TJ Newman

Simon Mayo's Books Of The Year

Flight attendant turned bestselling thriller author, TJ Newman, joins Simon and Matt to discuss her latest novel, "Drowning"

TJ wrote her first book on red eye flights when she was working, sometimes jotting ideas on napkins or scraps of paper. This formed her first book, which received 41 rejections. She talks about her writing journey and why "failure" is a positive thing.

She also discusses her writing processes and why she thinks her books will be sold in airports - despite the subject matter!

Here comes the science bit...

Six minutes after takeoff, Flight 1421 crashes into the Pacific Ocean. During the evacuation, an engine explodes and the plane is flooded. Those still alive are forced to close the doors-but it's too late. The plane sinks to the bottom with twelve passengers trapped inside.

More than two hundred feet below the surface, engineer Will Kent and his eleven-year-old daughter Shannon are waist-deep in water and fighting for their lives.

Their only chance at survival is an elite rescue team on the surface led by professional diver Chris Kent - Shannon's mother and Will's soon-to-be ex-wife - who must work together with Will to find a way to save their daughter and rescue the passengers from the sealed airplane, which is now teetering on the edge of an undersea cliff.

There's not much time.

There's even less air.

With devastating emotional power and heart-stopping suspense, Drowning is an unforgettable thriller about a family's desperate fight to save themselves and the people trapped with them - against impossible odds.

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