tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post1548534691224750719..comments2024-03-18T21:16:14.441-04:00Comments on Jungle Red Writers: IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHTJungle Red Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-25994287938644546542013-05-14T09:11:35.862-04:002013-05-14T09:11:35.862-04:00Oh, this is so much fun. (No, that's not the ...Oh, this is so much fun. (No, that's not the line.)<br /><br />There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.<br /><br />Jane Eyre, of course. You know up front that from today, everything changes.<br /><br />Susan Dhttp://www.destevenson.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-36714722734608639032013-05-13T23:48:11.269-04:002013-05-13T23:48:11.269-04:00Triss, those are my favorites, too!!!Triss, those are my favorites, too!!!Debhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11519514786198185277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-24806392643904213262013-05-13T19:58:29.701-04:002013-05-13T19:58:29.701-04:00And Moonspinners isn't even my favorite of her...And Moonspinners isn't even my favorite of her books. My Brother Michael and This Rough Magic ( I reread it every so often) top my list, but that picture of an egret and a lemon grove is so beautiful and so unfamiliar, you'd have to keep reading. So I did.Trisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08058396345946250313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-43642652458008416982013-05-13T19:48:07.055-04:002013-05-13T19:48:07.055-04:00Oh, all of this reminds me why I love reading so m...Oh, all of this reminds me why I love reading so much, why I could eat books! The lines that are familiar light me up with delight, and the ones that aren't have me wanting to discover the stories behind them. <br /><br />The opener that's most memorable to me is a chapter heading rather than an opening line. It chilled me when I first read it, and still has the power to do so today.Lyndahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03788610902096354682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-1401879569748730692013-05-13T19:14:49.166-04:002013-05-13T19:14:49.166-04:00Authors are fantastic! I am continually in awe of...Authors are fantastic! I am continually in awe of your talent. Your first lines are awesome.<br /><br />Favorite first lines... I have to look to Dickens. Of course, A TALE OF TWO CITIES is classic but I really like A CHRISTMAS CAROL's beginning: "Marley was dead, to begin with."<br />Marianne in Mainenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-16562916227570345122013-05-13T15:27:22.256-04:002013-05-13T15:27:22.256-04:00Oh, Triss, Moonspinners! I wish I had time to rere...Oh, Triss, Moonspinners! I wish I had time to reread every Mary Stewart book.<br /><br />And every Dick Francis book...Debhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11519514786198185277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-87779062587689258592013-05-13T15:14:27.741-04:002013-05-13T15:14:27.741-04:00"I'll bet you fifty dollars,even money,&q..."I'll bet you fifty dollars,even money," said the American who was sitting nearest the door in the opulent lounge of the homeward-bound <i>Elephantine</i>, "that that man over there is murdered within a fortnight." <br /><br />Mystery Mile by Margerie Allingham. Love me some Campion! Kristihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07605406591025175181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-58193788269541472802013-05-13T14:06:14.049-04:002013-05-13T14:06:14.049-04:00I'll play. Two of the classics are "Chri...I'll play. Two of the classics are "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents" and "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."<br /><br />Here are a few (somewhat) more recent ones I like:<br /> Moon Spinners by Mary Stewart"It was the egret, flying out of the lemon grove, that started it."<br />Towers of Trebizond by Rose Macauley "Take my camel, dear", said my Aunt Dot, as she climbed down from this animal on her return from High Mass."<br />The Iron Hand of Mars by Lindsey Davis "One things is definite, " I told Helena Justina. "I am NOT going to Germany!" Immediately I could see her planning what to pack<br />Household Saints by Francine Prose ''It happened by the grace of God that Joseph Santangelo won his wife in a card game.'' <br />Troubled Waters by Carolyn Wheat "I thought she was dead. I hoped she was dead.But she was vrey much alive, too damned much alive, and her thin, nervous face stared at me from the front page of every newspaper..."Trisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08058396345946250313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-84695295945839459522013-05-13T13:44:40.435-04:002013-05-13T13:44:40.435-04:00My favorite first line was Dick Francis' from ...My favorite first line was Dick Francis' from IN THE FRAME: "I stood on the outside of disaster looking in." The sheer potential in that sentence is what got me hooked on him.Franhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15073658261122703742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-72016547763332895212013-05-13T11:07:30.730-04:002013-05-13T11:07:30.730-04:00I love Red Julia's first line from IN THE BLEA...I love Red Julia's first line from IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER also. Perfect! And Ken follett's "The last camel died at noon." How can you not want to read on and find out what's going on?