No Hot Water

by Lynn Cahoon from the August 29, 2011 issue

Tagline: Sheila was happy--in more ways than one as it turned out--that this particular plumber was available...

In a Nutshell: Sheila's water heater was supposed to have been fixed, but it breaks in the middle of her shower. She calls the plumber to complain. The owner of the company himself comes out to remedy the situation and it turns out he had once dated her in high school. They have coffee together.

Observations: This is a good example of taking an "everyday" situation/problem and building a romance out of it. In my workshop on how to write for Woman's World, I share a lot of ways to get ideas for stories, and this is one of them. Think of a problem and have another character solve it.

But this story had a great twist...it turned out to be a shared past/old flame story halfway through. I loved that little surprise. I also liked how they handled that..."Does he/she remember me?" awkwardness. Very smooth and cute.

Breaking the Spell

by Janice Sadler from the August 15, 2011 issue

Tagline: Luke was absolutely certain that he would never get past his heartbreak--until suddenly, he was ready to love again...

In a Nutshell: Luke declines an invitation to go to out with his co-worker Kay because he was dumped, but afterward starts to see what a great gal she is. A couple days later, the woman who dumped him stops by with tickets to an event. He realizes he's over her and that he'd much rather go out with Kay.

Observations: Wow. I loved this story. These characters were very real to me. I don't mind the big coincidences that often occur in Woman's World stories, but I found it refreshing not to see one (even if the setting was an animal hospital, cousin to the ubiquitous animal shelter setting.) Instead, the situation seemed extremely plausible. We also actually witnessed him falling for Kay. It felt like a long time had passed, but it really only took one paragraph:

Later, when we admit an injured puppy, I notice once again how very compassionate Kay is. While I'm examining little Bruno, I see Kay standing with her arm around the shoulders of his owner, reassuring the elderly lady that her little terrier will be fine.

Boom. There it is. The ex shows up, he rejects her and moves on. I liked how Sadler didn't demonize Emily the Ex and...

Holding my gaze, Kay says, "I thought you weren't free."

...she gave Kay a tiny bit of backbone at the end, which made me respect the character, because up until then I was thinking Kay was a little too nicey-nice. Lastly, everyone loves romantic gestures and Luke taking her hand in front of the people in the waiting room was a nice Hallmark moment.

Something Old, Something New

by Cynthia Howard-Hogg from the July 1, 2011 issue

Tagline: It didn't look like it contained any magic, but the old coin seemed to cast a spell on Anne and Tom.

In A Nutshell: Anne's sister is getting married and needs a coin to complete the saying "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a lucky sixpence in her shoe." Anne goes to an antique store and meets the owner. He invites her to tea.

Observations: I thought this story had a lot of heart. There were two sweet/sad moments in this story that tugged at my heart. The first is when the sisters are talking...

"If I ever get married, the something old will be me!" I laughed.

"Oh, you're not that old, Anne."

My laugh died away. Cassie saw my expression change and gave me a hug. "Annie, you're not old--and someday a wonderful guy will come along and not believe his good luck!"

I sighed. At 41, was it really very likely?

Doesn't your heart just go out to Anne? At the same time, don't you love the sisterly loyalty shown here?

The second instance isn't quite as hard-hitting, but it's sweet just the same. Anne goes to the antique store, remembering the older couple who owned it. She finds, instead, their son...

"My mother grew up in England."

"The sweet woman with the charming British accent--she's your mother?"

"That was my mum," he said softly. "Did you know her?"

"I remember her well. She helped me pick out a tea set for my first apartment and instructed me on the proper brewing method."

There you saw the very subtle hint that his mum had passed away. Anne understands and moves right along, not belaboring it and perhaps stirring up the sadness. This part made me fall a little bit for the hero and think to myself that these two sweet people deserve each other.

There was only one thing that gave me pause in this story. After shopping for a while at the store...

Suddenly an antique clock chimed noon.

"Look at the time!" I exclaimed. "I have to get going."

I was a little puzzled where she had to go in such a hurry and why they'd waited for an hour to even get the tray of coins out.

Still, cute story full of well-written emotion. Woman's World doesn't like for their romantic fiction to get too bogged down with sadness and this story was a good example of how to do it with a light touch.

Missing Issue

It's been brought to my attention that I skipped the August 1, 2011 issue. I hadn't realized. I think it's because I'm missing that issue. I just looked all over my house and can't find it. It wouldn't be the first time the postal service misplaced my issue.

