A Christmas List for Love

by Rose Ross Zediker from the December 30, 2024 issue

Tagline: While volunteering at a charity, Sharee Walker meets a charming "Santa" with whom sparks fly as they bond over spreading holiday cheer. 

Observations: This story warmed my heart because it touched on the fact that not everyone's holidays are filled with people they love and a lot of people feel lonely when Christmas comes along. I liked seeing the heroine not just be a victim to her sadness and situation. It's a good lesson for life. If you don't like your situation, do something about it! 

This one way to come up with a story idea. Begin with a character who has a situation they are not happy with and show them taking action. Then, while they're preparing for that action or completing it, throw in a love interest. For example, maybe a woman is unhappy with the state of her front yard. 

She could meet someone at the nursery when she asks for advice. 

A neighbor could offer to help her pull out a particularly stubborn bush. 

She remembers a man she has a crush on at work has shared pictures of his garden before. 

As she works hard in her garden she comes upon a brightly painted stone. (It's from a secret admirer.)

She hires a teenager to weed the yard and meets his single uncle in the process.

She upsets a bee hive and meets a handsome EMT.

She finds an abandoned squirrel/bird/animal and meets a handsome vet or animal rescue person.

Try this yourself. Look at your own life and choose something that you'd like to change then imagine how love might blossom while in the midst of changing that thing.

Photo by Steve Bremer via Flickr CC License

A Hopeful Thanksgiving

by Delsora Lowe from the December 2, 2024 issue

Tagline: For Tina, volunteering at the community Thanksgiving dinner served up more than just good food...it gave her a chance at a new love.

Observations: Seems odd to have a Thanksgiving story in a December issue, but I guess that just goes to show you that you have multiple chances to sell a holiday story to Woman's World!!

I wanted to point out in this story how Ms. Lowe so gracefully inserted that backstory into the middle of the story. 

At first, all we know is that she has a crush on this guy. Later, we find out Tina and Stephen knew each other as kids and this delayed information gives the story more warmth. If we'd known Tina's carried this torch for 40ish years right from the get-go, we might form a less than favorable opinion of her. But Lowe introduced us to her first, painting her as an eager community volunteer, so we admire her first and find out about her long-time crush afterward.

Photo by Deb Nystrom via Flickr CC License

A Sweet Side of Mix-up

by Mina Beckett from the November 18, 2024 issue

Tagline: After walking into the wrong house on Thanksgiving, Ryan was welcomed at the Collins table...and Claire quickly opened her heart to him.

Observations: What a classic misunderstanding story! I want you all to notice that while Claire has no idea that the guy who shows up isn't her cousin's boyfriend, the reader almost assuredly does.

The guy blinked, looking slightly confused for a second, but he recovered quickly.

It's nice to know that you don't have to craft this as a complete surprise to the reader. In fact, sometimes you want the reader to be in on the joke, as it were, so there's that extra little bit of amusement.

Honestly the only thing that surprised me was that Claire, a single woman, was hosting this sizeable Thanksgiving for her family. I did wonder if there weren't other family members better able to host the event. Is it old-fashioned of me to expect that a married couple would have volunteered to host?

Photo by Kevin Dooley via Flickr CC License

True Love at First Down

by Veda Boyd Jones from the November 11, 2024 issue

Tagline: New to town and looking to treat her nephew to a fun birthday outing, Katie attends a local college football game and finds kind eyes in the stands.

Observations: There is so much to talk about with this wonderful story from veteran writer Ms. Jones. She did a phenomenal job of setting the scene at a college football game and keeping us there in the moment. 

At the very beginning, she shows Katie and her nephew struggling to get to their seats. Anyone who has attended any type of stadium/arena game knows how tightly the seats are packed. We also see the kid put the soda on the ground, which I'm sure many of us have done at places that don't have cup holders. 

Bill almost acts like an announcer for Katie, telling her about how the team comes out and informing her about the jets.

Jones also does an excellent job of interspersing the game action with dialogue, which incidentally, really does its job of connecting the two main characters and revealing information about them.

