Noelle Salazar was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, where she's been a Navy recruit, a medical assistant, an NFL cheerleader and
always a storyteller. As a novelist, she has done extensive research into the Women Airforce Service Pilots, interviewing vets and visiting the training facility—now a museum dedicated to the WASP—in Sweetwater, Texas. When she’s not writing, she can be found dodging raindrops and daydreaming of her next book. Salazar lives in Bothell, Washington, with her husband and two children.
The Flight Girls is her first novel.
Recently I asked Salazar about what she was reading. Her reply:
I read a wide variety of genres, but my one true love is stories focusing on the plight of women— in all forms. In the past year I read three books that have clung to my nerve endings, 
striking different chords and making me recommend them time and time again. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman spoke to me. She's an odd bird, Eleanor. And there are hints of why that come in flashes that made me stop, my heart beating fast in my chest. What was that?! And I had to know. Because Eleanor is strange and kind and interesting and mysterious. And her story is sad but lovely and you want to be her friend, but also just take care of her. You want to be her safe haven... until she allows you to set her free. It is a story of self-love and self-discovery and letting go. But also of friendship and love. It is definitely a book that has been added to my "Read Again and Again" pile.
Another book I read recently, I'll admit because I saw the movie trailer with Cate Blanchett and — I mean... Cate Blanchett!! 
Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple. The fact that it takes place in Seattle makes it that much more fun for me. Bernadette's obvious distaste for the city is hilarious - for all the reasons I love it. The story is told in an intriguing way — mostly through letters and emails, and the hilarity on every page drives the story in such a clipped way, you have no chance at getting anything done. Just sit down and go for a ride. Witty prose, snappy dialogue, hilarious descriptions. It's like the best roller coaster ride you've ever been on, and then it stops, the bar releases, and you find yourself breathing normally again, laughter caught in your throat.
Last but definitely not least, Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips. Talk about an intriguingly written story. Set on the stark peninsula of Kamchatka in Russia, this is a story about two young girls going missing. 
But that's not all it's about. Each chapter focuses on a different woman within this small community, and essentially her own "disappearing earth". A thread carries through the book, linking in some way each woman to the girls at the beginning of the story. It is intriguing. Delicate. And reads like a whisper. I was haunted by this novel for days after and highly recommend giving it a read on your next rainy day, tucked in the corner of your sofa with a blanket and a cup of tea.
Visit
Noelle Salazar's website.
--Marshal Zeringue
always a storyteller. As a novelist, she has done extensive research into the Women Airforce Service Pilots, interviewing vets and visiting the training facility—now a museum dedicated to the WASP—in Sweetwater, Texas. When she’s not writing, she can be found dodging raindrops and daydreaming of her next book. Salazar lives in Bothell, Washington, with her husband and two children.
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