Let the Queen of Sky Ebay Auction Begin!

Note: This is a close copy of my column this week for the Oak Hill Gazette.
The Queen of Sky and I
Those of you who know me personally or who follow my blog know that I am good friends with a woman named Ellen Simonetti. Beyond our circle of friends, Ellen is better known to the world as “Queen of Sky,” the former Delta flight attendant who was fired for her “inappropriate” blog about the life of a flight attendant. Pictures included.
Her grounding resulted in a lawsuit that still is pending against Delta Airlines and a rush of worldwide attention. While this fame - or infamy - has caught the attention of the likes of the Today Show, People and Glamour Magazines, and USA Today (and an upcoming guest column by Ellen herself in the New York Times,) this week I am writing about her because of an exciting new development in her world – the release of her new book, “Diary of a Dysfunctional Flight Attendant, the Queen of Sky Blog.”
Being billed as the first novel in blog format, this fictional story of a slightly off-kilter flight attendant named Elena will immerse readers in a similar story to that of Simonetti - the creation of Elena’s blog after the death of her mother, the perks and quirks of international travel, life as a flight attendant for “Legacy Airlines,” and the eventual end of her seven-year career as a flight attendant because of her blog. As in the real-life blog, the book is filled with many of the pictures that led to her firing.
Of course, people have differing opinions as to whether the real Ellen Simonetti should have been fired or not, and her story remains a controversial one. But, controversy breeds interest, a result Ellen learned firsthand after being thrown in to this unexpected ordeal. I do believe most who have found interest in Ellen’s story will find their interest transplanted vicariously to the character of Elena, whose story does reach a conclusion - unlike Ellen, whose story has yet to be written.
Even though we are close friends, I was surprised pleasantly to find that on the dedication page of Ellen’s book, my name is listed. Ellen thanks me for my support as she went through what has been quite a traumatic and life-jarring experience for her. Hopefully, the release of this new book will help propel her forward to a brighter, happier, and – pardon the pun – less turbulent future.
In that spirit, Ellen (who has innumerable fans and supporters) will be auctioning off five, hand-signed and hand-numbered copies of her book beginning September 18 on E-bay. This promises to be an interesting experience, as I have found many of her fans are rather hardcore. (She has had people record songs for her and make t-shirts for her – it’s crazy, really.)
Her book is available for regular purchase, to be shipped after September 25, at BlogBasedBooks.com.