<br /><br />In the book I'm writing now (3rd Skeet Bannion novel), my first lines are: "I had dead leaves and cobwebs in my hair and stuck to my face. I'd had better afternoons chasing down murderers."<br /><br />And who could ever forget "Last night I dreamed I went to Manderly again"?Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-76847837634160344272013-05-13T10:51:51.137-04:002013-05-13T10:51:51.137-04:00My brother-in-law is a military historian who has ...My brother-in-law is a military historian who has written several books in his field. The last one was called "Looking for a Hero", about the most highly decorated hero of the Vietnam war. He said he had the first line of the book in mind for years, as he gathered research and wrote: "His hero was Audie Murphy." <br /><br />Enjoying all these first lines.Karen in Ohionoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-39698650970830458622013-05-13T10:42:09.066-04:002013-05-13T10:42:09.066-04:00Wonderful beginnings!!
Hallie, I absolutely love ...Wonderful beginnings!!<br /><br />Hallie, I absolutely love the first line from Laurie King's The Beekeeper's Apprentice! And I'm wondering if Dick Francis ever wrote a BAD opening line.<br /><br />One of my all time favorites is not from a novel, but from Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa. "I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills."<br /><br />Again, so simple, but who is speaking, and what happened to the farm? Your just know there is a great story there.Debhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11519514786198185277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-58220148732763562002013-05-13T10:41:09.178-04:002013-05-13T10:41:09.178-04:00"The last camel collapsed at noon." from..."The last camel collapsed at noon." from Ken Follett's "The Key To Rebecca" is SO perfect.<br /><br />ANd from 1984-- "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking 13."<br /><br />And yes, how can you not love that perfect line from Laurie King?Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-27706647835354887082013-05-13T09:57:05.767-04:002013-05-13T09:57:05.767-04:00This is a good one, and the reason why I subsequen...This is a good one, and the reason why I subsequently read all of Chaim Potok's other books. From his My Name is Asher Lev:<br /><br />"My name is Asher Lev, the Asher Lev, about whom you have read in newspapers and magazines, about whom you talk so much at your dinner affairs and cocktail parties, the notorious and legendary Lev of the Brooklyn Crucifixion." <br /><br />How could you not keep reading from there? Karen in Ohiohttp://seetheusablog.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-71902878365379029452013-05-13T09:09:56.952-04:002013-05-13T09:09:56.952-04:00So many superb choices! Here are a few more of my ...So many superb choices! Here are a few more of my all-time favorites... ones I wish I'd written:<br /><br />When the first bullet hit my chest, I thought of my daughter. (No Second Chance, Harlan Coben)<br /><br />Gordon Michaels stood in the fountain with all his clothes on. (Banker, Dick Francis)<br /><br />The house in Silverlake was dark, its windows as empty as a dead man’s eyes. (The Concrete Blonde, Michael Connelly)<br /><br />I was fifteen years old when I first met Sherlock Holmes, fifteen years old with my nose in a book as I walked the Sussex Downs, and nearly stepped on him. (The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, Laurie R. King)Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-41192100287686489242013-05-13T08:55:47.413-04:002013-05-13T08:55:47.413-04:00I don't think anyone reads Sabatini anymore bu...I don't think anyone reads Sabatini anymore but the first line of "Scaramouche" remains in my brain. "He was born with the gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad." Or there's the first of "Rebecca", "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again."<br />Love all of your first lines too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-41766633546755843152013-05-13T08:20:53.867-04:002013-05-13T08:20:53.867-04:00Oops. The Anna Karenina line was from me. Forgot...Oops. The Anna Karenina line was from me. Forgot to fill out the identity form. ;-)Kristopherhttp://www.bolobooks.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-23939281425116449952013-05-13T08:19:41.463-04:002013-05-13T08:19:41.463-04:00Kaye - is that really the first line of _Lace_? W...Kaye - is that really the first line of _Lace_? Wow, I always thought it came much later in the story (as it did in the mini-series). <br /><br />I say my favorite comes from Anna Karenina:<br /><br />"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."