Sarah Byrn Rickman knew at age 5 she wanted to write books. At 13, she read about Amelia Earhart and wanted to fly. A 20-plus year career in journalism — as a reporter/ columnist for The Detroit News and later editor of the Centerville-Bellbrook (Ohio) Times — put her on the brink of her dream. She earned a master’s degree in creative writing and, in 2001, saw the publication of her first book — The Originals: The Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron of World War II.
Her 12th book will be out this spring (2022). Sarah now writes upbeat biographies about the gutsy women pilots who flew as WAFS and WASP in World War II. She writes these books for today’s young women – the girls in STEM classes, girls who want to fly and in some way be involved in aviation’s future.
As for that desire to fly, Sarah earned her Sport Pilot certificate in 2011, flying a sweet little 1940s-vintage taildragger Aeronca Champ—yellow with a red belly.