Several years ago, Laurie Notaro set her TiVo to record “Real Housewives of New Jersey.” In a stroke of luck, the DVR malfunctioned and instead recorded a BBC show about female pilots who had vanished trying to fly over the Atlantic. The largely untold story struck the veteran Valley journalist and “New York Times” bestselling author as something worth digging into, and this week, after years of research and recreating the true stories of three of these unsung aviatrixes and their race to cross the Atlantic, Notaro’s historical novel “Crossing the Horizon” hits shelves from Simon & Schuster imprint Gallery Books.

Notaro will read from and sign copies of the book, show a short film, and introduce a guest speaker from the Phoenix chapter of women pilots organization the 99s at Changing Hands Bookstore in Phoenix at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 6 (more info here). We recently caught up with the author to discuss “Crossing the Horizon.”