Girl Talk_Kim Ponders Interview

Kim Ponders is the author of a fiction novel called The Last Blue Mile. Her book is about a female cadet at the Air Force Academy and was just released by Harper Collins. Kim grew up near Boston, Massachusetts and is a Journalism major from Syracuse University. She is a graduate of OTS, and has conducted extensive research on the Academy and it’s culture, which forms the basis of her book. In active duty, Kim was an air weapons controller on the E-3 AWACS, deploying to Saudi Arabia with Desert Storm and Operation Provide Comfort. These experiences inspired her first book, The Art of Uncontrolled Flight. Kim balances several lives as an Air Force Reservist, Author and Mom of two boys. Kim’s father and brother both served in the Air Force and she is married to a former Air Force officer who is now in the Air National Guard. Kim graciously made the time to be interviewed by AcademyWomen and shares with us the inspiration for her book about the Air Force Academy, some insight into her life as a writer, and the difficult balance of writing about the culture of a world in which she works-the Air Force.

May 22, 2007

What inspired you to write this book about a woman at the Air Force Academy?

Kim: After talking to people about my first novel The Art of Uncontrolled Flight, which is about a woman flying in the Gulf War, I found many people were curious about the idea of going through a period of intense military training. I didn’t attend the Air Force Academy so as an OTS grad I was also intrigued. When I saw the rape scandals in the news, I felt as though the press wasn’t really getting the story right or properly portraying the whole picture of what the institution is all about. So, I wanted to explore the environment of military training and the women and men who are going through it all.

When you conducted your research on the Air Force Academy, what did you learn?

Kim: I was impressed by how together and eloquent the cadets were. They were so open and receptive to me as this outside media force coming into their world to talk to them about it. They were so focused and articulate about where they were and what they were doing. Their perspectives on the military differed but they all had it together. They were so organized and more thoughtful than other typical college kids. They really seemed like they were with it. I was also impressed by the staff at the Academy. They were very open regarding their opinions on the academy. The Academy was really willing to have their story looked at in full. I felt it was important to do good research so that the novel would appropriately represent the academy.

After conducting your research, what do you think the Press missed in their stories or pictures of the Air Force Academy?

Kim: The press was dealing with all the stories and so they didn’t get it wrong, but they didn’t get the whole picture and put it in perspective. I talked with women who were violated and they had been traumatized, which was very difficult. The Academies are similar to other colleges but they are held to higher standards because of the responsibilities cadets have when they get out. So hearing about these kinds of things happening at the Academy [was] disturbing. I wanted to address the stories I heard through Brook (the main character in my novel) with all her struggles. I wanted to explore the issues with the intentions of opening a dialog about the culture and to see the mitigating factors.

How do you balance being in the Air Force with writing about the Air Force Academy?

Kim: I have two entirely different jobs. In the reserves, I write for the Pentagon, upholding the standards I have learned through training. In writing my book, I don’t want to make people look bad, but when I tell military people I wrote about the Air Force Academy, they respond to me with “You did what?” [With the military] the assumption was automatically that I was taking advantage of the scandals that had come out. When people actually took the time to read my book, they say that I captured the experience. This was encouraging. Once I got past that point, they were more open and it was easier to have a dialog.

I spend the majority of my life in New Hampshire and this topic is not really relevant for the people around me. They say that it is an interesting subject and one that they haven’t thought much about. Sometimes, it is difficult for them because they don’t really support the military. Some people who read my book told me that they better understand the military culture. They also say how these issues helped them to better address their own lives.

The people in the Air Force who have already read the book have been really receptive, open to it and grateful that I have in some ways captured the story. It is the people in the military that have not read the book that I sense the most friction from and I hope that they go back and read my book before judging it and judging me.

What made you join the military?

Kim: My major in college was journalism. I joined the military because I wanted to do something that I hadn’t done before. I wanted a different life experience. My brother and father were in the Air Force. My brother recommended I apply to go to OTS. I applied and my life took a radical direction at that point. I am really glad I did it. It wasn’t something I planned to do. I ended up staying in much longer than I had thought and it changed my life. The military experience came at the right time for me. I really needed the discipline and the character building and all that stuff they promise you at the recruiter’s office. It was a great experience.

What are your goals in the Reserves?

Kim: I work as a speech writer at the Pentagon, which I enjoy. I love my boss. He is supportive and as an IMA, I have a lot of flexibility. As long as I am helping them and they are happy, that is good enough for me.

How did you get started as a writer?

Kim: I always wanted to write fiction, so as a journalist out of college, I was writing a little bit of fiction and then joined the military, went to the Middle East for a couple years and then came back to what I really loved doing. While living in Germany, I attended some writer’s workshops. I then got an MFA in creative writing and loved practicing and writing new stories. I discovered people were fascinated with the flying life and it occurred to me that I should write about things that had happened to me. So that was the first novel. I found an editor and agent and my editor loved it.

What do you like most about the career of writing? ... The writing? The publicity?

Kim: For me, the writing is definitely the best part. The writing is hard and takes a long time to do well. When I get something exactly the way I want it or write something that surprises me, it feels really good. Then to have people go back and read it later and say that they were moved by it or that they were moved by a particular passage, I really find this to be rewarding. I like that a lot.

Do you feel like writing everyday or do you have to discipline yourself to work?

