Recently, I’ve had the honor of traveling around the world. I mean to far-off places I’ve only heard about. You know how? Some friends in Austria and also in India bought my cozy mysteries! With a click of the mouse on their computers, there I was! Now, isn’t that neat? Many other authors have had the honor of being well-traveled and Darcy and Flora and Ned are probably in other countries as well, but to my knowledge, this was a first for India and Austria and me. I love it and am grateful!
When you meet someone, what is your first impression? Is it a lasting impression or do you often change your mind about that encounter? It seems to me that the beginning lines of books are important. I want to grab the reader’s attention and cause her to read further. Here are the opening lines of each of my cozy mysteries:
The nightmare jolted me awake. By the Fright of the Silvery Moon
My car’s headlights cut a yellow swath through the swirling snow. Moonlight Can Be Murder
“What on earth are you talking about, Cub?” I asked the big, red-faced man who jumped off the seat of his dirt mover. Best Left Buried
The letter came on a warm morning in November. Grave Shift
I awoke sitting straight up in bed, my heart doing double time. Grave Heritage
When I awoke to sunshine, blue skies, and the fragrance of freshly perked coffee that morning, I had no inkling that a few hours later the sun would be blotted out by menacing clouds or that my mother and I would stumble upon a dead body in a brush pile in Goshen Cemetery. The Cemetery Club
What happens between the first and last lines is what’s important, but in order to know that, the initial line has to grab the reader. It’s like meeting someone but not really knowing that person until you spend more time with him/her. That’s the way it seems to me, as I reflect on books written and observe the world from my own cozy corner.
A reminder that five of the cozies are still just ninety-nine cents each. By the Fright of the Silvery Moon is $4.97. How long will these prices last? Only my publisher knows for sure. The question, “Is it moonlight, or is it murder?” can be answered only by reading beyond that opening sentence and getting to know Ned a little better.
Happy Sunday and may every early encounter be a pleasant one!
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