A Slot Machine Ate My Midlife Crisis

By Irene Woodbury

This darkly funny novel describes Wendy Sinclair’s spin-crazy life in Las Vegas after she impulsively decides to not return to Houston following a bizarre girls’ weekend in 2005. The confused, unhappy 45 year-old newlywed soon rents a ramshackle apartment in a building filled with misfits; wallows in a blur of spas, malls and buffets, and, ultimately, becomes a designer of cocktail waitress uniforms and an Ann-Margret impersonator in a casino show with Elvis.

She also hangs with some pretty colorful characters. Paula’s her bold, brassy glamazon BFF who’s looser than a Casino Royale slot. Maxine’s her saucy former-Tropicana-showgirl boss. Paige and Serena are two twenty-something blackjack dealers she shops, gambles, and clubs up a storm with. Major crushes on a hunky pilot and sexy former rock star are also part of the mix. The phone fights with Roger, Wendy’s workaholic husband waiting impatiently in Houston, are louder and more raucous than a hot craps table at Caesar’s! Does she go back to him, or does her midlife crisis become a midlife makeover?

• Language: English
• Publisher: SynergEbooks
• Release date: Jul 20, 2013
• ISBN: 9780744314977

Irene Woodbury

     Author Irene Woodbury's vibrant, intense novels capture the heart and soul of one of her favorite cities:  Las Vegas. Whether it's romance, dark humor, drama, or unforgettable characters, these riveting reads check all the boxes.        Irene's five darkly funny novels will make you laugh, and sometimes cry, too. Her latest, Cringeworthy:  A Romance Goes Rogue (2024), is a devastating tale of epic jealousy and unrequited love. Porch Pirate Love (2022), explores the turbulent romance between a brash porch pirate and a sassy single mom-to-be. A Slot Machine Ate My Midlife Crisis (2021), is a bittersweet look at a newlywed's chaotic midlife crisis in Vegas. In Honeymoon Roulette (2021), a bride bolts after learning her handsome fiance may have killed his first two wives. Its quirky companion novella, Annie & Charlotte:  The Dead Wives of Connor J. Barrington, was also published in 2021.      Irene's dramatic novels include the gritty, engrossing Romeo Stalker (2021), which chronicles a Vegas showgirl's agonizing plunge into stalker-hell. And Love and Payback (2021) is a probing look at a married woman's mysterious death in Sin City, where she has gone to meet an Internet love.      Denver-based Irene is a successful travel writer who savors visits to London and Las Vegas. She is currently working on her next novel. Please check her out and follow her on Twitter: @IreneWoodbury.