Tagline: As she browsed the tables set up in the town square, Holly found some things and someone she really liked...
In a Nutshell: New in town, Holly is on her lunch break when she's surprised by the annual spring sidewalk sale. She finds some books that bring her right back to childhood and buys them from the man who owns the local bookshop. He invites her to come back after work and see if there is anything else she'd like. She returns and he gives her a book he thought she'd like and asks her out.Observations: This is a story that is right out of the Woman's World romance playbook. It is set at a tag sale, a popular place for WW women to find love.
Real world: the Internet and bars.
WW: tag sale, animal shelter, vet office, florist, grocery store.
In this story, it's a tag sale for the entire small town, an annual event. That is the (very slight) twist to the cliche setting. The rest of the plot pretty much follows, according to the norm. Boy/girl finds item with sentimental value. Boy/girl doesn't obtain the item. The seller makes sure the boy/girl gets the item after all. In other versions of the same type of story, the seller regrets the sale and the buyer either can't go through with buying it, or after hearing why the seller might not want to part with it, they return the item later.
When I say cliche, that's not a slight. Obviously there is nothing wrong with following the formula. If you do it well, like Province did, you can earn $800.
Photo by jackieleigh (cc)
19 comments:
Not much to say, Kate. You're right, this is a cute WW story.
It didn't leave me smiling, or particularly liking the characters, or wishing there was more story. Kind of just so-so. Nothing wrong with it, just not very memorable.
Yes, this is the kind of story Johnene likes to buy. I find it hard to believe that WW readers wouldn't like something more interesting.
Years ago, with a different editor at the fiction helm, I even wrote a few fan letters to exceptional writers there. That's how I became acquainted with the delightful Tima Smith. I think it has been at least a decade since she was last published in WW.
Could someone explain the term tag sale, please? Do you just set up a table and sell your old stuff on your driveway, instead of taking it to an auction or a car-boot?
Yes, Chris, in the summer, such sales are legion -- items placed outside along sidewalks, in courtyards, and in some cases inside homes and apartments. Today, people are using Craig's List to advertise their sales. My apartment is full of house-sale fare; it's my favorite way to shop.
Thanks, Tamara, glad I guessed it right. Were you really up at 5:57am on a Sunday? That's what I call dedication!
Depending on what area of the country you're in they are sometimes called yard sales. When a bunch of neighbors get together sometimes a whole street will have 'stuff' on their lawns for sale on a weekend. When they gather in a building or church hall for the same purpose they call it a flea market. I love them. People just want to get rid of things and sell them for a fraction of the original cost.
No, I wasn't up that early, Chris. The time difference may have made it look that way. But, I do have a serious 38-year case of insomnia, and I am unable to get sufficient sleep. I wrote about it twice and was published.
In my part of the country, the "Garage Sale" is ubiquitous from early spring until late fall! Chris, my husband and I were trying to guess on the "car-boot." A place where you can sell things out of the back of your vehicle?? Flea markets, rummage sales, garage sales, estate sales and tag sales are the great American recycling system . . .
Yes, Betsi, car boot sales are exactly that, sales of goods from the back of cars, vans, etc. People take over farmers' fields, or waste ground, and tables are set up, so the goods can be displayed. It's become the national pastime here. I've not been to one myself but the bargains people find at them keep cropping up on TV shows like Bargain Hunt and Flog It, things people have picked up for a few pence and which turn out to be worth hundreds of pounds. I always feel sorry for the person who sold it, not knowing the real value! Imagine selling Granny's old flower vase for a few pounds only to find it's a piece of Moorcroft worth ten times that. Ouch.
What does "flog" mean over there, Chris? My dictionary says it's to sell illegally. :)
I think an English car hood is a bonnet, so the boot is the trunk or back? Love this exchange...
It's better than the story.
Yes, Tamara, flog does mean to sell, but not necessarily illegally, although it might have started out that way. Flog It is an afternoon TV show in which people take their items to a valuation day and experts assess their value before they are sold, legitimately, at auction.
You're right, Jody, English cars have bonnets (which now I come to think of it is quite a sweet idea!) and boots, which is for luggage, tools, a spare wheel, and in my case all the junk I carry round 'just in case'. Spare dog lead, blanket, torch, etc.
I'm picturing a car with a white ruffle and bow sticking up from its hood. It's good to know these terms.
In the U.S., selling stuff out of the trunk of a car or back of a van is the way some crooks do business. Drugs, knock-offs, etc. Right, Jody?
Thanks, Mary Jo, that gave me an idea for my WW mystery notebook. Not much of an idea yet, but it might turn into something!
And yes, "bonnet" and "boot" are much cuter than hood and trunk!
It's just the same here, Mary Jo. I'm sure a lot of the stuff at car-boots is knocked off. Doesn't stop it being popular, though. People just seem to turn a blind eye. After all, who doesn't like a bargain?
@ Mary Jo
Well, drug dealers don't sell out of the trunks of their cars. They stash the bulk of the stuff somewhere, carry a little bit around with them and sell out of pocket. If the cops come, they swallow or throw as they run. If there's a lot in a car trunk, most likely they're transporting a new load to the stash site. If they get caught with just little bit they can always say it was for personal use, not for resale. Different charge. Selling drugs is a higher penalty than buying or possessing drugs.
Knock-off designer handbags...now you're talking car trunks and vans.
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