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Midnight Tequila
What happens when a pharmaceutically challenged harp player has a midlife crisis upon lurching into menopause, and enters the Afterlife by mistake? Solange knew not to mix Valium with margaritas, but she needed a mental break from her catastrophic audition for the local all-harp orchestra.
She also let go of her tequila shots, her bags of frozen peas she put on her forehead to cool the night sweats, and especially Carlos who kept calling her Delores.
The Afterlife held secrets and also her late husband, Paul-Michel. Solange drifted into it as her friends sang Amazing Grace waiting for the ambulance. Paul-Michel was actually not mad at her as she had thought. He was glad to see her, but as often happens, she was directed back to earth to take care of something important, although it was not clear what.
As Solange deciphers the clues from the Afterlife, she quits her day job as a 900-line Tarot card reader and tries to heal the world with the soothing glissandos from her harp.
She also let go of her tequila shots, her bags of frozen peas she put on her forehead to cool the night sweats, and especially Carlos who kept calling her Delores.
The Afterlife held secrets and also her late husband, Paul-Michel. Solange drifted into it as her friends sang Amazing Grace waiting for the ambulance. Paul-Michel was actually not mad at her as she had thought. He was glad to see her, but as often happens, she was directed back to earth to take care of something important, although it was not clear what.
As Solange deciphers the clues from the Afterlife, she quits her day job as a 900-line Tarot card reader and tries to heal the world with the soothing glissandos from her harp.
- GenresFiction
230 pages, Paperback
First published March 10, 2010
379 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 29, 2015
This is the story of a pharmaceutically challenged baby boomer harp player who reads Tarot cards for a 900 line company because she can't get a harp gig.
I wrote Midnight Tequila because I wanted to explore the subtext of this character's life. Throughout the story, we are (perhaps) amused by our heroine. But there's a parallel story running underneath. And it's that one that I really wanted to tell.
I wrote Midnight Tequila because I wanted to explore the subtext of this character's life. Throughout the story, we are (perhaps) amused by our heroine. But there's a parallel story running underneath. And it's that one that I really wanted to tell.
April 15, 2024
This book elicited something different from my norm... check it out!
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May 10, 2010
First, a word about the rating system, which I have borrowed from Alice Wakefield.
From now on, I will strive to keep the ratings meaningful and use them sparingly.
• 5 stars are reserved for works that reach the level of a Steinbeck, Mark Twain, etc.
• 4 stars from me very high praise, meaning outstanding & highly recommended.
• 3 stars means I enjoyed the book and recommend it, with some reservations.
___________________
Solange Duval, the fifty-two year old main character in Midnight Tequila, is a woman who enjoys her hot flashes, her booze, and her drugs but misses her husband Paul-Michel, who died from cancer years earlier.
Although it is never clear where the money comes from that supports her almost plush lifestyle, she does earn cash as a 900-line telephone Tarot Card reading fortuneteller. I suspect Paul-Michel may have had money or an insurance policy but that is never mentioned.
Solange also dreams of success playing the harp and when it finally looks like she's made it in Rio, she sabotages the chance by a few flawed notes and returns to Texas.
Throughout the novel, Solange often remembers moments with Paul-Michel. To me, it was obvious her depression and need for booze and drugs was to stay numb. He may have been the only person who understood her.
Even having regular sex with kinky Carlo, who tries hot-wax sex, seems to be an attempt to forget. In fact, Solange doesn't seem to have much to enjoy from life.
For a companion, Solange has Bunny May, a wise, toothless diabetic cat, who shouldn't be drinking milk but does.
The story is nicely balanced between the 900 calls and Solange's "trips" through life with her equally strange friends. Solange is not a stereotypical character. She is a uniquely challenged individual and an almost lost soul and that is what makes this story worth reading.
At times, Solange comes off as a sexy ditzy airhead, who even in her 50s turns heads with her cute figure. She writes in a dream journal of dark places that reminded me of someone suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). There are hints that she may have been sexually abused earlier in life and Paul-Michel rescued her, the only man she probably ever loved, and losing him solidified her PTSD.
This novel, which meanders through the head of someone who has almost lost herself to darkness, was an intriguing character study and it isn't a nice place to be if you are Solange, but it is worth the read if you are someone who enjoys stories that do not follow a formula genre outline. I enjoyed reading Midnight Tequila and recommend it.
From now on, I will strive to keep the ratings meaningful and use them sparingly.
• 5 stars are reserved for works that reach the level of a Steinbeck, Mark Twain, etc.
• 4 stars from me very high praise, meaning outstanding & highly recommended.
• 3 stars means I enjoyed the book and recommend it, with some reservations.
___________________
Solange Duval, the fifty-two year old main character in Midnight Tequila, is a woman who enjoys her hot flashes, her booze, and her drugs but misses her husband Paul-Michel, who died from cancer years earlier.
Although it is never clear where the money comes from that supports her almost plush lifestyle, she does earn cash as a 900-line telephone Tarot Card reading fortuneteller. I suspect Paul-Michel may have had money or an insurance policy but that is never mentioned.
Solange also dreams of success playing the harp and when it finally looks like she's made it in Rio, she sabotages the chance by a few flawed notes and returns to Texas.
Throughout the novel, Solange often remembers moments with Paul-Michel. To me, it was obvious her depression and need for booze and drugs was to stay numb. He may have been the only person who understood her.
Even having regular sex with kinky Carlo, who tries hot-wax sex, seems to be an attempt to forget. In fact, Solange doesn't seem to have much to enjoy from life.
For a companion, Solange has Bunny May, a wise, toothless diabetic cat, who shouldn't be drinking milk but does.
The story is nicely balanced between the 900 calls and Solange's "trips" through life with her equally strange friends. Solange is not a stereotypical character. She is a uniquely challenged individual and an almost lost soul and that is what makes this story worth reading.
At times, Solange comes off as a sexy ditzy airhead, who even in her 50s turns heads with her cute figure. She writes in a dream journal of dark places that reminded me of someone suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). There are hints that she may have been sexually abused earlier in life and Paul-Michel rescued her, the only man she probably ever loved, and losing him solidified her PTSD.
This novel, which meanders through the head of someone who has almost lost herself to darkness, was an intriguing character study and it isn't a nice place to be if you are Solange, but it is worth the read if you are someone who enjoys stories that do not follow a formula genre outline. I enjoyed reading Midnight Tequila and recommend it.
November 12, 2015
I received a free copy through Goodreads.
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I read it and I am still a little lost... honestly this book is not for me. I found the book to be a little too quirky and eccentric for me.
Since the death of her husband, Solange has been wandering through life under a cloud of drugs and alcohol for about 10 years. She wants to make it as a harpist, but nerves always gets the best of her. Her night job is a phoneline psychic.
It's quirky in the sense that you never know what Solange will do from one minute to the next. I don't quite understand her dreams and journal entries, they are very different for sure. The story was short and a little jumpy...at least to me or maybe cause this is not the book for me to fully appreciate what the writer is trying to tell.
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I read it and I am still a little lost... honestly this book is not for me. I found the book to be a little too quirky and eccentric for me.
Since the death of her husband, Solange has been wandering through life under a cloud of drugs and alcohol for about 10 years. She wants to make it as a harpist, but nerves always gets the best of her. Her night job is a phoneline psychic.
It's quirky in the sense that you never know what Solange will do from one minute to the next. I don't quite understand her dreams and journal entries, they are very different for sure. The story was short and a little jumpy...at least to me or maybe cause this is not the book for me to fully appreciate what the writer is trying to tell.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews