If You Were a Superhero

October 16, 2020October 15, 2020 Lynette M Burrows

As the pandemic wears on and on, I’ve been doing something I’ve never done before. What is that? I’m binge watching Netflix series. Superhero stories are the latest to have caught my attention. As a result, I’ve been thinking about being a superhero. (Note I use superhero as a non-gendered term) If you were a superhero how would you handle the many situations and questions related to being super? Who Do You Save No matter what super power you have, you’ll can save people in dire circumstances (at least according to the stories). But with billions of people in the world, there will be multiple people in similar situations who need a rescue. Who do you choose? Do you choose the ones who look like you (skin color)? Or do you choose locals (your neighborhood or city)? Do you save family over strangers or vice versa? Perhaps you choose people who speak the same language. Life isn’t like stories, there are no clear or easy choices. So how do you choose? What About Collateral Damage In Black Lightning, the subject of collateral damage comes up multiple times. Okay, you saved ten people, but injured five people? Maybe someone died. Superheroes […]

First Line Friday: Ghosts and Witches and Monsters

October 9, 2020October 8, 2020 Lynette M Burrows

It’s October, and that means Halloween is coming. So for this month’s First Line Friday, we’re looking at ghosts and witches and monsters—in science fiction and fantasy books. As always, there are no affiliate links in this collection of first lines. These titles are available on Amazon. They may be available in other places as well. Ghosts Alexis Kine always knew her luck would eventually run out. We Dare (Ghost Squadron Book 1) Eric Thomson No one noticed the rock. The Ghost Brigades (Old Man’s War Book 2) John Scalzi Monday is nature’s way of telling you that the only easy day was yesterday. Ghost Dog: Military Science Fiction Across a Holographic Multiverse (Gate Walkers Book 3) Ashley R Pollard I placed a paper shirt into the furnace. The Girl with Ghost Eyes: The Daoshi Chronicles, Book One M. H. Boroson And Witches Bess ran. The clear night sky and fat moon gave ample illumination for her flight. The Witch’s Daughter: A Novel Paula Brackston There had been no sign of the hunters for three days. The Witches of the Wytewoods M J Thompson I decided that Orion needed to die after the second time he saved my life. A Deadly Education: A Novel (The Scholomance Book 1) Naomi Novik […]

Will You Buy These Books Based on the First Lines?

June 5, 2020August 6, 2020 Lynette M Burrows

Buying books is a personal thing. What one person loves the next one hates. Why you buy this book instead of that one isn’t the same reason I buy those books. Covers, descriptions, reviews, word of mouth are all used to make buying decisions. But will you buy these books based on the first lines? First Lines The alley was dark and stank of piss and vomit. It was home for quick-footed rats and the bony, hungry-eyed felines who hunted them. J.D. Robb, Rapture in Death He, or very possibly she, was known as The Rose Thief. Claire Buss, The Rose Thief Gramp Stevens sat in a lawn chair, watching the mower at work, feeling the warm, soft sunshine seep into his bones. Clifford Simak, City I was loving this. First day on the job and I was off to a possible location of the vamp killers. Rose Montague, Jade I’ll make my report as if I told a story, for I was taught as a child on my homeworld that Truth is a matter of the imagination. Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness. Kamakzi. The word looped in my head, and I tasted it. Kamakzi. Elin […]