Maybe I can still find it at the grocery store. I'll keep you posted.

It Happened One Night

by Martha Tidwell from the August 8, 2011 issue

Tagline: Sally and Mitch were friends and neighbors--until that warm summer night changed everything...

In A Nutshell: At their annual block party, during a sports metaphor-laden conversation, they discover that Mitch and Sally both want to be more than friends.

Observations: This story featured two characters who already had a history, which can make things easier in a Woman's World story, because you don't have to go through all the First Meet Story motions: exchanging names, a handshake, noticing the other person is single, etc. You can just jump right into the situation.

The banter in this story was important. First, it was amusing. Who doesn't like taking a joke and running with it with someone else? Second, it showed how long they'd known each other and how easily they got along. Third, it showed them testing out the romantic waters. Fourth, it allowed for that right and tight ending:

This year we'll celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. It looks like we just might go the distance.

Highway to Love

by Carol E. Ayer from the July 25, 2011 issue

Tagline: Normally, a traffic jam is bad news. For Laura and James, this particular backup was no problem at all...

In A Nutshell: Laura and James get acquainted while stuck in a two hour traffic jam. When the semi truck is finally cleared off the road, they decide to have dinner together.

Observations: I'm often surprised by the creativity of Woman's World authors and how many different ways they can think of for people to meet. I've read every issue of WW for about six years and I can't ever remember seeing a traffic jam romance, but this really worked for me.

When we think of romance, we think of tropes like candles, walks on the beach and, like in this story, gazing at the stars. But I've noticed that often romance can be found in situations in which the couple encounter a minor setback or problem, like, also in this story, being caught in a traffic jam at dinner time. So, stretch your brain a bit and try to think of a situation that might be everyday--like a traffic jam--but when paired with a first-meet, could be an acceptance-worthy idea!

In A Spin

by Barbara J. Smith from the July 18, 2011 issue

Tagline: Caroline's birthday may have gotten off to an unpromising start, but it turned into the best one ever!

In a Nutshell: Caroline's roommate had to bail on their plans to celebrate Caroline's birthday at the county fair. She goes anyway and meets a great guy on the Ferris wheel.

Observations: This story has a wonderful example of how Woman's World prefers that you keep the tone upbeat and positive. Smith might have been tempted to play up Caroline's disappointment after her friend cancelled, but she didn't at all. There is but one sentence devoted to that...

I was disappointed but I certainly understood.

The next paragraph then shows her arrival at the fairgrounds and how excited she is to be there, even though she's alone. You can't help but admire her attitude. This is why women love Woman's World magazine--we read the stories and feel uplifted.

Can You Spell L-O-V-E?

by Barbara Catlin Craven from the July 11, 2011 issue

Tagline: The two little cupids recognized a match when they saw it--they just had to figure out how to make it happen!

In A Nutshell: Matt's young daughter is at a sleep-over and she forgot her pajamas. When the divorced dad delivers them, he's roped into playing a game with the (also divorced) mom and daughter. It's obvious from the romantically inclined words the girls are making that it was all a set-up. But Matt and the mom end up not caring.

Observations: I thought this story was clever. It was fun seeing two school-aged matchmakers at work. Note Matt's small character arc in that he makes the decision to move on with his life, two years after getting divorced. So, this is a story with dual themes -- the matchmaker and moving on. A two-fer! LOL

A couple things bothered me. One, my parents divorced when I was twelve and I can tell you that the daughter probably would not be so pro-active in finding a new woman for her dad. She'd most likely really rather her parents got back together. But, hey, this is fiction, not nasty old real life.

Also, if "Alphabet Jumble" was Scrabble in disguise due to copyright reasons, then it would be awfully convenient that the girls happened to get the letters that would enable them to spell boy, girl, date, kiss, dad, mom. But I was willing to let that go because the rest of the story was so charming.

What's Your Number?

by Anna Jo Christopher from the July 4, 2011 issue

Tagline: When two strangers in a hurry shared a cab, their lives took a romantic turn...

