Orbits Over Los Angeles by Rick Lawin

Scott Collins, a Los Angeles police officer with only a few years on the job, wants to leave the LAPD. Police work is not his calling, and he quietly dreams of a more fulfilling career. His search for that right job shifts when he transfers to the LAPD Air Support Division and trains as a helicopter pilot. Told from Collins’s point of view, his narrative chronicles a past period of years spent flying patrols over Los Angeles marked by boredom, danger, humor, and tragedy. Along the way, he journals the unforgettable experiences and perspectives through the people he encounters and the events he endures. During a rainy night he meets an extraordinary woman whose mentorship and influence play a powerful, perhaps mysterious role in leading him toward a pathway of self-understanding and success. The question is whether he will hesitate to follow that path.