#WriterWednesday: Share Your First Line!

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I'm one of those readers who cracks open an interesting book in the bookstore and reads the first bit. A good first line will have me immediately closing that book, putting it under my arm and reaching for another. A so-so will have me read a few pages. If a line doesn't grab me, I'm on to the next one.

First lines, I think, set the tone for the book. Create interest in a character or situation, and make the reader ask 'why'. That's a lot to ask for a ten to twenty word span, but it can be done.

This summer has been a crazy one in Kristina Land - I've just finished edits on my second Harlequin SuperRomance and am almost finished with the draft of my 3rd Super. I'm re-launching my Rockers series in just a couple of weeks, and have not one or two but THREE sooper-sekrit-projekts on my plate. Because I've been writing and polishing and revising and will be writing and polishing and revising some more all summer long (and there is no end in sight - and that is a GOOD THING), I thought it would be fun to have a first line frenzy - in which I show you mine and you show me yours. Because a little tit for tat is good, don't you think?

So, the first line (okay, paragraph!) from First Love Again, out from Harlequin SuperRomance in November:

“BUT IT ISN’T finished.”  

 Jaime Brown pushed a lock of curly blond hair behind her ear, but it was so muggy on this May afternoon that the lock sprang right back to the side of her face to tickle the sensitive skin along her jaw.

Okay, there's mine...now show me yours. Give me your first line (Okay, I cheated, you can, too..it can be the first paragraph) and tell me - what is it about first lines that grabs you? 

Comments

  1. Liz FlahertyJuly 8, 2015 at 6:41 AM

    I like your beginning! My line on The Gingerbread Heart, the novella I'm writing for a Christmas box set, is:

    Cass drove west into the tie-dyed sunset, keeping her eyes on the two-lane road that stretched before her after she took the Christmas Town exit.

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    Replies
    1. Kristina KnightJuly 8, 2015 at 8:20 AM

      oooh, great description! love it, Liz, thanks for playing along!

      Delete
    2. MargieJuly 8, 2015 at 1:29 PM

      Love your title, Liz! I'd pick it up just for that :)

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    3. Liz FlahertyJuly 8, 2015 at 3:34 PM

      Thanks, Margie!

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    4. NanJuly 9, 2015 at 3:21 PM

      Love this--tie-dyed sunset is great imagery!

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  2. MK ChesterJuly 8, 2015 at 10:06 AM

    This is from my re-write on a paranormal I have on file called Untouchable:

    Chloe’s head throbbed like someone had tried to split her skull open with a pick-axe. The muscles in her arms burned from the frantic back and forth of scrubbing her bloodstained carpet. Sucking air into her lungs through the pain of bruised ribs, she realized her face carried too many bruises to count every time she moved.

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  3. Becky FladeJuly 8, 2015 at 10:49 AM

    From my #CampNaNo WIP -Fated Desire:

    The stale odor of cigarette smoke combined with the musty hint of mildew permeated the air.

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    Replies
    1. MargieJuly 8, 2015 at 1:29 PM

      I work in retail and I've had dresses returned that smelled exactly like this. Gross! LOL

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    2. Kristina KnightJuly 8, 2015 at 2:08 PM

      makes me wonder where she is...and why - great job!

      Delete
  4. cj pettersonJuly 8, 2015 at 11:22 AM

    From my WIP...a woman detective, hopefully the first story in a series:

    “We bury our dead alive, don’t we?”

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  5. MargieJuly 8, 2015 at 1:32 PM

    This is from a barely there WIP--in that I have this opening and an a vague idea of what I want to do with it. But, one day it will come...

    Anelise Kennedy collected suitcases like other girls collected purses. She had a tapestry one for visiting relatives in New England, a coral-colored one for jetting off to the Caribbean, and a slate blue one for business trips. At least, that’s what she told herself when she purchased them. The truth was that Anelise never went anywhere. She only dreamed of leaving.

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    1. Kristina KnightJuly 8, 2015 at 2:10 PM

      I love this. Very descriptive and character building and I need to know why she never leaves - and what might push her to do so!

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    2. Liz FlahertyJuly 8, 2015 at 3:35 PM

      Oh, I love that!

      Delete
  6. Nicole FlocktonJuly 8, 2015 at 5:40 PM

    This is the first line of a manuscript I've got an R&R on - which I need to fix up and submit.

    An incessant, annoying beep pulled at Amber Johnson’s consciousness, dragging her from the dark recesses of the first peaceful sleep she’d had for months.

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