Tagline: Handsome, smiling, green-eed Henry walked downt he aisle and took the seat next to Mandy. To Mandy it felt like destiny...
In an Nutshell: Mandy is flying back home for her sister's wedding even though she's afraid to fly. The man sitting next to her is going to a conference. They connect on the two hour flight and part. Then, at the taxi stand, she sees him and he asks her to dinner.Observations: I usually think I'm a pretty smart gal, but sometimes I read a story like this, expect one thing (a matchmaker or blind date story) and get another (not a matchmaker or blind date story!) I thought for sure the man on the plane was going to be the blind date her sister had planned for her, but he wasn't.
There was a very nice black moment in this story when they're saying goodbye on the plane. It was much longer than the quick black moment we usually see.
"You did it." Henry unbuckled his seat belt and smiled.
"I did. Thank you for keeping my mind off the flight." I sat while he got his overhead bag. I grew breathless and wanted to say more.
"It was really nice to meet you, Mandy. Enjoy the wedding." Henry paused, as if he might say more, but then his phone vibrated and he fumbled in his pocket. Henry gave a wave, and then he was gone.
We really feel that they were both on the verge and wish one of them had taken the initiative. And even though we know that they will end up together, we still worry. Isn't that weird? Anyway, I found myself reading faster here to find out how they would meet up again, and was, of course, gratified to see him hold up that really cute sign.
Cute story.
Photo by Andrew Malone (cc)
11 comments:
Kate, that's a cute new picture. I had a "plane" story rejected recently by editor-in-chief with Johnene's regrets. This one is cute.
Kate, just wanted again to say THANKS for hosting this site and giving us the benefit of your insight.
It's always interesting to see thoughts on why a story works!
Plus we can all take comfort from things like Tamara said -- we had a story set on a plane, maybe it was too soon after this one. Or maybe flower shop stories, however well written, are just overdone now. Et cetera!
I don't know how much time it takes you to keep up this site, but I sure appreciate it!
Tamara, I'm sorry about the rejection. :(
Jane, you're welcome. Just getting comments here is enough of a thank you because it lets me know that people are actually reading it. :)
I was excited; I knew ahead of time that Johnene had sent it to EIC for final approval. For some reason that was not explained, EIC declined. I had a story accepted last week, so I'm pretty happy.
Tamara, congratulations on the story acceptance. And sorry about the reject by the Big Editor. I just got a story back today and by the postmark I see it didn't even make it past Patricia. Rats! Now I have only one story left in the WW shop. It is a Valentine story and Heaven knows how many hundreds(?) are competing for that spot.
Kate, your new photo looks like you are waiting for a big surprise with your eyes closed. Hope it is a good one!
I have a Valentine story out there, too, Mary Jo. Do they run one or two, does anyone know? And when -- oh, when -- are they going to notify us about them? Soon I bet.
Tamara, I've only ever seen one Valentine's story per year -- so probably at least one of you ladies is going to be disappointed! And you may not hear for awhile. The year I sold a Valentine's story, I got my contract on 12/21. Good luck!
Betsi, yes, I am sure there is only one slot for a WW Valentine's Day story. While I think my story is good, it may be too different for their taste.
I thought my story that Patricia just rejected was perfect for WW. I won't be surprised to see something similar on the Romance page sometime soon.
12/21? That's really cutting it close. Well, I'll relax then (says me).
Post a Comment