Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Downingtown woman pens first novel
Downingtown woman pens first novel based on a true-life event
Jennifer Fenn’s ‘Flight Risk’ is based on a true story about a man who stole airplanes.
DOWNINGTOWN » Inspired by a true story about a man who stole several small airplanes, a boat and two cars in burglaries of at least 100 private homes on the West Coast, a Downingtown woman recently authored her first novel, “Flight Risk,” and it is selling well on Amazon.
“It started as a flash-fiction piece for my master’s class,” author Jennifer Fenn said. “I followed the story and though it was really, really interesting. When doing my thesis, I expanded it into a novel.”
Fenn, a graduate of Lycoming College and Rosemont College’s MFA program, lives with her husband, two daughters and Scottish terrier in Downingtown. She earned her teaching certification at West Chester University and has a degree in language arts. She taught at Penns Grove Middle School in Oxford for four years before leaving after her first daughter was born.
Fenn has had short stories published in literary magazines, but “Flight Risk” is her debut novel.
Based on the story of Colton Harris Moore (also known as the Barefoot Bandit), the book examines how Moore pilfered and crashed airplanes as a teenager and used them on his crime spree.
The narrative includes multiple points of view and documents elements like emails, of-
ficial records, and interviews with people who knew Moore. Ultimately, “Flight Risk” is a thrilling story about one teenager
who is determined to find a moment of transcendence after everyone else has written him off as lost.
Last month, Fenn staged two successful book signings, one in Wayne and the other at the Chester County Library.
“Writing the first draft
was difficult,” Fenn said. “I sat and looked at every single word.”
Her follow-up novel, tentatively called “Sound Check,” is scheduled for the fall of next year. It is the story of a deaf drummer who gets implant surgery and his resulting life afterward.