2021 WILLA Literary Award Finalist in Contemporary Fiction

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Interabang Books, Dallas, TX

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Main Street Reads, Summerville, SC (signed bookplates available)

“In a world that’s been turned upside down following the 2016 presidential election, the women of The Flying

Cutterbucks pull together through the uncertainty, trying to find hope for the future.”

— Michael Cole, “Pete Cochran” on The Mod Squad, and author of I Played the White Guy

"When national politics triggers a buried family secret, the Cutterbuck women do what they do best, persevere.  Their story is the story of a resilient American family, fragile in its unmitigated loss, triumphant in the ties that bind.  With a page-turning narrative and an authentic sense of place, The Flying Cutterbucks will make you laugh and cry, while never forgetting the voices of Jewel, Aunt Star, Trudy, and Georgia."

–Johnnie Bernhard, author of Sisters of the Undertow

“Rodgers skillfully spins a poignant and necessary story about grief, buried memories, and the struggle to come to terms with the past. With sensitivity and an insider’s awareness, Rodgers honors the resiliency of military wives and children. Moving and deeply affecting, The Flying Cutterbucks will make you cry, laugh, and salute the courage and strength of women. Rodgers’ remarkable Cutterbuck family will stay in your heart long after you finish the last page.” 

–Ann Weisgarber, author of The Glovemaker, 2020 WILLA Literary Award for Historical Fiction

“With a cast of strong women characters--mother, daughters, sisters, friends--this novel about truth-telling is set in a small town in New Mexico after Donald Trump is elected. It's the perfect backdrop to this exploration of ending the silence and secrets women keep.” 

–Jill Swenson, retired journalism professor

“In her new novel, The Flying Cutterbucks, Kathleen M. Rodgers draws the reader into the world of fifty-something Trudy Cutterbuck, who returns to her childhood home of Pardon, New Mexico—to help her aging mother, but also to figure out her own life, and grapple with some secrets she’s been hiding for decades. Set around the time of the 2016 presidential election, The Flying Cutterbucks tells a compelling story that links the characters’ personal lives to the larger events swirling around them. A wonderful book!”

–Deborah Kalb, writer, editor, and book blogger

Mixing raucous hilarity and rakish commentary with a deft hand, author Kathleen M. Rodgers introduces readers to The Flying Cutterbucks, a military family of willful, spirited women. Recently retired from her job as an airline stewardess, Trudy has returned home to Pardon, New Mexico, to see after her mother Jewel, an aging beauty queen whose husband, a pilot, has been MIA in Vietnam all these years. Secrets abound between Trudy, younger sister Georgia and mother Jewel. Readers will laugh and cry along with The Flying Cutterbucks as the women try their darndest to heal old hurts while remaining open to new adventures. Rodgers delightfully captures the strength and vulnerability common to military families, to women, the world over.    

–Karen Spears Zacharias, Gold Star daughter, author of After the Flag has been Folded (William Morrow/HarperCollins)

In our sad state of political discord and growing accounts of “Me Too,” Kathleen Rodgers has an unflinching ability to write stories that matter. The Flying Cutterbucks is a WOW of a book. The Cutterbucks, a Gold Star family, have a major skeleton in the closet as a result of a sexual assault on one of the women when she was still a girl. As this internal wound continues to eat at their souls, the family also combats the ugliness of targeted racism in their community and a national administration devoid of progress toward inclusiveness. Kathleen, however, eloquently gives readers pleasure, too, as they get to know this family of strong women - including a bit of romance - and the beauty of New Mexico, their home.

–Anita Martin, Postcards & Authors, book blogger

"Settle in for an insightful, entertaining read! Accentuated with vivid detail, “The Flying Cutterbucks,” immediately draws the reader into the heart of the Cutterbuck women and their experiences. Current events are woven together with mystery, family history, and reassuring nostalgia. This is compelling storytelling that keeps the reader engaged to the very last line."

–Rosa Walston Latimer, award-winning author of a series of books about the establishment of Harvey Houses along the Santa Fe Railroad

In her new book, The Flying Cutterbucks, Kathleen Rodgers weaves a story that is part mystery, part romance, part social commentary—and all heart. Readers will enjoy each twist of this compelling tale as it winds its way along the gravel backroads and small-town streets of rural New Mexico, pursued by the shadows of long-held family secrets. 

—Terri Barnes, author of Spouse Calls: Messages From a Military Life

Whenever a writer with such skill and sensitivity as Kathleen Rodgers publishes a novel, we must, for our own sake, read it.  The Flying Cutterbucks is a profound and moving portrait of family, friendship, and forgiveness. 

-Allen Mendenhall, Editor, Southern Literary Review

In The Flying Cutterbucks, author Kathleen Rodgers has written the 21st century version of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women with a wonderfully engrossing updated twist. The Flying Cutterbucks is a testament to Rodgers' extraordinary skill as a writer, sweeping you into a compelling story with vivid characters that are so well written as to feel as if you are there with your neighbors and friends. Bravo!
-Dwight Jon Zimmerman, #1 New York Times bestselling author

In The Flying Cutterbucks, Kathleen M. Rodgers has created a family of close-knit, funny, wise, resilient women and the people who matter to them. If waiting is a kind of strength in this novel, action is another, and this book is a call to action for our current time: action through empathy, advocacy, and even simple presence. I loved spending time with the Cutterbuck women, who have the kind of strength, compassion, and humor that make Kathleen Rodgers a terrific writer and this novel a joy to read."

–Andria Williams, author of The Longest Night (Random House, 2016)

The Flying Cutterbucks is a powerful story of women returning from the dead (in a manner of speaking) to finally recover not just from assault and secrets, but from the lasting patterns, habits, and the alienation that stemmed from it. It will immerse readers in a world of discovery, recovery, and revised family lives, and is highly recommended for readers seeking an evocative, compelling story of family relationships and change.

— MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW