Souls On Board – Interview with Agent Krahl

In writing the Souls On Board series, I interviewed local authorities for additional information. Although it is highly irregular that the Agency would work with civilians in this manner today, it was once standard procedure that law enforcement and civilians worked together to fight crime and the potential danger to others. The following interview with Agent Krahl explains.

Newspaper reporter: How did you first meet flight attendant Casey Click?

Agent Krahl: We had an incident on board a flight that originated in Minneapolis, with a final destination in Denver.

Newspaper reporter: Can you share any details about that incident?

Agent Krahl: I cannot share details of the investigation. What I can share are the remarkable skills brought forth by civilians, primarily Casey Click and her closest friends, whose names must remain confidential.

Newspaper reporter: Can you describe these skills?

Krahl: Certainly. These women used their nascent investigative skills, going beyond what seems obvious upfront, continually searching for more information. It was like peeling back the skin of an onion until they revealed information we might never have found. It was an amazing act of citizen responsibility, without which, we’d still be back in Denver looking for clues.

Newspaper reporter: Are you saying that Ms. Click and her friends surpassed the investigative skills of the FBI?

Krahl: Without public input during any investigation, the process is slow and tedious. Ms. Click and her friends exploited their own curiosity to search for information. Each woman brought her own interpretation of the facts. They pieced these bits of information together to lead us to the perpetrator.

Newspaper reporter: Is there a lesson in this?

Krahl: The public sees more than they realize and could be of extraordinary assistance to us if they would share their observations. We live on this planet together and it’s everyone’s responsibility to protect one another from the actions of criminals. Stepping forward is a step of bravery and honor.

Newspaper reporter: Honor, sir?

Krahl: Turning a blind eye to criminal activities perpetuates the crime. It unwittingly makes you an accomplice. To say nothing, in effect, ties our hands. We can’t protect the general public without the public’s help. Women like Ms. Click and her friends are fearless advocates for justice.

Newspaper reporter: What would you suggest to the public?

Krahl: When out in public, be more aware of what’s going on around you, and around your neighborhood. Join a neighborhood watch group or citizens on patrol.

USAOnWatch

National Neighborhood Watch Institute

Keep up with the Souls on Board series – follow my blog and please share it with your friends. If you haven’t started the Souls On Board series, please visit one of the websites below to get started reading. Reviews are appreciated.

 www.egnerink.com

Also on Amazon, B&N, Smashwords

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Souls on Board, Book 3 – Flight Into Oblivion

I saw this image on the Internet and thought it perfectly captured the horror of human trafficking through air transportation. I’d love to give credit to the artist who created it.

Following is a letter I received from the founder of She Is Safe (SIS)

A colleague of mine met Susan Egner in her role as an airline flight attendant. Intrigued upon learning that she is also a published author (as she shared an overview of her latest mystery novel), he became convinced that we should become acquainted.

She Is Safe (SIS) is a Christian non-profit organization that I founded in 2002. We work to prevent, rescue, and restore women and girls from suffering abuse and exploitation in high-risk and least-reached places around the globe. This is accomplished by collaborating with local initiatives of education, economic empowerment, anti-trafficking, and advocacy.

Flight into Oblivion immediately impressed me because of its clear focus on the trafficking of women and girls. Sadly, 80% of all transnational victims are females. This book focuses on their plight as they encounter all forms of exploitation and slavery at the hands of those who profit from the trade. This is not simply another mystery novel: As Egner makes clear on her website, her characters face challenges and often undergo personal transformation as they confront issues in contemporary society. Her stories are about ordinary women and girls who are forced to face some of life’s most adverse circumstances. Egner takes readers on a dark journey where we lean forward to see if the paths of these women and girls will lead to individual freedom and personal empowerment.

Flight into Oblivion represents to me a nascent awareness in popular fiction of the scourge of human trafficking we face in the United States and around the world. I join with Susan in the belief that raising the level of awareness among people in all segments of society is important if we are to achieve our common goal of defeating those who would rob others of their dignity and freedom.

And it is brilliant that the title, Flight into Oblivion, tells the story in a nutshell: Girls and women are often transported on commercial airlines through major transportation hubs. We pass them in the terminals; we sit with them—and their captors—on the planes; we see nothing. The book cover depicts a passenger plane vanishing—into oblivion—just as the young girls and women who disappear right before the eyes of those of us who are unaware. This is a compelling mystery that unveils the wretched underbelly of human trafficking, that helps us to see as we’ve never seen before, and that makes us aware of events taking place right before our eyes. We are not likely to see things in the same way again!

