Last Flight Out (The Book)

Right around 2001, I was really hankering to write a love story. Not just some run of the mill love story, but something that could really capture the imagination, and get people to talking about it. I had a good idea floating around my head for which the romance would be built, but I hadn’t figured out my hook. I heard the song titled “Last Flight Out” by the musical group, Plus One, and that was a true inspiration to me, but my hook? That wouldn’t come for some time.

And so I allowed the concept to swirl around inside my head for the next five years while I went through my day to day life. I went through an auto accident and during my recovery at home months later, I was surfing the net out of boredom. This is when I came across a story. It was the Mary-Kay Letourneau story. The 34 year old school teacher who had a sexual relationship with her then 13 year old male student. I had heard about it in the news prior and thought nothing much of it really. I started reading this article about what her life was like all these years later. I discovered that her and that boy are married and have a few children. I couldn’t believe it. Who would have thought? I started to chuckle a little bit because at that moment, I realized that these two people really were in love. Not that I condone what she did for a minute, because I don’t, but let’s face it, how many times do we read about an adult (male of female) having sex with a minor - but then after all the trials and public scorn and the convictions and the incarcerations, the two people in question get married and live a happy life together?

The answer - Never!

I guess I started chuckling at the fact that these two got the last laugh. Seriously, think about it. They are together. After society’s attempt to keep them apart, they still got back together as adults and they’re still together to this very day. That’s impressive. You have to at least admit that.

It was during this train of thought when it dawned on me. I finally found my hook! The student - teacher relationship. The possibilities were endless. I only knew a few things going in, that I didn’t want the story to end like hers did, I wanted it to be more dramatic. I also knew that my teacher was going to be male. I mean, let’s face it, it Mary Kay was a guy, she would probably still be in prison right now. Society is so double-standard. But it was more than that, I also wanted to have two villains in the story. One villain worse than the other because I knew, the reader would look at Kavita Davidson as a villain. I also wanted a hero in the book, Mary Stewart. Then, I wanted to make her something into the villain at the end and make Kavita the hero. I wanted to pull the ole flipparoo. (Or flip-flop)

I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I think I pulled it off just nicely. From the emails I have gotten about it, I would say so.

Once I had my foundation, my plot, my hook, I went to writing. I knew my two main characters had to have some memorable names. Thus was born Kavita Davidson, and Lily McCourtney. I saw both last names on tombstones in a graveyard, that’s how I seek out my character names. (I know, creepy) Anyhow, Kavita is the last name of this guy I met one time while playing high school sports. He was on the other team. I just remember thinking how cool the name was and for some odd reason, it popped into my head. I settled for Lily for the girl because I wanted her name to be in reference to a quote that I knew Kavita was going to say in the book. Thus, which is why I went with Mary for the art teachers name. Stewart was a by product of Martha Stewart, it had that mixed flavor of home-maker/baker and yet, because Martha Stewart served prison time, it had that element of “bad girl” too.

Okay, so I think on a different level. LOL

I molded the community in the story, Kendrick Park and their school, Kendrick South, after a real life community which I had lived in before called German Village in Columbus, Ohio. The high school there is called South High School. In the local park of the community, called Schiller Park, there is a recreation center and they hold all kinds of activities for the kids from basketball and other sports to arts and crafts. There are homes standing all around the park. Some small businesses too. Thus, Kendrick Park was born.

Almost all of the characters in the story were taken from real people.

Once I got the final piece to the story together in my head, “Last Flight Out” took about six weeks to write the first draft, and another 4 weeks to touch it up. Once the story was finished, I knew I had something special.

One of the things some of my readers were grateful for was the fact that I did not trash it up. I did not turn it into a porno or child porn. I have been thanked on a few occasions for keeping it clean. Not that it was my intention, just a happy accident, as Bob Ross would say. I wanted Kavita and Lily to be friends first, and their feelings to form from out of that friendship. I’m really happy with how it turned out. I am very proud of that story. I know I like it … and I hope you will like it too.

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