Summer 2025 Issue

Editor’s Note:

From the mouths of babes…come schemes of romance.

This issue is filled with sweet mischief as the couples in each story find themselves pushed together by the children in their lives, sometimes intentionally and sometimes by happy accident.

In The Littlest Matchmakers by featured author Lacy Williams, three small siblings do their best to help their bashful older brother woo the schoolteacher before it’s too late. And you’ll love the adorable perspective in Jennifer Purcell’s staff feature, Hitting the Mark, told through the eyes of a perceptive little girl who recognizes the perfect match for one of the nicest ladies she knows and hatches a plan to orchestrate a happily-ever-after.

Kids will be kids, but with their big hearts and even bigger imaginations, sometimes a little playfulness is exactly what grown-ups need to forge a lasting connection.

Spark Editors

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite! See the Poll below the stories.

A Match Made by Mischief Wendy Galinetti		Operation: Grandmatch Denise Gore Long

Hair for You Katie Fitzgerald		The Littlest Matchmakers Featured Author: Lacy Williams

Bessie’s Beau Wendy Klopfenstein		M.A.T.C.H. Brittany Sloane

Hitting the Mark Staff Feature: Jennifer Purcell		The Sneak Attack Stacy St. George

The Makings of Something Nepenthe Kay		Prince Charming in the Cookie Aisle Jennifer Whalen

Ink Spill Matchmakers Cindy Ervin Huff		Change of Heart Rachel Lawrence