learning curve. I didn't understand the simplicity of the aircraft. Like it has these 8V belts that transfer energy from the engine to the main rotor system. It's not like a big huge transmission like you would think. But.
- [20:07]
A
And what were those used for?
- [20:09]
B
Mainly trainers or little scout aircrafts, but usually mainly for trainers. And it's a really good resilient aircraft, great for training. And I did that for a number of years and then I went to go work for a local sheriff's office. So we had.
- [20:22]
A
That's the law enforcement now.
- [20:23]
B
Yep, yep, law enforcement. And I was there for a couple years. We flew law enforcement and an air ambulance mission. So if I was on a law enforcement call and we had a patient call come up, it would take precedence and then we would go back to do law enforcement or, you know, if they didn't need us anymore, we just go back to base.
- [20:38]
A
Okay, so that checks books two and three off.
- [20:41]
B
Yep.
- [20:42]
A
Okay. And what, what next? I'm trying to, I'm trying.
- [20:45]
B
That's okay. The track the trajectory. So I did law enforcement in an air ambulance. And then I was actually asked to go back to the flight school and kind of lead into a chief pilot role. So I went back as the chief pilot. I had like 12 instructors, like 350 students. I managed a lot of our foreign students, so students from China, the Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard, the Ghana Air Force, like from all over the world, Australia. It was just an amazing moment to be with them. And I really switched over into maintenance, test flying, and I really got into a safety role. And that's really what changed my career path into more of a aviation safety realm. And then during this time, the sheriff's office, where I was at before, had asked me to come back and I was like, listen, I'm not interested in coming back full time. So I was kind of a relief pilot. So I would fly five, six times a month, augment their staff, people who needed to be on leave or if someone was sick or anything. Okay.
- [21:42]
A
And so when did the idea for the books come? Let's kind of transition into that career.
- [21:47]
B
Yes. On it like a decade ago. Yeah, I have a hard time falling asleep. My brain is consistently moving, so I'm like a, you know, two hours into trying to sleep. So I would tell myself stories to fall asleep. That's kind of where it started. And the first one I actually started with was firefighting for some reason. And I just thought, man, it'd be really neat to, to do these as books, but I never thought I would. And then I go to a lot of industry events and there's always talk about we have a shortage of pilots, shortage of maintainers, and organizations are always going into high schools, into colleges to do recruiting, which is great. I think it's absolutely awesome. We need to continue to do that. But I firmly believe if we plant the seed of aviation early four year olds, when they can finally comprehend a little bit and not be afraid, we will have an advocate in the industry forever. Now, whether they become a pilot or a maintainer or whatever else in the industry, or just someone who admires it and doesn't mind living next to an airport and not going to complain about the sound of freedom, you know, that we, we've definitely made an impact in a change in our industry. So start, start really young and you have them forever. So we won't feel the ripple of that for years to come. But I see it now with kids. You know, I just love to hear kids say, oh my gosh, I could fly helicopters now. Or one of my favorites was I was at an event, and a little girl yanked her mom by the hand and pulled her mom towards the law enforcement book. And she's like, mom, this little girl, she looks like me. And I just. It was like, that's it. I can go home. I did everything I need to do today.
- [23:19]
A
Well, wait 20 years. When some pilot comes up to you and says, you're Cody Bob. You're why I am a helicopter pilot.
- [23:27]
B
Exactly. That'll be euphoric. That would be. That would be awesome.
- [23:31]
A
So that. And, you know, if you remember the process when you first start discussing a book with Alastair Blue Bloom Books, the first thing that we want to know are your goals for the book. We want to make sure that we can help you achieve your goals. And so you obviously worked with another one of our acquisitions editors, but did you remember talking about that? Like, these are my goals. I want to inspire, you know, Inspire.
- [23:51]
B
Yeah. I actually remember mostly speaking with you. I think at the beginning of that, that you and then Lauren, I were the two I mostly spoke with at the beginning. And yeah, I think the aspirations and planting that seed early. And again, just as a mom, my daughter is 14. When she was an infant, I wanted to find books for her that were accurate. And it was a challenge to either find a book. And once I did, they weren't super accurate to what we do in the mission. And I would. I was just a little frustrated, like, why is there not something out there? So my son, again, who's now 8, when he was born, I started again, like, let me find some books. And I. There was definitely more, but that accuracy piece was still missing. You know, the. The pilot would fly out, and then they were hoisted down to do something like, well, okay, autopilot's great, but it's not that great. And there wasn't anybody in the aircraft. And so, again, dangerous. The accuracy part wasn't there. And then being a safety leader, I wanted something very safety forward.
- [24:49]
A
And that's a theme in all the books.