All through the story you feel like you're there.

I wanted to also point out how she slipped in some extremely concise physical information about Bill... 

The man next to Cody leaned in a forward position and she looked into dark blue eyes surrounded by laugh lines.

The only other info we get about him, physically, is that he's around her age, 30-something. I point this out because, in my class on how to write and sell romances to Woman's World, I talk about ways to keep your word count low. Skimping on physical description is one of them. While it's nice to dedicate an entire paragraph to really paint a picture of a character, it's not necessary, as you can see in this story.

Jones also does a good job of showing Katie and Bill connecting, but not completely ignoring Cody. If the story had only shown them talking to each other, the characters would have appeared selfish, especially since this is supposed to be a birthday present to Cody. 

I also loved the playful banter at the end. Notice how Jones withheld the dialogue tags to keep that conversation snappy. And that mention of the ballet? Excellent.

I also spotted two typos. Did you see them?

Photo by Breezy Baldwin via Flickr CC License

A Spook-tacular Matchmaking

by Lisa Weaver from the November 4, 2024 issue

Tagline: As a Halloween enthusiast down on her luck when it came to love, Cassie wasn't expecting to fall head over heels for her handsome client

Observations: I'm constantly surprised at how well the authors can deliver a story that's the same, but different. Maybe my senior brain is malfunctioning, but I can't remember seeing a pumpkin-carving/pet costume contest story before. So, well done, Ms. Weaver.

I also noticed many fall and Halloween turns-of-phrase in her story. Did you catch them all?

"...she was batty about Halloween."

"...the shiver that zizagged down Cassie's spine...had nothing to do with things that went bump in the night..."

"...his gaze as hot as a raging bonfire."

That sort of thing can really help set the scene/mood.

I always enjoy Ms. Weaver's stories.

Photo by William Warby via Flickr CC License

The Monster Match Dance

by Carol J. Douglas from the October 28, 2024 issue

Tagline: Halloween-obsessed Mandy had given up hope of finding her spooky soulmate until a chance run-in at a local store changes her haunting fate.

Observations: This story was adorable! First of all, the author does a great job of getting us in the halloween mood and giving us some real insight into the heroine and her love of Halloween. I don't know about you, but I really felt for Mandy and hoped she would find someone who shared her love for that holiday. It's hard enough finding someone compatible, let alone zeroing in on one particular passion.

I liked that the hero had a sense of humor...

He was dressed as a vampire and was just as swoon-worthy as one. His name tag said: JOSH.

"Thanks," Mandy said. "Great costume[,] Josh!"

"Oh, it's not a costume."

Seeing their surprised faces, he said conspiratorially, "It really is, but if I had my way, I'd wear a costume every day!"

The black moment was poignant to me. I felt the disappointment along with Mandy (even though I knew he'd be there at the end.) And I really liked the ending, forecasting the next Halloween which, if all went well, would include a wedding!

Photo by Shanna S. via Flickr CC License

Roadside Reunion

by Beth Pugh from the October 7, 2024 issue

Tagline: As she's about to lose hope for making the night perfect for her niece, Amanda finds help from an old "friend."

Observations: The thing that stood out in this story to me was the heroine. We all know the readership for the magazine skews toward older women, but let's not make the mistake of assuming this demographic expects or wants protagonists to behave as if they were from the 50s. 

Yet, it wouldn't be wise to swing the other way and make your heroine the type of woman who doesn't need a man for anything. 

So there's a balance you need to achieve. You want your heroine to be strong and capable and confident. But you still want to keep the hero, well, heroic. This story hit the nail on the head.

Amanda is understandably daunted when faced with changing the tire on her own, but she's also resourceful and turns to the internet for help. (However, if it had been my story, I might not have had Amanda pretending everything was fine for her niece. Better to set the example on how to problem solve.) So there's your strong, capable woman at work. And then Jake arrives. He is not pushy and there's no man-splaining, just an honest offer of help. 

On a side note, are there still drive-in theatres where you live?

Photo by Mike Mozart via Flickr CC License