Waltzing at Midnight [Paperback]

Robbi Mccoy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 24, 2009

First crush, first passion, first love.

Trying to fill the empty places left by children going to college, Jean Davis decides to get out of the house and volunteer in the local mayoral campaign. It soon becomes obvious - though not to Jean - that she has a major crush on the candidate, Rosie Monroe.

Thrilled by the excitement of politics and strangely flustered every time Rosie calls on her for help, Jean has never felt more alive. Rising to every challenge with newfound passion, she surprises everyone, including her husband, by flourishing under the stress of the hard-fought campaign.

When dirty tricks by the other side damage Rosie's reputation at the worst possible moment, Jean finally realizes that her feelings are not entirely about the thrill of the job. Two decades of doing what was expected of her are abruptly turned upside down, and she realizes she may just be in love - for the first time in her life.

Newcomer Robbi McCoy tells a passionate coming-of-age story about a mature woman whose life is only beginning. Full of surprises and difficult choices, Waltzing at Midnight is a heartfelt, endearing story about a woman we all know and the love that transforms her life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Most books choose to tell the easier stories of younger characters and ignore what happens to more mature women.  Jean's struggle is one that many readers will identify with.  (Lynne Pierce)

--Just About Write

Robbi managed to tell a fresh, engaging story in one of the most often told sub-genres in lesbian romance: a coming out tale. I've read a lot of coming out stories in my day and I was captivated by her forty-year old heroine's realization that she's fallen in love for the first time in her life. --Karin Kallmaker

From the Back Cover

First crush, first passion, first love.

Product Details

• Paperback: 186 pages
• Publisher: Bella Books (March 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594931534
• ISBN-13: 978-1594931536
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #753,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am an author of lesbian fiction published by Bella Books, www.bellabooks.com. You can talk to me on Facebook, and you can find out more about my books on my website, www.robbimccoy.com. All of my books are available as print or ebooks for your Kindle or iPad at the Bella Books web site.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Romance and Realism, April 19, 2009

By 

WhyMe Marie (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Waltzing at Midnight (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book. It was refreshing. It didn't indulge in elements of fantasy or undue sentimentality. It didn't trivialize the real world. It is solidly set in the present where people have to resolve problems with realistic, difficult solutions. It is set in modern California where the issue of gay marriage is still stinging and still unresolved. Even so, the story is a love story. It is upbeat and hopeful. The epilogue enforces that idea, that even though the world we live in isn't perfect, individuals can find happiness for themselves and make positive contributions for the good of everyone.

Although this is Robbi McCoy's first published novel, she comes off as an experienced writer. Her control of the essential elements of fiction--point of view, character development and plot pacing--are all sophisticated and satisfying. The characters are multi-faceted, flawed, and engaging, like real people. They aren't stereotypes. The worldly older woman, Rosie, though she is charismatic and accomplished and I could certainly identify with Jean's attraction to her, has her own failings, like her fear of commitment and her tendency to live partly in the closet. Though she isn't the point of view character, her story is revealed too as she is changed for the better by true love. This is a character novel more than anything, the story of a woman's journey of self-discovery. I could really identify with Jean. She's an ordinary person in a complicated world who grows over the course of the novel into someone you're really rooting for, someone whose triumphs you are celebrating.

As far as plot goes, I really enjoyed the backdrop of the political campaign. It was interesting and exciting. You could see how being involved in something like that would really shake up a woman like Jean, throw her out of her comfort zone and make her aware of possibilities she never thought of, not just romantically, but in all kinds of ways. I enjoyed the rounded-out situation of Jean and her family members, her kids and her parents. Each person had his or her own particular response to what was happening. I liked too how the author drew her husband, Jerry. He seems like a nice guy who deserves the reader's sympathy because his life is torn apart through no fault of his own. It's always easier, I think, for a writer to make the person who is left behind into some kind of bad guy (or gal). You guarantee that way that the main character retains the sympathy of the reader. But, somehow, we can like Jerry and still be sympathetic with Jean because she isn't a bad guy either. And that's how most real life situations are anyway. I guess that's what I want to say more than anything about this story. I liked it mainly because it captivated me and made me think and feel in a way that a lot of romances don't. It has the feel of authenticity to it. And, you know, although it's fiction, it does parallel the story of so many of us. It struck a chord with me, particularly, because I was in my forties when I first looked at a woman the way Jean looks at Rosie in that first chapter. It just gave me a thrill.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great debut novel, May 5, 2009

By 

Christina K. Paynter "Frodo Baggypants" (Indianapolis, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Waltzing at Midnight (Paperback)

I bought this book the day it came out. I'm always anxious to read new authors and Robbi McCoy didn't disappoint. This is a poignant "coming out" story for Jean, a married woman in her 40s, who realizes she's in love for the first time--and it's not with her husband. Told in the first person, we see everything from Jean's point of view and experience all of her raw emotions. However, the author still manages to give us well-rounded characters in Rosie, the woman Jean is in love with, Jean's husband, and Jean's daughter. The totally refreshing thing in all of this is that the husband isn't a stereotype. He's hurt and angry and you can understand why. So often, I read books where the ex-husband is a Neanderthal. Bravo that the author avoided that caricature.

Robbi McCoy now is officially on my "watch-for-the-next-book" list. :-)

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A most enjoyable debut novel!, April 27, 2009

By 

Ticketbndr (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Waltzing at Midnight (Paperback)

Falling in love with someone's debut novel is always a special treat for me, because in addition to enjoying the story at hand I find myself filled with optimism about what I may have to look forward to from that author in the future. This is definitely the case with Waltzing at Midnight, the story of a woman whose life takes an unexpected turn rather late in life. Although I knew I was a lesbian at a younger age than Jean, I was still something of a later bloomer and Jean's voyage of self-discovery was one I could relate to, all of her reactions ringing very true to memory. I'd anticipated a story closely centered around a political campaign, but unexpected events quickly transformed this into a real page-turner for me. While this is undoubtedly a "lesbian romance" and a satisfying one at that, it is a very solid novel with well-developed characters whose individual responses to the situations they find themselves in are unique and realistic. I found the author's style to be highly visual, the characters and scenes remaining with me long after I put it down. Ms. McCoy's first novel displays a talent to be reckoned with, and I can't wait to see what she brings to us in the future!