- [24:51]
B
Absolutely. Has to be safety.
- [24:52]
A
Yeah. Um, what else do you want to make sure you get when you're writing the book and you're. You're. You're thinking of the whole storyline and, and what you want to articulate. Safety being a big part of that. What else are you trying to make sure that you get across to readers?
- [25:06]
B
So teamwork. Teamwork, right. And thinking things through. So in aviation, you know, you. We have a pre. Brief. We do the mission, and we have to think about things in the mission before we do them. You Know, and a lot of these is looking at the way the wind is coming from before we go into land or before we do something specific.
- [25:27]
A
So that's good. I was going to pull that up.
- [25:29]
B
That. Yeah, the PAVE acronym there.
- [25:30]
A
Y.
- [25:31]
B
So we, we do the pre brief. So PI PAVE is pilot aircraft environment and external pressures. And that's something I think is neat to show kids too. There are. There are external influences that affect us.
- [25:43]
A
And there's a question. And again, you make it interactive with the student. This is what I was looking for. Where do you think it's coming from and why? Like, you quiz the kids. So as I'm reading this to my girls, you say you read this. Okay, well, let's talk this through. Let's look at which way the wind is going.
- [26:02]
B
Yep.
- [26:03]
A
And it really gets them to think. So rather than just, you know, which is fine, reading a book. And they just kind of, you know, zone out and absorb it. This. They're actually thinking and they're interacting as you read along.
- [26:13]
B
Yeah. They're with part of that crew. Right. Making the decisions. Why are we landing the way we are? Why are we doing what we do? And then through that, when they come back, they do a debrief. And the debrief in these books is my favorite for correlation because I'm really big on that with my children. When I read with them when, when they come back, you know, what was our mission? And the kid says it. You know, I. My son did it when I was reading with him and I wrote it there. Okay, this was our mission and was it successful? What hazards or obstacles did we see in the. In the child says those things, you know, so you know that they have the correlation because they followed through the book the whole way.
- [26:47]
A
Yeah. And. And I think that's. That can be used not just with a helicopter mission, but that can be used in regular life too. Anything.
- [26:53]
B
So that's. That. That's a neat. I'm glad you said that because for me that's a really neat thing. And this is a really cheesy example. My son and my daughter were on a scooter. And my daughter was in the front. She's really tall and my little guy was behind her and he. Standing behind her. She's on the front of school, scooter holding handlebars. And he wraps his arms around her and is like his face is all up in her backside and he's having a hard time holding like around her waist. And I'm like, that's not the safest way to do that. And they went down the road, and then at some point they switched and they came back and he's now standing in front of her. They're both holding on the handlebars. You know, she has him like an envelope, nice and safe. And she says, mom, we had to switch me her down. That wasn't the safest way to do that. And I was like, yes, I'm out. Mic drop. My parenting is done today.
- [27:38]
A
Let's have an after action report as well. Can you recap why? Yeah. And so you just never know what is sinking in for kids. And obviously, books are a big way to teach kids. They hear it from mom and dad. They're professionals at tuning us out. And so when they can actually learn it. And again, it's. I use the term Trojan horse a lot. When we can teach them stuff and they don't actually realize it. That's what I look for. That's what we look for at Blue Bloons for books that are going to do that and.
- [28:06]
B
Right.
- [28:06]
A
And educate our kids and do it in kind of a creative way. And you've. You've done such a good job doing that.
- [28:13]
B
Thank you.
- [28:13]
A
When you. When you first start. When you first. When you. When you wrote the first one, did you know that. That you want to do it a little bit differently? Did you know that that's, you know, that's how I want to write, or did you just start writing the story and it just kind of came organically?
- [28:25]
B
But I don't know if you remember this. We were talking, and you had asked me if I had a manuscript. I was like, I don't have it yet. I'll have it for you tomorrow. And you're like, huh? And I was like, no, I have it for you tomorrow. And you're like, I. I don't doubt it. And it took me one day to write the first book. And the reason is I've been saying it to myself at night for years. Right. I knew.
- [28:44]
A
So you did have a manuscript?
- [28:45]
B
I did, yeah. It wasn't on paper.
- [28:47]
A
Yes.
- [28:48]
B
I think I didn't have a full plan of what it ultimately ended up being, but I know that I like safety, standardization, and structure. And that definitely comes from my military career in my safety consulting firm that I run. It's that same kind of ethos. So I knew that would propagate into the books. Right. So the books are safety, standardization, and structure. And I think that comes across. And so really, I really wanted them to be accurate to what we do. The Mission. So that's what I thought about when I go to work. What do I do when I'm out flying? What am I looking for when I'm done flying? What do I do at the end of the book? And that's my favorite part is the end of the book. Every page is, hey, thank you for being part of the team. We look forward to the next mission together.
