Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 I grew up in the suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I was constantly getting into trouble, and I dreamed of adventure. I eventually joined the Army National Guard at age 17, and went off to basic training between my junior and senior years. #2 I loved flying, and I was good at it. I was eventually cleared to solo, and on my way to becoming a pilot. I was having the time of my life, until I met Kathy. I was married to her shortly after. #3 I had lucked into a job as the property manager of a new office building in downtown Minneapolis, and my life changed quickly. I dropped out of college and joined the corporate world. I loved it for a while, but I knew that I wasn't where I belonged. #4 I was a pilot in the National Guard, and I wanted to be a ferry pilot. I didn’t have the money to get all the necessary ratings, but I was motivated to keep working toward getting my pilot’s license.

Kerry McCauley has the job most pilots only dream of; delivering small used aircraft to locations around the world. In his 30 years an international ferry pilot, Kerry has delivered almost every kind of airplane you can name to almost every location you can think of. In his long career Kerry battled fuel system malfunctions over the Atlantic, a total electrical failure at night over the Sahara, getting lost over Africa and being struck by lightning off the coast of Portugal. Kerry's almost insatiable, reckless quest for danger and adventure also led to putting international smuggler and bank robber on his resume. Kerry found the answer to the question "what could possibly go wrong?" time and time again. But his skill, ingenuity and luck were what allowed him to survive the countless mishaps, catastrophes and close calls including a nearly fatal plane crash. While "Ferry Pilot" is an account of one man's crazy thirst for thrills and adventure, his coming to grips with the dangerous nature of his career and just how much he wants to test the depth of his luck bag. It's also a portrait of the perseverance and bravery of a devoted family man who lost many close friends and his first wife to the dangerous skies.

SO YOU WANT TO BE A FERRY PILOT is made up of nineteen true short stories about ferrying airplanes from one part of the world to another. Each flight has something about it that wasn't planned. Unexpected heart stopping engine failures, weather that went from CAVU (Clear and Visibility Unlimited) to Oh MY God!!, interception by armed foreign fighters, arrest by third world police or anything that old Mister Murphy can throw your face. I had several pilot friends read the manuscript, here are some of their comments. "Ferry pilots are nuts, everybody knows that." Captain Cal Harman, 20 years with Continental. "These stories are unbelievable, I thought flying combat missions was dangerous." Captain Curt Briggs, shot down in Vietnam while flying an F-4 Phantom, rescued after spending more than 24 hours hiding from the North Vietnamese. "When we were cell mates in Hanoi I suspected that Spike was a little crazy, suspicions confirmed." Lieutenant Commander Larry Friese, USN Retired. POW in Vietnam 51/2 years.

A desire to become a professional pilot against the odds and without the benefit of wealthy relatives leads to a journey through some unusual jobs including theft investigator, car salesman, personal loans agent, telephone salesman and finance company repo man. When the opportunity to join an airline is abruptly halted by bureaucracy, a determination to continue flying results in an accidental career as one of the busiest oceanic ferry pilots in the world. Fly along on nine very different delivery flights and experience the literal highs and lows of these dangerously exciting journeys across our oceans. Read about flights from dirt tracks in Russia, fuel leaks in Iceland, mechanical issues in war-torn Africa, low fuel across the Pacific and flying through the waves of the Atlantic Ocean! Meet some of the people, the machines and the cultures encountered as a risky game against ever diminishing luck is played out in some of the most remote and lonely places on earth.

This is the story of a naive kid who thought people did the right thing and the good guys always won. But the world isn't as he expected. He sees corruption, poverty, and death. Repulsed at first, he descends into this dark world and becomes corrupt himself. After facing death too many times, he seeks redemption.

Is running away from your troubles the best path to a fresh start? Claire Perkins struggles with her past, even as a thirty-eight-year-old woman. While attending her abusive mother's funeral in the town where she grew up, Claire discovers a deeper emotional scar that challenges her definition of home. No longer willing to put on a facade, buried pain triggers Claire's only logical choice: escape to a quiet place, somewhere far away from the risk of any further disappointment and heartache. Pigeon Grove appears to be a sleepy southern locale in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. But there is a unique and underlying charm to this small town that has other plans for those looking to slip into the silence of a solitary life. With nothing but a desire to fade into the background, this close-knit community guides Claire along a different path, in a direction that encourages her deep-seated need to connect with others. Hank Charles is a produce shop owner full of quirky facts. Lizzie Perkins is the niece Claire hasn't seen in years because of a falling out with her brother. Jack Burgess is a sketch artist whose troubled past intersects with Claire's in serendipitous ways. If only she gives herself the chance to discover it. Can this small mountain town help Claire connect the dots to create a life she's always imagined? Will Pigeon Grove's beloved message answer her soulful call for guidance before the opportunity escapes her? It's never too late to come home.