Two Authors Share A’s to Reader Q’s

A note from Lynette: My good friend Jan S. Gephardt proposed we collaborate on a post that shared answers to reader questions. Her request came at a time when I was compiling questions for a regular author interview feature for my blog. Jan and I have known each other for decades. She briefly describes our relationship in her note below. We talk about writing frequently and for hours at a time. But we’ve never done this kind of collaboration before. We two authors share A’s to Reader Q’s below. It’s the first of a new series for my blog. I hope you enjoy it. 

A note from Jan: My longtime friend Lynette M. Burrows and I belong to some of the same writers’ groups, and first met through the Kansas City Science Fiction & Fantasy Society (KaCSFFS). We bonded over (among other things) our interest in writing, and we’ve been friends literally for decades. We regularly check in with each other to “talk shop” or be each others’ cheerleaders. Earlier this summer, I suggested we co-write a post in which we talk about writing, our personal writing journeys, and our books. This post is the result of that conversation.

In the header image, the photo of Lynette M. Burrows is courtesy of her website. The photo of Jan S. Gephardt is © 2017 by Colette Waters Photography.

Two Authors Share A’s to Reader Q’s

By Jan S. Gephardt and Lynette M. Burrows

Who is Lynette M. Burrows?

Banner with black background showing the covers for My Soul to Keep and Fellowship by Lynette M. Burrows .authors share As to  reader Qs

Lynette M. Burrows loves hot coffee, reading physical books, and the crack of a 9mm pistol—not all at the same time, though that might be fun! She writes thrilling science fiction for readers who love compelling characters with heroic hearts.

The White Box Stories, which she co-wrote with Rob Chilson, appeared in Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact Magazine.

Her series, The Fellowship Dystopia, presents a frighteningly familiar American tyranny that never was but could be. In Book One, My Soul to Keep, Miranda discovers dark family secrets, the brutality of the Fellowship way of life, and the deadly reality of rebellion.

My Soul to Keep and the series companion novel, Fellowship, are available at most online bookstores. Book two, If I Should Die, will be published in 2022.

Owned by two Yorkshire Terriers, Lynette lives in the land of Oz. You can find her online at her website, on Facebook, or on Twitter @LynetteMBurrows.

Who is Jan S. Gephardt?

Banner image of covers for The Other Side of Fear, What's Bred in the Bone, and A Bone to Pick by Jan S. Gephardt. authors share As to  reader Qs

Jan S. Gephardt commutes daily between her Kansas City metro home in the USA and Rana Station, a habitat space station that’s a very long way from Earth and several hundred years in the future.

She and her sister G. S. Norwood are the founders and co-owners of Weird Sisters Publishing LLC. Her

XK9 “Bones” Trilogy and its prequel novella, The Other Side of Fear, feature a pack of super-smart, bio-engineered police dogs called XK9s. They struggle to establish themselves as full citizens of the space station where they live, while solving crimes and sniffing out bad guys.

The Other Side of Fear tells how the XK9s and their humans found each other. What’s Bred in the Bone begins the tale of XK9 Rex, a dog who thinks too much and then acts on his thoughts. Even after his human partner Charlie is injured and out of the picture. A Bone to Pick was released this month. In it, Rex and the Pack have new and different problems, even before Rex’s enemy from the past comes gunning for him. Jan’s now working hard on Bone of Contention, in which the dogs must prove to a critical panel of judges that they are truly sapient, before the Transmondians manage to exterminate their kind completely.

Now, let’s Talk about Writing!

Lynette and I developed a list of questions, then each of us answered them. The rest of this post continues in a Q&A format. We hope you’ll enjoy this “conversation,” in which we two authors share A’s to Reader Q’s!

What’s your most recently- or imminently-to-be-published title? What’s it about, and when/how/where can readers find it?

LYNETTE

Banner image of a man running through a snowy forrest with the phrase "The Azrael are real. The Cleaners are coming. Run, Ian, run!" and the cover image of Fellowship by Lynette M. Burrows. authors share As to  reader Qs

Fellowship, a companion novel to the Fellowship Dystopia series, is my most recently published title.

Two years before Miranda begins her journey, tragedy shatters a high school senior’s dreams of being a journalist when his parents are Taken by the Angels of Death. Hunted by government agents, Ian and his younger siblings run for their lives. He leads them to the Appalachian Mountains. He knows how to survive, but resources are scarce. The mountains are unforgiving. And winter is in the air. If they are to survive, Ian and his siblings need help. But who can he trust?