In A Nutshell: After suffering through half of a truly horrible blind date, Valerie walks out. When she and a handsome stranger accidentally hail the same cab, they decide to share. They also discover they share the belief that they have lucky numbers.
Observations: I liked this story but was surprised to see such a vivid description of the bad date. Woman's World usually shies away from negativity and this loser that Valerie went out with was such a jerk! And yet the story wouldn't have worked without that description.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but note the motif of the lucky number in this story. It occurs first in the title. Then, right off the top we're shown that Valerie's lucky number is twelve. In the last third of the story, it's brought back as we discover that the hero, Kent, also has a lucky number. (Thankfully, it's not the same lucky number. I would have grimaced had Christopher chosen to go that far.)

One last observation--throughout the story they use the word "twelve," until the very end, when they use the roman numerals. It made me wonder why, bringing me out of the story. If I were submitting this story, I'd make sure I was consistent.

Okay, I lied. One more observation...this was the Fourth of July issue, and yet this story had no ties to the holiday at all. What's with that? Did no one submit a good Independence Day story???

A Week Without You

by Shelli Armstrong from the June 13, 2011 issue

NOTE: I'm catching up again! Somehow this issue got stuffed in my magazine rack and I didn't notice it until now.

Tagline: It took a lonely week to convince Darla and Gary that they belonged together...

In A Nutshell: When Gary moves on to another job, Darla is bereft, but during the first week without him, they manage to keep in touch. On Friday, he shows up and asks her out.

Observations: This story was cute. Gary was an adorable character even if he wasn't actually there, interacting with the heroine. Their notes and emails were endearing and funny. When it got to the part where Gary put his heart on the line with his email...

...Things are good here, but, okay, I'll say it: I miss you. Terribly...

I just melted. And then when he called her on the phone, he stepped up to the plate again when Darla said she'd received that email...

There was silence for a moment, [sic] "What'd you think of it?" Gary asked.

I melted again. That Gary might have been chicken for the two years previous that he'd worked with Darla, but he came through at the end. :) Again, it's really interesting to me that the character that grew the most during the course of the story wasn't even "on stage" half the time.

Catch a Falling Star

by Dana Stephens from the June 27, 2011 issue

Tagline: Jenny didn't realize it at first, but her wish had come true before she even spotted a falling star.

In a Nutshell: Jenny goes to the lake with her sister and brother-in-law. After an encounter with several yellow jackets, she takes an unexpected spill into the lake. Jack "rescues" her. To thank him, she invites him to dinner, and when she wishes on a falling star, one year later her wish comes true at her wedding to Jack.

Observations: Jenny leaned over the front seat of the Jeep. "Annie," she said to her sister, "are you feeling okay?"

"You and Jack," Annie said, elbowing her husband sitting in the driver's seat, "are like two worrywarts. The baby isn't due for another month--I'm fine, really."
I got off to a rocky start with this story. It might just be me, but I had trouble figuring out if Jack was Annie or Jenny's husband. I read it just now and could see that he was Annie's, but I can easily switch mindsets and get confused again, thinking he could be Jenny's. The pronoun "her" is a tad bit ambiguous, and the names are similar--two syllables with n's and a long e at the end... :)

Also, I wondered in the back of my mind about how smart it was to go somewhere remote if Annie's only a month away from delivery. However, I'm very detail oriented and most readers probably wouldn't think like I do.

However, I did like the yellow-jacket idea and the man to the rescue plot, and Dylan's joke really made me laugh. They're talking about fishing in the lake...

"Are they biting? We brought a couple of rods." That's Jenny talking.

"The only thing I've pulled out of the water so far is you," he said, his blue eyes twinkling.

LOL

Interesting twist in this story in that the circularity/motif thingy I'm always talking about was "out of order" in that the first mention of the wishing on a star was in the second to last paragraph instead of near the beginning of the story. Also, we see that they get married, which is always nice, but hard to do in these short stories.

Lastly, I noticed Jenny being proactive in that she searches for a falling star to wish on. Smart girl! Give Fate a nudge when necessary. :)

Life's Bare Necessities

by Sherri Mostaghni from the June 20, 2011 issue

Tagline: Kristin and Darren shared a passion for coffee, chocolate, cute babies--and who knew what else?

In a Nutshell: Kristin likes Darren, the guy working at the coffee shop. One day after she'd already ordered, she gets a phone call. Her sister is having her baby! A week later, she goes to the cafe and Darren asks her out.

