Betty Beaty

"The North Atlantic weather", the air stewardesses under training were told, "is harsh, unpredictable and sometimes of immeasurable force. And that, thought Patsy Aylmer, was no bad description of Captain Robert Prentice. Like all the other girls of World-Span Airways, she shook in her beautifully-polished shoes at the idea of flying under his command, while he, for his part, seemed to be even more strict and exacting (and that was saying a lot) with her than with any of the others. This is the story of how they came to know each other better as the great aircraft in which they flew came and went on the hazardous transatlantic run. The background is filled in with plenty of authentic detail and some lively, amusing portraits of the personnel of World-Span Airways.

Rosamund was not at all happy about the prospect of having a film unit invading her beautiful home. She could imagine only too well the chaos that would ensue. But what she had not foreseen, was the upheaval it was to cause in her private life as well.

Life on the airways wasn't all glamour. Sally was thrilled when she began her new job as stewardess for Lancing Airways. She quickly made friends with her co-workers and her future looked bright. There was only one major problem. She found it impossible to get along with the airline's stern, uncompromising director, Dick Sutherland. He was a man who demanded utmost efficiency and would brook not the slightest slipup. In spite of all her efforts to avoid trouble, a clash was inevitable.

Mr James Jarvis, orthopaedic consultant at the Frantfield and District, is reputed to leave a trail of cast-off crutches, mended bones and broken hearts behind him. But Nurse Hester Stanton vows, he will not get away with ruining her sister's life for a second time...though she doesn't bargain for falling in love herself with the man her sister was to marry!

Alathea nourished a long-standing grudge against Captain Simon Dexter. She wasn't at all pleased at the prospect of being on his flight crew--especially as he proceeded to find fault with everything she did. So it came as quite a shock when she realized that in spite of all the antagonism she had managed to fall in love with him....

Madeleine's job at the British Embassy in a Latin American country was fascinating and challenging--but marred by the harshly critical attitude of one of the senior officials, James Fitzgerald. Unfortunately, a series of mishaps confirmed his low opinion of her. But were they really mishaps something far more sinister?

What if America suddenly lost all its electrical power, its communications, its transportation, its financial system, its government leadership, and its media? What if an upper middle-class neighborhood of families who hardly know each other's names, suddenly had to form a functioning, self-contained community? How would people in the 21st Century, spoiled by microwaves and fast food, air travel and speeding cars, television and air conditioning, learn to function if they no longer had cars that ran, grocery stores, postal service, running water, computers, big screen TVs? If they had to hunt to eat or grow their own food? If they had to dig wells for water? If they had to learn to wash their clothes in the nearby lake? If they had to establish a neighborhood school and a neighborhood church? And what if the crisis created looters and killers who thought they could rob and murder without consequences? This series combines elements of Growing up Gotti with Little House on the Prairie. After an unexplained catastrophic event in the atmosphere knocks out all electronics in the world, these well-to-do families who've accumulated so many things are suddenly left helpless. Their Mercedes and BMWs sit in their driveways, useless. Their expensive, well-appointed homes have no electricity, no refrigeration, no phones. Even their battery-operated electronics don't work. No one is certain whether the country is under attack. Without communication, there is no way to find out. One family of Christians--the Brannings--realizes the needs of those around them. After wrestling with their own anger, fear and despair, and struggling in prayer with the Lord, they begin to realize that they have a job to do. They begin trying to unite the neighbors in a common effort to survive, and instead of hoarding, they realize that Christ has called them to sacrifice and give. But a couple is found dead in their neighborhood, and they realize that there is a killer among them. As they struggle to protect their own family and property, their 22-year-old daughter Deni falls prey to the killer, and takes off with him across the country, desperate to make her way to the East Coast where she thinks her life will be better. It doesn't take long for her to realize he's the killer and that she's in danger. But getting back home is more difficult than she ever imagined, and she is forced to turn back to Christ in repentance and humility, knowing He is the only One who can help her get home.

Pamela Hughes thought the career of air stewardess the most interesting and romantic of all. She was the youngest and most eager of the embryo stewardesses on Skywide Airlines’ Air Hostess Course, enjoying every moment of her training, the excitement of her trips to colourful far-away places, and the crowning dignity of her first trans-atlantic flight. But even the most glamorous job has its problems, and Pamela was to have her share, in the form of Roger Carson, the attractive Technical Instructor, who disapproved of women on the airline in general, and, it seemed, of Pamela in particular.

Susan knew there was nothing glamorous about attending to the passengers' every need on a long flight to South America. But once there it was a different story; the sand really was golden and the sea the brightest blue. If only Susan had the companionship of an adoring soulmate she knew her idyll would be complete. Handsome First Officer Alan Heathley seemed to like her and certainly made her laugh. But Captain John Jefferson, silent and distant, seemed to be intruding on Susan's vision of paradise with alarming frequency . . .

Stewardess Lisa Massingham was anxious that the Juliet Delta with a special gold bullion cargo should reach Panama safely. It was a great concern since the last flight with an identical cargo had disappeared six months ago without trace. Mid flight, while pondering on the many strange incidents happening, she suddenly realized that the Juliet Delta had been hijacked, and its passengers and crew had been targeted systematically one by one...

As an air hostess Emma was accustomed to dealing with almost any awkward situation, but her assignment in Sicily seemed to be proving more than usually problem-filled. On the face of it, it was the most glamorous job, taking a party of VIPs around all the most romantic spots in Sicily and the Mediterranean, but the passengers brought more than the usual quota of problems with them. In particular, the attractive Count Leon Orsini and his lovely sister Ghislaine intruded more into Emma's personal life than she would have wished. And there was the autocratic Captain of the aircraft, Mark Creighton, a man who seemed determined to put Emma in the wrong at every turn. How could she cope with it all?

Cristie Cummings' maiden voyage as a hostess on board the liner Pallas Athene promises to be too good to be true. A cruise to North Africa, in the company of handsome, wealthy Count Paul Vansini ... not even the disapproval of Doctor David Lindsay, the ship's surgeon, can blight her enjoyment. Doctor Lindsay seems fully occupied with Trudy Regan, the ship's beautiful Nursing Sister, so it should be easy to keep out of his way and have a happy, carefree trip. Or so Cristie thinks when the ship sails!

It’s a tough world, and you are soft!” The two week educational cruise started badly for Kate Cameron. She had found a young stowaway for whom she felt sympathetically responsible and had therefore fallen foul of Mark Templar, the powerful Chief Officer and, unexpectedly, her ex-fiancee was on board. “Just remember, Kate,” the Chief Officer said, “that he is ex., don’t try to revive anything.” Kate had told herself the same thing but she resented Mark’s advice. It wasn’t any of his business anyway.