- [29:31]
A
Yeah. Let me pull that up just so I can. People are watching on YouTube. They can actually see there. Thank you for being our observer today.
- [29:40]
B
Right, yeah.
- [29:41]
A
And so again, that's what the reader's job is. Here's our checklist on the back.
- [29:46]
B
Yeah. That correlation piece.
- [29:47]
A
Did we notice any obstacles or hazards? Who was involved? What was our mission? How do you feel about the mission?
- [29:52]
B
Mission.
- [29:52]
A
And again, it's asking the kid, how do you feel about the mission? That's, you know, it doesn't happen in every book. A lot of times it's just talking
- [30:01]
B
at the kid or helping them make their own ideas about. And you want them to get their own ideas too, but you want to make sure that they're garnering what the objective of the book was.
- [30:11]
A
Yeah. And you know, especially my five year old, she feels a sense of accomplishment at the end right here. Excellent job observer. We could have not done it without you. I mean, she'll get a little. Does she glow on her face? Yeah. We did it.
- [30:23]
B
You know, it's like, go team.
- [30:25]
A
You've read this book five times, Charlie. And the. It's the same result, successful mission every single time.
- [30:30]
B
But I have a little tear in my eye. Andy, I'm not joking. Well, good.
- [30:33]
A
I mean, she, she absolutely, she loves it. So I think again, that's what makes, that's what makes these books unique and actually, you know, resonate with young readers. So, yeah, we just love to work with them on you. So let's go into a little bit more about your process. So you've been telling yourself the story. So you have all the stories. What was the process like actually putting them down on paper, Working with our staff to edit, Finding the perfect illustrator for you, which we've certainly have found the perfect illustrator. I know.
- [31:01]
B
Yeah, you don't want to love her.
- [31:03]
A
Yeah, we don't want to lose Barbara. So tell us about that process, your creative process, working with the team at Blue Bloom Books. Love to hear all that.
- [31:11]
B
Yeah, I think for me, just getting a simple word document and I just started typing again. I just thought back to my military structure process. I think it really helped me and probably I think it really helped me is on certain pages, I would just write in Italy, like, hey, this is what I envision on this page, as far as the imaging and the pictures and things like that. And then I would go sit with my son and my daughter, because she's especially. She likes to critique everything I do. Right. Teenage girls.
- [31:38]
A
So I don't know yet, but I will soon enough.
- [31:41]
B
Enough. Yes, he will. But it's a good time. I would sit with them and I would read it, and if they had questions, they would ask me. Or like, hey, you said something on this page, but you didn't talk about it further down in the page. Or, hey, I don't understand this word. Can you explain it to me? Or I would realize I would change the way I wrote something to say it to him. Because I didn't. I wasn't sure he could understand what I wrote. So I was like, oh, why don't I just write it like I said it to him? So I think for me, saying it out loud to my son, you know, actually having a physical audience was really beneficial. And then my daughter being older, more, you know, having more cognitive ability to actually critique me and say, hey, this didn't flow right. Or, again, you said something here, but you didn't mention it here. Those were two really important parts for me to then turn around something, you know, to Lauren. And when it comes to the editing, editing piece. She didn't have to do too much editing. I write a lot. I just finished school, a doctoral program. I write a lot of manuals through. For my clients, through my business. I write a lot, so I knew that wouldn't be too much.
- [32:42]
A
It comes to us in good shape. I know.
- [32:43]
B
Yeah. There are little things, like we might want to change our word here or there.
- [32:46]
A
Cadence.
- [32:47]
B
Yeah, certain things like that. Maybe punctuation, like a period or a comma. Definitely need help with those sometimes.
- [32:53]
A
But Lauren is the. Lauren is the best at that. So.
- [32:56]
B
So that part's really good. And that part was. It's been super seamless, you know, I think I have a really good relationship with Kayla and Lauren on that stuff, and I think we're a great team when it comes to the illustrator. When we first started, basically, Blue Balloon gave me a portfolio of. I don't remember how many artists were in that. I'm gonna say 20 to 30, if I had to guess.
- [33:17]
A
Yeah. And there was a few years ago, but, yeah, it probably is 50, 50 now, based on different styles, too. So do you want watercolor? Do you want graphic do you want lifelike? Do you want cartoon? We have all different.
