"First lines" | The Stiletto Gang

Wow!
I can’t believe I’m here! As a writer, I have a NEWBIE sign around my neck.
Thanks to the Stiletto Gang for taking a chance on me.

So,
this is it. My one chance to make a first impression. I’d better not blow it.
May I say pressure?

First
impressions are promises of sorts. The serious young woman with no make-up, the
one with her nose in a book, will probably not be body surfing tonight. The man
who uses cheesy pick-up lines is probably not your soul mate. Impressions. Perceptions. Promises.

First
impressions are like the first line of a novel. It is a truth universally acknowledged…does not set the reader up
for a tragedy.

Then
there’s this rather prescient opening…

Inasmuch as
the scene for this story is that historic pile, Belpher Castle, in the county of
Hampshire, it would be an agreeable task to open it with a leisurely
description of the place, followed by some notes on the history of the Earls of
Marshmoreton, who have owned it since the fifteenth century. Unfortunately, in
these days of rush and hurry, a novelist works at a disadvantage. He must leap
into the middle of his tale with as little delay as he would employ boarding a
moving tramcar. He must get off the mark with the smooth swiftness of a jack
rabbit surprised while lunching. Otherwise, people throw him aside and go out
to the picture palaces.

Written
by P.G. Wodehouse in 1919, the opening to A
Damsel in Distress promises fun and comedy. As for those picture palaces,
one has to wonder what Wodehouse would have thought of the television.

I have three (maybe four) books coming out in 2015. I thought I’d share
my first lines. Hopefully, they’ll give you an idea what I’m all about (hint:
no body-surfing).

From
The Deep End to be released February
17, 2015 – My morning swim doesn’t
usually involve corpses.

From A Haunting Desire to be released in the
spring of 2015 – Go to Marie Leveau’s tomb. Find the woman who
can tell you about voodoo. She has what you need.

From Guaranteed
to Bleed to be released November, 2015 – My second mistake was dropping my lipstick.

From A Haunting Need
to be released late 2015 – Christine Lambert’s
life changed with a waft of odor. The acrid stench of sulfur. The sickly
sweetness of rotting fruit. They eye-watering sting of oily smoke.

So there you have it. Four chances for a first impression.

If you’re interested in a second line, I’m giving a copy of The Deep End away on Goodreads. Enter here to win!