Teaching Moment: Check out the structure of this story: girl has crush on boy, something not too serious happens to drive them apart, girl talks to boy, boy asks her out. :) This is a good structure to follow. Choose the setting where the girl has the crush. Think of the thing that happens. Then put them back together and let the scene flesh itself out. If you can work in a motif, like the "life's bare necessities" that Mostaghni came up with, all the better.

My Favorite Part: "I noticed the name on your credit card the first time you came into the shop." He paused. "Does that sound too stalkerish?"

He's cute, isn't he? I also noticed that he took note of her name the first time he met her, which meant he liked her right away.

Something Just Clicked

by Maureen McDonald from the June 6, 2011 issue

Tagline: Brent didn't look like the man of Deb's dreams, but appearances can be deceiving...

In A Nutshell: After being "bribed" with a fancy coffee drink, Deb agrees to go on a blind date. The guy turns out to be charming.

Observations: I found the characterization in this story to be outstanding. It starts with the matchmaking friend, Helen. I loved how insidiously clever it was to remove the lid from the coffee to let the aroma do its dirty work. I loved the banter between the friends. You could see how comfortable they were with each other.

Brent seemed real and down to earth. He seems like a great father and a fun guy.

Then, Deb, the heroine, had several admirable qualities. She was understanding of Brent's phone problem until the third time. We didn't see her irritation, but I sure felt it. I've been in that situation with my own husband and found it annoying! She was accepting that Brent wasn't the handsomest guy on the planet, but instead was more impressed by his sense of humor and intelligence. At the end of the story, you also see she takes the opportunity to thank her friend and gratitude is always a plus to me, in real life and in fiction.

I especially liked the circularity motif of the coffee drink. Since I work at Starbucks, I enjoyed McDonald's creative drink names..."vanilla mocha latte something-or-other--with lots of cinnamon" and "cinnamon-cappa-frappa-whatever." LMAO!

Teaching Point: Notice the slick transition between the first scene between Deb and Helen and the date:

Halfway through the entree, Deb had to agree with Helen's assessment of Brent.

Boom. We segue very smartly to the next scene and move the plot forward at the same time. Two birds with one stone, something to strive for when you have such a short word count. We never see the two main characters actually meet, shake hands, etc. We just zip forward in time to the part of the date that matters.

"The Remedy"

by Colette Shannon from the May 30, 2011 issue

NOTE TO MY FOLLOWERS: From now on, when a story is written by an author whose work I blogged about before, I'm going to include a link to their "author page," so you can see all the Woman's World stories by that author that I've analyzed.

Also, I'm trying to play a little catch-up, since I fell behind, so you'll be seeing more than one analysis a week for a bit. :)

Tagline: Ellen had no intention of opening her heart again. Ever. Then her aunt introduced her to Logan...

In A Nutshell: After her heart is broken, Ellen's Aunt Phoebe lures new neighbor, Logan, to dinner on the same night Ellen just happens to always come. Ellen rebuffs him at first, but after a heart-to-heart with Aunt Phoebe, realizes she should take a chance on love.

Teaching Points: There is often a problem to be solved in Woman's World stories. For instance in the story "What a Guy!" a woman had a raccoon going bananas inside her house and the hero helped her get the critter out. In last week's story, the hero needed a cat sitter. Here in this story, there was a still a problem, but it was an emotional one that the aunt helped her solve, not the hero. But this is typical in a "moving on" story.

Moving on stories show how the hero or heroine is struggling with leaving behind a heartbreak of some kind. Sometimes it's being jilted. Sometimes the spouse passed away. Sometimes it's divorce. Moving on stories focus on one character's emotional journey. The amount of focus on the emotional journey vs. the romance differs depending on the story. "The Remedy" was about 50-50. In "Sometimes the Stars Align," there wasn't that much emotional journey stuff. It was more of an "old flame" story than a moving-on story.
I think that Woman's World likes these types of stories, because who among us haven't suffered through heartbreak? Moving on stories can encourage us to not give up hope and make us feel like, "Well, if she did it, so can I." I know I'm repeating myself when I say that Woman's World likes to promote positive thinking, but it's true. Just pick up one issue and you'll see what I mean. Keep that in mind as you write stories for them.

Observation: One thing that didn't quite work for me in this story was the circularity/motif. If you follow my blog, you'll probably be familiar with the technique of establishing a motif in the beginning of the story (and also sometimes in the title, as with this story) and then wrapping up with it at the end. In "The Remedy," here's that first mention, the first two sentences in the story:

I felt sure my broken heart would never be whole again. But Aunt Phoebe, my mom's older sister, apparently thought she had a magic remedy.

