It’s officially Summer! At least it is in the Northern Hemisphere. But even those of you in the Southern Hemisphere may find something to enjoy in this month’s first lines. They are all from science fiction and fantasy books that include some type of a vacation. So whether no matter whether you are taking (or need) a summer or winter vacation, you might find what you need here.
As writers, we’re often told that the first line of a story must hook the reader (particularly if that reader is an editor.) Implied is that the editor will not buy the book if the first line isn’t great. But the editor is a single person with an opinion, often based on significant experience in selecting books. Still, it’s one opinion. The opinion that counts is that of the reader. So writers, pay attention to what stirs your reader’s heart, and readers, let us know which of these make you want to pick up the book.
Buckle up
The Alabama summer beat down on me hotter than a barbecue in the broiler room of the crematorium. Sweat dripped off the tip of my nose as I leaned into the open engine compartment of our trusty ol’ Peterbilt, dead at the side of the road.
My buddy Mike looked over my shoulder and asked, “What’s the prognosis, doc?”
“Looks like the serpentine belt quit without putting in two weeks’ notice.”
“Well, ain’t that just peachy. You don’t happen to have a spare in your back pocket?”
“Sure. Right next to the magic beans and the unicorn.”
We stood there for a moment, slow roasting on the asphalt as we mulled over our options. Finally, Mike spoke up. “Guess we gotta walk to the next town.”
“Next town’s a day’s walk. Last one’s at least half a day.”
No Stress Space Express by Jack Bodett
Grandmother’s inn is a portal
When the taxi pulled up to Grandma’s place, I wanted to burrow under the seat and coward in shame. I blinked a few times, but the view didn’t get any better. Of all the places my parents had dumped me for a summer, this was the dumpiest.
The sign out front said at all: THE INTERGALACTIC BED AND BREAKFAST. The three-story Victorian home had at least the potential to be normal, with it’s white picket fence and rocking chairs on the wraparound porch, but…no. The house was jet black, with huge murals of comets and stars and planets on each side, painted on with what looked like glittery nail polish.
I wondered if I would have to submit a formal application to be the town freak, or if being related to Grandma meant I would be automatically awarded the title.
Aliens on Vacation (The Intergalactic Bed and Breakfast) by Clete Barrett Smith
Agatha Christie Meets Isaac Asimov
I know exactly how each of my girls will react when I tell them I’m dying.
I’ve known their personalities inside and out since pretty much the moment they were born. You learn a lot about people when you see them at their best or their worst, and everyone’s first worst is the trauma of being casted out of the only home you’ve ever known – a warm, safe place where you had everything you needed and nothing to worry about, where you were protected from the elements. You go from that paradise to a fluorescent hell where you’re poked and prodded by a bunch of blurry monsters. And how you react to that abrupt exodus tell your mother everything she needs to know about the kind of person you’ll become.
Off-World Hotel & Resort, Off-World Mysteries Book 1, by Dave Terruso
Humanity needed a hero. It got a karaoke DJ.
The agonizing screech vibrated Leo’s skull like a bone saw trying to bore its way out from the inside. The aliens were torturing him. Again.
He had to get away. He had to escape.
His desperate gaze ticked to the single window. The galaxy stretched to infinity outside, cold and bleak and unforgiving. A small, circular pock-mark marred the glass from some bygone impact of ice or rock. The flaw was tiny, but critical. Leo knew if he hit the window hard enough it would shatter. He could escape. Sure, it would be into the void of space where he die, and agonizing death by asphyxiation, but compared to the alternative, at least it would be quick.
The caustic wail pitched upward. Leo’s muscles constricted. His vision blurred. His sphincter clenched. Just when he was on the cusp of permanent detachment from his sanity…
Galaxy Cruise: The Maiden Voyage, Galaxy Cruise Series Book 1 by Marcus Alexander Hart
The Wanderers have just moved on from Union Station…
In a conclusion, the recent review of EarthCent’s policy on earned vacation time, conducted by embassy manager, Donna Doogal at the request of our new junior consul, has brought to light the fact that my maternity leave of six years ago was charged against future vacation days, and that the six months I believed I had saved up for a sabbatical existed only in my imagination!”
“You tell them, ambassador,” the aforementioned junior consul egged her on.
Kelly wasn’t used to having a human audience for her weekly reports to EarthCent, but someone had suggested it would be good training for Daniel. Now that she thought about it, that somebody had been Daniel himself. What really set her off about the retroactive policy change was the way it had been discovered.
Vacation on Union Station, EarthCent Ambassador Book 7, by E. M. Foner
Clarification
There are no affiliate links in this post. I don’t make a cent off of the books listed on this page. Usually I pull these titles at random. They are from Amazon, my personal library, my area public library, or other online booksellers.
Reviews Don’t Have to be Difficult
No matter what book you’re reading, leave a a few words on the website where you bought it, a readers site, or the author’s site. You don’t have to say anything profound or fancy. Say the kind of thing you would tell a friend about it. Reviews are always appreciated by writer and readers alike. They help sell more books to the readers who will love them. And they help the author write more books.
Do You Want to Read More?
Do these first lines hook you? Do you want to read more? They are here for your enjoyment. And to entice you to buy more books. Let me know which ones sparked your interest.