Long and Short Reviews welcomes Bru Baker who is celebrating today’s release of Under a Blue Moon, a Camp H.O.W.L. book.
Today I’m sharing my top 5 tips for making a flight more tolerable.
Drown out the sound
My husband gave me a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, and I absolutely love to use them on planes. They drown out the roar of the plane so you can listen to music without blasting it at ear-drum rocking levels. I couldn’t believe how much difference it made.
Take the pressure off
I used to hate to fly because my ears are sensitive to the pressure changes. More often than not I’d actually lose my hearing during a flight–and even for a few hours afterward. It was annoying and painful, and no amount of popping my ears in-flight seemed to help. When I started flying with my kids, I bought them something called Earplanes, a product that normalizes the pressure in your ears so you don’t have to pop them. They also made them for adults so I gave it a try, and now I panic at the thought of flying without them. I only need them during take off and landing, but man, what a difference they make!
Don’t overpack your under-the-seat carry on
I’m a work in progress on this one. As much as I try to go minimalist, I always seem to end up with a lot more in there than I need. Do you really need your Kindle and four paperback books? Will you actually eat the five different snacks you’ve stuffed in there? Do you really need two sweatshirts just in case? Trust me, I survived a 30-some hour trip from hell with an overnight layover with just my electronics and chargers, one sweater, and my headphones. Your back will thank you when you don’t have to lug a heavy bag around.
Be realistic about how you want to spend your flight
I always bring my laptop so I can work, but most of the time I end up reading on my Kindle or watching the in-flight movie instead. If you’re honest with how you want to spend your time, it makes it easier for you to pack your bag with things you’ll enjoy. If you know you’re just going to watch movies, then you can prepare by downloading them in advance so you have a selection. If you’re going to work, make sure you have a way to keep your battery charged and everything you need so you can avoid the frustration of being 30,000 feet in the air without a critical file downloaded.
Bring a treat
This doesn’t have to be food (but mine always is–I always have Sour Patch Kids on a flight!). If you’re always cold on planes, indulge in a light-weight and easy-to-pack blanket that feels awesome on your skin. Buy yourself a new book or magazine you can look forward to after take off, or carry your favorite chocolate or snack if that’s what will help you relax. Or even order a drink–whatever can help you chill out will help you have a better, more restful flight. Just don’t bring a burrito–everyone will hate you.
Once in a blue moon, opposites find they’re a perfect match.
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Nick Perry is tired of helping people with their marriages, so when a spot opens up to work with teens at Camp H.O.W.L., he jumps at it. He doesn’t expect to fall in lust with the dreamy new camp doctor, Drew Welch. But Drew is human, and Nick has seen secrets ruin too many relationships to think that a human/werewolf romance can go anywhere.Happy-go-lucky Drew may not sprout claws, but he’s been part of the Were community all his life. He has no trouble fitting in at the camp—except for Nick’s stubborn refusal to acknowledge the growing attraction between them, and his ridiculous stance on dating humans. Fate intervenes when one of Drew’s private practice patients threatens his life. Will the close call help Nick to see a connection like theirs isn’t something to let go of?
Enjoy an Excerpt
Traveling never brought out the best in Nick. He was self-aware enough to realize that, and he could even pinpoint what about travel was a stressor. If he had a patient who complained of anxiety, headaches, and poorly bottled-up rage while traveling, he would help them come up with coping mechanisms for the psychological stress and figure out how to best mitigate the physical symptoms.
But like almost all psychologists, he was a bad patient. He didn’t do his homework or follow the steps he’d prescribe for anyone else in his situation. Hence his sour mood and the blinding headache he had at the moment.
Really, though, he’d checked when March’s full moon was, and it had been at the beginning of the month. He hadn’t realized there was another one at the end and that it coincided with the day he was flying to Indiana. Astronomers called them blue moons, but he called them a pain in the ass.
Nick took a deep, grounding breath and tried to ignore the scents it brought with it. Someone three rows back had brought a burrito on the plane. Nick was pretty sure that was on the psychological checklist for sociopaths. Lack of remorse or shame? Check. Pathological egocentricity? Check. Brings strong-smelling foods into enclosed spaces? Double check.
Planes were always difficult because of the sheer number of people who were on and off of them in a day. His sister swore by essential oils— she’d dab herself with peppermint or something else bitingly astringent before getting on a plane, overwhelming her senses with an unpleasant but at least controlled scent. His Alpha always flew with earplugs and noise-canceling headphones. He claimed that with a light-proof eye mask, it was possible to sleep on a plane and wake up at your destination, skipping the hours of discomfort in between.
Nick called bullshit on the last part. There was absolutely no way a werewolf could sleep on a plane. Maybe if he was flying with no one on the plane but his Pack. Maybe. But sitting in a vulnerable position among a bunch of strangers? And worse, human strangers who boarded a plane with their AXE Body Spray, flowery fabric softener, and pungent burritos? Granted, they couldn’t know how those strong scents assaulted a supernatural nose, but surely even humans thought that stuff stank.
About the Author: 
Bru Baker writes sophisticated gay romantic fiction with strong characters, real-world problems, and plenty of humor.
Bru spent fifteen years writing for newspapers before making the jump to fiction. She now balances her time between writing and working at a Midwestern library in the reference department. Whether it’s creating her own characters or getting caught up in someone else’s, there’s no denying that Bru is happiest when she’s engrossed in a story. She and her husband have two children, which means a lot of her books get written from the sidelines of various sports practices.
Buy the book at Amazon, Dreamspinner Press, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, iBooks, or Google Play.
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