A Thanksgiving Surprise

by Marcella Robinson from the November 13, 2023 issue

Tagline

When sparks started flying between two longtime friends, Moira and Seth soon came to realize they would always be thankful for each other.

Observations

This was charming. I loved Moira's confidence. Robinson clearly showed their relationship and how easy their interactions were. The horse joke in particular shows how they share laughter together and he's not above being teased.  I also think it's heartening to see two divorced people get a second chance. 

I've often wondered why there aren't more proposal stories in Woman's World. Maybe writers aren't submitting them. After all, you can't publish something that hasn't been submitted! 

Photo by Tomatoes and Friends via Flickr Creative Commons License

A Surprise Invitation

by Chris Maday Schmidt from the November 6, 2023 issue

Tagline: When her friends set her up, Maggie didn't expect to meet with the handsome clerk from the farmers market...or for it to become true love.

Stream of Consciousness Observations:

"I tuck a chin-length silver lock behind my ear..." -- She's an older heroine. :) She's also a female. It's nice to have the gender of the main character identified right off the bat.

And she's getting set up for a blind date. Fun! I haven't read one of these for a while.

"I step off the covered deck where I'm surrounded by juniper, pines and oak tress adorned in autumn yellow beneath an evening sky streaked with orange." -- Oh, what a lovely description of the setting.

"The twinkle in his gray eyes calms my racing heart, but my pulse skips a beat when his fingers clasp my upper arms." -- Here is the physical attraction, nicely done. 

"Surely he must think I'm experiencing a midlife moment in the center of of the cul-de-sac." -- LOLOLOLOL!

"He brushes that same silver lock from my cheek and my skin tingles at his touch." -- Schmidt is really pouring on the physical reactions. This is the sixth instance of some sort of reaction from Maggie and I seem to remember Woman's World liking a lot of that. which is why, for a while, every story had hearts leaping, soaring, dancing, twirling, etc. 

"So what's say we skip the whole awkward blind date thing and catch dinner at the lodge down the road?" -- Oh, golly, this seems rude to me. The neighbors have prepared a meal for them. I see later in the story that Schmidt shows Maggie growing as a character when she asks him to share her casserole at her own home, so I understand why she chose to have them decline dinner at the neighbor's. Okay, wait a second. I just thought of something. Maybe, once the neighbors see that their "evil plan" has worked, they might not mind.

Cute story! And a great example of an evergreen story too. Evergreen stories are stories that can be slotted in at anytime during the year. Sure, there is a mention of pumpkin bread and autumn yellow, but those tiny details could be easily changed. Keep in mind that evergreen stories are valuable to the editors because of their flexibility. 

Photo by Judy Dean via Flickr Creative Commons License

Vision of Love

by Anna Kittrell fromt he October 30, 2023 issue

Tagline: When Ally took on the job as a fortune teller at a local Halloween festival, the true love sh found was something she never could've predicted.

Observations: I wanted to touch on Ally's character arc. She is acting as a fortune teller at the Halloween festival to raise money for a recreational center for local youth. But in comes an old flame from high school, whom she dumped because an uperclassman asked her to prom. She's mortified when he asks for a palm reading. She offers a look into the crystal ball instead. He doesn't let her get away with that. He puts a fifty in her donation jar which pretty much forces her to do the palm reading. 

She's scared. She's embarrassed about what happened all those years ago. But she ends up apologizing for her actions. And then she gets the guy! It's never a bad idea to show one or both of your main characters growing and changing in some way. In fact, this could be a good way to spark a story idea. Think of a mistake the character has made and in the course of the story show him/her learning from it or finding redemption, like Ally did.

If you're interested in finding out more ways to get ideas for stories, check out my book on the subject, Story Sparking: How to Generate Ideas for Woman's World 5-Minute Romances. It's available as an ebook and in print.

Photo by PunkToad via Flickr Creative Commons License

Halloween Serendipity

by Ann Llewellyn King from the October 23, 2023 issue

Tagline: With the help of some very unique matchmakers, Neal and Savannah stumble upon a chance for romance...and an otherworldly connection.

Observations: I really should have caught on earlier that Martha and Howard were ghosts because of the tagline, but I didn't and was just hopelessly confused as I read this. I think this just isn't my type of story. Even after reading it a second time, knowing they were ghosts, it felt disjointed. Your mileage may vary.

Photo by dutchmasterdutchie via Flickr Creative Commons License

The Apple of Her Eye

by T.R. McClure from the October 9, 2023 issue

Tagline: Grandma Rose had a craving for apple butter, but Rosemary never imagined her hunt to please her grandmother could lead ot a meant-to-be love.

Stream of Consciousness Observations: 

I love how grandma makes the rounds, staying with different family members! What a great idea!

Oh, I love roadside fruit stands, especially the ones in Hawaii! I discovered apple bananas at one of them. If you've never had an apple banana, you must try them. The roadside ones are better than the ones in the grocery store.

The cute guy behind the counter smiled. -- Ah, I'm finally finding out the narrator is a woman. If you're writing in the first person point of view, it's a good idea to let your reader know as soon as you can if it's a man or a woman. In this story, it could have been back when Grandma Rose said "Thanks, honey." She could have said, "Thanks, Rosemary."

Windblown hair -- love that.

Flirtatious farmer -- love that alliteration!

"You don't know what you're missing." -- We have the second mention of this saying. There should be a third one at the end of the story to adhere to the loose rule of three.

I like that her name is a combo of both her grandmothers' names.

Well, we actually got two more mentions of "You don't know what you're missing," so a bonus!

He takes her hand. Hm. I know this is a common occurrence in Woman's World stories, but to me, this seems like too intimate a gesture for the situation. If a farmstand guy reached for my hand, even if he was cute, I'd think it was a little weird.

My grandfather raised dairy cows until we expanded the orchard. -- OH! This is the farm where Grandma Rose played with her friend! 

Oh, this is a tiny mistake...he said Gram had finished the batch of apple butter, but when they go into the house, it's bubbling on the stove.

It's the same picture! Oh, that's excellent. I didn't see that coming. I thought she'd find out through conversation or meeting the grandma whose name is Olivia.

Fantastic story!

Photo by Jennifer Boyer via Flickr Creative Commons License