Love is a Cake Walk

by Cher Tom from the May 17, 2021 issue

Tagline: When a handsome stranger stops into her bakery, Jaycee never expects the sweet treat that his visit has in store for her.

Observations: First of all, congratulations to Cher Tom! I helped her edit this story and I'm thrilled it got published! Woot woot woot!

I think Cher revised it even more after we worked on it together and I love the way she or the editors transformed it from a story about a May Day tradition to a wedding anniversary tradition. Great job.

Remember, you, too, can get my help polishing up a story. Click here for details.

Photo by Kimberly Vardeman via Flickr Creative Commons License

Raindrops and Butterflies

 by Pamela Moran from the May 10, 2021 issue

Tagline: When her childhood crush and neighbor, Todd, comes over to help Abby plant flowers for Mother's Day, love is in full bloom.

Observations: This is another example of how you can rely on oft used Woman's World tropes and still end up with a heartwarming story that the editors love. (And I did love this story, especially the dad and his satisfied smile.) A trope is defined as a common or overused theme or device. I embrace tropes and prefer to think of them as tried and true rather than cliche.

The tropes Moran used were 

• gardening 
• a quasi-matchmaker (Did her dad invite Todd over? The author left us guessing.)
• a helpful man (also known as man to the rescue)
• a late, beloved family member
• a post activity piece of pie

Honestly, sometimes I think about making some giant dice out of cardboard, writing tropes on them with sticky notes, then rolling them and challenging myself to write a story using those tropes.

In fact, here's printable pattern for a paper cube in case you think this is a good idea too. 

Photo by Stephanie via Flickr Creative Commons License

A Charming "Tail"

by Crystal Moore from the May 3, 2021 issue

Tagline: After running into a handsome stranger at the post office, Kat, a professional dog walker, gets the chance to have a whole new "leash" on love.

Observations: This week, I wanted to point out the utility of having an animal in a story, beyond the fact that the editors seem to like animals in stories. The animal can come in handy when the hero or heroine needs someone to talk to, as in this story.

Here, Kat is regretting they way she'd acted and is berating herself via her furry client...

"Who am I, Cinderella?" she asked Gus, her long-eared companion padding beside her in the park. "A clock strikes and I take off like a greyhound. I could've spared a few minutes to find out if he was single. Turned on the charm--maybe gotten his number. No offense," she said, stooping to scratch the hound's ears, "but my love life is going to the dogs."

Sure, the character can talk to herself or have thoughts in the narrative, but this dog served as the perfect sounding board. I wouldn't necessarily put a dog in the story for the sole purpose of being a sounding board, but if your story already has an animal in it, this is something you might want to do.

Photo by Alex Beattle via Flickr Creative Commons License