Grillin' Up Romance

by Debra McNally from the June 16, 2025 issue

Tagline: Jessie was shopping for a Father's Day grill when she meets the chrming shop owner, Matt. As they talk, sparks fly!

Stream of Consciousness Observations: Right off the bat we get the main character's goal and motivation: getting a grill for her dad for Father's Day.

The next paragraph really sets the scene and makes me want a grilled hot dog. As an aside, I haven't heard a hot dog referred to as a frank in ages! LOL

"I told you our grill skills were on fire!" -- Love a good dad joke.

"It's my week to have my son..." -- Clever way to tell the reader he's divorced.

"Inside the store, Matt wrote up the sale bill." -- This paragraph shows that you don't have to insert a character's backstory at the front of the story. This is where Ms. McNally decided to tell us about Jessie's living, job and relationship situations.

"...we discovered we had a passion for outdoor cooking--and other things." -- Ha! I bet one of those "other things" is Jessie!

I love how this ended up to be a matchmaker story. Very cute!

Please To Meet-Cute You

by Melanie Dusseau from the June 9, 2025 issue

Tagline: Jake's hoping for a quiet day after a long week of work, but a noisy bookstore owner--and their unexpected chemistry--derail his plans.

Stream of Consciousness Observations: I love how that first paragraph tells us Jake is in construction work and he lives above a storefront.

"Scowling, he banged on the door..." - Ah, this is a "hate-to-love" story.

"...self-consciously patting the messy knot of curly auburn hair piled atop her head." -- Nice physical description.

"Lily beamed a smile into Jake's frowning, handsome face..." -- Okay, there's also the grumpy sunshine trope.

"Then one of her too-large leather work gloves slid off her hand and hit the floor with a soft thud." -- Not sure what the purpose of this was. To show he's gallant, despite is mood?

Love the cat regarding him with "studious boredom."

"He's always a grump till he warms up to you." -- Sounds like Jake! LOL

OMG, a romance bookshop??? YES PLEASE. I am now kicking myself for not thinking of this as a setting for a Woman's World story.

I love the heroine's bubbly sunny energy. 

The selfie prep is darling. You can see Jake's stony wall crumbling.

"Don't smile because we're the grumpy-sunshine trope!" -- Aha! Told ya!

"You got it, sunshine." -- Perfect ending to a perfect story. Well done, Ms. Dusseau!

Cooking up Romance

by Alice Benson from the June 2, 2025 issue

Tagline: Not feeling very lucky in love, Lisa skips a party to stay in, but a late-night grocery run turns her quiet Saturday into a surprising moment of connection and chemistry.

Observations: I love a good grocery store story, especially if it involves cooking! I have very very fond memories of a little cafe on Third Street in West LA that I would walk to for lunch because they had the most amazing potato leek soup. 

Christopher Vogler wrote a famous book on the "formula" for fictional antagonists called The Writer's Journey.  At one point in time Disney was using it as a template for their movies. Vogler lists 12 stages characters should go through in order to craft a satisfying story, but with Woman's World romances, we don't have the luxury of showing the heroines moving through all the stages.

The first step is to show the heroine in her Ordinary World. In this case, we see Lisa at the grocery store and talking to her friend Kim. In a longer work, this is so we can see where the hero started and compare it to where they end up, changed by their adventure.

The second phase is when the character receives a Call to Adventure--the friend Kim inviting her to the party.

The third step is Refusing the Call, which Lisa does. She opts to stay at home to read and do chores.

But like I said, we don't see the other nine stages because the word count doesn't allow that, but if you're interested in writing longer fiction, I highly recommend Vogler's book.

You know what? On second thought, I might be wrong. Maybe it's actually possible to include all 12 stages. I guess you never know unless you try!

Photo by Janet Hudson via Flickr CC License

True Love Rekindled

by Kimberly Kirkland Absher from the May 26, 2025 issue

Tagline: Samantha reconnects with her first love, Noah, during a meaningful Memorial Day ceremony reunion.

Observations: I really enjoyed this story, mainly because of the respect it showed to the seriousness of the holiday. I think a lot of people get so caught up in the barbeques and the sales that they forget the day is to honor our fallen heroes. 