- [33:27]
B
A lot. Anime or whatever. But yeah. So I. They sent me this portfolio and I was like, okay, I like these five. Have them draw a girl in a helicopter. And then just kind of whittled it down from there and came across Barbara. And I was like, this is it. Ping. And then even from what I was just thinking earlier today on my way here, even from Barbara's original character of Abby in the first book, she just. I love her style and the evolution of. Of what she's done with Hilo Girls. And her image of what it is, I think is just really the both of us have brought the books to life together. It's. I just love her.
- [34:04]
A
That's awesome. I mean, they are. They're so vibrant and lifelike, too. The. The. The characters have personalities, you can see, and they're all different.
- [34:11]
B
Yep.
- [34:12]
A
Each girl is different and they have different personalities, you can see.
- [34:14]
B
But for branding, they're also the same. Right. So it's. The braids are a big thing because when you put your flight helmet on, it's nice to have your hair up in braids to get it out of the way. You know, they're in flight suits. I definitely, you know, I. The branding, the hand has to be waving, and I didn't. I didn't ask for that in the first book. That was something Barbara did, and I just really loved it. And I was sticking with that for all the books. You know, everyone's smiling the way they are. Yeah, I love it.
- [34:39]
A
Yeah, no, it absolutely looks great. And we've had such good feedback from it. What type of feedback do you get now? You do. You're amazing with events and going direct to consumer and actually meeting with readers and meeting with fans. What's that like? What's the feedback that you get?
- [34:53]
B
It's euphoric. It's amazing. I wouldn't believe on LinkedIn and Instagram, from all over the world, people send me photos and videos of their sons and daughters. You know, not just. Not just the girls, but a lot of boys reading these books. And I don't share them because I'm not. I don't. I don't like to post photos of my own children. So I don't do that for other. Other people's kids unless they're like, hey, it's absolutely okay. So I just love it. And to hear one of my most favorite things is when they send me videos and I hear their kids say Hilo girls. It's hilarious. Like, there's so many different versions of the word hilo girls out there. So that's. It's. That's really neat. I do love getting in front of the kids. It's interesting. At first, everyone's like, oh, you're. You're the author. I'm like, yeah, I'm. I'm the author. Because I think they're surprised that I'm actually out there selling the books, you know?
- [35:40]
A
Yeah.
- [35:40]
B
But I. I love to get in front and. And I'm the best advocate. It's a niche industry. Right. Helicopters are. Yes. They're everywhere to me, but for most random people, they're not everywhere. So I think it's good that I'm in the front to talk and to actually talk through about the process of the book.
- [35:58]
A
Yeah. What. What. When people do read it, what are they telling you? Are they. Are people? Do you hear? I want to be a helicopter pilot now.
- [36:05]
B
Yes. Or some sort of in. In the industry. Yes. Oh, my gosh. I love. I didn't even think about firefighting or this. I've had grown men who are, like. Who are new to the industry, you know, like, for a flight data monitoring company, and they're like, oh, I. I had no idea what you guys had to do. I'm gonna buy one of the books, so I know what you have to do. So it's. It's just fun. Parents really like it, especially helicopter parents, because they enjoy the accuracy of the books. And when they try to share with their kids what they do, sometimes it can be a challenge, especially as an air ambulance pilot or a law enforcement pilot, because it's. How do you say the things that you do for a child's ear without being too graphic or too. Too crass or, you know, it's just too. Too much?
- [36:46]
A
You do a really good job of that in the law enforcement one. Right. Can just. Again, remember Charlie saying. So is. Is that a bad guy?
- [36:52]
B
That's. Everyone says bad guy. I call him the suspect.
- [36:55]
A
Yeah. We need your help to locate the suspect. Is that. Is that the bad guy? Yeah. And then we went, okay, there's the bad guy. You found him. And you have the. You know, the night vision and. Yeah, it's.
- [37:05]
B
And then the bad guy is actually a girl.
- [37:07]
A
Oh, that's right. Yes. You find that out at the end.
- [37:10]
B
Yeah. So when they start, like, searching with the searchlight, it's actually a female. Right, Right. Which, again, moving from societal norms, it's not always a bad guy. Right, Right.
- [37:19]
A
Yeah. We just say bad guy.
- [37:20]
B
Yeah.
- [37:21]
A
Bad Bad girl too. And so, and so let's talk about present day. So we have, we have the third edition coming out which should be here in our studio this week in our warehouse this week.
- [37:35]
B
Yay.
- [37:36]
A
And we're working on, on book four currently is in production. Tell us about books three and four.