So we get the feeling that Aunt Phoebe has a master plan or at least an old-fashioned solution to getting over a broken heart.

At the end we have:

I stepped inside, he closed the door, and I realized Aunt Phoebe's remedy was already working its magic.

This beginning and ending mention of "the remedy" would have been great if I had been able to identify what that remedy was! LOL I feel a little stupid because the only remedy I could see was that Aunt Phoebe told her the story of her own heartache and how it had turned out wonderfully when all was said and done. But Aunt Phoebe obviously would have preferred not to have the talk at all and seen Ellen paired up right after dinner. The talk only happened because Ellen got cold feet. So that couldn't have been the remedy.

Okay, thinking about it harder, maybe the remedy was just to do it--meet a new man. Phoebe obviously set the dinner up ahead of time. But then that doesn't jive with the last sentence, because the remedy wasn't meeting Logan, it was the heart-to-heart Ellen and Phoebe had.

Either way, I see a problem. However, like I always say, I'm not an editor at Woman's World and I sometimes don't understand their publishing/editing choices. Clearly, they liked the story and the fact that this bothered me but not them, just goes to prove how subjective this business is.

Coming Soon: As I think back about other moving on stories, I'm trying to remember if there are other problems, besides divorce, death or a break up. I'm going to do some research and get back to you on that.

Artwork: Peter Worlsey's "Two Women Talking" 2010.

Must Love Cats

by Jan Romes from the May 23, 2011 issue

Tagline: Vanessa had just about given up on ever finding her one true love--until the day she met Luke

In a Nutshell: Vanessa waits tables and finds out the handsome guy in the booth needs a cat-sitter a couple of times a week while he's out of town on business. Over the course of a few weeks, they get to know each other and eventually he asks her out for dinner.

Observations: This was a tightly written story, one in which you could really believe they had a future together. One reason is that the story occurred over a month, and after Romes really showed you that they hit it off, she continued to build on that initial connection until at the end they were ready to get even more serious. She also had that circularity thing going with the pot-lid theme, which was cute.

Also, notice the casual tone and you got the feeling you were really in Vanessa's head. The first paragraph is a good example:

Vanessa Oliver smiled as she remembered the conversation with her friend. "Vanessa," Ginnie had said, "remember: for every pot there's a lid." Doubtful. Every lid she'd met lately didn't fit. Self-absorbed lids. Lids that wanted to get to first base on the first date. But mostly, nothing-in-common lids. She was a square pot. They were round lids.

The short, incomplete sentences give the impression that these are her thoughts. (They also help emphasize each undesirable quality and convey her annoyance/resignation at the same time.) Also, as a bonus, if you do it well, it cuts down on your word count! LOL

There was no black moment, but I didn't miss it. Well, actually I guess I did miss it because I noticed it's absence, but it didn't bother me. LOL

Great story from an author I don't recall reading before.

"Make A Wish!"

by April Knight from the May 16, 2011 issue

Tagline: Marley never imagined her birthday wish would actually come true--but then she met Bob, er, Josh...

In A Nutshell: Celebrating her birthday with her friend, Marley wishes for a man. Obligingly, her friend has already arranged a blind date with Bob. Unfortunately, the sketchy description of Bob leads her to approach the wrong guy, twice! The second guy, Josh, offers to help her identify the real Bob. Fortunately, Bob never arrives and Josh asks Marley out for dinner instead.

Teaching Points: When writing these stories, you actually have to make the reader AND the heroine fall in love with the hero, so make sure your story has a place, or places, where you show the hero demonstrating heroic behavior in some way. He can be thoughtful, kind, helpful, romantic, funny, brave, or any combination thereof. This can be shown in action or in dialogue.

In "Make A Wish!" here's where I fell in love with Josh:

"I'm a high school science teacher and a lonely bachelor--except sometimes I pretend I'm a knight in shining armor who rescues beautiful damsels in distress."

Here's Marley's equally funny reply:

"I work in a bookstore...my hobby is wandering around coffee shops looking for men wearing blue shirts."

Which brings me to another point. Humor is always welcome in a Woman's World story. The goal of their magazine is to improve women's lives and if you ask me, laughter is one of the easiest ways to accomplish that. Another really funny part was in the beginning of the story:

"I wish I would meet a wonderful man, fall in love and be married by my next birthday!"

