I speed read though so a first chapter for me is probably the equivalent of the first 3 pages.

I read back cover copy solely to have a giggle at how off it is compared to the actual book. Those crazy marketing folks!

You’d think that reading the first and last chapter would be enough but I just read a romance with historical on the spine that ended up being a paranormal (set in Regency England). No hint of that in the first or last chapter and I think that was deliberate. Great book but I felt tricked.

“I didn’t shoot the bitch until she started eating Alan’s face. Before this whole thing began, I’d never shot anyone in my life. Not once. Never held a gun until a few weeks before Hamelin’s Revenge started. Hell, I never even referred to women as bitches. But that’s what she was. And I had the pistol in my hand.”

The first page ends with the line “My name is Lamar Reed and this is the way the world ended.”

It was the Hamelin’s Revenge line that made me keep reading. And that last one just sent shivers all over me.

None of my first lines are particularly interesting on their own. I write a mean first paragraph, though.

From an upcoming piece:
Chastity Millwood set her embroidery in her lap and raised the parchment shade over the brass porthole. There had been nothing to see, really, since Mars had dropped away a week ago. Aunt Prudence sat facing her on the red velvet seat, her clear pince-nez on since she was embroidering with colors, the gaslight turned up as she delicately added a French knot to the handkerchief.

I had to think hard about what books I’ve purchased w/o having a friend recommend it to me first. When making a buying decision, I read the back cover blurb, the first page, and then I scan a random page inside. That’s how I discovered the Deb Caletti’s YA novel “Honey Baby Sweetheart,” a National Book Award Finalist. I love her voice. It’s one of my all time favorites and has an excellent hook. Here’s how it starts out:

The first thing I learned about Travis Becker was that he parked his motorcycle on the front lawn. You could see the tracks of it all the way up that rolling hill, cutting deeply into the beautiful, golf course-like grass. That should have told me all I needed to know, right there.

I’m not usually a reckless person. What happened the summer of my junior year was not about recklessness. It was about the way a moment, a single moment, could change things and make you decide to try to be someone different. I’m sure I made that decision the very moment I saw that metal, the glint of it in the sun, looking hot to the touch, looking like an invitation.

Have fun on your packed trip. Turning 40 – you’re a puppy.

Using Toni’s book for setting the tone of the opening page is perfect.

Best,

DocPammyDC

Vicki Pettersson’s first novel, THE SCENT OF SHADOWS grabbed the hell out of me and wouldn’t let go. Urban fantasy. SJ Day’s Eve book did the same. So did Alyssa Day’s Atlantis… hmmm. ::::note to self, change last name to ‘Day’::::

I am a sucker for first paragraphs / pages. I buy a lot online, and love it when an author has an excerpt. In the store, I have been known to check the endings to see if they are predictable. (I know, I KNOW. I am terrible.)