Hi all – Thanks so much to Leila & Selena for inviting me to guest blog today!
My name is Anya Bast and I'm the author of over twenty five published works of fiction, mostly of them paranormal and most of them scorching hot. I write for Berkley Sensation, Harlequin Spice and Samhain, among other houses.
Today I thought I'd talk about that critical first line. I love writing that very first line of a novel. Actually, I obsess over them, rewriting them several times before I end up with the final version.
The first line is the first impression the reader gets of your work while they're standing in the bookstore deciding whether or not to buy your book. It's pretty important! It needs to hook the reader and make them want to read on. Your objective is to intrigue the reader, make them wonder what's going on and why.
If you can accomplish that much, then it's your job in the next few paragraphs to dig that hook in a bit deeper and add a dash of emotion, make the reader care about one of characters enough to invest even further.
Here is a sampling of some of the first lines from my books…
1. He looked like sin and seemed like salvation. Salvation for her sluggish libido, anyway. (Witch Fire, June 5, 2007 — Berkley Sensation)
2. How to Catch a Warlock 101. Isabelle could teach that class. (Witch Blood, March 4, 2008 — Berkley Sensation)
3.) Twenty years as a daaeman's handmaiden had prepared Claire for many things, but not this. Nothing could've prepared her for this. (Witch Heart, January 6, 2009 – Berkley Sensation)
4.) Sarafina might've been named for the angels, but she'd always known one day she'd end up in hell. (Witch Fury, June 2, 2009 – Berkley Sensation)
5). Alejandro leaned against the bar and watched the crush of dancers gyrate to the pounding beat in the Blood Spot. Lights flashed through the dark interior of the building, periodically illuminating bodies clad in almost nothing. (The Darkest Kiss, October 2008 — Berkley Heat)
6). The brown-haired businessman beside Cassidy at the roulette wheel held up a chip. “Kiss it for luck?” He gave her smarmy grin and a slow head-to-toe perusal. (The Deal, What Happens in Vegas…. May 2008 — Harlequin Spice)
I guess the reason I feel so strongly about my own first lines is because that's usually how I judge whether or not I'll buy someone else's book. My purchasing test goes something like this if the name on the spine is someone unfamiliar to me:
- Cover art…yeah, I'm shallow. ;) A good cover will get me to investigate a book further. Doesn't mean I'll buy it, just give it a closer look.
- Back blurb – Does it sound like "my kind" of book? My kind of book invariably being something of the paranormal or fantastical nature.
- First line – Does it catch me?
How about you? What are your buying criteria when you encounter an intriguing book at the bookstore by an author you've never heard of? Some people pay attention to the cover quotes, others have a complicated test of flipping through the book at every forty pages or so and reading.
And how about those first lines?
If you're an author, I invite you to share some of your opening gambits in the comments. If you're a reader, what's your buying criteria and do first lines figure into them? Got any fav first lines you'd like to share from anything you've read lately?
I'll give away an autographed copy of my latest release, Witch Heart, to one commenter.
23 comments:
I think my favorite opening line of mine and Bree's might still be, "Zoe Bennett needed to fuck someone." That leaves you in doubt of what's to come, I think. LOL
On the other hand, I'm okay with a first line that begins a buildup. What I REALLY love is when the first scene or chapter ends with a huge bang. I'm willing to give it that long if the payoff is good.
I admit that I sometimes stress over the first line. I mean, we want to engage the reader, right? Suck them in... But I like Moira's point too. Sometimes a first line can build up. Perhaps it flows seamlessly into the second sentence, then the third. All of which sucks the reader in.
Hm. Okay, with my writer's hat on, my favorite first line of mine would have to be:
"The metal was cool, shockingly so, as it came into contact with the sensitive skin of her neck. His fingers barely touched her, and yet even that small caress made her shiver."
And with my reader's hat on, I'd have to say that I look at:
Cover/Name: Yes, those draw me in. Sometimes the name, sometimes the cover, and sometimes both!
Blurb: It has to pique my interest at least a little bit. If it doesn't, I might skip it.
Reviews: I try to read others' opinions of the book or past books.
Skimming: I skim the first couple of pages. If I like it...it's MINE!
Blessings,
Dena
My Favorite would be "Sarafina might've been named for the angels, but she'd always known one day she'd end up in hell."
Why? Because there's more to that statement then just someone degrading themselves. Its shows how understanding she is of herself but then again knows she has flaws. I love it at an opening, it keep me intrigued wanting to know more about Her without knowing the real reason of her story.
I read the blurb. I flip through the book and read various pages and that will determine if I buy it. I like pretty and hot covers, but essentially it has to be what's between the covers that captures my full attention. Hmm...that sounded rather double entendre-ish
As far as ebooks go, I honestly don't know how I choose them...laughs.
I don't remember first lines as much as I tend to remember lines from other sections. It either has to make me laugh until tears roll down my cheeks, or my make my stomach clench, or make my heart ache.
~lissa
Dena, I like that first line!
Moira, reading your first line makes me grin. How naughty is that? ;)
Cait I'm agreeing with you there. What book is that?