- [37:41]
B
Yeah. So book three is probably the one that's almost the most closest to my heart and that's probably why I didn't do it right away is the air ambulance pilots. I just love it. I'm super excited about it. It features an Airbus H135 aircraft. I have a strong relationship with Airbus. They've been great throughout this whole process. So I'm really excited to highlight their aircraft and highlight the mission that again is closest to my heart. And know granted, I hope a child raider never has to come up close to an aircraft for an air ambulance purpose. But I also want them to know that if they ever are in an aircraft for a reason, that it's safe. Right there's, it's for a good reason, for a good purpose. They're there to help. And so I'm just super excited about that one. It features Zuri, which is an eastern African Kenya name which means beautiful. Now I don't know if you know this, so each name means something too.
- [38:28]
A
I didn't know that.
- [38:29]
B
Yes. So Abigail means look to the sky. Selma means peace and safety. So it's great for law enforcement. Zuri means beautiful. And then agricultural is Maylein, which means oh my gosh, I think it's peaceful. And this escapes me but all I research names, I'm real big on how the names have to be, they have to fit and then they have to be a cross cultural as well.
- [38:54]
A
Yeah.
- [38:54]
B
Like is it an appropriate name for the culture of the character? Yeah, yeah. So Zuri is eastern, like an eastern African Kenyan name which means beautiful. So I'm super excited about that one.
- [39:04]
A
And so when does, when do we think agricultural will come out?
- [39:07]
B
I'm hoping before Christmas. I'm dragging a little bit on the manuscript right now. I think just coming off the holidays I've been a little lazy, so. Well, I know Lauren will be on and Kayla will be on me in the next couple of weeks with that one.
- [39:20]
A
I'm gonna. Right now we're in the mid and most people might not realize but we're in the middle of January and we would have, we have to go to print May, June to hit next year's holiday season, which is hard to believe. I just took down the Christmas Lights. And now we're talking about NE 2026. 2026 holiday season.
- [39:39]
B
So if it comes up, you know, the same as time next year, that I don't care. It's. It seems I'm a January, February release date on my books and that's my trend. That's cool. But. Yeah. So agricultural is the next book in the series of book four.
- [39:52]
A
Yeah. I was just gonna say, as we know, if you put your mind to
- [39:56]
B
it and you want to do it, it'll get done.
- [39:58]
A
Then it's going to happen.
- [39:59]
B
And I have a great team through Blue Balloon, so they've been awesome.
- [40:02]
A
Yeah.
- [40:02]
B
Honestly, I feel like Blue Balloon is a concierge service. Like, I feel like I am the only client. I really do. You guys probably hate me, but I
- [40:12]
A
can unequivocally say that is not true at all. You are beloved by all. There's. That's. And I'm not just saying that because you're. Because you're sitting here. I know Lauren was excited you're coming in today, so. No, no, we don't have favorites, but you're one of our favorites.
- [40:26]
B
I love it.
- [40:27]
A
For sure.
- [40:28]
B
I'll take it.
- [40:29]
A
No, the books are great. You're great to work with. You know, we want to work with authors who, who aspire to do great things. And you know, there are plenty of authors who, they don't have big plans or dreams for their books. And that's fine. That again, that's why we start out the conversation with what are your goals for the book?
- [40:45]
B
Right.
- [40:45]
A
And if we just want to make sure that we understand that. But for someone like you, who does have big vision, we love that. We love to be as forward thinking as, as the authors are. And in your case, you're the one with that, with that big vision. And we're just trying to keep up with you.
- [41:02]
B
Well, you're doing a great job.
- [41:04]
A
Good. Well, I, and not me, I give, I give all the credit to the. To production team. Team. Whether, you know, whether it's Illustrator or the editors production, keeping everything together, printing everybody.
- [41:15]
B
I really do. I really do feel, honestly, I'm. In complete honesty, I really feel like I'm your only client because I message the ladies and they're like right back with me instantly or like, we're on it or it's. They're awesome to work with or even just, you know, the little bit of, you know, they've had children during this time and like to check in, like, hey, how's the pregnancy going? How's It. How's the new baby going? And Happy New Year and Happy Christmas. It's. It's like I'm part of a family and it's really nice.
- [41:40]
A
I was just going to say that it really does feel like a family with. With authors like you who have been with us for a while now and are going to be. As you said earlier, it's a long term relationship.
- [41:49]
B
Long term relationship.
- [41:50]
A
Yeah. And we are. We're absolutely thrilled with it. So let's do a sneak peek though. You said 20 potential. I mean, you have the idea for 20. Let's idea of just how diverse helicopters can be. All the.
- [42:03]
B
I don't want to give away my secret.
- [42:04]
A
Okay, well, what can you give away? Well, just some of the cool cooler one.
- [42:07]
B
What are some things you think helicopters can do?
- [42:09]
A
Oh, boy. You're gonna. Well, I already know four of them and the four most obvious ones.