I had intended to write a short story in the same world as My Soul to Keep, Book One in the Fellowship Dystopia series. When Ian came alive on the page, Fellowship, a longer story about trust, was born. Read how, while writing this novel, My Story Went to the Dogs.

Fellowship is available at most online bookstores.

JAN

Blue merled background upon which the ebook and paperback book covers of A Bone to Pick by Jan S. Gephart are positioned. authors share As to  reader Qs

Jan’s new book A Bone to Pick is widely available in a variety of formats. Cover artwork © 2020 by Jody A. Lee.

The protagonist of the whole Trilogy is XK9 Rex, who becomes recognized on Rana Station as the Leader of the Pack for the Orangeboro XK9s. But an enemy from his past is still gunning for him.

Before Rex came to Rana Station, he ran afoul of Transmondian spymaster Col. Jackson Wisniewski. He deliberately flunked out of the espionage program and threatened Wisniewski’s life. Now Wisniewski wants Rex dead. Transmondian agents watch and wait for any opportunity to strike.

Meanwhile, his human partner, Charlie, faces a different struggle. Injured and out of the action for most of Book One, Charlie now works to recover from  his catastrophic injuries – and comes face-to-face with a once-in-a-lifetime love he thought he’d lost forever.

What is your current work-in-progress, and how does it fit into the rest of your oeuvre?

LYNETTE

I’m finishing up edits of the second book in the Fellowship Dystopia series titled If I Should Die. It takes place in the same world as My Soul to Keep and picks up Miranda’s story.

Two years ago, former rebel soldier, Miranda Clarke, vowed she would never pick up her gun again. Vowed to help instead of kill. She created the Freedom Waterways and rescued fugitives from the Fellowship’s tyranny. With every rescue, she heard about nightmarish suffering and loss, and her dream of peace grew more and more desperate.

Until the day she received two simultaneous requests: a loved one on the Fellowship side wanted her help to bring peace to the nation, while a loved one on the rebel side would surely die without her help. No matter which choice she made, it would cost her. Dearly.

In a deadly battle between her dreams and loved ones, will she stick to her peaceful principles, or risk everything to settle the score?

JAN

I’ve recently started two projects. One is a short story tentatively titled Beautiful New Year, It’s set on Rana Station and features Rex’s partner Charlie, before he and Rex teamed up.

I’m also at work on the third novel in the Trilogy, Bone of Contention. Rex and the Pack have begun to enjoy the freedom Ranans believe they deserve. But they also have work to do. They’re hot on the trail of a murderous gang that blows up spaceships in the Black Void.

But in the far-flung systems of the Alliance of the Peoples, trafficking in sapient beings is the most-reviled crime of all. The leaders of the XK9 Project that created Rex and his Pack deny any wrongdoing. And the system-dominating Transmondian Government that sponsored the XK9 Project will do anything they must to protect themselves. Even if it means destroying every XK9 in the universe.

How did this series start? What themes did you know from the beginning that you wanted to address, and why? Have you been startled by other themes or ideas that developed in the course of writing?

LYNETTE

This has been one of those stories that cooked for a very long time. I knew I wanted to create a heroine who had survived abuse and ultimately makes the choice to thrive. Exploring abuse of politics, power, and people was a logical offshoot of my original idea.

The thing that startled me the most was that I would think I’d written a brilliant scene about abuse and violence until a first reader started questioning me about the scene. The way I’d written it, the abuse and violence were always off stage.

It took a long time for me to write more active and direct scenes.

JAN

This series started with a “what if?” I’ve been a dog-lover for a long time, and I’d been wanting to write a mystery set in a science fictional milieu. Reading about police K-9s used for scent tracking, I found a quote from an investigator: “It’s not like we can put the dog on the witness stand and ask him what he smelled.”

“Oho!” I thought. “But what if we could?” Science fiction is full of uplifted animals. It was a pretty short intuitive leap from there to Rex and the Pack.

And when we talk about writing themes, my stories always seem to have an internal “compass.” One way or another, they end up being about interactions between people of different cultures, as seen through a lens of equity and social justice.

How did your book change from the first day of writing to your last day of the final draft?

