Monday, December 9, 2013

True Colors

by Shelley Cooper from the December 9, 2013 issue

Tagline: Who knew that a head of Kool-Aid-green hair would lead one desperate man and one amused hairstylist to love?

In a Nutshell: Simon let his nieces dye his hair with Kool-Aid and it won't wash out in time for him to be best man at his brother's wedding. Kate dyes his hair so it looks normal.

Observations: This was a cute story with a pretty original plot. I enjoyed seeing the hero and heroine spend so much time together. It was easy to like both of them. They were both easy-going and funny. Simon is shown to be a family man--devoted to his nieces.

I also enjoyed all of Kate's internal dialogue. She was so cute, wry and humorous. I liked her a lot. And not just because of her name. LOL

The two sentence epilogue is a rarity. We seldom see a couple get married, but in this story, we did. Why? My guess is that a wedding was a big part of the story. Also, Cooper was able to cleverly sneak in a repeat of the green theme, bringing the story full circle and showing the couple has a sentimental streak.

It seemed an odd choice for a December issue, though.

Photo by wiredforlego (cc)

8 comments:

Tamara said...

Agree that this is an original story line. I thought it was good.

Pat said...

Having dyed two kids' hair and skin for Halloween as the Jolly Green Giant and Little Green Sprout, I laughed out loud at this story. Getting the green out of your hair is really easy, it's the skin that you have trouble. Ever mix colored sugar cookie dough with your hands?

I loved the hero. I remember my Dad letting us paint his finger nails. Later I saw him scrapping it off with his picket so the guys at work wouldn't see it.

This story brought back fond and fun memories and that's what WW is all about.

Thanks, Kate, for pointing out the writer stuff for this reader. I agree about the Christmas issue. Didn't think out that until I read your comment. I wonder if they didn't get enough likable Christmas submissions?

Chris said...

This story was fun and that's what made it so enjoyable for me. I love romances with humour rather than mush. The conversation was believable and moved the story on well, and the two-line tie-up at the end worked too. Another good one this week - it's becoming a habit!

Jody E. Lebel said...

This story was adorable. It triggered an idea in me for a story...love when that happens. Both characters were likable and the situation was unusual and made you laugh. As Christmas colors are green and red, I'm wondering if his green hair was WW's idea of a holiday story. Who knows. My only comment is that the end seemed kind of thrown on as an after thought. Oh by the way they got married and they wore green. That last part could have been cut and the story would still be a winner. I wish they were all this good.

Unknown said...

I loved the story. I ran into a bump though, when she wrote: "In their eyese," she said as their gazes met in the mirror, 'you're the coolest uncle ever.

Maybe: "In their eyes you're the coolest uncle ever." Kate met Simon's gaze in the mirror.

Just a suggestion. Shelley Cooper did a great job!

Unknown said...

Oops. excuse the typos. Not enough coffee. BTW I love Christmas weddings!

Unknown said...

Stories like this one remind me that there are still original ideas out there. Sometimes when dreaming up a story, I think: done that, read that last week, they rejected a similar idea...so it's nice to get inspiration from an outside the box plot idea. And, all of the small towns and baked goods get on my nerves sometimes. :)

Melanie

Betsi said...

I had to laugh at your comment, Melanie! I try to avoid any plots involving baked goods, and since I've never lived in a small town (which WW seems to prefer) I usually keep the setting vague. ;-)