<br /><br />You just have to continue reading after that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-33150638734417356352013-05-13T08:16:31.278-04:002013-05-13T08:16:31.278-04:00All great first lines! Totally agree about In the ...All great first lines! Totally agree about In the Bleak Midwinter.<br /><br />So far I've tweaked all the first lines I've ever written. But I'm pretty happy with what I ended up with for Speaking of Murder:<br /><br />"I watched Jamal Carter stretch his dark silken body like a tiger in my bed and wondered just exactly how I was going to get myself out of this mess."Edith Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388006370860482509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-73894018534451398022013-05-13T08:06:43.025-04:002013-05-13T08:06:43.025-04:00Oh those are great first lines from all of you! I ...Oh those are great first lines from all of you! I have to agree with Joan, though, Julia's is absolutely killer.<br /><br />And Jack you are so right. You can have an amazing first line, but it has to lead you in and the rest of the book has to work just as hard too...Lucy Burdette aka Roberta Isleibhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04660402177299546055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-91835799062175333772013-05-13T07:56:04.876-04:002013-05-13T07:56:04.876-04:00I love first lines! From Nancy Pickard's The S...I love first lines! From Nancy Pickard's The Scent of Rain and Lightning: "Until she was twenty-six, Jody Linder felt suspicious of happiness." From Jodi Picoult's Lone Wolf: "In retrospect, maybe I shouldn't have freed the tiger." From my upcoming release, Equilibrium: "The first time Laura Klein saved her husband's life, she'd found his side of the bed cold at four a.m. <br /><br />Great first lines set the tone, make the reader ask a question, and contain the protagonist's motivation.Lorrie Thomsonhttp://www.lorrie-thomson.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-44435807668251299942013-05-13T07:53:14.091-04:002013-05-13T07:53:14.091-04:00Whenever this question comes up, the VERY first fi...Whenever this question comes up, the VERY first first line that pops into my mind is "Which one of you bitches is my mother?" from Shirley Conran's "Lace." it does pack a bit of a punch.<br /><br />Kaye Wilkinson Barley - Meanderings and Museshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07486129009717476920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-88710146448857387082013-05-13T06:48:38.173-04:002013-05-13T06:48:38.173-04:00I think the important thing about first sentences ...I think the important thing about first sentences is that they produce a desire to read the SECOND sentence. I know going thru Spinetingler's submissions, I can rarely tell much by the first sentence. But I expect to be drawn in -- inch by inch, line by line. Kind of like a fish. Every example from you ladies works very well.<br /><br />Example from Hound of the Baskervilles: "Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who was usually very late in the mornings, save upon those not infrequent occasions when he was up all night, was seated at the breakfast table. I stood upon the hearth-rug and picked up the stick which our visitor had left behind him the night before."<br /><br />What's he doing with that stick? <br /><br />Jack Getzehttp://jack-getze.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-9725315422243098122013-05-13T06:41:38.933-04:002013-05-13T06:41:38.933-04:00Sorry about the rain, Rhys...ahem, I'm checkin...Sorry about the rain, Rhys...ahem, I'm checking in from sunny Firenze!Rosemary Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08033747422699443024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-42844701400774654892013-05-13T06:34:30.310-04:002013-05-13T06:34:30.310-04:00"As the last note of the chant escaped the Bl..."As the last note of the chant escaped the Blessed Chapel a great silence fell, and with it came an even greater disquiet," is the opening line of The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny. You know where you are. You feel the quiet, and your senses lead you to a visual of the setting, the kind of worship space where people chant in a very quiet place. It's probably old, cold, stone with monks who've taken a vow of silence. Something terrible happened, because the quiet exposed something awful, and you want to know what happened.<br /><br />Currently my other favorite first line is, "Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much," from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling. I love it, because it seems obvious they are protesting something odd about themselves. They want to be normal, but they must not be. If they were why would they be saying this? No you want to read the book and find out what is wrong with the Dursely's and what is going on in their house.Maureen Harringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499876353651763590noreply@blogger.com