Roadside Reunion

by Beth Pugh from the October 7, 2024 issue

Tagline: As she's about to lose hope for making the night perfect for her niece, Amanda finds help from an old "friend."

Observations: The thing that stood out in this story to me was the heroine. We all know the readership for the magazine skews toward older women, but let's not make the mistake of assuming this demographic expects or wants protagonists to behave as if they were from the 50s. 

Yet, it wouldn't be wise to swing the other way and make your heroine the type of woman who doesn't need a man for anything. 

So there's a balance you need to achieve. You want your heroine to be strong and capable and confident. But you still want to keep the hero, well, heroic. This story hit the nail on the head.

Amanda is understandably daunted when faced with changing the tire on her own, but she's also resourceful and turns to the internet for help. (However, if it had been my story, I might not have had Amanda pretending everything was fine for her niece. Better to set the example on how to problem solve.) So there's your strong, capable woman at work. And then Jake arrives. He is not pushy and there's no man-splaining, just an honest offer of help. 

On a side note, are there still drive-in theatres where you live?

Photo by Mike Mozart via Flickr CC License

After the Rain

by Rosemary Hayes from the September 30, 2024 issue.

Tagline: En route to make her final Home Meals delivery of the day, Rachel finds herself caught in the rain. It seems not only raindrops fall on her that afternoon, but also a chance at love when kind-eyed Callum offers her an umbrella and a hand. 

Observations: Rosemary Hayes is a veteran Woman's World romance writer and this story is an example of why. I mean, the hero is the embodiment of chivalry! Who doesn't like the idea of being swept up in a strong man's arms? (It really should happen to us more than just on our wedding day. Maybe we can propose having a National Sweep Your Wife Up in your Arms Day or something.)

I noticed two reliable tropes in this story. First, we have the matchmaking grandfather. Second, there's the problem of the hero and heroine living too far apart. Tropes are sometimes thought of as cliche, but in Woman's World stories, they're what the readers want. They want that familiarity. Tropes are like comfort food, but in story form, so don't be afraid to use them.

Did you see any tropes in here that I missed?

Photo by Colin Brown via Flickr CC License

Love Among the Pages

by Donna J. Collin from the September 23, 2024 issue

Tagline: When Jessica offered to help her dad at his antiques store, she wasn't looking for romance--until a customer and and old book changed that.

Observations: This story is oozing the kind of nostalgia for days gone by that Woman's World seems to love. Mostly, I think this is because of the reader demographics that skew older women. This man finds a mysterious old poetry book in his grandmother's house and wants to find out more about it for insurance purposes.  It doesn't get any more sentimental than that!

I also really liked Jessica, the heroine. The heroine should be someone likeable, someone you'd like to have as a friend and I'd like to have Jessica as a friend. She helps her dad out when he needs it. She's cautious...

He seemed a decent sort. But what kind of guy, she thought as a queasy feeling took hold, tries to sell his grandmother's book of love poems?

He touches her on the arm. This is physical contact that I approve of. LOL If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know I am not a fan of premature touching which is touching someone in a way that seems to intimate, considering the amount of time they've known each other or the circumstances.

Finally, I'd like to point out the subtle black moment. Woman's World stories don't always have black moments, but this one did and I thought it was clever. He leaves her a voicemail that gets her hopes up and then it just ends. But don't worry. There was another message, one that asked her if she wanted to go to dinner with him. 

The ending was perfect. The last paragraph gives us a moment to absorb the happy news, along with Jessica, and then she takes action and the story ends on that moment of optimistic happiness that all is going to go well. Chef's kiss!

Photo by Kate Ter Haar via Flickr CC License

Time for True Love To Shine

by Colleen LaQuay Urbaniuk from the September 9, 2024 issue

Tagline: Linda was rusty at flirting, but a chance meeting with a handsome car-show member gave her the confidence to get behind the wheel again.

Observations: This story is a good example of showing character arc. As I talk about in my book, Story Sparking, How to Generate Ideas for Woman's World 5-Minute Romances, one jumping off point is to choose a fear and show the character getting over it. 

Let's look at the progression in this story where Linda's fear is getting back into the dating world. By the end of the story, though, she literally says, "I'm ready." 