- [42:16]
B
I saw a video the other day of heli biking. So they loaded four bicycles on the side of a helicopter. Heli skiing. Yep. That's. That's one.
- [42:27]
A
If you ever want to. If you ever want to take me out on top to top of mountain to snowboard down, I will hop on.
- [42:34]
B
There's some ideas for the books. Right. So anything that you could imagine doing with a helicopter. Absolutely. I definitely want to hit, you know, flight instruction. I want to highlight maintainers. Absolutely. Because that's a segment in our industry that needs more love.
- [42:47]
A
Yeah. So I know that's something that's kind of near and dear to your. To your heart.
- [42:50]
B
Yeah.
- [42:52]
A
Yeah. You know. And you are. We have a lot of aviation authors, both on the blue balloon children's side and the ballast side. But you are one of only two helicopter pilots. And I don't. Have you seen Ghosts of Baghdad are.
- [43:03]
B
Yes, I have. I haven't read the book yet.
- [43:05]
A
Okay. Okay. We'll make sure you get your copy.
- [43:06]
B
I'll grab one from the. The warehouse on my way out.
- [43:08]
A
We'll make sure to get you a copy of. Of Eric's. Eric's book. So he was a Cobra pilot. So similar to Apache. Right? You guys do that? Pretty much the same things. Did you ever get a fly in Apache? Nope.
- [43:18]
B
Not at all.
- [43:20]
A
Did you want to just.
- [43:21]
B
Not yet.
- [43:21]
A
Blow stuff up?
- [43:22]
B
You know what? I. I think I just maybe have that aggressive type A personality. I thought it'd be a great fit.
- [43:28]
A
Yeah.
- [43:29]
B
But you know, the good Lord works his ways and put me where he did.
- [43:31]
A
I mean, Blackhawks are pretty cool too.
- [43:33]
B
They're pretty.
- [43:33]
A
And like you said, there's so many different ways. So what are you flying today? What do you do now other than spend your time writing, promoting, selling the book, meeting with. With readers?
- [43:43]
B
Yeah, so at the moment, I'm not flying. I did just renew. It's called through a flight instructor refresher course. My instructor rating. I have an appointment for a flight physical coming around the corner. And then there's an organization called Operation Hilo, which stemmed from the floods in the Carolinas. And so basically what they do is it's a volunteer organization that's faith based and they go in after natural disasters and they do rescue efforts and supplies, you know, bring in supplies and things like that. So I'm going to start volunteering with them after events to. To give back. Right. To use my knowledge, skills and abilities to get back in the aircraft and to give back.
- [44:21]
A
And. And so will someone just have helicopters that you guys will be able to fly to deliver supplies or get people out of.
- [44:28]
B
Yep, absolutely. Yep. So I'll work with them in their aircraft. Right now, Operation Hilo is working through training syllabi. So if you're a volunteer pilot or maintainer or whatever position you're going to volunteer with, they have a training syllabi. So they'll get you up to what standard they want. I'm working with them as well to hopefully, you know, make sure there's good safety ethos through that, through my consulting firm. And yeah, I'm super excited about that. So in the next few months, I'll start to see more of that come to fruition, but that's on my plan. And again, that'll just occur when there's natural disasters, when there isn't help that. That is needed. Other than that, I really just focus on my consulting firm. Now that I'm. Dr. Cody, finally done with school, I was gonna ask.
- [45:07]
A
So in the next.
- [45:08]
B
I guess I think I'm not gonna put Dr. On the. On the front of the book. No, no. I don't know. I know it is, but see, but the standardization, because the first two don't have it. I don't want it to look weird.
- [45:20]
A
All right. I think as a team, we'll have
- [45:21]
B
to talk about it, but maybe on the back of the book. But really, a lot of that stuff really falls to my consulting firm and the work that I do with clients through that.
- [45:31]
A
Do you miss. When was the last time. I mean, do you got to go. Just go. Just for leisure, fly.
- [45:37]
B
There's an organization called Volo Missions, and they run a thing called Ladies of Long line. So last is April or May. I went and flew one of their aircraft, and basically it's long line, long line work, you know, picking up power line poles, buckets like, things like that. So I went and did a couple flights with them, and it was awesome. And it was a bunch of amazing women all supporting each other. So that was the last time.
- [45:59]
A
Just still get the. The rush, the. The same feeling that you got on that initial. On that initial flight when you.
- [46:06]
B
I want to say yes, but listen, anything, even if it is a passion, becomes a job. Yeah, right. Helicopters are a job. And it's exciting. It's a. It's a cool one, but it's still working. It's so hard. And I'm. But one thing I am very blessed is that through my career, I've been able to follow through and do what I. I've been able to do it. You know, some people never get that opportunity, so I'm grateful for that.