LYNETTE

I started writing My Soul to Keep as a fantasy with dragons and a Cinderella story arc, which stalled out pretty quickly.

Then I tried setting the story in the future, but it smacked too much of The Handmaid’s Tale. And the writing stalled out again.

What I needed was a world that allowed me to explore the theme of thriving despite abuse. My husband suggested I write in the style of a 1950s Noir Mystery. So I explored that option, knowing this was a character growth story, not a murder mystery.

From there, it morphed into an alternate history. Once I had the alternate history idea, it was a small step to using the Isolationist movement of the 1920s and 30s to turn America into an isolated religious tyranny.

JAN

It took me a while to research, think, write through, and develop the science fictional elements. I wasn’t sure at first how smart to make the dogs, or how they’d communicate with their humans.

A member of my writer’s group pointed out that my first concept for Rana Station wouldn’t actually work, for a lot of valid reasons. So I surveyed space habitat designs that have been proposed by sf writers and actual space scientists. Then I mixed, matched, and came up with my own (pardon the pun) spin on their ideas. After that, I had fun extrapolating how the inhabitants would design and use the interior.

What is your writing practice? Do you have a ritual to start your day? What time of day? How many hours, and how many days a week? How do you write (machine, dictate, hand write)?

LYNETTE

When I first started writing, I had a ritual. I’d light a candle or incense and start music and then do writing exercises in a journal. Those, I usually hand wrote. Then I’d re-read the manuscript pages I had written the day before. Finally, I’d put a blank sheet of paper in my IBM Selectric typewriter and re-type those pages, revising as I went. Then I wrote the next scene.

I had an infant when I started writing, so I wrote during his naps. Later, I wrote while he was in preschool (about two hours twice a week), and later still, while he was in school.

Now, my dogs and I go to my office after breakfast. I might turn on some instrumental music or I might write in silence. I might review the latest pages. Just as often, I start where I left off. I write for at least two hours, but if the words are flowing, I will write for ten hours or more. I write six days a week with rare exceptions.

Photograph of two yorkshire terriers in Lynette's office, inspiring her work.
authors share As to  reader Qs

JAN

I’ve never particularly made a ritual of creating a setting in which to write, but I do need to self-isolate. Attempts to write in a coffee shop or library result in people-watching instead. I write best between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. when there are no interruptions, and I write every day, if possible.

Let’s talk about writing tools. I started with crayons on cheap paper when I was four, but I’ve “traded up” a few times since then. I wrote my first complete, novel-length manuscript in 1976-78 on an Underwood manual typewriter. Later I went through two electric typewriters, a Kaypro computer (using WordStar) in the late 1980s, a succession of other PCs, and several Macs. I currently use a 15” MacBook Pro.

For early drafts I use Scrivener. It creates a separate file for each section. That makes it easy to switch their order and keep an eye on word-count. Closer-to-final drafts get copied over into MS Word. It creates a .docx file that’s easy to share for critique, print, or import into Vellum when it’s time to publish.

More specific to this book—do you write with music, tv or radio or silence? Is there a specific soundtrack you used for your book?

LYNETTE

When I started writing My Soul to Keep, I developed a specific soundtrack that I played on repeat. These days, about half the time I write in silence and the other half I’ll write with that soundtrack running or instrumental music that provides the perfect mood for the scene I’m writing. Music from epic movie battle scenes works well for me.

JAN

Sometimes I can write to instrumental music, or to songs with lyrics in a language I don’t speak. I love Two Steps From Hell and movie or show soundtracks. Current favorites include selections from The Mandalorian, as well as Raya and the Last Dragon and Captain Marvel. I grew up listening to Classical music and still enjoy it, particularly when it’s played by my sister’s band, The Dallas Winds.

However, when I’m trying to compose finished work I go silent. I need to listen to the internal cadence of the words I’m polishing, and music drowns that out.

What did you research the most? Did any of your research surprise you?

LYNETTE

What I researched the most is hard to say. It might be a three-way tie between the location and the history of the American Isolationist and the Eugenics movements.

My research constantly surprises me. I start off researching some small piece of history I recall and, in the process of that research, find a snippet that leads somewhere interesting. One of those surprises that became a large piece of My Soul to Keep was the eugenics programs that existed in the U.S.A. prior to World War II. You can read about the Better Baby Contests and the Eugenics movements on my blog.

