The Furry Matchmaker

by Rebecca Zanetti from the December 2019 issue

Tagline: When Melody Landsom finds a stranger's dog on her front porch, she never expects it will lead her to its handsome owner...and a second chance at first love!

Observations: I remember when I first targeted Woman's World as a publication I wanted to write for, it seemed like every other story had a dog or a cat in it, and I seem to recall there being a point where they flat out said, no more dog stories! LOL I guess I wasn't the only writer to notice they liked dog stories.

Anyway, this was an adorable dog story, even if this wasn't the first doggie matchmaker to grace the pages of Woman's World. I liked Melody and the dog. The handsome dog owner was cute too, even if it was weird that his last name was Lexington and he named his dog Remington.

I appreciate the wedding ending, but I didn't get that blissful happy feeling I expect from a romance. As I've said countless times before, I'm a details person who is extremely picky as well. The fact that her taking a leap "paid off..." I just didn't like that phrase, as if her reward was marriage. It came off a little mercenary. Again, this is only my opinion!! 

Photo by Rennett Stowe via Flickr CC License

A Magical Holiday Treat

by Crystal Moore from the December 16, 2019 issue

Tagline: As the only singleton at her friend's Christmas party, Gretchen feels lonelier than ever...until she finds a surprise guest beneath the tree.

Observations: I loved this story and its humor from the very first sentence.

Gretchen stared at the sweater before her as a llama with a string of lights blinking around its neck stared back.

LOL. In fact there were many lines I liked.

Gretchen, if you didn't spend so much time at your bakery, you could meet someone. Wouldn't it be nice to spend time with a man not made of sugar and spice?"

I always love the snarky best friend, in novels and in Woman's World stories.

Sure enough, she saw the dachshund beneath the tree, but instead of having his nose in the presents, he was belly up, having his ears scratched by a guy who was so handsome, she wanted to slap a gift tag on him that said To: Gretchen.

This was the funniest line in the story and I think it's partly because of one word choice. See, Moore could have used "taped" or "put," but she chose "slap," which is much funnier for some reason. When writing your stories, don't be afraid to get down to the tiniest details, like switching out one word.

Photo by John Mayer via Flickr cc license

A Very Sweet Surprise

by Lisa Weaver from the December 2, 2019 issue.

Tagline: When Patrick takes over his aunt's bakery for the Thanksgiving holiday, he never expects a temperamental oven could lead him to new love.

Observations: I was surprised to see this story in the issue after Thanksgiving, but I still really enjoyed the story, mainly because it was a refreshing change to first person present tense from the hero's point of view. I liked that slightly more intimate sharing of his thoughts.

There were quite a few lines that made me smile:

...I'm elbow-deep in piecrust.
...speaking loudly so she'll hear me over her one-woman karaoke fest.
...I'm struck speechless at the thunderclap of attraction that reverberates between us.

I also noticed the black moment was so very close to the end of the story. I feel like it's been a while since we saw it so late.

Photo by TheCulinaryGeek via Flickr cc license

A Holiday to Remember

by Jill Kemerer from the November 25, 2019 issue

Tagline: Alone on Thanksgiving, Ryan has all but given up on finding love...until Melissa Daniels arrives to sweeten his day.

Observations: This week, the teaching moment is a lesson in punctuation. I usually refrain from pointing out errors in the stories, but the holidays are upon us and maybe I can help someone avoid this mistake when ordering their Christmas cards because people often label the family photo and add an unnecessary apostrophe and this drives me bonkers!

Apostrophes indicate possession or a contraction. That's it. Those are the only times you use them. So when you're not sure, just ask yourself:

1. Are there two words being smashed together? If so, use the apostrophe in the place where the missing letters would have been.
2. Are you talking about something belonging to someone? If so, use the apostrophe. If not, don't use it.

So, when you are talking about a family, such as the Smiths, you add an "s" to indicate there is more than one person named Smith.

This is the street the Smiths live on.
I gave an anniversary card to the McCarthys.
The Hamlins are away on vacation.

If you are talking about something that belongs to the Smith family, there is an apostrophe, because we are showing possession.

That is the Smiths' house. 
The McCarthys' dog dug up my garden.
I'll be watering the Hamlins' lawn while they're away.

The house/dog/lawn belongs to all of the people in the family, not just one of them.

So, here is a short quiz to check for understanding. (That's a term from my days as a teacher! LOL) Apostrophe? Yes or no? Be careful with #4. It's tricky.

1. The Clooneys house was broken into last week.
2. The Rutherfords are throwing a party.
3. We invited the Parkers over for game night.
4. I'm going to the Browns for Thanksgiving.
5. The Sullivans won the lottery.

Answers:
1. yes
2. no
3. no
4. yes
5. no


Number four does have an apostrophe because, even though the word "house" is not there, it's implied.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/what-happens-to-names-when-we-make-them-plural-or-possessive

A Second Chance at Love

by Jill Weatherholt, from the November 18, 2019 issue

Tagline: When Nell arrives to serve dinner to local veterans on Thanksgiving Day, she never imagines her old flame will be waiting for her.

Observations: I don't seem to have any observations for this warm, fuzzy story. This has only happened a couple of times in all the years I've blogged, and I'm sorry. Next week, there will be something for sure.

Photo by browniesfordinner via Flickr Creative Commons License

Sweet Deal

by J. O'Kelley  from the November 11, 2019 issue

Tagline: On the hunt for furniture at a neighbor's estate sale, Jen Parker is armed and ready to haggle her way to the perfect place for her new sunroom. But when Brett Davis meets her eye, she finds something she didn't bargain on: a new chance at love

Observations: This story had a lot of humor, which I love, and really leaned into showing the heroine's attraction toward the hero.

I wanted to point out that in this story, the black moment wasn't related to the romance. It was when Jen was thinking that she wouldn't be able to afford the wicker settee.

The only other thing I wanted to shine some light on was this paragraph:

Brett guided her through the maze of power tools and books and across the street to a red truck. Then, releasing her hand, he pulled down the hatch. Inside, was a white wicker love seat. French country design. Just a bit shabby. Perfectly chic.

Do you remember when you were in school and you would get a paper back on which the teacher nailed you on your sentence fragments? I do. When you're in school and still learning proper grammar, writing in complete sentences is important. But in writing, you need to know what the rule is before you break it, so you break it in a way that yields you something you want, like increased emotion.

In this case, O'Kelley used it for emphasis. She wanted to show just how perfect that love seat was. Look closer now. Notice how long that first sentence is. Notice how the "ands" make it seem even longer. The next sentence is a little shorter, and then you have those staccato sentence fragments. Using the long sentence lead-in makes the contrast between it and the super short fragments that much stronger, giving the fragments more punch.

Keep this in mind when writing your own stories. Word choice is important, as in maze of power tools and Jen's negotiating pretense evaporated, but sentence structure and paragraph construction can be just as vital.

Photo by Wicker Paradise via Flickr CC license