- [46:28]
A
Yeah. So what would you tell, or what do you tell young kids who are considering or. Or maybe not even necessarily consciously considering a career in. In aviation, but at least that are. That are interested in helicopters and what you do? What do you. What do you tell them? What would you tell them?
- [46:45]
B
Yeah, so there's. It's really neat. There's a lot of organizations right now. You know, you can even go to flight schools at airports and just ask to walk around their facilities. Hey, can you show me an aircraft? A lot of them do discovery flights to just get in front of an aircraft. There's a lot of high schools in Florida especially that have aviation, aerospace curriculum and programs right now, you know, just asking questions, visiting facilities, getting into some sort of mentorship groups. I run a nonprofit called the Space Coast Women in Aviation Alliance. We try to every other month do something for kids to go visit aviation and aerospace companies to go walk around their properties, see the engineering process. You know, aviation and aerospace is not just about being a pilot or maintainer. There's food service prep, interior design. You know, there's. There's tons of stuff. I have a friend down in Miami, she just started a cashewery board business for corporate flight departments. I mean, that. That's an aviation job that you wouldn't normally think about. So there's tons of things out there. And I, you know, I had a young lady, she's like, oh, but I really want to be a doctor. And I was like, do you know that you need doctors in aviation to help? Like, I had to go to get a flight physical Right. To be a. Become a pilot. So I was like, we need doctors in aviation. So it's really just letting them know that it's holistic. No matter what you like, there's a space for you in our industry. I don't know if you know this too. I write. I work with a really awesome presidential award winning STEM teacher and we write curriculum for each of the books.
- [48:15]
A
Where can people find that?
- [48:16]
B
So on my website. So it's just thehelogirls.com but I only have the firefighting one up there right now. We are finalizing the second one. But the first one is called Windsock Wonderings. It's the kids learn to read a compass, tell where the wind's coming from, and they build a wind sock. And it's right now in Brevard County. It's all in the public school system for second grade. And so I'm working on other counties here in Florida and I'm working on a couple in California right now. But it was tested in Pennsylvania, Kansas, California, and here in Florida. And then the law enforcement lesson should be out soon, within the next couple weeks. And that kids will build night vision goggles and learn about the, the anatomy of the eye.
- [48:54]
A
Wow.
- [48:54]
B
So it's pretty neat then. I'm still working on ideas for book three with air ambulance, what I'm going to do with that one. But again, really getting in front of kids and showing them the different aspects of aviation.
- [49:06]
A
Yeah, I like what you said. Just get out and be around aviation because that's again, that's how they learn. That's what makes it real to them. It's very abstract. If you see a helicopter in the sky, it's very abstract. If they see it on the ground, you know, actually climb through it and are able to take a look, I think.
- [49:23]
B
Yeah, I believe if kids can see it, smell and touch it, they're gonna love it.
- [49:28]
A
Yeah.
- [49:28]
B
You know, if you can get them to an air show like sun and Fun or. I think West Palm does a few air shows or up in the Panhandle. Right. Just get them to those air shows, let them climb over stuff, ask questions, find organizations that are near you because there's usually tons of them.
- [49:42]
A
Yeah. We have the Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce here. They have a bunch of helicopters and, and things that you can, the kids can crawl around. And my kids have been there.
- [49:49]
B
Yeah. See it, smell and touch it.
- [49:50]
A
Yeah, that's. That's right. That's the way they learn. That's the way it becomes tangible to them. So where can people find you? You have a lot of different organizations that you work with. You have your consulting business. You have your website. Of course you can get any of the books, any of the Hilo Girls on every. Anywhere books are sold. Of course, Amazon, but your website as well. Where you get. Can you tell them what, what they get at your website? We have these cool patches.
- [50:15]
B
Yeah. So right now with the release of book three, if you pre order, you can get a free PVC patch.
- [50:22]
A
This thing's really cool.
- [50:22]
B
Yeah, they're 3D PVC patches that can go in a flight suit or if you can sew the back of the patch onto a backpack for your kid, yeah, they're pretty awesome. But you get those free with an order of the pre. Of book three. But you can get them on the Blue Balloon website. You can order the books there and then you can pre order on Amazon as well.
- [50:39]
A
What about the helmets? The free helmet with.
- [50:42]
B
No, no, no free helmet. So this is my helmet from the military. It was kind of funny. So this piece here is called the maxi facial shield. And when I went to Iraq, they're like, all right, you're going to have to wear this, the shield on the bottom. I was like, no, it's. It's so hot. And they're like, oh, you're a female. They won't want to fly in the aircraft with you. And I was like, well, I'm air ambulance. I was like, if they want to get to help, they're going to have to get in my aircraft. Otherwise they don't have to get on. But I never, I never wore that when I was in theater.
