by Marcella Robinson from the December 22, 2025 issue
Tagline: Madelyn isn't feeling any Christmas cheer this year--until her handsome neighbor, Zach, asks for help decorating, and something sparks between them.
Off the Cuff Observations: I notice the pro move of dispersing the backstory in a bit at a time. If you're new to writing, backstory is everything that happened to the main characters before the story occurs. In novels, we're told not to "info dump" backstory at the beginning but to sprinkle it in a little at a time, as in this story. We find out that Mad is new to her 0ver-55 community. Her grandson accidentally caused the injury of her nextdoor neighbor. They have a polite and friendly relationship. However, because WW stories are so compacted, it's actually all right to shoehorn it in the first couple of paragraphs.
Her heart sure didn't feel two sizes too small standing close to Zach. - Love the Grinch reference.
Wait, there's a Community Light Up contest? Love that!
Madelyn smiled as the sound [of his laughter] eased the loneliness that had been taking hold lately. - Again, nice little addition of backstory.
...his eyes flaring with interest as he stepped closer, ready to catch her if she fell. - He's not going to be too successful with a broken arm, so let's hope she doesn't fall! LOL
There's a cute little bit of banter when they're playing this or that.
OMG, there's an almost kiss! What a nice surprise. I find myself really wanting them to kiss, especially since Zach's question of poinsettias or mistletoe was so clever. The reason the interrupted kiss works so well is because Marcella has laid the groundwork for Mad and Zach's history. We readers can tell there's something brewing. If the two of them had just met, the almost kiss would fall flat. We would have no reason to root for them.
The ending gave me the tingles. Lovely story!!
Photo by chasB via Flickr CC License
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