So, here's the thing! I've just published my new book. Yeah, it's that one on the left, as if you didn't know! Anyway, besides that, I read an interview with Stephen King in which he talks about opening lines. Hey, I've read about opening paragraphs, scenes and chapters, but opening lines! So, it got me thinking . . . Well, it does, doesn't it? If it's good enough for Steve, it's good enough for me. I had a look at my opening lines: A Life for a Life (Parish & Richards 1) The machine swallowed Greg Taylor’s day-return ticket to London. The Wages of Sin (Parish & Richards 2) ‘Right, Richards,’ Detective Inspector Jed Parish said as he pulled away from the kerb outside 38 Puck Road in Chigwell in his nearly four year old Ford Focus.‘ The Flesh is Weak (Parish & Richards 3) ‘Are you sure you don’t want to give this one to Kowalski and Gorman, Chief?' Footprints of the Dead (Tom Gabriel 1) Tom Gabriel poked the business end of the Smith & Wesson 686P six-inch 7-shot double-action revolver into the soft unshaven flesh beneath his jaw and pulled the trigger. Solomon's Key (Harte & KP 1) The woman’s breasts had been removed. The Breath of Life (Parish & Richards 6) ‘Breathe in, and hold...’ the antenatal midwife said. ‘Slowly breathing out.’ The Dead Know Not (Parish & Richards 7) He placed his Blackberry on the desk in front of Kowalski and said, ‘Listen.’ The Graves at Angel Brook (Quigg 3) ‘Shit, Duffy. Don’t you take contraceptives like normal twenty-one year olds?’ The House of Mourning (Parish & Richards 9) He’d heard about murderers being able to get hold of drugs, syringes, guns and all the other paraphernalia that was needed to be a proper murderer, but he didn’t have any of it. Through a Glass Darkly (Parish & Richards 10) Viktor eased the lever clockwise on top of the trephine. It had been many years since anybody had operated the contraption. "I don't know! What do you think, Toady?"
"Some of them are a bit bland, non-committal, boring . . ." "I don't think you need to get over-personal.' "Sorry, Boss - you did ask." "True, but let's keep things positive, shall we? Some of them are pretty damn good." "True. What did Steve say?" "He hasn't read my opening lines." "I find that hard to believe, Boss! I mean, everybody who's anybody has read your opening lines." "Have you read my opening lines, Toady?" "I'm nobody." "That's true. Steve said that teachers advise you to open a book in the middle of a dramatic or compelling situation." 'You can't tell that from your opening lines.' "No, but take the first one - Greg Taylor is walking to his death; and the second one - Richards is just about to describe an horrific murder." "Yeah, but I think Steve means you have to grab 'em by the . . ." "This is a family blog, Toady" "Sorry, Boss." "He says that it begins by voice - he thinks people choose a book because of the voice." "You've got a voice, Boss." "Is it a fingerprint? If people pick up one of my books would they know it was one of mine?" "I think they would. It'd have your name on the front." "Sometimes I wonder about you, Toady." "Thanks, Boss." "He says his favouritist first line is: "You've been here before." It's from Needful Things." "You've been here before?" "Yep." "If I'd been there before, why would I want to go again?" "I think we're done for today, Toady." "Right you are, Boss."
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AuthorHi, I'm Tim Ellis - I write a lot and I hope you enjoy what I write. Archives
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