Travel Writing, Part Très

I met a pilot and a flight attendent couple on my cruise, and it reminded me of a novel I read recently. Travel stories naturally lend themselve to fiction writing with their colorful characters (in this case, the couple was Canadian and they were a hoot) and exotic locales (MMmmexico!). Here's an excerpt from my review of Fly Me to the Moon: When I was a senior in college trying to figure out what the heck to do with my life, I flirted with the idea of becoming a flight attendant. I figured I could get paid to travel the world, meet some interesting, exotic people, and eventually settle down with a wealthy foreigner would woo me with homemade gnocchi and poetry inspired by yours truly. Well, had I read Alyson Noel's Fly Me to the Moon back then, I might have cured myself of that fantasy a little faster.
Having worked as a flight attendant herself, Noel accurately (and humorously) describes the misadventures of Hailey Lane, who works for the fictitious Atlas Airlines. Hailey arrives home early on her birthday thinking her live-in boyfriend Michael is about to propose. Not only does he fail to produce a ring, but Hailey finds herself in the classic chick lit situation with her boyfriend in bed with someone else. Not just someone else, but someone male. To make matters worse, Hailey's job may be in jeopardy because Atlas is threatening to cut back on staffing. Thus unfolds a hilarious story involving several international flings, one bizarre roommate situation, and too many cocktails to count.
Hailey's jet-setting lifestyle allows for fun and frequent scene changes. If Fly Me to the Moon were a movie, the location scouts would have their work cut out for themselves finding spots in Manhattan, Paris, Amsterdam, and Mykonos, Greece. Of course, all that international travel comes at a high price to Hailey's sanity, as she deals with unruly passengers and unreasonable demands from airline management. Then there's Hailey's mother, who is undergoing a romantic and identity crisis of her own. The dialogue between mother and daughter and between Hailey and her supervisor is hilarious. If Fly Me to the Moon were traveling on Atlas Air, it would definitely go first-class.