Carol Vorvain (@writersboon) is an Australian international lawyer, mediator, author and founder of Writers Boon. Her books, When Dreams are Calling, Why not? - The island where happiness starts with a question and A Fool in Istanbul - The adventures of a self-denying workaholic have been featured in a number of travel magazines including the International Traveller magazine and can be found in libraries, bookstores and on Amazon.
To me, opening a new book is like landing in a foreign country. Those initial few seconds are always unforgettable. They draw me in or … they spit me out. And I have to gasp for air.
In homage to the torture that each author goes through to find the best hook, each month I am posting some of my favorites lines written by Writers Boon member authors.
Funny or unexpected, clever or shockingly abrupt, mysterious and bizarre, here they are.
Luke Romyn
"Loneliness creates a chasm the greatest words cannot fill."
Walking with Shadows
Jennifer Larmar
"He came to her as he always did – and in the only way he could now – in breathtaking dreams emerging from the depths of her heart ... that secret place where he alone dwelt."
Fractured Symphony
Leslie Lehr
I slapped the bitch. I didn't mean to, but that doesn't mean it was an accident.
66 Laps
Fran Lewis
"Beneath these stones are many who deserve to be deeper in the ground. Their lies and betrayals are so great that all the soil, tombs, coffins and shovels used to create graves could not prevent their lies from resurfacing."
Lies, Betrayals, Fear: Faces Behind the Stones
DelSheree Gladden
"My best friend is not imaginary. He’s not a ghost, either. And I’m pretty sure he isn’t a hallucination. He’s just Mason."
Invisible
Giacomo Giammatteo
"He finished the last of a shitty cup of coffee and stared across the street at Nino Tortella, the guy he was going to kill."
Murder Takes Time
Coraline Grace
"The smell of honey suckles hanging in the archway and paper met her nose as the library door opened."
Pixie And The Green Book Mystery
Whitney Dineen
"'A BUNION?' I shriek."
The Reinvention of Mimi Finnegan
Anna Faversham
"Karl Thorsen arrived, as usual, like a drum roll prior to battle."
Under a Dark Star
Clark James
"Thunder rolled up the valley, echoing among steep hills, heralding another wind-driven deluge."
Wind From The West - Book Three - Storm & Stress
George Roberts
"His Strong, young legs spirited him towards the goal as his muscles pushed him through every sodden inch of the waterlogged pitch."
From Ten Down To Three
Nancy Cole Silverman
“Don’t rush me. I need to savor this moment.” Sheri stood outside the Beverly Hills chocolatier and let the small square chocolate truffle liqueur melt in her mouth. Head turned up to the midmorning sun, she closed her eyes and, with a look of ecstasy on her face, sighed, almost orgasmically.
Without a Doubt
Nikki Haase
"We often hear stories of young women forgetting about their drink in a crowded bar and then waking up in a strange empty room, mostly naked and exposed. In most of these stories, she wakes up in a stranger’s bed with a soreness in her legs and a bad taste in her mouth. Not so often though, she wakes up on a metal table like a slab of meat with an IV needle in her wrist."
Experiment X: Sacrifice
Robert Philip Bolton
"On the first day of January, at the very beginning of the Christian calendar, the Baby Jesus had his foreskin cut off. Evidently it was done on January the first because that’s what Jews did to their baby boys seven days after they are born."
My Marian Year
Stuart Aken
"Someone had betrayed him. Otherwise, how had they found him?"
Joinings: A Seared Sky; Book 1
Hywela Lyn
“'Hold tight, Shifter, this is going to be bumpy.' The small vehicle careened down the incline, ploughing a deep trough and throwing up a cloud of dirt and sand."
Beloved Enemy
Ruby Fitzgerald
"She was blue with cold, lying naked in the snow, wavering between consciousness and the afterlife. Ice beginning to form around her limbs. All around her the bodies of her dear friends lay still. The battle was lost."
Descendants of War
M.J. Rose
"Every morning the pavement in front of our shop in the Palais Royal is washed clean by the tears of the mothers of dead soldiers, widowed wives, and heartsick lovers."
The Secret Language of Stones
Abdelouahab Hammoudi
"It was a cold and dark February night. Whipped by the driving rain, an ambulance winded through the crowded streets of the town of Wolf Creek."
Stony I
"It was a damp and misty London morning. Kashira, a forty year old pretty looking woman and an old relic passionate hunter, was touring the town renowned antique shops as usual, looking for ancient artifacts."
Lamalif and the toad skin hat
Muffy Wilson
"Walking on the edge with the underbelly of society in the shadows of the night could be hazardous to your health …or worse—deadly."
Healing Hearts
Kindra Sowder
"Men and women stood a little taller in their homes today, ears straining to hear the sound of imagined trucks."
The Harvested: The Permutation Archives Book 1
Gary Goldhammer
"Death wore a hoodie."
Zaria's Gate
J.T. Ellison
"You aren't going to like me very much."
Lie to me
Hungry for some more? Best opening lines from contemporary authors - Part 2.
Tip of the Day:
If you're a writer and you have a quote from one of your books that's funny, witty or wise, please share it with the world on Quozimus - the book discoverability tool that gets your book noticed.