Friday, December 29, 2017

Just in Time by Mary Jo Young

From the January 1, 2018 issue

Tagline: Glenda was always running late...until she met a kindred soul at just the right time!

Observations: This week's story needed a little more romance for me. In my opinion, the ideal Woman's World story needs to show attraction between the man and the woman, a connection, some camaraderie and some humorous banter. I know this sounds like a laundry list, but I think with the exception of the humor, these things need to be present in order for us to believe that these two people might be able to build a future together.

In this story, for me, the hero and heroine didn't quite spend enough "quality time" with each other. For most of the story he was businesslike. This made sense because this was a business meeting. He loosened up a little at the end, but...it just wasn't enough for me.

However, this is only my opinion. Obviously, the editors liked it. :)

I did think that the hero was clever in making the reservations for a half hour later because they were all chronically late. I actually do this sometimes with my husband. LOL

Photo credit: Tinou Bao (Flickr cc license)

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kate, is there a reason you skipped all three Christmas stories?

Jody E. Lebel said...

I liked Mary Jo's story. The fact that all of the characters ran late was cute. And I agree with Kate about the cleverness of the reservations being made 1/2 hour later. Not everyone's idea of what romance should look like is the same and I think the EIC tries to pick stories that will be pleasing to most. This one hit the mark for me.

Sandy Smith said...

This story is actually from the Jan. 1 issue, not the Dec. 1.

Sandy Smith said...

I also noticed you skipped a couple stories.

Mary Jo said...

Yeah, Kate, you leap-frogged over the December stories. Mine was the first WW story of the New Year. Sorry you didn't get a sense of romance from the first meeting of this couple. I guess I thought the "very cute" guy, the "kindred souls", "star struck" and the "magic dust" would be enough to see where this was leading. Yes, I'm glad the EIC liked it.

And thank you, Jody, for the kind words.

Kate Willoughby said...

I have not been getting issues. :( If someone would like to send me pictures of the stories, I'd be happy to analyze them.

Kate Willoughby said...

Agreed, Jody. :)

Mary Jo, you're so gracious. I always hate it when I don't fall in love with a story from someone I know. That's the hardest part about doing this blog. No hard feelings, I hope.

Mary Jo said...

Call 'em the way you see 'em, Kate, that's the best anyone can do. My new printer won't scan, so I'm no help with sending the December stories.

Hey, it's almost New Year's in our neck of the woods. Are you staying up late? Best wishes to everyone for 2018 and successful writing.

Pat said...

I liked this story because my best friend is always late and I used to tell her an earlier time. I guess it's on of those story ideas I wish I had thought of.

Kate Willoughby said...

Pat, right? That happens to me ALL THE TIME.

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