I’m going to whine about a review I got for my anthology. This lovely, all-knowing woman lambasted me for having the hero and heroine meet and declare their undying love in three days. She really, really hated that the hero and heroine married six months later. How could I do such a thing? She crabbed that six months is waaaaay too short a time to be engaged. She insisted the story should have ended with the hero and heroine just realizing they were in love and acknowledged it to each other. She said there was no need for a happily every after ending. The marriage should be in a year or two!
Really? Well, I’ll be darn!
Okay, time is a problem in an anthology, no doubt about that. For sure it’s easier—and more believable–to have the hero and heroine already know each other. That way the conflict is in place from some past mess they were involved in so when the H and H meet up this time it’s one of those seething, growling, hissing “You!” moments. They instantly have issues, make the problem known to the reader and the rest of the story is getting over it and realizing their love is the most important thing of all.
But sometimes the story doesn’t work that way and the hero and heroin are meeting for the first time. That means that in thirty pages the H and H have to deal with everything from that instant, mind-blowing, I-gotta-have-you attraction, to the problem bubbling up between them, to resolving it and committing their love to each other forever.
Or not.
Should there be a commitment because of the time element? Is I love you enough for an anthology?
Do you want a happily ever after ending part of anthologies?
And…the really big question…should I be honked off at this reviewer?
Dianne
PS–I just got copies of I’ll Be Seeing U…my November release. I’ll pick two winners from the replies!
