Sunday, February 11, 2018

The Lost Valentine by Elizabeth Palmer

from the February 12, 2018 issue

Tagline: Kathryn remembered Daniel from kindergarten, but did he remember her?

Observations: I have to admit I found myself reading on and reading on and wondering if Daniel was going to recognize her or if she was going to have to tell him. When he finally revealed that he knew who she was, the way he did it was adorable (if a teensy bit hard for me to believe.)

I thought that how the characters recognized each other was very clever. She remembered his head shaking gesture. His memory wasn't jogged until he saw her in her signature ponytail.

Woman's World magazine likes stories that tug at your heartstrings, like this one does with that long lost valentine being saved all those years. Stories with old flames in them usually have that built in. Sit down at your computer today and try to write one. Don't worry that this old flame story just appeared in the magazine and they won't want to publish another similar story so soon because it'll be a month or two before a story submitted today will appear.

Photo credit: David Rader II via the Flickr CC license

Friday, February 2, 2018

A Birthday to Remember by Elizabeth Palmer

from the February 5, 2018 issue

Tagline: Will wasn't looking for romance...and then he met Lily...

Observations: I'm in love with this story. It felt very complete and satisfying and the main reason for this is that we saw their relationship develop slowly.

They met in her classroom. He asked for the pictures and she texted them to him. They continued to text and get to know each other. They went on a date. She brought him birthday cake.

See what I mean? Because so much time had gone by and so much had happened, it seemed like a much longer story. It truly felt like we had watched their romance develop. If you ask me, this is something to strive for.

Photo credit: Liz West via the Flickr CC license.




Thursday, February 1, 2018

Mini Mystery Writers

Hey, Patricia asked me to pass on a request.

"We are looking for more charming cozies where someone steals someone else's prize roses/recipe/whatever-- too many murder mysteries- making transition asap."

So, best get to your computers and start writing! :)