Michele M. Rickett

President/Founder 

She Is Safe

If you haven’t started the Souls on Board series, please visit our website at www.EgnerINK.com or any of the following sites for these and more books by Susan Egner.

Amazon, BN.com, Smashwords

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Souls On Board, Book 3 – Flight Into Oblivion

The airline surprised Casey when they scheduled her for training on human trafficking. After the training, she was staggered by how little she and her friends knew about the subject. Learn more before reading Flight Into Oblivion.

The following definition of Human Trafficking comes from the Department of Homeland Security website.

What Is Human Trafficking?

Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. Every year, millions of men, women, and children are trafficked worldwide – including right here in the United States. It can happen in any community and victims can be of any age, race, gender, or nationality. Traffickers might use violence, manipulation, or false promises of well-paying jobs or romantic relationships to lure victims into trafficking situations.

If you haven’t started the Souls on Board series, please visit our website at www.EgnerINK.com or any of the following sites for these and more books by Susan Egner.

Amazon, BN.com, Smashwords

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Souls On Board–Max’s recipe for apple cider stew

3 lbs lean stew meat, coated with flour, salt and pepper

6 potatoes, cubed

6 carrots, scraped and cubed

Celery, if desired, cut in thick slices

2 small onions, whole

Apple cider to cover (Indian Summer apple cider best)

Brown meat in salad oil. Combine all ingredients; cover with cider. Simmer 3 hours on the stovetop or 5 hours in a crockpot. Remove onion before serving. Served best with Cornbread (Jiffy)

Great meal for a fall or winter evening. Enjoy!

Keep reading my blog for more recipes from Max. If you haven’t started the Souls on Board series, please visit our website at www.EgnerINK.com or any of the following sites for these and more books by Susan Egner.

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Souls On Board–Book 2 – Groundstopped – Interview with Casey’s husband, Max

Newspaper reporter: How did you feel about your wife becoming a flight attendant at her age?

Max: Casey’s boundless vitality combined with a lifetime of experiences easily qualified her for the role.

Newspaper reporter: But her role turned out to be far from what you imagined, didn’t it?

Max: There have been some unusual circumstances, I’ll admit.

Newspaper reporter: Unusual? A fake bomb on board, placed there by a twin who tried to kill his own brother. And then as a follow-up, she helped a person fleeing from her country and her uncle, a maniacal killer.

Max only grunted in response.

Newspaper reporter: Were you alarmed after the first event?

Max: Of course, I was. In fact, I wanted Casey to step down from any future sleuthing, as the newspapers called it.

Newspaper reporter: And did she?

Max barked a laugh: She was caught in an unforeseeable set of circumstances that she could hardly ignore. Even I recognized that.

Newspaper reporter: From the beginning?

Max: Well, no, I admit, at first, I insisted that she leave the whole ordeal to the authorities.

Newspaper reporter: What changed your mind?

Max: Meeting Nisreen, an articulate, intelligent young woman, who only wished to save her sister, a fully trained doctor, from a life with no purpose other than to serve the will of a man in Pakistan. The same would have been true for Nisreen, an educated engineer. Casey convinced me and my heart softened.

Newspaper reporter: So what’s in store for Casey’s career as a flight attendant?

Max: I’m sure all the excitement is over and she will serve Cokes and attend to the safety of her passengers. Casey is the consummate flight attendant and, in her absence, I’ve become the gourmet cook.

Keep up with the Souls on Board series – follow my blog and please share it with your friends. In my next blog, Max will share one of his famous recipes. If you haven’t started the Souls On Board series, please visit one of the websites below to get started reading. Reviews are appreciated.

www.EgnerINK.com

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Souls On Board, Book 2 – Groundstopped

Groundstopped is an aviation term meaning a plane or planes are grounded for any number of reasons: mechanical failure, weather, or a human incident. It can involve the airport or the airspace. Read more in the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_stop

Happy to share a review we received for Groundstopped:

Michele 5.0 out of 5 stars Casey, Bonnie, Bertie, and Kit are at it again…Reviewed in the United States Verified Purchase OMG – started Ground Stopped this morning and couldn’t put it down. Just finished – I love Casey (and Max), Bonnie, Bertie, and Kit. Agent Krahl is a wonderful example of what an FBI agent should be. Thank you for allowing me to be among the first to disappear into your books. I live the stories as I’m reading them. These books all should be movies on the Hallmark Channel.

As always, I can’t wait until the next book…

Please visit our website at www.EgnerINK.com or any of the following sites for more books by Susan Egner.

