Two Tickets to Love, Please

by Vicki Cox from the March 10, 2025 issue

Tagline: Nora and Dale meet during a Star Wars screening, and while bonding over the film, a spark of romance soon begins to grow.

Observations: I loved the premise of this story, mostly because I think Star Wars is a perfect movie. I have very fond memories of seeing that in the theatre more than once the summer it came out and blasting the soundtrack over and over from my cassette player. 

I also appreciated the nostalgia introduced via the landmark theatre being refurbished and opening again in modern times. It's no secret that the demographic of Woman's World reads on the gray side the spectrum. There's nothing we boomers love more than a blast from the past.

Photo by Lynn Kelly Author via Flickr CC License

Love Finds a Name

by Vicki Cox from the February 26, 2024 issue

Tagline: When Joy's friend Megan secretly plays matchmaker behind her back, she ends up finding true love--and a new furry friend.

Off the Cuff Observations: I'm a little confused, two paragraphs in. Joy seems surprised to be at the animal rescue even though Megan has wanted her to "come for months." And it seems odd that they're running errands together before going to lunch. I usually meet my friends for lunch...

The building is concrete, which is what I'd expect from a city or county shelter, not from a place called "Lily's Rescue and Adoptions." But I'm going to go with it.

Aww, he knows of Megan's Rainbow Bridge dog. 

Max offered his hand to help her back up. -- See, this is an instance of taking a hand that doesn't make me uncomfortable because it's too intimate a gesture for having just met someone. There's a real reason to do it. 

Yeah, great matchmaker story. My confusion about running errands was solved when I realized it was a matchmaker story. Of course, it was fishy.

Pick Three For Love by Vicki Cox

Tagline: When Andrea Jenkins went shopping for a dress to wear to a wedding, she never expected that while on her hunt, she'd also find true love.

Observations: First of all, I love the hero's logical plan for helping his sister shop for clothes. That's a smart man, indeed. 

I like how he offers to fasten the necklace around her neck. It's usually a pretty intimate thing for a stranger to do, but there's a spark here and she was having trouble. This was a clever way of advancing their relationship. 

I loved how he asked to accompany her to the wedding...

"If you arrived on the arm of a handsome man and danced with him throughout the evening, those questions should disappear. I have not one, but two arms and am a handsome man," he said, his grey eyes twinkling.

The ending, calling back to his shopping assistant methods, was adorable.

Photo by Artem Beliaikin via Flickr Creative Commons License

Love on the Spot

by Vicki Cox from the August 21, 2023 issue

Tagline: When her lawn mower quits, Christy Mills needs help...but when Robert shows up to fix it, could he fix her broken heart too?

Observations: I really enjoyed the humor in this story. The running joke about the monkeys and the machete was cute. The hero was witty elsewhere too, like here:

"You know, your favorite ice cream can say a lot about you."

Christy grinned. "Really?"

"Sure. For example, mine is chocolate, which says that I'm trustworthy, hard-working, charming...oh, and humble."

I did find myself wondering what happened to her husband--did they divorce? Did he pass away?

I also wondered why, when she confessed that her favorite ice cream flavor was butter pecan, why he didn't tell her what that flavor said about her personality. 

Otherwise, cute tale!

Photo by Ivan Radic via Flickr Creative Commons License

A Cut Above

by Vicki Cox from the January 17, 2022 issue

Tagline: After an at-home haircut gone terribly wrong, Sam Johnson is embarrassed to be entering a salon for the first time. But fate has a plan for both his hair and his love life when Shelly, his hairdresser, arrives to give him a new shot at love.

Observations: This was a darling and original premise--the home haircut disaster. The mutual break-up-by-text was novel as well. I am always preaching the value of showing the hero and heroine having things in common, but usually it's walks in the park, cannoli and candlelight and that kind of thing. Even though break-ups are never pleasant, this is still something solid the two can connect over. Also, they both chose to look at the bright side of it, saying it was the best thing that ever happened to them. Like last week's story, Sam got a new start in life with a new job and a change in location. 

Another thing I wanted to point out about the break-ups was the texting aspect and especially the fact that he had a ring in his pocket evokes some real sympathy for the character. When you feel bad for the character, you naturally begin to root for him, so the happy ending of them going out for coffee is that much more satisfying.

Also, if you haven't seen the news, check it out! 

Photo by Nenad Stojkovic via Flickr Creative Commons License

A New Tradition

by Connie Cox from the April 27, 2009 issue.

Tagline: Jenna was happy she had decided not to eat dinner at home--and so was Patrick...

In a Nutshell: Jenna teaches at a preschool. Not particularly enthused about eating alone in her quiet apartment, she opts to stop by Pizza Town. In the parking lot she sees a car with a flat, a man in a sling, and one of her students, Dylan. She deducts from what Dylan has told her in school, that this must be Uncle Patrick. She offers to change Patrick's tire, since his arm is broken and the garage isn't answering their phone. After she plays mechanic, Patrick invites her to pizza. She, of course, accepts!

Observations: When you're writing a "first meet" WW story, it's sometimes a challenge to introduce the characters to each other without eating up too much of your word count. You don't want to waste space with names, handshakes, etc. if you don't have to. Cox worked it out so that, even though she'd never met him, Jenna already knew who this guy was from info her student had shared.

Woman's World prefers beta heroes, those proverbial nice guys, and Patrick is a good example. First, because of his broken arm, the man can't even fix his own flat! No opportunity there for him to show his manliness, poor thing. Second, he looks sheepish when he accepts Jenna's offer to change the tire. (An alpha would have scowled or growled or grunted.) Third, he channels a little alpha when he asks her to join them for pizza, but readily accepts it when she seems to reject him. Fourth, and perhaps the most telling evidence that he's not an alpha male, Patrick broke his arm at an ice skating party! Watch out Brian Boitano.

Question: "Well, thanks, then," Patrick said, looking a bit sheepish as he accepted her offer.

Jenna put the jack together. She was impressed that Patrick accepted her help and also liked that he didn't try to supervise the repair.

Test your editing skills. How could you tighten that passage?