JAN

I’ve done deep dives into both dog cognition and space habitat design. Like Lynette, I turned both of those inquiries into blog posts. My “Dog Cognition” series explored how much normal dogs understand, surprising canine word comprehension, and canine emotions. The “DIY Space Station” series offered an overview, then specifically looked at Dyson Spheres, Bernal Spheres, O’Neill Cylinders, and the Stanford Torus.

Not surprisingly, I needed to do lots of research into police standards, culture, practices and procedure—and wow, did that ever put me on the cutting edge of current events last year! You’ll find echoes of that research in the way police operate on Rana Station.

I think some of my most surprising research started when I was searching for sources of protein that one could sustainably produce in a space-based habitat. That led me to cultured milk, eggs, and meat and branched over into some of the ideas that underpin the speculative medical technology my characters call “re-gen therapy.”

When you started fleshing out your ideas for the book, did you start with plot, character, location, or something else?

LYNETTE

I almost always start with one or more characters. For me, character starts with a voice or an attitude that I find interesting. Plot and theme arise out of the characters’ needs and wants. And I choose locations because of real-life history, the mood I want to evoke, or an event that needs to happen. I also created locations that are totally fictional, but they provide an element that strengthens the theme or plot.

JAN

My whole series started with the idea of a dog who could testify in court. Stories can start literally anywhere. But it’s not really a story until there’s a character with a problem.

A character wants something, but they’re blocked from getting what they want. The character, their desire, and their obstacle(s) are the initial setup. Without those essential elements you can’t build a plot, although you can (and probably will) imagine snippets of action that may eventually become part of the plot.

Would You Like to Ask Us Other Questions?

The plan is for both of us to publish this as a post on our blog. We thought some of you might become interested in a new writer, or encounter a new idea. We hope you’ve enjoyed our A’s to Reader Q’s.

If you thought of questions we didn’t ask, please ask them below in the comments! We’ll happily continue the conversation, because both of us love to talk about writing.

IMAGE CREDITS:

The banner with the covers from My Soul to Keep and Fellowship and the banner for Fellowship is from Rocket Dog Publishing. Cover artwork for My Soul to Keep is © 2018 by Elizabeth Leggett. Cover artwork for Fellowship is © 2019 by Nicole Hutton at Cover Shot Creations. And the adorable photo of her Yorkies, Neo and Gizmo, is © 2019 by Lynette M. Burrows. 

The banner with the three XK9 covers and the one for A Bone to Pick are both from Weird Sisters Publishing LLC. Cover artwork for The Other Side of Fear is © 2020 by Lucy A. Synk. Cover artwork for What’s Bred in the Bone and A Bone to Pick is © 2019 and 2020 respectively, both by Jody A. Lee. Many thanks to all!

First Lines Friday with Freedom Fighters

First Line Friday is a blog series 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. Today’s choices honor the U.S. holiday, the Fourth of July with a freedom fighters theme. Do these first lines hook you? Do you want to read more?

Girl Reading a Book while sitting on a stack of books, A First lines friday with freedom fighters theme. Lynette M Burrows

I don’t usually do content warnings. The book’s cover, blurb, and category should get the point across. However, a cover and first line alone doesn’t always convey that type of information. 

Content Warning: Violence with graphic descriptions.


Cover of The Patriot's Grill a novel shows a tall smokestack spewing so much smoke it creates a haze of tall city buildings and even a distant mountain range. It's a title in the first lines friday with freedom fighters post for July.

It was a strikingly unlikely sight, even for a world grown accustomed to unlikely sights. 

The Patriot’s Grill by Steven Day

The cover of rogue cell shows a black and white flag with stripes running up and down and the stripes appear to be dripping or torn. A red star in in a field of white in the upper right corner.

They met behind a warehouse, twice abandoned. 

Rogue Cell (A Grower’s War Book 3) by DJ Molles

The cover of Metal warrior shows a very tall bipedal robot walking into a fiery battle scene

Block, damn you! Dane did his best to raise his metal arms to catch the hammer-blow of steel, brass, and aluminum that was coming his way.

Metal Warrior: Born of Steel (Mech Fighter Book 1) by James David Victor

The cover of Ghost fleet is a pixilated image of the ocean with nearly transparent ship of some kind.

“I’m so sorry.”

What did Vitaly mean by that?

Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War by P. W. Singer and August Cole

Cover of Working Stiffs Shows a man standing in a tall arched doorway looking out a city buildings through a fog

The three dead guys on the freight elevator had a personal odor reminiscent of vomit with an undertone of road kill.

Working Stiffs by Scott Bell

Cover of The Ezekiel Factor shows a skeleton looking out a window at a sunrise over a mountain lake

The severed head plopped into the steel bucket with a gelatinous thump, eyes wide open, as though pleading in vain for a reprieve.

The Ezekiel Factor by Caroline Noe

Clarification

There are no affiliate links in this post. I don’t make a cent off of the books listed on this page. Usually these titles are pulled at random. They are here for your enjoyment. And to entice you to buy more books.

Do You Want to Read More?

Did you enjoy this First Line Friday with Freedom Fighters? Check out previous First Line Friday posts. Please put an enormous smile on my face if you tell me in the comments below— Which ones spoke to you? Did you buy it?

You Need to do A Reading Study

Have you ever done a reading study? Recently, I listened to the Mysterious Goings On podcast that featured the Constant Reader and his journey re-reading Stephen King’s bibliography. The idea intrigued me. I’ve often re-read books I’ve enjoyed. Some of them many times. And of course, I’ve read complete series. But I don’t recall ever reading a single author’s entire catalog. The voice in my head said, you need to do a reading study.

Line Drawing of a Girl Reading Book while sitting on a stack of books probably by the same author, You Need to do a Reading study, too.

What is a Reading Study?

That’s the fun part. You get to design your own. How? There are no rules. But here are some questions and suggestions to help you get started.

What’s Your Purpose?

For the Constant Reader, his deep love of Stephen King’s books motivated him. Which author do you read most often? Or choose an author you’ve never read before.

If you’re a writer, you may want to figure out how an author created the world, or the characters, or how the writer makes us readers believe it all. Many things go into writing a powerful story. Perhaps you want to read an author with a unique writing style. Or a strong voice. 

But what if you’re a reader and not a writer? What would be your purpose? 

Thing is, as a grownup, you get to choose. You may read for pure enjoyment. Maybe you want to learn about writing stories. You can challenge yourself with a new-to-you author. Or a different genre. Re-reading a series you read as a child can be enlightening. You’ll see the story with fresh eyes. Will it still delight you? (Read my take on one of my childhood favorites.)

Your Author Choice

Photograph of a bookstore's bookshelf filled with crime fiction books, you need to to do a reading study--which author or books will you choose?

Will you choose an author who writes in only one genre? Or is an author who writes in multiple genres more to your taste? Male or Female? An award-winner of an unknown? Do you want to read full-length novels or short stories or both? Perhaps you want to explore a different culture from your own.

Instead of doing a single author, do a single subject like I did in my Going to Mars Word-by-Word series. The books were written by different authors during different decades but all of them involved going to or living on Mars.

Choose Your Method

Are you going to only read ebooks? Will you start with the author’s oldest book and work forward in time? There are no rules. You can choose to read the books in a random order.

Record Your Reactions

No, you don’t have to do a book report. You don’t have to do anything at all. But writing a few notes about the book may help you enjoy the process more and remember it better.

You can follow a format like I did in my Going to Mars: Word-by-Word series of posts or my Story Time Reviews posts. Or the spreadsheet photographed below.

A screenshot of a spreadsheet for a reading study with columns for date read, title, copyright date, genre, characters, setting, story problem, and reactions to the beginning the ending, a star rating, and a column for additional comments or connections between books.

Write about what you liked or didn’t like. List the characters or write a summary of the book. What you record depends in part on your purpose for reading the books.

One thing to consider recording is your immediate reaction to the first lines or pages of the story. And then, your immediate reaction to the end of the story.

It might be fun to rate the books as the Constant Reader does in the podcast. (He chooses his top ten favorite books by Stephen King.) 

It’s entirely up to you.

Make if Fun

girl reading by flashlight under a blanket--you need to do a reading study and have fun doing it

If you are re-reading an author or a series, consider listening to the audiobook version. Or watch the movie (if there is one). Only read print books? Try an ebook version.

If it stops being fun—stop. You’re not getting graded or paid. If you’re not enjoying it or learning something, stop. Try a different author or a different book.

