DATE: Wednesday, June 18, 1997              TAG: 9706180519

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: NEW YORK TIMES 

DATELINE: NEW YORK                          LENGTH:   28 lines

FLINN SIGNS DEAL FOR BOOK SHE HAS ALREADY STARTED

Four weeks after resigning her position as the Air Force's first female B-52 pilot, Kelly Flinn has signed a deal with Random House to write a book about the national controversy over her affair with a married civilian.

Flinn, 26, has already started writing, according to Random House, which intends to rush the book into publication by the fall. Tentatively titled ``Proud to Be,'' the motto of Flinn's Air Force Academy class, the book will explore her highly publicized ouster from the military that once praised her as an example of the heights women could reach in its ranks.

``This is a very American story and one that no one else can tell,'' said Ann Goddoff, editor in chief of Random House, who described the book as a story for women who ``understand getting mixed up with the wrong guy.''

The publisher made a pre-emptive offer for the book last week, effectively preventing an auction of the manuscript to other publishing houses. The terms of the advance were not disclosed. ILLUSTRATION: Kelly Flinn KEYWORDS: SEXUAL MISCONDUCT SEX SCANDAL AIR FORCE SEXUAL

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