Usually there's a liberal dose of optimism and cheer in Woman's World stories, but this one was tinged more with melancholy as the main characters had both recently lost loved ones. But that was appropriate to the theme of Memorial Day. I think the value in this story is that it pointed out that, while we mourn our dearly departed, life does go on and there are things to look forward to.

Photo by U.S. Army Southern Erorpean Task Force, Africa via Flickr CC License

Unexpected Dinner Date

by Mina Beckett from the May 19, 2025 issue

Tagline: When Ellie's handsome neighbor Noah shows up at her door, the last thing she expects to find is simmering chemistry.

Observations: I feel like I haven't seen a good old-fashioned man to the rescue story in a long time. I mean, granted, he caused the problem that the heroine needs rescuing from, but that's unimportant in the long run with true love at stake. LOL

What I like about this story is the banter. To me, it shows that the couple have chemistry right off the bat. It's important with these stories to demonstrate that the couple has a decent chance at finding love. It's also good to create likeable characters. In this story, Noah is the star. He's charming, funny, not afraid to take responsibility for his mistakes and he cooks--in other words, he's boyfriend material. It's never a bad idea to make the reader fall for him too.

Photo by rick via Flickr CC License

Delicious Delivery

by Dorothy Wills-Raftery from the May 5, 2025 issue

Tagline: As Gabby helps her grandmother prepare for the Cinco de Mayo festival, a delivery leads to an unexpected connection and new romance.

Observations: I'm a foodie, so I enjoy any story that revolves around food. And, boy, this one made me hungry! I appreciate how authentic and accurate the recipe was as well. I could also practically hear the mariachi music as I read the story.

The only note I have  is that Gabby stated, "The cooking gene skipped me. But, I can whip up a mean batch of churros." Honestly, churros are going to be a little more difficult because of the deep frying and the fact that you have to pipe the batter into the oil with a pastry bag, but this is a very minor criticism in an otherwise fantastic story.

Also, did you notice that Wills-Raftery used the real collective noun for butterflies? A kaleidoscope!

Photo by Quiote via Flickr CC License

Cupid's Tea Shop Set-up

by Cathy Cormany from the April 28, 2025 issue

Tagline: As Sarah relives painful memories of her breakup while replacing a beloved heirloom, an unexpected surprise changes everything.

Observations: Well, Ms. Cormany has been busy! We just critiqued a story of hers a couple of weeks ago. Good for her!

If a tea shop isn't the perfect setting for a Woman's World story, I don't know what is. It's got that old-timey, nostalgic, slice of Americana feel to it much like carnivals/county fairs, festivals, bakeries, florists, garage sales, parades, old folk's homes, antique shops, and bookstores. The list goes on and on. While these settings might feel cliche by now, they continue to sell, so don't necessarily shy away from them.

Being a die hard pragmatist, I immediately wondered how the man identified the china pattern from Sarah's vague description. There have to be hundreds of patterns out there. Sarah would have been better off snapping a picture, but it doesn't really matter. I'm probably the only person in the world who had this thought.

Still, you might want to keep in mind the age of your characters and, if they are considerably younger than you, really put yourself in their shoes as you craft your plot. (This is not to suggest that Ms. Cormany is of a certain age. I really don't know. I'm just bringing up a pet peeve of mine which is when authors use their own frames of reference for characters who are one, two or more generations apart from them. 

Loved the twist at the end! It's so hard to write couple-in-trouble stories. 

Photo by Selena N.B.H. via Flickr CC License

Baking up Love

by Lida Sideris from the April 14, 2025 issue

Tagline: Mari, a cheerful warehouse worker, discovers unexpected joy and potential love when a colleague requests her baking secrets.

Off the Cuff Observations: So we're introduced to Mari who has such a cheerful attitude while at work, I can't help but like her.

A long-time supervisor, Ray[,] often dashed by, greeting everyone--but singling out mari and starting a conversation? That was a first.

As usual, pragmatic me thinks, this is not good in a work environment, setting up someone for possible sexual harrassment. But this is Woman's World magazine, so you have to go with it.

There is no cat or bag.

LOL

Tucked underneath were little notes of appreciation.

That IS sweet!

Ah, give a man some cookies and you feed him for a day... LOL. I was totally expecting him to invite her to the barbeque and ask for her to bring cookies, but I like how he asked to be taught instead. Smart man! That way he gets more intimate one-on-one time with her.

Photo by Helena Jacoba via Flickr CC License