Amazon, BN.com, Smashwords

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Souls On Board–Ghosts On Board

Perhaps Casey Click was more stressed by the intensive training required to become a flight attendant than she thought because when she reported for her first flight, she noticed her boyfriend from college, Jack Soul, seated in the first row of First Class. Jack Soul, a combat pilot in the Viet Nam War, had been shot down, held as a POW, and finally died in captivity. Yet here he sat, dressed as she had last seen him when he proposed marriage.

Does this part of the story in Souls On Board seem a bit far-fetched? Read on.

https://near-death.com/ghosts-of-flight-401/

Happy to share a review for Souls on Board:

by bdp47 –  Quite enjoyable. Following the interests and tastes of Casey, I could imagine my wife becoming a flight attendant – as in the themes, flowers, wines, and interests were completely familiar to me. I liked the plot and characters. I definitely recommend this one.

To read more of the stories in the Souls On Board series, please visit one of the following websites to get started reading. As always, we appreciate your reviews.

EgnerInk.com

Also on Smashwords, BN.com and Amazon

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Souls on Board – Interview with Flight Attendant Casey Click

Newspaper reporter: “Why did you decide to become a flight attendant at this stage in your life?”

Casey: “After I retired, my husband, who was already retired, and I had planned to travel and see the world. However, though we had diligently saved, the cost of health care has exploded and the cost of travel has become prohibitive. Now I’m able to provide both health coverage and the opportunity to travel.”

Newspaper reporter: “What did you do before?”

Casey: “I was marketing director for a large company.”

Newspaper reporter: “And your husband?”

Casey: “Max was career Navy and then worked as a consultant.”

Newspaper reporter: “At what age did you become a flight attendant?”

Casey: “I was sixty.”

Newspaper reporter: “That must have been unusual for someone your age.”

Casey: “Actually not. Many of my crew member peers were retired teachers, nurses, policemen, even an attorney.”

Newspaper reporter: “What did you find as your biggest surprise when you started flying?”

Casey: “I often flew on trips before, both for business and with friends and family. My friends and I often thought being a flight attendant was just a glorified waitress job.”

Newspaper reporter: “And that’s not true?”

Casey: “Far from it. Training came as a big surprise.”

Newspaper reporter: “How so?”

Casey: “I expected to learn aviation terms and facts about weather and turbulence, of course. What I didn’t expect was to be fully trained as a first responder in cases of a medical emergency, a fire on board, an emergency evacuation, and conscious observer.”

Newspaper reporter: “What do you mean by ‘conscious observer?’”

Casey: Training teaches flight attendants to be constantly aware of anything that might threaten the safety of flight.

Newspaper reporter: “Can you give me an example?”

Casey: “It can cover anything from a drunk passenger to a person intent on harming others.”

The newspaper reporter chuckled. “Far from a glorified waitress.”

Casey: “As far as you can get.”

Newspaper reporter: “Do you enjoy your job?”

Casey: “Every minute.”

Keep up with the Souls on Board series – follow my blog and please share it with your friends. In my next blog, read an interview with Casey’s long, lost friend, Jack Soul. Oh, By the way, he’s a ghost. If you haven’t started the Souls On Board series, please visit one of the websites below to get started reading. Reviews are appreciated.

 www.egnerink.com

Also on Amazon, B&N, Smashwords

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Mask of Lies, 8th book in Souls On Board series coming February 2022

Mark your calendar: The 8th book, “Mask of Lies” in Susan Egner’s “Souls on Board” mystery series is scheduled for release in February 2022.

Once again vivacious senior flight attendant, Casey Click, takes flight in another mystery.

Let your imagination soar as Casey’s charm, intellect, and sense of adventure rise to the challenge of life in the skies; but buckle up, the flight could get bumpy.

Keep up with the Souls on Board series – follow my blog and share it with your friends. In the next blog post, you’ll find an interview with Casey Click. AND, If you haven’t started the Souls On Board series, please visit one of the websites below to get started reading:

                                                www.egnerink.com

                                    Also on Amazon, B&N, Smashwords

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Why did I become a flight attendant at the age of 64?

I had been offered the possibility of airtime for my children’s book on the Chicago PBS station but I needed to assist with some of the funding. Some, HAH! We’re talking millions. I didn’t have a clue where I would even start. You don’t just knock on someone’s door and say, “Hey, would you like to invest a million in a kids’ television show?” I had recently retired and a friend suggested I become a flight attendant to meet people. It’s great to have friends that think you can do anything, isn’t it? My response? I pointed to my white hair and said, “Hello?” to which she replied, they love people like you; reliable, comfortable with a lot of different people, enjoys a lot of different people, curious about people, likes to serve. I was hired the next week.

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