Category Archives: Writing Blather

First Line = First Impression?

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I’ll admit it. I’m a sucker for first lines. To me, as a reader, it doesn’t matter if you have ten 5-star ratings at Amazon, killer reviews and readers handselling your book left and right. You have to snag me in that first sentence or I’ll put the book back on the shelf (yes, I love eBooks, but nothing can compare to standing in a brick and mortar store surrounded by books–that is something an eBook will never, ever replicate). The same goes when I write. I want to snag the reader in on the first sentence.

So I thought just how much I like to employ the same technique in some of my books. So, check out some first lines from current books and even a few Works in Progress. :D

Current Books:

Flash of Dark: My head snapped to the side, vision blurring as my eyes watered from the shock.
Midnight’s Ghost: Whoever said karma was a bitch wasn’t kidding.
Blood Fever: He pleaded for his life.
Midnight’s Shadow: If Wallace didn’t kill us, I’d kill him myself.
Forged in Fire:  Two gallons.
Ragged Edge:  Dalton was damaged goods.
Impulse Control:  Today was the cherry on top of a shitty week sundae.

WiPs:

3rd Star Runner book To Be Titled: “Fuck it all to fucking fuckery.”
Contemporary Erotic Romance To Be Titled: “Is she insane?”

So, what about you? How do you like your first lines? Do you think they leave a lasting impression on you as a reader? If you’re a writer, what does the first line of a book mean to you? Oh, and I like first chapters too. But that’s for another day.

It’s Not Always About the Shock Value

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Thought I’d take this opportunity as I straddle releases (does that sound dirty to anyone else?) to take a moment to talk about word choices in my books. Not everything I write uses ‘contemporary language’. In fact, my latest, Ragged Edge, is a story that uses more of that explicit language than any of my previously published stories. Why? To be honest, it was something the characters, and story, dictated. Even when I did use that explicit language, it was a conscious choice on my part  to relegate it to where it was character, and situation, appropriate.

One of the main characters, Dalton, is the founder of Second Circle, a BDSM club in Atlanta. While the club is not a prevalent part of the story, Dalton is (obviously). While he’s not at the club anymore, that little detail is very telling about him as a character. In the snippet I posted on Tuesday, a line is said from Cade to Erin in reference to Dalton:

He is raw sex and I assure you, completely uninhibited.

The last part of that sentence is what is most important and plays a key role in language choice for Dalton. So, yes, if you read Ragged Edge, you will encounter this ‘contemporary language’ quite frequently from Dalton. He uses it very easily and in fact, it wasn’t what I had planned for him. The first time I wrote a section where he does use it, I wasn’t even aware of it–that’s how natural it is for this character. It was only later in the day when I re-read what I’d worked on that I realized it and was a little shocked to see it sitting there in black and white. I wanted to delete it, to be honest. But I kept it and as I developed the character even more, I realized it was there for a reason–and it stayed.

As I said, that language choice has to be appropriate for the characters and the story.

Now, for comparison, Impulse Control, which releases on July 22nd, does not share the same level of language as Ragged Edge. Perfect Limit, which is just finishing up edits, doesn’t either. Now, the same can’t be said for No Restraint which should be starting edits very soon. It’s not frequent, but that contemporary language is there because it’s appropriate for that character.

For me, that word choice is not–and never has or will be–about shock value.