Sweet Lola

by Marie Anderson from the October 6, 2014 issue

Tagline
Phil had been keeping a big secret--and so had his wife. Only, her secret was even bigger than his!

In a Nutshell
Only days away from her wedding anniversary, Brie suspects her husband of having an affair. She's wrong. He was preparing a surprise present - a puppy! Well, that explains the blond hairs on his sweater and his mysterious meeting with the "other woman"/puppy owner.

Observations
Any of you long time Woman's World readers will probably be as shocked as I am. This story had a lot of drama! In my classes, I always caution people to beware of including too much angsty drama because Woman's World tends to shy away from it.

However, Brie's worrying time went on for most of the story. I'm not sure what to think. Does this mean we can start introducing drama into our submissions? Possibly. Or was this just a one-time anomaly? Hard to tell.

I loved the ending, though.

Photo credit: By Stefan Bauer, http://www.ferras.at (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

A Gift From Santa

by Marie Anderson from the December 19, 2011 issue

Tagline: Even Santa was surprised by Ed's grandson's unusual--and unusually sweet--Christmas wish...

In a Nutshell: Ed promised his daughter that he'd find out what his grandson, Willy, wants for Christmas. When the kid won't tell, he asks Santa what the boy wished for when he sat on his lap. Santa arranges a meeting after work and it turns out he's a she. Willy wants his widowed grandfather to find a new grandma, so guess who goes out for coffee?

Observations: I was with this story until almost the very end. I was ready for a matchmaker story in which the grandson or the daughter planned something crafty. But then I found out Santa was a woman. I've talked before about telling "one big lie" in a Woman's World story, after which you have to be as realistic as possible, perhaps to keep things balanced. And often in a WW story, the lie is a coincidence. However, in this tale, we are expected to believe that a woman is posing as Santa.

Hmm. Nope. Not buying it. Kids are sharp. I think they'd notice Santa's femininity, even under the costume and beard. Santa may be fat, but I doubt he has man boobs that big.

However, I'll give my usual disclaimer. Obviously, the editors thought the story was just fine--fine enough to publish.

I will add that I really liked the ending where she's named Merry (Meredith). Perhaps it's because of the season, but I didn't find that corny at all.

Peach-Flavored Kisses

by Jill Lynn Anderson from the December 28th issue

Tagline: Would Kay's husband be as happy as she was about the unexpected turn of events?

In a Nutshell: Kay is waiting for the results of her home pregnancy test. She and her husband have college-aged kids and she's worried about his reaction. Turns out, he already suspected and is "more than okay" with it.

Observations: This is a change of pace for WW in that it's about an already married couple. Also, it obviously acknowledges that sex happens! I found it to be a welcome change. Note the difference in story structure.

A good half of the story is spend in Kay's head as the reader gets the backstory that she and her husband Gabe have twin girls that they just sent to college and that they planned to retire in eight years. We also find out when the baby might have been conceived.

The second half of the story deals with Gabe's arrival home. There is a brief black moment when Gabe announces that he bought a sailboat and Kay assumes it's the full sized boat they planned to retire on, but it turns out it's a bath toy. The author then shows that Gabe is happy about the news and that the couple's future looks rosy.

As much as I enjoyed the freshness of plot that didn't hinge on two people meeting, this story didn't tug my heartstrings very much.