“Call me Ishmael,”. Do I even need to tell you, this is the first line of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick ? I feel like literally EVERYONE who has ever read a book knows this line. There’s something about it that grabs your attention. Maybe it’s because this opening line is dialogue. Maybe it’s because its a little unexpected. Whatever the reason, it stays with you.

I read Jack London’s Call of the Wild years ago, when I was in high school. I’m not sure why, but the opening line of the first chapter has always stayed with me: Buck did not read the newspapers, or he would have known that trouble was brewing, not alone for himself, but for every tidewater dog, strong of muscle and with warm, long hair, from Puget Sound to San Diego. That’s the magic of opening lines of books. They are the all important first impression, that will help the reader decide, if this book is a journey they want to go on, or if it may not be worth their time.  As a writer, I try to come up with great first lines for my books. I suppose its hit or miss, but I still try.

Was it a dream or was it reality?

I wrote the first line to Fortune’s Wing sixteen years ago. It was the first thing about the book, that popped into my head. More than the characters, or the story, I came up with this line. I feel like this line invokes the mystery surrounding The Prophecy of the Wings, which is the heart of the story. Fortune has been plagued by dreams of the end of the world for several years, and he doesn’t understand why, until he receives a visit from a mysterious stranger who seems to know a lot about him.

It was early; around six in the morning. It was a good time to hit the road. 

I’m going to cheat here, and include the second line as well. The opening line of Valentine doesn’t waist any time. It’s early, and a road trip is about to take place. Val Entienne, aka Valentine, is on a mission. The first book in the Valentine series concerns Val going to California to find her father, Vincent. She meets (and helps) many different people along the way, including fourteen-year-old orphan Melinda St. James, who becomes an important part of Val’s life.

When I was twelve years old, I fell in love with rock n roll.

Amy’s statement is the opening line of Our Lady of Righteous Rage/Our Lady of Righteous Rage: Extended and Uncensored is the first step into what is going to be a journey through childhood, love, friendships, and rock n’ roll. Amy and her friends grow up and experience the ups and downs of adolescence and adulthood, including marriage and divorce, all while starting a business and a band. Friends become lovers and lovers become enemies. After reading that first line, you may find yourself wondering: what made a twelve year old fall in love with rock n’ roll?

 

 

The dark blue Dodge Challenger pulled over and parked in front of an abandoned lot, covered with overgrown shrubs and bushes. 

When I went back an re-read this line, the first word that popped into my head, was seclusion. When you continue to read the opening paragraph from Allan and Mac, you may find yourself thinking, the driver of the car, must have pulled over because the car broke down. When you read the first sentence of the second paragraph, you realize, she didn’t pull over because she was having car trouble; she pulled over for an entirely different reason…

Allan and Mac is the first book in what turned into a spin-off from the Valentine series. A brother and sister duo work as hitmen, and both have interesting ways of carrying out the hits they are paid to do. For instance, Mac would like to drown an alcoholic in a bathtub filled with beer. This story is as dark as it is amusing, with Allan and Mac having conversations about the most mundane things, in between acting as killers for hire. I sort of struggled with the first line. I wanted readers to be interested, without giving away the aesthetic of the book. You don’t really know how twisted this ride is going to be, until that second paragraph. 

For anyone interested, previews for my books are available on my website:

 http://www.woolastonentertainment.com/previews.html