"That's a lot to ask from one candle."

So, those are the lessons to be learned from this week's story: make your hero heroic and make the reader laugh.

My Apologies

I'm late posting and I completely forgot to put up the poll for the "Stars Aligning" story. Unfortunately, I don't have time to post an analysis this week. I'm on a very tight deadline for a book. Forgive me and come back the first week of June.

Thanks for understanding!

"Sometimes the Stars Align"

by Kate Karyus Quinn from the May 9, 2011 issue

Tagline: After all these years, for Julie and Greg, the time was finally right.

In A Nutshell: Julie has been a widow with three children for five years. One day she's particularly tired and the manager of the grocery store helps out with her kids. Turns out they almost became a couple back in high school. Now, they continue to "see each other" at the grocery store until he asks her out on a picnic with her kids. Nervous, she says no, then a week later decides she made a mistake.

Observations: I thought this story was fantastic. First off, Quinn starts with a hook:

Julie was primping for a trip to the grocery store.

And just like that, you're sucked in to find out why.

Also, I immediately sympathized with Julie's situation, having to raise her kids by herself. Quinn did a great job of describing the sad situation without getting overly maudlin, something Woman's World shies away from.

The history Julie and Greg had together was completely realistic and romantic at the same time. I'm always a sucker for "the one that got away" stories. It's here also that Quinn cleverly inserts that "stars aligning" phrase that is the title and also the ending.

What follows is a pretty long "telling" summarization of the courting. Oddly, we don't see a lot of interaction between the two characters. I always maintain that it's important to see the hero and heroine face to face in a story so we get to know them and they get to know each other, but I was surprised to see that Greg only actually speaks twice in the entire story! In my own defense, I have to point out that those two lines are killer and the romance holds up despite the lack of dialogue and the preponderance of narrative. There's a brief "black moment" when Julie doesn't go on the picnic with him, but Quinn follows that with a paragraph that shows Greg to be hero material.

Greg wasn't a high school boy anymore, though, and he didn't give up as easily this time. "Julie," he said, "maybe it's still not the right time. If you're not ready, I'll wait."

I just fell in love with him right there.

You hear all the time that women of a certain age--especially with three kids!--have little chance of finding someone special, but this type of story gives us hope and a warm feeling in our hearts. This is the type of story we all want to write. It's no wonder the editors pounced on it.

"One Sweet Guy"

by Susan Holloway from the May 2, 2011 issue.

Tagline: Josie had a weakness for chocolate--and, it turned out, cute guys in running shorts!

In a Nutshell: Josie slips while jogging backwards to ogle a cute guy, also jogging. Hearing her cry of pain, he returns, assesses the situation and calls the paramedics. The next day he shows up with a pizza and brownies because they both love chocolate. She has a broken ankle, but they make plans to have dinner again.

Observations: Man to the rescue stories are popular with Woman's World. Just a couple of weeks ago we saw "There's Always a Bright Side," also about a jogger. (Apparently jogging is a very dangerous pastime! LOL) These plots aren't too complicated to construct. You create a problem for the heroine, being careful not to have it too dire. Then have the hero comes along to help her out. Make sure the two main characters are attracted to each other and set up a date. That's all there is to it.

Regarding this particular story, there were a couple of places that confused me. I wasn't sure what the man was referring to when he said, "That was quick." Her hurting herself was quick? Another moment of confusion for me:

At the hospital, Josie was x-rayed and sent to the OR. One moment of guilty pleasure, and she ended up in surgery.

I'll admit to being dense enough to have stumbled when I read this. Obviously her guilty pleasure was gawking at the hero, but the way it's written, one could believe she has a kinky fetish for being x-rayed. LOL

Lastly, he comes to visit her in the hospital the next day which, of course, is terrific, but I found myself wondering if the doctors would actually have kept her there or sent her home with her cast on. These days it seems like hospitals don't keep you over night unless it's absolutely necessary. Then again, I could be wrong, but I'll admit thinking about that took me out of the story.

Even so, it was a cute story even if the magazine put a photo of chocolate pie instead of a brownie. :) I really loved when she realized she hadn't shaved her legs. LOL. That cracked me up.

The Mystery of the Missing Issues

It seems that I can't find the next issue of Woman's World. Grrr. I apologize. I'll post a new critique when I find them or receive the next one in the mail.