Author Name:
Elaine Rock
Book Title:
Dusty Roads: Meet the Hidden Figure Who Really Ignited the Women’s Movement
Website URL:
Social Media Links:
Instagram: @elainerockauthor
Twitter: @ejrock
Facebook: facebook.com/elainerockauthor
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/elainerock/
Link to book page on Amazon:
What is your book about and when was it published?
Barbara “Dusty” Roads was a trailblazing stewardess and union leader who challenged the airline industry’s sexist stewardess policies in the 1950s and ’60s. Fighting against marriage bans, age limits, weight restrictions, unequal pay, and humiliating girdle checks, she refused to back down. As one of the first female union lobbyists to Congress, she advocated for workplace equality and later made history by filing the first-ever Equal Employment Opportunity Commission discrimination complaint. Her efforts helped avert a strike, transform airline policies, and open doors for employment for both women and men nationwide. Gloria Steinem put it simply: Dusty Roads “started it all.” Published Oct. 27, 2024
What inspired you to write your book?
As a lifelong advocate for women’s rights, when I first met Dusty Roads at the Sonoma County Family YMCA swimming pool, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard about her before. Why had it taken me so long to learn about this incredible woman’s significant efforts to fight for justice and gender equality? Do others know about the courage and amazing things she did for herself and for all women? The year was 2014, and little did I know that Dusty would become a close friend and help me deliver a biography that every woman needs to know.
What success did you achieve with your book that you’d like to share?
Dusty Roads and I were featured on the PBS American Experience Fly With Me documentary on the history of flight attendants and their impact on the women’s movement, which aired in February 2024 (pre-publication) and March 18, 2025. Also, upon the book’s release on Amazon, it immediately became a #1 Hot New Release in Biographies and Memoirs and #1 in Social Activist Biographies and Feminist Theory. Recently, it became #1 in the same categories in the UK and Canada. I have sold over 1,500 books/ebooks since its release.
How long did this take to achieve?
It all began immediately after publication.
What steps did you take that helped?
1. Decided to independently publish my book and started a publishing business for it. 2. Found and worked with a well-known and successful book mentor/coach/developmental editor to make my book shine. 3. I hired a virtual assistant and built a social media campaign to publicize it prior to and after publication. 4. Took many helpful courses from NFAA!
Was there anything about the process that didn’t help?
I had to scramble to learn everything I could about marketing, publicity and publishing in a very short period of time.
If the NFAA and/or our community was instrumental in helping you achieve this success, how?
I couldn’t have done it without the NFAA and community support over the years. The NFAA has the most comprehensive content hub and knowledge base I’ve ever found that specifically encompasses non-fiction books. The courses, conferences, and website with up-to-date information on publishing, marketing and publicity, and numerous other author and publishing resources have been invaluable.
What’s next for you?
My audiobook (narrated by me) should be available in May. As a self-published author, I’m also now branching out to request professional reviews and submit my book for book awards. I’m also expanding my reach to libraries and colleges, updating my publicity plan to include booking keynote speaking engagements as well as more podcast interviews and book event opportunities over the next year. Publicity will extend well beyond a couple of years for my book. Also, I am starting to research a follow-up to the Dusty Roads book with the intention of writing a compilation of short stories about women who I met while I wrote the Dusty Roads book, all “First in Their Field,” choosing to work in traditionally male jobs beginning in the 1970s.
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