| ‘Last Chance Rescue’ draws from life of Army paramedic, helicopter pilot |
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| Thursday, 08 January 2009 | ||
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Staff writer If you’ve never been on a helicopter ride or tagged along on a medical rescue in the mountains, now’s your chance to hitch a vicarious ride on an adventurous voyage.
Cramer-Kelly classifies the 251-page book as adventure fiction. “I like living in the fantasy world and the real world and I have these really great friends that don’t exist,” she said about the reason she enjoys writing among her other action-packed activities. “Last Chance” is about Brad Sievers, an advertising executive who runs into Jessie Van Dyke at his high school reunion. He is both drawn to and challenged by Jessie at the same time. “As Brad acclimates to the high-flying, pulse-pounding existence of a helicopter-based mountain search-and-rescue squad, what started as a whim (surprising Jessie by showing up in Colorado) is turning into something far more serious – and dangerous – for them both,” Cramer-Kelly writes about her book. She was hooked Cramer-Kelly joined the Minnesota National Guard and served from 1988 to 1993, to pay for college. She was trained as an EMT and paramedic. During her stint, she took part in battlefield simulations. She seized on an opportunity to participate in medevacs flying missions, where rescuers in helicopters pick up injured people. “I got a chance to fly in them, but, man I was hooked,” Cramer-Kelly said. At the age of 20, she vowed to get her helicopter pilot’s license by the time she was 30. One month before she turned 31, she got her wish. Years later, while interviewing a member of the Whirly-Girls, a group dedicated to the advancement of women in helicopter aviation, an Idaho woman invited her to participate in a helicopter search-and-rescue practice – more background for Cramer-Kelly’s book. (The simulation exercises turned out to be for Vice President Dick Cheney.) As part of the team, Cramer-Kelly started the river rescue practice at 7 a.m. “By the end of the day, I was so exhausted, but my brain was buzzing,” she said. “It was really inspiring as far as sparking creativity.” Cramer-Kelly believes all of her experiences have come together to create the writer in her. Her background is as a tech aid at 3M, an editor for an upholstery journal in St. Louis Park and an administrative assistant to the executive director of SASE, a literary nonprofit in Minneapolis. The latter position allowed her a chance to coordinate reading events, write, design and layout a newsletter. She also helped create the company’s Web site. She was later hired as an Internet marketing specialist at an electronics company in Eden Prairie. Always the entrepreneur, Cramer-Kelly, who describes herself as a “biker chick,” now owns and operates a motorcycle accessories business that she runs from her home. The off-peak winter season allows her time to work on a craft she loves – writing. Cramer-Kelly is married to her husband of 14 years, Tim, a computer support tech specialist for Connexus Energy. They have two children, Nathan, 6, and Evelyn, 18 months. She manages to find writing time between 9 and 11 p.m. after the kids are asleep. She has many interests Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Cramer-Kelly’s family moved to White Bear Lake when she was two years old. She attended high school there and graduated from the University of St. Thomas with a bachelor’s degree in business management. She now serves as a mentor in the university’s entrepreneur program. When not writing or working she enjoys singing professionally, Taiko drumming and driving her Kawasaki Vulcan 900 motorcycle. She also likes to downhill ski, cross-country ski, water ski, go whitewater rafting and kayaking. Cramer-Kelly hopes the characters in her book resonate with the readers. Search and rescuers must face people dying. They are sometimes people’s only hope. And they work under treacherous circumstances. “They put their lives on the line; they put their hearts on the line,” Cramer-Kelly said of the rescuers. The book brings insight into to what amounts to life-changing and important work, much of which is essentially volunteer work, she said. “Last Chance Rescue” can be purchased from www.lastchancerescuebook.com for $17.99. It is also available through amazon.com . Elyse Kaner is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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