by Marti Attoun from the July 18, 2022 issue
Tagline: Thrifting with her best friend, Jackie isn't looking for anything special...until she finds herself face-to-face with a fascinating find she can't resist.
Observations: I usually go straight to the byline to see who wrote the story, but this time I didn't do that. I just jumped right into the story. I really enjoyed it and wasn't surprised to see who wrote it.
Lenora was a hilarious secondary character. I loved the humor the friends shared--it makes the characters more realistic. Anytime you have two people who have been friends for a long time, they laugh together. They probably order each other around like Lenora does with Jackie. They help each other with projects, like furnishing a new house.
I loved the misunderstanding in the story even though I saw it the moment she spotted the plant stand inside the garage.
Attoun did some great foreshadowing.
She shows you in that little mini-scene that some sellers didn't have time to price their merchandise so that it makes sense later when Jackie mistakenly assumes the owner of the plant stand was in a similar situation.
He's wearing a T-shirt from the Prairie Kitchen restaurant, one of Jackie's favorite eateries and then we find out his daughter is the owner, which gives them a talking point.
I also loved how she didn't overdo the physical attraction, limiting it to a shiver and a fluttery feeling. To me, these understated reactions are more natural, less purple prose-y. But your mileage may vary. :)
Photo by Sandra Cohen-Rose and Colin Rose via Flickr Creative Commons License
13 comments:
Cute story. I loved it.
It was a cute story.
Sweet story! Fun blog! So informative! Ok, enough exclamation points, lol. Just so happy
to have found this. And I have a question…I recently sent a mystery (first time through email)
but did not receive the auto-reply I’ve heard comes with the first email submission. Could there have been a glitch? Should I assume that my submission did land despite no reply? I have a romance nearing completion, but nervous that the same thing may happen when I send that. Any advice will
be soooo appreciated. 😀
Nanci, that seems to happen often on first submissions. As long as your e-mail didn't bounce back to you, you can assume WW got it. Second submission don't get a reply at all.
Welcome aboard.
Thanks so much, Pat! 😀
What Pat said. :)
😀
I enjoyed this story. I agree about using more natural, less purple-prose-y reactions. Lenora was a hoot. The writer did a wonderful job creating believable and relatable characters.
On a different note, I have a question, please. Is Patricia Gaddis still the Fiction editor? I would like to submit a story, but wasn't sure who to address my cover letter to. I saw on the FAQ page that Maggie Dillard and Alexandra Pollock read all stories first. Is Ms. Gaddis still on staff? And, is there a particular person I should put on my letter? Thank you for your help. I LOVE this blog!
Sorry if I'm asking too many questions, but I have one more, please.
On the writing guidelines listed, I saw the fiction@womansworldmag address. However, I also read under "Important Notes" where it said: "Please email manuscripts to Alex Pollock" & then it gives her Bauer Media address. Which address would you recommend? I don't like the idea of getting lost in the slush pile on the generic address. However, I also don't want to annoy Miss Pollock by sending to her personal address either. Advice? Thank you for all your help!
This is the address fiction@womansworldmag to mail your story to. Maggie Dillard is the editor to address it to. Patricia Gaddis no long works for WW.
Pat,
Thank you so much for the information. I appreciate it. Dumb question here, but should I type: Attn: Maggie Dillard, Fiction Editor? Wasn't sure of her official title. For some reason I was thinking Miss Pollock was the editor. Do you feel it would be best to include both their names on my cover letter?
Hope this question makes sense. I haven't had much sleep in two days. Been a crazy week. Ugh.
You can address it to both, if you'd like. No titles are listed on the masthead of the magazine, but I think fiction editor is okay to use. Good luck with your submission.
Hi Pat,
Thank you so much for your help & well wishes. I wish you good luck with your manuscripts as well. Have a happy week!
Post a Comment