Time to start hawking my debut novel!
But First
The results of my should I or shouldn’t I continue blogging poll. It was close, but quitting pulled slightly ahead. However, I decided to continue for now.
Here’s why—Substack isn’t searchable by the Internet at large. And, the best way to keep my website “fresh” is to post on my blog once a month. We want our website fresh so they keep ranking in search engines.
Release Date for BLOODSTONE
I have settled on a release date: September 22nd, the Fall Equinox. That’s also Mabon, which celebrates the autumnal equinox. It’s a pagan holiday, and one of the eight Wiccan sabbats celebrated during the year.
Perfect for a witchy book.
First Lines
We’ve all heard how much work the first line of a novel has to do. While I don’t think it has to do everything they claim, it should still serve a purpose—to make the reader want to read the next line.
Back in 2013, I wrote a blog post about first lines in published novels I liked. But today, I want to share with you how the first lines of my novel changed over time from rough draft to finished book.
Ready? Here we go:
My boots clacked on the wet brick pavement.
The brownstone looked identical to the five other brick buildings that lined the street—three stories, black shutters, elaborate trim decorating the roof, wrought iron rails leading up stairs to a door—however, this one, this building felt different; lonely, almost lost.
The cab turned down a narrow cobblestone street.
Standing on the sidewalk with luggage in hand, I tracked the taxi as it made a U-turn, drove back down the street, and disappeared around the corner.
Mottled yellow leaves drooped from tree limbs like tears waiting to fall.
My aunt died.
I’d never been far from home.
In the end, my first line is:
🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁
The chainsaw slid through the last limb.
There you have it. And now for an important poll:
That was fun to see how your first lines changed. I like what you ended up with.
Those first lines are so important and they often take some work. It seems you've succeeded! Congratulations.