First Line Friday is a series of blog articles posted on the first Friday of every month. The first line of a story, we’re told, must hook the reader. Implied is that the reader will not buy the book if the first line isn’t great. These entries are from Amazon, my personal library, or other online booksellers. Do these first lines hook you? Do you want to read more?
John Allerton sucked in another painful breath and struggled not to cough it out.
Tom Abrahams, Unprepared (The Scourge Book 1)
Papa fell down and he didn’t stand up again.
Ramona Finn, The Culling (The Culling Trilogy Book 1)
Harvey Watson didn’t want to admit it, but he was lost.
Ryan Casey, Outbreak: A Post Apocalyptic Survival Thriller
I had my recurring dream last night.
Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Sower
Alex Hawk looked from one corner of his basement to the other.
Shawn Inmon, A Door Into Time: An Alex Hawk Time Travel Adventure
Let’s start with the end of the world, why don’t we?
N.K. Jemisin, The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth Book 1)
It feels like we’re running away…
S. M. Anderson, A Bright Shore (The Eden Chronicles Book 1)
I sometimes wonder what was disappeared first—among all the things that have vanished from the island.
Yoko Ogawa, Translated from Japanese by StephenSnyder, The Memory Police
The librarians never asked why their patrons needed to check out a baby.
Gay, Roxane Graceful Burdens Short Read (Out of Line collection)
Florian Parks was sitting in the Gantry watchtower, whittling a wooden doll for his little sister, when he first spotted the travelers over the pointed tips of the palisade.
Wallach, Tommy Strange Fire (The Anchor & Sophia Book 1)
The end of the old world surprised few.
Harber, J. R., The Future Was Now
Still hours of dark to go when I left the house that morning.
Donoghue, Emma The Pull of the Stars
How did we get here?
McGuire, Seanan Rosemary and Rue (October Daye Book 1)
Clarification
There are no affiliate links in this post. I don’t make a cent off of the books listed on this page. These titles are here for your enjoyment. And to entice you to buy more books.
Now, if you buy one of my books… that will put a little money in my pocket. And a gigantic smile on my face. I love my readers.
Do You Want to Read More?
Did you enjoy this list? Check out previous First Line Friday posts for July and August. And you’ll put another enormous smile on my face if you tell me in the comments below—do you want to read more? Seriously, I need to know. Do you? Which ones?
How about a special bonus post, in which you talk about how you construct your first lines? And then show us the first lines of your books, complete with a link?
That may come one of these days. Thanks for the suggestion, Jan.