- [51:06]
A
They wanted you because they didn't want the patient or someone to know, especially
- [51:10]
B
like a local national, because they wouldn't want to get in with a female pilot.
- [51:13]
A
Tough walk.
- [51:14]
B
Then don't get. Obviously don't need our help, right?
- [51:17]
A
Oh, boy. Yeah. I hope you didn't wear it then.
- [51:19]
B
I did. It was just too hot.
- [51:21]
A
This is cool, though. You got, you know, the chips on it.
- [51:23]
B
I know. Definitely damaged.
- [51:25]
A
It's been through. It's been through war.
- [51:28]
B
It literally. Yeah. And then I have the new helmet, which I'm really excited to have partnered with Evolution Helmets, based out of Melbourne, Florida and Savage Designs, which is also in Melbourne, Florida, to do a Hilo Girls themed flight helmet that I'll start wearing when I start flying with Operation Hilo.
- [51:46]
A
Okay.
- [51:46]
B
But, you know, it just makes sense that Hilo Girls is safety forward and safety starts at the top, which is a helmet.
- [51:53]
A
Yeah. No, That's a cool helmet. And you have the. The logo on the side, right?
- [51:57]
B
Yep.
- [51:57]
A
I can't see it from here, but yeah.
- [52:00]
B
Yeah. So the logo's on the back.
- [52:02]
A
Yeah.
- [52:02]
B
And then up. Up here on the visor on the top. Super cool. Like the. The muted purples to the shiny purples. And Savage, when he did the paint job, I was not expecting the green. I'm like, what the heck is that? He's. I'm like, I don't like it. He's like, you gotta come see this in person. And I was like, okay. But it. It's. It's absolutely beautiful.
- [52:20]
A
Oh, it looks. It looks so cool.
- [52:21]
B
Yeah. And evolution. I'm just so great to have partnered with them and them sponsor the helmet.
- [52:26]
A
And so the helmet. Is there any additional technology in the helmets, or is it just other than, obviously, communication and to protect your head in case of a. Yep, absolutely.
- [52:33]
B
Just that. Yep. So the protective pad and all that in the inside, and then the earbuds. And then my communication earplug will go in here.
- [52:40]
A
Okay.
- [52:41]
B
Then I'll just hook into the aircraft.
- [52:43]
A
Okay, very cool. Well, anything else that kids should know about aviation and aircraft that they can't get from reading one of the Gila girls books?
- [52:54]
B
I think they can get everything from the books.
- [52:56]
A
I agree. I mean, it is a full story. You take them from the beginning, like we said, from the initial safety briefing all the way through what essentially is an after action report.
- [53:08]
B
Yeah. And I think it's just. What I would say is I do get a lot. Oh, I don't have any. I don't have any girls. I only have boys. You know, again, the book is not about girls. It normalizes girls. It's a female pilot. The book is about the mission. I do just want girls to see themselves because we don't normally traditionally have places for that. But a lot of boys do like the books. Again, my son helped me write the books.
- [53:32]
A
Yeah, you're right. Gender does not play a theme in it.
- [53:35]
B
It's not at all.
- [53:36]
A
It's a pilot. It has to be one or the other.
- [53:37]
B
Except for the title. That's it.
- [53:39]
A
Right. You have to be one or the other. It just happens to be a girl.
- [53:42]
B
Yeah. You know, completing the mission. When I was younger, I read the Hardy Boys. I never thought twice about it being a boys book.
- [53:48]
A
Yeah, I think that's. That's good to know. It. It. You know, it helps girls envision themselves behind the cockpit.
- [53:54]
B
But I tell you, boys really like the firefighting. Actually, so far, the boys have really resonated with both of them. They love, like, dumping the water on the firefighting one, and then they love finding the suspect with the FLIR system in the law enforcement book.
- [54:06]
A
Yeah, good. Well, yeah, the. The interactiveness is really cool that you get to do those things in all the books, so. All right, good. Well, pick up your copy of any of the Hilo girls books. Everywhere the books are sold. Your website, again, it's helogirls.com helogirls.com and of course, you can buy it directly at blue balloonbooks.com as well. Cody, thank you so much for coming in today. It was a pleasure talking to you.
- [54:29]
B
Awesome. Andy, thank you so much. Good wrap.
- [54:37]
A
I think we covered everything, right?
- [54:39]
B
Yeah, I think so.
- [54:42]
A
That was really cool.
- [54:44]
B
It's, like, so much to talk about.
- [54:46]
A
Yeah. If it's too much, too little.