You Need to Do a Reading Study

Why do you need to do a reading study? It’s another way to enhance your reading pleasure. Will it take a while? Sure, depending on your reading speed and the books’ availability. I read fast but have little time for pleasure reading. Still, I’ll going to start a reading study on all the Octavia Butler books I can get my hands on. How about you? Have you read all of a single author’s books before? Does it sound like something you might enjoy doing?

First Lines for the Holidays

Welcome to First Lines for the Holidays. December has more than just the Christmas holiday. See my posts on December Celebrations for some of the celebrations held this month.  

For this First Lines Friday, here are a selection of first lines from science fiction and fantasy books that include or are about the holidays. I hope you find at least one you will enjoy.


Have you heard of the great Forest of Burzee?

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum

There was a Christmas tree in the lobby when Lauren got to work, and the receptionist was sitting with her chin in her hand, watching the security monitor.

A Lot Like Christmas: Stories by Connie Willis

The Reverend Lizzie Blackmore slowly blinked awake, and found, to her surprise, that she was already furious.

The Lost Child of Lychford by Paul Cornell

Once there was a boy who lived in a cabin in the deep woods with no one for company but an old woman and an old man.

Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker by Gregory Maguire

Santa Claus…

How vile your name upon my tongue. Like acid, hard to utter without spitting.

Krampus: The Yule Lord by Brom

So you’re looking at me, Mr. Big-Shot Journalist, as if you’re surprised to see a little gray-haired, gray-bearded man.

“On Venus, Have We Got a Rabbi” from Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Fantasy & Science Fiction by Jack Dann (Editor), William Tenn (Contribution by), Carol Carr (Contribution by), Robert Silverberg (Contribution by), Horace Gold (Contribution by)

Nan Killian was surrounded by mayhem. Deafening pandemonium.

A Scandal in Battersea, by Mercedes Lackey

Christmas crept into Pine Cover like a creeping Christmas thing: dragging garland, ribbon, and sleigh bells, oozing eggnog, reeking of pine, and threatening festive doom like a cold sore under the mistletoe.

The Stupidest Angel, by Christopher Moore

Happy Holidays!

I hope you enjoyed today’s First Lines for the Holidays. Whatever holiday you celebrate (or don’t celebrate) during December, I wish you good health, abundant happiness, and a year of excellent reading.  

First Lines for August

August is the seventy-fifth anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So I thought it fitting that I feature novels set in or about World War II in the First Lines for August post. Based on these first lines alone, would you buy the book?

Illustration of a palm tree on one page of an open book. Under the palm tree a treasure chest and pirate. On the other page the pirate's ship. First lines for August might make images in your mind.

At dusk they pour from the sky. 

All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr

Carla knew her parents were about to have a row.

Winter of the World, Ken Follet
cover of Ken Follett's book Winter of the World

The man at the end of the long table—he wore a trimmed black beard streaked white at the ends of his mouth—looked up at the wall clock: three minutes past seven.

Prologue, From Time to Time, Jack Finney

We stood bunched in with the little crowd you can see on the balcony down there at the right—see it?—just over the pillared entrance to the Everett House: Julia and I, her hands in her muff; and our four-year-old son, chin on the balcony rail.

Chapter One, From Time to Time, Jack Finney

SS-Sturmbannfürer Gunther Dettmer had been dreaming of this day since his childhood.  

The Heroes of Sainte-Mère-Église, J.D. Keene

Once Harry made a decision, he rarely looked back.

Midnight in Broad Daylight: A Japanese American Family Caught Between Two Worlds, Pamela Rotner Sakamoto

Mas Arai worried that the customs officer at Kansai Airport would find his best friend, Haruo Mukai, inside his suitcase.

Hiroshima Boy, Naomi Hirahara

Heavens! Already five o’clock. How time flies! I’ll never get the fusuma put up, or the bedcover stitched, before our new lodger arrives.

The Flowers of Hiroshima, Edita Morris

Yes, the last one has more than the first sentence because the first sentence is so short. And because that book will appear on this blog again. Next time it will be reviewed.

Happy Reading!

Tell, me which ones peaked your interest?

Do you like prologues? Do you read them?

Which ones did you also read the blurb?

If you like reading first lines, you might like Will You Buy These Books Based on the First Lines? and why some first lines work.

A novel’s first line is a powerful thing. A well written line can suck the reader in. A poorly written one can convince the reader to give the book a pass. Are there books you’ve purchased or read simply because of a great first line? Are there any of the First Lines for August that tempted you to buy the book?