Time Will Tell

by Lauren King from the January 5, 2026 issue

When Tessa stops by a clock shop, she meets one of the owners--and their instant connection proves the sweetest moment often arrive right on time.

Observations

My favorite part of this story was when he's asking her questions, at first, to register her for the layaway plan, but later to get to know her better. That was funny and the pacing was perfect and added to the humor.

Not much else to comment on. Solid story.

Photo by Alan Myers via Flickr CC License

The Sweetest Christmas Surprise

by Lisa Weaver from the December 29, 2025 issue

A flurry of snow--and a little fate--brings Holly a second chance at first love just in time for the holidays.

Off the Cuff Observations

Dashing out of the frosty falling snow and into her cozy candy store, Holly Nicholas let the tantalizing aroma of homemade chocolates wrap around her like a warm hug. 

Okay, can we talk about this sentence??? First, it really sets the scene and lets us know Holly owns a candy store. It brings in the sense of smell, which is often neglected in descriptions. There are two lovely examples of alliteration. And it is packed with holiday references. 

She uses these holiday-evoking words dashing (dashing through the snow), frosty (the snowman), wrap (wrapping presents). And did you notice her name? Give that a second look please and then give Lisa Weaver a little salute. 

Oh, a gingerbread latte. Those are yummy. Starbucks used to have a gingerbread loaf with this lovely creamy frosting on it, but it's been discontinued. It was so moist and yummy and I miss it.

...quivering like Santa's belly when he laughed... -- Love it.

I don't know if I'm stretching the holiday reference thing too far but Gabe's last name, Kingsman, might be referring to the three kings. And their town is Merrylake. 

Oh, I did not see his visit coming. Talk about story pacing!

The promise of delicious possibilities hung in the air between them. -- This is very subtle, but notice the use of the word delicious and how it ties in with the candy shop. It's minute details like this that are the mark of a pro.

They're going to see A Christmas Carol. I will never forget the time I saw it with Patrick Stewart playing Scrooge. I love him, but I fell asleep, despite all my efforts to stay awake. So disappointed with myself for missing the entirety of his performance.

Another surprise was that they both had the same idea for the date. This is another detail that you may not notice consciously. I think this could indicate that they think in the same way--a sign that they might make a good couple. We readers always want to believe they have a future of happiness ahead of them and the more you can convince us that they are a good match beyond that meet cute, the more satisfying the story will be.

Thank you, Lisa, for writing a story that had so much for me to talk about!

Photo by Rachel Tayse via Flickr CC License

Lighting up the holidays

by Marcella Robinson from the December 22, 2025 issue

Tagline: Madelyn isn't feeling any Christmas cheer this year--until her handsome neighbor, Zach, asks for help decorating, and something sparks between them.

Off the Cuff Observations: I notice the pro move of dispersing the backstory in a bit at a time. If you're new to writing, backstory is everything that happened to the main characters before the story occurs. In novels, we're told not to "info dump" backstory at the beginning but to sprinkle it in a little at a time, as in this story. We find out that Mad is new to her 0ver-55 community. Her grandson accidentally caused the injury of her nextdoor neighbor. They have a polite and friendly relationship. However, because WW stories are so compacted, it's actually all right to shoehorn it in the first couple of paragraphs.

Her heart sure didn't feel two sizes too small standing close to Zach. - Love the Grinch reference.

Wait, there's a Community Light Up contest? Love that! 

Madelyn smiled as the sound [of his laughter] eased the loneliness that had been taking hold lately. - Again, nice little addition of backstory.

...his eyes flaring with interest as he stepped closer, ready to catch her if she fell. - He's not going to be too successful with a broken arm, so let's hope she doesn't fall! LOL

There's a cute little bit of banter when they're playing this or that.

OMG, there's an almost kiss! What a nice surprise. I find myself really wanting them to kiss, especially since Zach's question of poinsettias or mistletoe was so clever. The reason the interrupted kiss works so well is because Marcella has laid the groundwork for Mad and Zach's history. We readers can tell there's something brewing. If the two of them had just met, the almost kiss would fall flat. We would have no reason to root for them.

The ending gave me the tingles. Lovely story!!

Photo by chasB via Flickr CC License