Since a lot of bloggers have a Friday "thing" they do, I thought I'd start my own and call it Friday Firsts. Every Friday (Lord willin' and the creek don't rise), I'll list three random books from my keeper shelves along with the very first line in each book. We've all heard about the importance of first lines so the point of this is to see if the first lines of our favorite books are attention grabbers, or not. Here goes.
Stranger In My Arms by Lisa Kleypas - 1998
"Lady Hawksworth, your husband is not dead."
(This is my all-time favorite Kleypas. Don't ask me why. I think it reminded me of A Rose in Winter, for some reason.)
Allie's Moon by Alexis Harrington - 2000
Althea Ford needed a man and she'd walked all the way to town to find one.
(The appeal of this one was that the hero was the town drunk. The heroine dragged him up by the scruff of his neck and reformed him. Very Americana-ish.)
The Outsider by Penelope Williamson - 1996
He came into their lives during the last ragged days of a Montana winter.
(This is the best portrait of a gunslinger ever written in a romance novel, in my opinion. I wish Ms. Williamson still wrote historicals, but she changed her name and went to mystery suspense. Too bad.)
Happy writing and reading! And have a great weekend!
Devon
What a very cool idea! Hope you don't mind if I share three from my "keeper" shelf, as well.
ReplyDeleteThe first comes from "Jewels of the Sun" by Nora Roberts, one of my two favorite books of all time. It's the story of a woman who's stuck in a career she doesn't love and newly divorced from a husband who didn't love her. She goes to Ireland, to the home of her grandmother, to discover who she really is.
"Obviously, without question, she'd lost her mind."
The second one comes from the other of my two all time favorite books, "Fair Haven" by JoAnn Ross. It's the story of an American doctor and former Irish photo-journalist, both with a ton of baggage, and how the magic of Ireland brings them together... again.
"There were those in the village who claimed that Michael Joyce must be mad."
The third one comes from "One Summer" by Karen Robards. It's the story of Johnny and Rachel, and how years after being falsely convicted of murder, Johnny is paroled and returns home and falls in love with his high school English teacher. Beautiful love story that tackles some taboos... along with a lot of suspenses to keep you guessing.
"Ever since that nightmarish dawn, Rachel Grant had not been able to bide the scent of summersweet."
Hi Amy! If you'd like to do the Firsts on your blog, please be my guest! I'll participate there as well.
ReplyDeleteIt's so funny. Look at the lines of the first two books you listed. They're so similar--must be mad--lost her mind. And going along with this theme, I just have to add the first line of my current wip. Here it is -- John Fitzwalter, the 9th Earl of Greymoor, had lost his mind. Maybe being in such good company will bring me luck. :o)
We talked about "One Summer" at a retreat several years ago. Do you remember? It's also one of my all-time favorites. I have the hardback on my keeper shelf. If you've never read them, I highly recommend you track down copies of "Wild Orchids" and "Walking After Midnight" by K. Robards. I think you'd enjoy them, too.
Thanks for stopping by and adding to the list!
I do remember talking about "One Summer" with you several years ago. I have the paperback on my keeper shelf. I bought it because I'd read several Karen Robards novels and loved them. I was skeptical of "One Summer" because the cover was really cartoon-y. Teach me to judge a book by it's cover! I don't know if I've read the two you mentioned or not. I'll have to check!
ReplyDeleteThe two books I recommended are not new, but they're still excellent. Next week, I'll talk about another book we both loved. In fact, I think I might drag it out and reread it.
ReplyDelete