Tagline: Just when Charles fears he'll never be able to fall in love again, he meets Melanie in an unlikely place...and she changes everything.Observations: Well, this was a Harlequin story and very well done. I may start regularly analyzing them. I didn't even realize it was an HQ story until I saw the book cover at the end. I like that it's not so "in your face."
Unfortunately, that means less stories for us freelancers, or perhaps more opportunity to sell to Harlequin, if they like the type of Woman's World stories we write...? Glass half full and so on.
So I really cannot find anything in this story that does not jibe with the regular Woman's World stories. It has the right tone, the right kind of plot, the touch of nostalgia/tradition that we have come to associate with the magazine. Even the ending was spot on.
I did laugh at this line:
"Thank you both for rescuing me," she said, her green eyes sparkling up at Charles. "I probably would have gotten lost in there and ended up looking like one of the scarecrows..."
LMAO.
Photo credit: Cynthia Collins via Flickr CC license.
23 comments:
I notice that the WW stories read more like Harlequins lately. I was hoping, too, that we could send Harlequin our unused stories, but I thought you told me that they have their own people writing them, or am I mistaken?
Hi Kate! Thank you so much for the nice review of my story. I've been following your blog for years. It's the reason I finally sold a story last year.
As far as I know, this particular story isn't a "Harlequin" story. I wrote and submitted it the way I always have. It's my understanding that since they changed the format to "Five Minute Romance" if anyone, not just a Harlequin writer, sells a story, WW will advertise your latest book. Thank you again for all that you do!
Now, Jill, that is very interesting. When I saw the ad at the end of your story, I assumed that Harlequin had bought another 25% of the WW Romance space, and I was ready to kiss my one and only fiction market good bye. Maybe parting won't be such sorrow after all. Yet, I have to wonder why the new WW masthead is completely ignoring the Fiction Department. Our wonderful Fiction Editor, Patricia Gaddis, is now designated a Contributor.
I hope Bauer will make plain the true situation with their Romance page. Will the entire space be reserved for the Harlequin novelists, or are freelance short-short story writers still welcome?
I missed the October 15 issue. Is "Heart Lost and Found" a Harlequin story, or isn't it? I just had a story published in the November 5 issue, so I don't think they eliminated the submissions. It was so heavily edited I barely recognized it, and their version read more like Harlequin, IMO.
Mary Jo, I don't believe the "FIVE MINUTE ROMANCE" stories are going to be reserved for Harlequin novelists. The November 5th copy that I received in the mail written by Tamara.
Jill, with all this discussion about "is it or is it not" a Harlequin story, I just want to say that I thought it was a terrific male POV story that had everything (even some nice symbolism). Well done . . . and congratulations on your novel!
Thank you so much, Betsi! I appreciate your sweet comment.
Congratulations, Jill. Can someone send me a copy of that story? Kartweeler@aol.com
I have a scan, Tamara, I'll send it.
Thank you, Betsi.
Tamara, I really enjoyed your story!
Thank you Jill and Betsi. I especially liked the last line of your story, Jill. Cute windup.
I loved this story. Very well written. I too thought it was a Harlequin story because of the ad at the end.
Jill, I went back and read your story again. Yes, it is definitely a WW story. Though the man and woman both had traumatic events in their lives, you didn't dwell on that and wrote a very uplifting teacup romance. The character of the little girl was particularly charming. Is she anyone you know?
In contrast, I have found that the advertised Harlequin 5-Minute romances often read like synopses of a more complicated novel and are often rather dark.
It would be interesting to know if the readership have a preference of one story over the other.
Thank Tamara! I'm so happy you enjoyed the story and the ending, too.
Thank you so much, Pat. I'm glad you liked the story. Typically the Harlequin stories have the banner up top to indicate that it's a Harlequin story. I submitted to WW before I ever was published with HQ. I have notebooks full of their stories and of course, a notebook of my rejections. LOL!
Thanks, Mary Jo! I'm glad you like my character, Julia. I really enjoy writing little girl characters...they kind of appear on the page and aren't really modeled after anyone in particular. Thanks for asking!
It's my understanding that the 5-Minute Romance are not Harlequin, they simply changed the name from the Read A Romance. Maybe they wanted a fresh look since the stories now fill two pages of the magazine.
I agree that the "5-Minute Romance" is just a new format and title for our regular stories. However, the word count in my story is higher than usual. I wonder if they've changed their guidelines at all.
Tamara, there was a question about the guidelines in the WW Facebook group a couple days ago, and Patricia said that the word count hasn’t changed.
You got me, Tamara. I'm just going to keep writing and submitting the way I always have. I find these stories fun and relaxing to write. :)
Thanks, Betsi. I guess they just upped their editing for their own reasons. They are fun to write, Jill, I agree. And that check is wonderful.
�� Yes, that’s true, Tamara.
Jill, so it wasn't a HQ story... so very interesting! If they're going to advertise our latest novels, I may really have to write something and submit. But I wonder if it would apply to my books because my romance novels are very sexy.
That was a cute story. I found all the comments interesting. I just joined the WW FB page so am looking forward to what I learn from that.
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