Happy new year, readers! To be honest, it might take me a while to write “2021” when I’m writing down dates. I’m trying to make sure I don’t revert back to “2020” for the next few weeks. Speaking of firsts, since this is the first month of the year, I thought it might be fun to talk about the first lines in books, usually found in Chapter 1, but sometimes in the Prologue.
Question: Comment about your favorite first lines from your favorite Christian Romance!
How many times has a book grabbed you by the first line? I recall literature fans extolling the first lines in some classics such as these:
“Call me Ishmael.” – Moby Dick by Herman Melville“Marley was dead: to begin with.” – A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
“The ungentle laws and customs touched upon in this tale are historical, and the episodes which are used to illustrate them are also historical.” – A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
“There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.” – Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” – Pride and Prejudice by Jan Austen
“Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch Hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage; there he found occupation for an idle hour, and consolation in a distressed one; there his faculties were roused into admiration and respect, by contemplating the limited remnant of the earliest patents; there any unwelcome sensations, arising from domestic affairs changed naturally into pity and contempt as he turned over the almost endless creations of the last century; and there, if every other leaf were powerless, he could read his own history with an interest which never failed.” – Persuasion by Jane Austen
“Haley Meadows had never been one to sit on the sidelines.” – Mistaking the Cowboy by Mandi Blake
“Jade Clarke took a deep breath of the sharp, winter air and shoved her hands deeper into the pockets of her coat.” – Hope for Family by Elizabeth Maddrey
“The usual?” – Cadence of Cranberries by Valerie Comer
“Weddings—the best of times, the worst of times, depending on one’s vantage point.” – For the Love of Joy by Janet W. Ferguson
USA Today bestselling novelist Jan Thompson writes clean and wholesome multiethnic contemporary Christian romance with elements of women’s fiction, Christian romantic suspense with an air of mystery, and inspirational international thrillers with threads of sweet Christian romance. Join Jan's mailing list for her latest book news: JanThompson.com/newsletter
Hi Jan Thompson! Thanks for your interesting blog. First lines are powerful. I have read 4 of the 9 books pictures. Marion Ueckemann’s first line made me chuckle, as I visualized the scene. Just finished reading Janet W. Ferguson’s romance. Her first line made me ponder, where is this story going. That first line is similar to Alexa Verde’s: “The entire scene felt surreal.” – Show Me My Brother’s Best Friend. Thanks for sharing. Enjoy your weekend.
Good first line there! Thank you for sharing. Yes, I agree that first lines are important and can set the tone of the entire book.
Have a wonderful weekend too!
Great examples, Jan! Daisy’s Decision first line really stuck with me!
I honestly don’t have any favorite first lines! However, the first line usually gets me into reading the story, and sets the tone of the book.
The first line from Becoming US really intrigues me. I can’t think offhand of first lines that have stuck with me, but I love it when a first line just immediately grabs you.
I love Jane Austen, but that first line is beyond reasonable. I don’t think it would work today. You gave us some great first lines from some very interesting authors of today. All authors I have read, am reading or have on my list to read. Yes, including another of Jane Austen’s. I rereading at least one per year. The next one on my list is Mansfield Park.
As authors, we wrestle and wrestle with that first line!
Yes, first lines are very important, they are the ones that draw you into the book. <3 (not entering this ebook giveaway, but Thank you) Have a Great weekend and stay safe.
SO many good first lines! Here’s some from my 2020 books:
“I think they may be keeping dead bodies in their condo!”~End Game by Rachel Dylan
“”You did what?” Deidre McIntyre held the phone away from her ear as her best friend, Lissete, screeched.”~ A Heart Restored by Elizabeth Maddrey
“After two years they’d finally cut him loose. Gave him a new suit of clothes and everything. Funny, though. The shame of the convict stripes still clung to him, as if tattooed horizontally across his skin.” ~To Win Her Heart by Karen Witemeyer
” Someone was going to have to explain about the dead body in the bathtub. ” ~Secret Agent Minister by Lenora Worth (Love Inspired Suspense 2007)
“The perp was a mama racoon.” ~More Than We Remember by Christina Suzann Nelson
“Chaos. That was the only word to describe his new home. And his new life.” ~Driftwood Bay by Irene Hannon
“If Obsessive Email Checking Disorder were a disease, I was likely already in the final stages; trigger thumb, mindless refreshing, aimless scrolling, and, of course, an inability to focus on anything else in the entire world.” ~Before I Called You Mine by Nicole Deese
Those are just a few I enjoyed. I love when a story starts with a first line that hooks me from the start & makes me want to know what happens next!
Some great first lines there, yes! InspyRomance authors!
I agree. I have read first lines on Amazon and decided not to buy the book. I won’t get any book that already cusses in the first line or paragraph!
I agree! The first line has to grab attention. Unless, of course, the author is known to the readers. Then the readers cut the author some slack. :-)
LOL yeah. I almost used ellipses but then I thought I’ll just post the entire sentence LOL!
MP is pretty good too. I haven’t re-read JA lately but I might re-watch the movie adaptations soon.
True, that!
Cute one with RACOON!
Good first lines! Make me want to put them on my TBR list, for sure. Thanks for sharing.
I agree about the first line hook!
Have a great weekend! Yes, I agree about the draw!
It’s not a random giveaway this time, but the book is free to all. Thanks!
“Most days Ava could keep the demons of the past at bay.” “Hearts Healing” by Valerie M. Bodden. I think one of the reasons I like this is because I can relate to the feeling. Even if I didn’t already love Val I know that (and the title itself) would make me want to read more!
Great first lines!!!
“Love, like art, took on different forms with each creator.”
It’s always nice when the first line draws you into the rest of the story! Happy reading!
Good quote there!
I am not sure I have a favorite first line in a book. Thank you for the opportunity. God bless you.
God bless you too!
Have you downloaded the free book? It’s free for all:
JanThompson.com/ask-free
Happy reading!
“Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.” from EMMA
“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.” from LITTLE WOMEN
Great classic quotes!
Two of them that really stuck to me are:
“I’m sixteen & pregnant but he’s got his future ahead going to college in a few weeks & becoming a NFL player so I can’t tell him.” by Kristin Coley
“I’m not feeling well lately & took a test to see at fifteen I’m pregnant & he wants nothing to do with our baby.” by Aspen Faraway
Loved this blog and all the comments. As a writer, I do give a LOT of attention to the first line. But sometimes, the next immediate lines are just as important to help put things in context, as with Denise Hunter’s Lake Season: “The house was eerily silent. Molly Bennett leaned against the closed door, too weary to move another step. Her throat ached from swallowing tears, and a headache throbbed at her temples.” The first sentence alone doesn’t draw me in, but with those two additional sentences, I’m invested in the character.
Thank you for those “read for more” opening sentences! I can see how they are intriguing first lines.
Thank you very much! Yes, that is true about second lines! Maybe my next post will be about second lines :-) :-)