1. She starts out so closed to the idea dating that she doesn't even hear Larry call her pretty. 

2. Her friend points this out and suggests she take the man up on his offer. 

3. Linda reflects on what happened and admits/realizes her friend was right.

4. Linda gives one last feeble attempt to avoid taking action but her friend nixes that in the bud.

5. Linda does some more introspection and gives us readers a chance to connect with her. No one likes to feel lost and invisible. We want her to succeed with Larry.

6. She accepts Larry's invitation to go for a ride in his truck.

7. Her confidence blooms when she insists he let her drive. 

So, you can easily see how she starts out closed off but ends up self-assured. We all like to see hard work rewarded and showing character growth makes you feel like the heroine earned the happily ever after. 

If you'd like some more ways to generate story ideas, again, check out my Story Sparking book.

Photo by Rebecca Siegel via Flickr CC License

A Ruse that Leads to Love

by Veda Boyd Jones from the September 2, 2024 issue

Tagline: Paige was just looking for a quick getaway from a chatty picnic-goer when she approached Landon for assistance...but ended up finding much more.

Observations: OMG, I ADORED the hilarious plot twist! I can usually spot them easily, but this one really took me by surprise. 

Let me point out a few things you might (or might not!) have missed--hints that he is the mayor and hints that he's just some guy.

He's the mayor clues:

We get an idea that he knows the residents of his town because he thinks of Mrs. Reece as being able to "talk an ear off a stalk of corn." He also knows Polly Hamilton well enough to know her daily routine.

He has a "best carrying voice," which would come in handy when addressing crowds.

He has a "thousand-watt smile"--a handy thing for a politician.

He's just your regular, everyday guy:

He has work-roughened hands.

He runs the hardware store and helps out on his grandfather's ranch.

The ending is the best one I've read in a long time. It's so funny and we get a one-two punch of the reveal that he's the mayor and the joke about his speech. I want you to pay close attention to the comedic beat there that makes the joke even funnier. Here's the end without the beat. 

"Welcome to the annual Labor Day Celebration," he said as he glanced Paige's way. "I'm Mayor Landon Wentworth. I'll try to keep it short."

Now read it with the beat.

"Welcome to the annual Labor Day Celebration," he said as he glanced Paige's way. "I'm Mayor Landon Wentworth." He flashed her a teasing grin. "I'll try to keep it short."

Notice how that pause is crucial. Jones needed to let the reveal land before she hit you with the joke. It's funny, no doubt, without that teasing grin, but that beat in between makes it more funny. Comedy is all about the timing!

Photo by Sylvar via Flickr CC License

A Perfect Beach Escape

by Audrey Wick from the August 26, 2024 issue

Tagline: As Becca settles into her tropical vacation, she meets a surprise companion who makes her getaway all the sweeter.

Off the Cuff Observations: I'm behind on blogging again, so to try to catch up, I sometimes just record my thoughts as I read the story. So, here goes. :)

It's a vacation story. Those are always tricky because you have to get the reader to believe in the coincidence that two people who hit it off on vacation happen to live in the same town. But that may not be the case here.

She's caring for aging parents. Boy, do I feel that. My mom has dementia and it's hard to watch the slow but inevitable decline. Harder, though, for my sister and her husband, who moved in with her.

Of course she's reading romance! I think it's practically a given that a heroine in a Woman's World story is a romance reader. LOL

I like this sentence:

He winked, a playful gleam from his dreamy blue eyes energizing the space between them.

It's "electricity" without a too-intimate touch. Perfect.

Okay, I've already sped to the end of the story. Interesting. I really liked the descriptions of the setting. Wick really painted the tropical scene well. But it's curious that the ending is, well, so open-ended. Like I mentioned at the beginning, where do the two vacationers go from there? Maybe he lives on one coast and she lives on the other... I guess we just have to trust that they will go on the sunset cruise and just see what happens. This is a definite departure from the norm for Woman's World stories. I'll be keeping an eye out for more stories with ambiguous HEAs. 

Photo by James via Flickr CC License

Sprinkled with Kisses

by Cher L. Tom from the August 19, 2024 issue

Tagline: When Jessica's husband, Ryan, was spending all his time at work, she felt the love draining from their marriage--until he surprised her.

Observations: I find it very hard to write a marriage-in-trouble story, but Ms. Tom did it. The story focuses on the heroine's wistfulness at how it used to be when her husband was around. We see the romance as it was in the past. 

I thought it very clever of her to have Jessica leave a voicemail for Ryan so that he would know that they were camping. And tying the popcorn in at the end was good too. 

Photo by Calamity Sal via Flickr CC license