
Kent McInnis earned his Air Force pilot wings in 1971 at Laredo AFB, Texas, with a class proudly named the Rio River Rats, an homage to the “real” River Rats who risked their lives flying missions over North Vietnam. His first assignment was to return to Laredo AFB as an instructor pilot in T-37 jet trainers. His job was to introduce and solo student pilots in their first jet aircraft. Students, after learning the difficult task of instrument flying, could experience the more enjoyable parts of flying—aerobatics and formation. Because half of the instructor pilots were returning Vietnam combat veterans, Kent collected their stories as well as his own in film, photos, and journals. These are the sources for the realistic and entertaining works of historical fiction Kent McInnis brings to his readers.

SIERRA HOTEL, the first of a three-novel series, looks at the Vietnam War from the perspective of airmen in the rear echelon dealing with a different enemy—dysfunctional commanders, war protestors, and personal demons, while supporting a war their leaders are unwilling to win.
Available anywhere books are sold.
CLEAR and a MILLION, the second in the Sierra Hotel Trilogy, follows veterans as they struggle through the transition to a civilian world—a minefield all its own. While missing the intense camaraderie of an air force squadron, family pressures, antagonistic civilians, and a lonely young woman can drag a man down.
Available anywhere books are sold.
SEMPER FLY, the final novel of the Sierra Hotel Trilogy, follows our main character as he further matures and learns to take charge of his own life and grow proud of his service as a Vietnam wartime military pilot in a nation still at conflict with itself.
Look for SEMPER FLY in November 2023.
DETAIL MAN, a novel of the pharmaceutical industry, covers forty-years of a pharmaceutical salesman and his company. In four decades of medical evolution, industry, doctors, and government affected changes not always in the best interests of patients. Ethics is sometimes best practiced by the one who is face to face with the doctor. Learn what pharmaceutical sales entails. Discover the hilarity, dedication, and enjoyment in being a Detail Man.
DEATAIL MAN due for release in 2024.
TALES of the RIO RIVER RATS is a history of the author’s pilot training classmates, a varied group of student pilots who went to war in the 1970s during Vietnam’s final years. Twenty-five years later the men named the Rio River Rats came back together to continue a comradery that now spans over fifty years. They are telling stories of their facing challenges and enemies, losing comrades-in-arms, and living full and productive lives. Filled with a mix of excitement, hilarity, sadness, fear, and triumph, find out what real military pilots think and can achieve.
Look for TALES of the RIO RIVER RATS in 2025.
