My special guest today is aviator Danni Maynard. She’s chatting with me about her new children’s book, You Can Do Anything.
During her virtual book tour, Danni will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!
Bio:
Danni Maynard grew up dreaming big and wanting to break the stereotype of what women were ‘meant’ to be. She is a lecturer in aviation, a pilot, and is working towards her doctorate in, you guessed it, aviation. Danni is still dreaming and has turned her attention to encouraging young minds of today to dream along with her. She is a strong believer in supporting kids to pursue their passions no matter what the world tells them they can or cannot do.
She brings this passion to her daily life as a mother of three amazing children who are constantly reminded that they are allowed to imagine a life that encompasses fantasies, aspirations, and ambitions. This attitude to life was shaped by her mum, who is a powerful and supportive role model in Danni’s life and sculpted her to be an independent and strong-minded thinker. Danni also dedicates time to Women in Aviation – Australian Chapter to educate and inspire young girls about the fascinating industry that is aviation and the opportunities it presents to women.
Please tell us about your current release.
My book being released was a proud moment. It’s a story of a girl exploring career options for her future self. Her mother explaining how times have changed and that long ago when her own mother was a girl, there were gender specific roles. Women were not pilots or lawyers. Now, gender doesn’t play a role in what wish to be when you grow up. It’s not to say it’s easy. Some areas still have work to do in my own opinion, but the change definitely has begun.
What inspired you to write this book?
I wrote this book because I found a gap in the early childhood genre and wanted something for my 3 year old daughter. As I was doing it for her I didn’t struggle with the content like many would. It was easy for me. I found articulating the illustrations I wanted to be more difficult. I’m particular about accuracy within reason. I needed the ship and the aircraft to be somewhat realistic.
I was so happy with the end product. My daughter sees it as just another book, funnily. But the message gets across which is the point of it all.
Excerpt from You Can Do Anything:
When I am a lawyer I will stand up and be proud. I will shout to the world, “I can be anything,” OUT LOUD.
To the airport I’ll go and fly in the sky, because I am a pilot who loves being up high.
On weekends I will sail to the sea and the ocean, my smile will be huge when the waves are in motion.
It is great to be a girl in the world of today, I can be anything and I still get to play.
What exciting story are you working on next?
I haven’t considered writing another children’s book, however I am looking into writing a form of biography/self-help book. The intent is to demonstrate through my own experiences that any career is possible and provide example of how I overcome certain hurdles. I didn’t come from a privileged background at all. I have a unique story which will gain interest in its own right. The end result (although I’m only 40yrs) is I’ve achieved many higher education degrees (2 Masters and Grad dip) and am a successful accident investigator and university lecturer, currently completing a PhD and am a pilot for fun. I am happily married and have 3 amazing children. I managed having children while studying for my masters and working full time. The time off was a year each after my children where born. This was done while moving around the country with my husband due to him being a Navy officer, which meant getting new jobs, making new friends and no family around.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Strangely, I still don’t. I feel the children’s book was simple rhyming, I just had an interesting point to get across which was missing in the market. I haven’t commenced my second book idea and the only writing I do is academically.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Well interesting is subjective; however my writing seems to and no doubt will always include aviation in some way. I’m a tragic aviation nerd. Other than that, I don’t like taking life too seriously. When its needed sure, but in my future writing I will have humor throughout. Positive messaging is important as well. There is too much doom and gloom in the present world and people forget to appreciate their amazingness and the positiveness around us. We’re all guilty of it. I’m grateful everyday my family and I are safe and healthy. Anything else can be fixed.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
As a child all I wanted to be was a flight attendant. I was passionate. At age 21 I achieved exactly that, flying with Australia’s flagship carrier Qantas. I loved it. Traveling around Asia, Australia and New Zealand; however I soon got bored (which if you knew me you’d notice that theme). I started studying while flying in our downtime (when passengers slept). I progressed to management and then even tried a role in airport management. Soon moved into investigations and started another degree. I dabbled in rail for a while as a comparison industry (high-capacity public transport), but I soon missed aviation too much. I now share my passion at two universities to inspire the next generation. Aviation is still heavily male dominated industry with only 10% of pilots being female. I promote women in aviation and demonstrate all the different roles I have had in the hope to inspire.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I am conscious my book speaks about only two genders and not about those who identify as both or neither. I suppose it’s because we know the world has not progressed to be completely inclusive 100% in all industries. That simply accepting women as dump truck drivers or football players is only occurred in the past half decade. I expect through normalizing differences in gender by using inclusive language that over time those who are ignorant will learn or be the minority.
Links:
Website | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository
Great interview and excerpt, Danni, You Can Do Anything sounds like a wonderful children’s book and I like the cover! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a terrific weekend!