Sunday, January 3, 2010

Peach-Flavored Kisses

by Jill Lynn Anderson from the December 28th issue

Tagline: Would Kay's husband be as happy as she was about the unexpected turn of events?

In a Nutshell: Kay is waiting for the results of her home pregnancy test. She and her husband have college-aged kids and she's worried about his reaction. Turns out, he already suspected and is "more than okay" with it.

Observations: This is a change of pace for WW in that it's about an already married couple. Also, it obviously acknowledges that sex happens! I found it to be a welcome change. Note the difference in story structure.

A good half of the story is spend in Kay's head as the reader gets the backstory that she and her husband Gabe have twin girls that they just sent to college and that they planned to retire in eight years. We also find out when the baby might have been conceived.

The second half of the story deals with Gabe's arrival home. There is a brief black moment when Gabe announces that he bought a sailboat and Kay assumes it's the full sized boat they planned to retire on, but it turns out it's a bath toy. The author then shows that Gabe is happy about the news and that the couple's future looks rosy.

As much as I enjoyed the freshness of plot that didn't hinge on two people meeting, this story didn't tug my heartstrings very much.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Kate,

So good to know there is room for more than 'boy meets girl' stories - and gives me a tiny glimmer of hope for a couple of 'different' stories I'm waiting to hear about.

Kate Willoughby said...

Oh, yes. They have always welcomed stories about already established couples. They're just not plentiful. Good luck with the submissions!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Kate! Fingers crossed for everyone trying to get a WW sale this year.