Fairy Tale Blues (Nal Accent Novels) [Paperback]

Tina Welling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 2009 | Series: Nal Accent Novels

From the author of Crybaby Ranch, who ?writes with insight, humor, and complete control? (Tim Sandlin).

On the night of her twenty-sixth wedding anniversary, AnnieLaurie McFall does the unthinkable. Without a word to her husband Jess, she walks out on their celebration dinner and catches a flight to Florida. It?s time for a sabbatical from marriage?and some serious soul-searching. So she sets herself up in the small coastal town of Hibiscus and creates the perfect six-month retreat to reimagine a storybook ending that could actually come true with Jess still her prince. What she discovers along the way is far more surprising, outrageous, and just plain fun than she ever expects.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Welling recycles thematic elements from her first novel, Crybaby Ranch, in this underwhelming yarn of midlife empowerment. Annie McFall, fed up with her stifling marriage, leaves her husband, Jess, in the middle of their 26th anniversary dinner and flies from Wyoming to Florida, where her aging father and sister live. Annie indulges in self-betterment exercises and meets new friends. Writing from both Annie's and Jess's perspectives, Welling punches up her scenes with appealing splashes of humor. But the story proceeds in muted fashion as Jess slowly comes to terms with a past trauma, and Annie compiles a mundane list of steps to help her thrive within her marriage (e.g., Enjoy personal friends, Claim personal power). Despite an odd though engaging incident involving a former drug smuggler and a spectacular lack of judgment on Annie's part, the novel never takes off. (Mar.)
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About the Author

Tina Welling’s essays have been published in magazines and several anthologies. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: NAL Trade; Original edition (March 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451225945
• ISBN-13: 978-0451225948
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,051,454 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. And that fact tells a lot about what I find meaningful in my life. The beauty of the natural world here is astonishing to me. Everyday I encounter wild animals - moose in my yard in the winter, raptors along the creek in the summer, elk on the mountain slopes during spring and fall migration. All of this enlivens me and supports creative energy. Many writers and artists live here, and that's good company too.
The thing that interests me the most is relationships, so I write about them in order to understand them. And since life is full of humor - which I see as a form of wisdom - I love to have the people in my books use a sense of the funny to express themselves.
There are qualities we all have in common: one is a longing for love and another is a resistance to change. Since love changes everything and everyone, naturally there arises some form of resistance. For me, that's where the humor comes in.
I hope you enjoy my books. I would love to hear from you. I may be contacted through my website: www.TinaWelling.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to save a marriage, May 9, 2009

By 

Elaine Mansfield "Exercise training and nutri... (Ithaca, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fairy Tale Blues (Nal Accent Novels) (Paperback)

Tina Welling's entertaining second novel guides us through the troubles of a midlife marriage while engaging us in a tale of humor, adventure, and extramarital temptation. "Fairy Tale Blues" tells the story of a loving, reliable, but flawed partnership. The narration seesaws between the wife Annie and the husband Jess. I found myself rooting for the rebirth of the marriage rather than taking sides. Annie longs for meaningful emotional contact, but Jess doesn't know how to deliver. He needs to address his past and deal with his wife's legitimate desires. She needs to expect less, accept more, and take action on her own behalf instead of nursing resentment. The reader listens in on phone calls and private thoughts as the struggling lovers move toward honesty and personal healing for the sake of love. Welling shows us how to bump our way through the deep ruts until marriage becomes smooth and satisfying again.

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable to start; disappointing to continue, January 5, 2010

By 

K. Johansen "Bwell" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fairy Tale Blues (Nal Accent Novels) (Paperback)

Tina Welling is a good writer who loses sight of her story about half way through. The beginning of her story is very believable and conceivable following her character's frustration and disappointment with her marriage, but after her heroine moves to Florida to get away and reflect, she becomes less believable. After 26 years of marriage and 2 kids, wouldn't she cut loose a little? Instead, she recreates the same in Florida, and connects with her ailing father and meets some created character named Daniel. And what is the deal with this Daniel? He is so unbelievable - his construct is so transparent and vague - and her interaction with him is so "prissy". I would love to rewrite the middle and end of this story to give it more zeal, readability and believability!

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Read and Good Advice from Wyoming, October 19, 2009

By 

Woman on the Mountain (Wyoming) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fairy Tale Blues (Nal Accent Novels) (Paperback)

Fairy Tale Blues is a good read and a book that many of us can completely relate to. Like her earlier book, Crybaby Ranch, the author explores the complexities of male/female relationships in insightful and meaningful ways, yet still manages to bring us laughter as well as tools for everyday living.

I am looking forward to reading Tina's next book. As for this one - I have already bought three other copies for friends who found it just as helpful as I have.