Kim: I have to discipline myself. I don’t always feel like writing especially at the beginning of my novel. When I am just coming up with the story it is hard work and I just have to plow through it until I get something on paper and sense that I am on the right path. There are lots of days that I wake up and say that I don’t want to write today. I just have to do it.

What motivates you to write?

Kim: I love writing. I love fiction. It is an enormous passion for me. The idea that I can create something that is meaningful, even if it is just meaningful to a handful of people, is enough to keep me going. I don’t even know how to describe it. It is just what I am driven to do. I have been writing for so long, it is just part of who I am. It is part of my nature. I would feel very cut off from myself if I didn’t write. If I just stopped, I would feel something missing in my life. For this book, I was under contract which was more nerve racking, but it made me sit down and just do it.

When do you write and where do you find the professional support you need as an author?

Kim: I write first thing in the morning. I don’t have the time to work with a writer’s group. My husband reads my first drafts and gives me comments. He is extremely supportive and there is no way I could do this without his help. He makes dinner and takes the kids to give me the time I need to write. I also had an editor since the book was under contract.

Where did you meet your husband?

Kim: We met in Korea. We were both working at an air patrol squadron in Osan. I ended up separating at that point from the Air Force because he was assigned to fly with NATO in Germany and I had a scholarship to AFIT. It was a question of either taking the scholarship or getting married. I had assumed that if he had gone to Germany and I had taken the scholarship to AFIT, we would probably never see each other again. So, I decided that I would go with him to Germany instead of going to AFIT. I then became a reservist. I also got more serious about writing and went to two writing conferences and then got into the Santa Fe program. My career took off from there.

What do your kids think about having a mom who is an Author?

Kim: My kids are still little and don’t really know what it means to have mom write a book. They are supportive, though. My oldest son dyed a scarf for me and asked me to wear it for my readings. My youngest one made me a cooking spoon and wanted me to bring it too. They are very loving and will be coming to my Portsmouth reading. I will definitely have my scarf and spoon with me for this one and it will be great to have them there.

How do you balance your life as a Reservist, Author and Mom?

Kim: My kids are 4 and 6 and they are just coming out of the intense toddler phase. They play together for a while on their own, which gives me more freedom. The first 2 years of writing were tough and I had to schedule my time. I have to give my kids what they need. They need to have their mother there. On the other hand I need to do some work that is important to me. Writing is important to me. Writing this novel and finishing it is important to me. It was a goal of mine. Now I am taking a little bit of a break and I am starting my 3rd project when they go back to school. I prioritize things like not putting as much energy into cleaning my house, which helps.

How do you plan to move forward with your career as an Author?

Kim: This last novel took about 2 and a half years and I wrote at a blistering pace. I worked between 4-6 hours a day ... every day. I was exhausted at the end of this novel both creatively and physically. Writing takes a lot out of you, so I am taking a break for now. I am not on contract for the next project so I am going to take more time with it. I don’t think my third novel will be about the military.

What’s Next...Where are you going for your book tour?

Kim: I am visiting D.C., Colorado Springs, Fort Carson, Denver, and the East Coast. I go to San Jose to present at a Book Expo and then will be teaching writing at a writer’s retreat at Ghost Ranch, which is Georgia O’Keefe’s house. This is in Santa Fe and supported by the Foundation of Women Writers. Then I will go back to my normal life.

Susan Feland is a 1993 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and is a former Acquisitions Finance Officer in space systems and former instructor at the Air Force Academy. Susan has worked with Merrill Lynch and the Hoover Institution and currently develops leadership curriculum for universities and corporations as a Leadership Case Producer with the Center for Leadership Development and Research at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Susan is the Founder and President of AcademyWomen and lives in San Jose, California. She is happily married to an engineer and former Air Force officer, John Feland and has two daughters, named Alexandra and Anna.

Kim Ponders grew up near Boston, Massachusetts and graduated from Syracuse University. She worked as a small-town reporter in northern California. In 1989, she attended Officer Training School and was commissioned into the Air Force as a second lieutenant. In 1991, she became qualified as an air weapons controller on the E-3 AWACS and went to Saudi Arabia with Desert Storm and Operation Provide Comfort. She spent the next five years flying missions out of Saudi Arabia and Turkey, providing air supplies to the Kurds in northern Iraq and monitoring the Iraqi no-fly zone. These experiences formed the basis of her first novel, The Art of Uncontrolled Flight.

In 1996, she lived in Korea, controlling the airspace south of the DMZ. There, she met her husband, Bill, also an Air Force officer. They moved to Geilenkirchen, Germany, where he flew with the NATO E-3s while Kim joined the Air Force Reserve and began working on her novel. She attended workshops in Prague, Czech Republic and St. Petersburg, Russia and later attended the Warren Wilson Program for Writers.

Now a major in the Air Force Reserve, Kim works part-time as a speech writer at the Pentagon. She holds an M.S. in international relations and an M.F.A. from the Warren Wilson Program for Writers. She writes about current events on Blogher.org, a women’s news and features site. She teaches at a conference run by A Room of Her Own, the largest women-only writer’s foundation in the country. Her first novel, THE ART OF UNCONTROLLED FLIGHT, was released with HarperCollins in 2005. Her second novel, THE LAST BLUE MILE, is on sale now.

Kim lives in southern New Hampshire with her husband, a member of the Air National Guard and passionate small plane pilot, and two beautiful boys who are passionate about dinosaurs.

For more information, visit Kim’s website at http://www.kimponders.com/index.html or contact Kim directly at kim@kimponders.com .