I like openings with plenty of meaning. Things that make you wonder. And I like openings that are shocking, like Moiras.
Lissa, that's interesting that you remember lines from other parts of the book. I wish I could do that. :)
First lines are interesting, but they don't factor much into whether I buy a book or not. I'll read the blurb and the excerpt in the front cover if it's there and then usually skim a little of the first few pages to decide whether or not I'll buy the book.
I can't think of any first lines at the moment, but I do like the first lines that both Moira and Dena have posted. My all time favorite is the opening line for Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. It makes me laugh every time I read it.
I can't remember a single first line (or any line to tell the truth). I do not page through a book before buying. I look at interesting covers and titles with puns catch my attention and make me pick up the book. The one single thing that convinces me to buy (besides having already read and enjoyed other work by the author) is the blurb or excerpt. I do look at reviews once and a while. If something is overwhelmingly panned, not just 1 or 2 low stars, I pass despite the excerpt/blurb.
I know that I have read a couple really good first lines, because I remember thinking that it was great. However, I don't remember what they were or which book. When I am buying a book, what matters to me is the cover and the blurb. I also tend to stick with authors that I know and love, although sometimes another will catch my eye.
I look at the cover and read the blurb, if they are intersting I often read the first lines. One I do remember is "The vampire on her couch had a serious blood phobia" I'm a big fan of vampires and I bought the book. Had to know more.
I don't rely so much on the first line as the first chapter. But I buy a book based on if I like the author and then what the back blurb sounds like. I'll give everyone a try but if I can't get into the book and enjoy reading it, I will be more cautious the next time I look at that author. I also buy everything from a select group of authors, 49 of them so far. They would have to write a really bad story in order for me to think twice about picking up their stories.
Needless to say, a good first line draws me in but I don't judge a book by that line alone. Take Frankenstein, it originally started with "It was a dreary night of.." and George Carrol and Anne Heller wrote poems called A Dark and Dreary Night. It just goes to show you that you can be good but have a not so good first line.
hi there is so many, but none that really stuck for me
First lines are not something I look at when first buying a book. There are lines that I have remembered just because they were that good. I look at the Cover, the authors name, and the blurb.
If the Blurb is good enough I will buy books with authors I have never read befor.
In the End I think the most important thing about a book is its over all effect. It makes you FEEL. Weather its happy, sad, angry,frustrated any emotion .But deeply. Those are the very best books.
I wonder if first lines matter more as an attention grabber. If an author posted the first line of her book on her website and it grabbed your attention, would you want to know more?? Would it make you want to read an excerpt, learn more about the characters, buy the book? I admit I've seen first lines that have made me want to know ore. Moira's is just one instance. ;)
OMG, I love you Anya! OK, to answer the question, the opening line doesn't really make the book so it's not like I depend on it but I love to see how the book is going to go and judging by the first line, it always turns out like I hope it will.
I follow your same concept when purchasing: Cover, blurb, then opening hook. However, a first line does not have to "catch" me for me to read it, but it helps.
Okay, here's my latest "opening line" for a menage story that I just submitted to a pub:
"Logan Reed jammed a finger into the neck of his white oxford and pulled. He needed some fucking air."
I usually don't look at the first lines when I buy a book. What catchs and holds my attention is the book cover. If I love the cover, I will then read on the back of the book to see what it is about. Then if I like what it says, I buy it.
ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net
Hmm... interesting--I think the first line can be really important, but at the same time, it isn't a deal breaker. I think my process for picking up a book is similar to yours--cover/blurb, flip to the see the first few pages... I tend not to pay much attention to cover quotes, and tend not to jump too far ahead into the book for fear of spoiling it for myself :D Anyway, a first line definitely can set expectations and promise something--it's up to the first few chapters to continue to hold that up, and the rest of the book to deliver.
That said, I've got a terrible memory and am drawing a blank on memorable first lines! Probably not the fault of any authors, but just my sieve of a brain ;)
I always check out the first sentence--actually the first paragraph or two. If it doesn't grab me, the book goes back on the shelf. I don't pay much attention to the cover, except the cover clues me in on what the genre is.
One of my favorite recent first lines is from Kresley Cole's Kiss of a Demon King: "Whenever you have a sorcerer betwixt your thighs, your powers tend to disappear," Sabine told her sister as she scanned the faces of the frenzied, caged humans."
Here's a great first line from a historical, Jennifer Blake's Guarded Heart: "I require your expertise in order to kill a man." That really drew me right in.
Great first lines can be deceiving, though. One of the best first lines I've ever read is in a book that turned out to be very poorly written.
WE HAVE A WINNER! Our random number picker selected Jennifer as our winner. Super congrats you lucky devil. Please contact me with your address at selenablake@gmail.com.
To everyone who sadly didn't win a book, visit my website for 2 chances to win books (see the blog). And visit theblindbet.com for yet another chance to win!
Also, stay tuned for an awesome, mega contest that Leila and I are doing in the very near future. We're giving away books at Anya Bast's blog! Whoop!
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