A Ghostly Tale from Kathryn Knight

25 Thursday Oct 2012

Posted by lillygayle in Durham Main, ghost stories, Griffen Farm, Griffin Farm, Halloween, Kathryn Knight, paranormal romance, romantic suspense, Salem's Lot, Stephen King, The Wild Rose Press

≈ 15 Comments

My guest this week is sister TWRP author Kathryn Knight. When she asked what I wanted her to blog about, I asked if she had a blog post that would make a great Halloween story. Her reply curled my toes.

Not only is the following a true story, but it took place at the farm Stephen King used for his vampire novel Salem’s Lot. And Kathryn knows the family who owns the farm. Can’t get any spookier than that. So, I’m just going to turn my blog over to Kathryn and enjoy this chilling story.

Thanks Lilly!

True ghost stories are particularly eerie. While I write about ghosts, I’ve never actually seen one. However, our good friends have had quite a history with a ghost they call Granny Griffin. Granny Griffin happens to reside on the farm Stephen King depicts in his novel Salem’s Lot, although he changed the name in the book to Griffen farm. The farm is located in the Maine town of Durham, where King grew up. His best friend, Randy, lived on the 200-acre dairy farm, which dates back to the 1860’s.

In the early 1970’s, Carlene Griffin was unable to care for the farm and had to walk away from it. My friend’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. W., bought it, with all its furniture, treasures, and apparent ghosts. As a child, my friend found photos from the Civil War while exploring the attic! The first news of the ghost came when Mrs. W was approached by a medium in town, who insisted she had a message from the other side that needed to be delivered. The medium wrote a note from Granny Griffin to her daughter Carlene, telling her not to worry about the fight they’d had before she died. Mrs. W. was charged with delivering the note to Carlene, who was still living on the property in a renovated hen house.

My friend saw the ghost of Granny Griffin on several occasions, the first being one night when he was about 13. A figure appeared in the doorway of his bedroom, wearing a long house coat. He assumed it was his mother, but when he asked what she wanted, she did not answer. As she turned away, her gray bun was clearly visible. In the morning, Mrs. W. denied checking up on her son during the night—and he realized he had never, ever seen her wear her hair in a bun.

The father, Mr. W., remained skeptical. Until the night he heard footsteps and rose to check the house. He saw someone descending the stairs and followed the figure down the steps and into the kitchen, where she disappeared. When he returned to the bedroom, Mrs. W awoke to ask what was wrong. Mr. W. replied, “We’ll talk about it in the morning. But let’s just say I believe you now.”

The ghost in Silver Lake has a message to share as well…and despite their painful past, Rain and Jason are forced to reunite to help the desperate spirit. I hope you’ll check out the blurb and excerpt below! Please leave a comment and contact info if you’d like to enter the giveaway drawing. Happy Halloween!

Blurb:

Rain Anderson can’t decide which is more unsettling—encountering the ghost of her missing friend, or reuniting with the man whose love she foolishly rejected. But one thing is certain: the past has come back to haunt her, quite literally.

Five years ago, Rain’s tight-knit group of high school friends unraveled when one vanished during their senior year. Now, a parent’s deathbed request has reunited the friends at Silver Lake, including Jason Lansing, the man Rain discarded. Rain and Jason discover the powerful attraction between them has survived, but though Jason is willing to forgive, he can’t let himself forget. The possibility of falling for Rain again is too risky.

Slamming doors, crashing objects, flaring fires—clearly the ghost has a message to share. As Rain and Jason struggle to unravel the truth, they must face a desperate spirit in need of help…and a burning passion that refuses to die.

Excerpt:

“I saw…a figure. A figure with dark hair, and I think it was Brandy.” She shuddered and put her forehead back on his chest.

Reluctantly, he moved their bodies apart a bit and scanned her face. He held on to her shoulders and asked calmly, “You saw Brandy? Brandy is here?”

She shook her head. “No, I saw… like… an image of Brandy. I woke up, because it was cold, and I saw something moving. It was Brandy, I’m sure of it, although I didn’t see her face clearly. And then she, um, disappeared.”

“An image of Brandy? Are you saying you saw a ghost, Rain?” He was pretty sure she’d had another nightmare, but the way she had flown out of her room gave him the impression it had been an extremely vivid one.

“I know, it sounds ridiculous. But that’s what I saw. And she sort of, well, went through the wall. I’m sure you don’t believe me,” she added miserably, lifting her stormy eyes to his.

He pulled her back into a hug before he could stop himself. “I absolutely believe you. Whether you were awake or asleep, you saw Brandy and that’s scary. I don’t think we can deny that weird things are happening here.”

Jason smoothed her hair and waited patiently for her trembling to subside. If a ghost really was lurking in her bedroom, there wasn’t a whole heck of a lot he could do about that. A rare sense of powerlessness caused his jaw to clench in frustration.

He stopped watching the door and instead focused on the gorgeous woman in his arms. She clung to him, and his body responded to hers with a familiar ache. He knew he was losing the battle to keep his feelings platonic.

Amazon Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Lake-ebook/dp/B009AEE6DO/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1345749376&sr=1-1

TWRP Buy Link: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=177_139&products_id=4973http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=177_139&products_id=4973

Oh. Wow! Great story, Kathryn. And great blurb for your ghostly romantic suspense, Silver Lake. I’m definitely adding it to my TBR list!

More about Kathryn:

As a child, Kathryn Knight kept her parents on a constant quest to find enough reading material to last her through each week. An early fondness for books about horses later gave way to a lasting preference for both love stories and ghost stories; as a writer, the paranormal romance genre is a perfect fit. Silver Lake is Kathryn’s first novel; her second novel, Gull Harbor, has also received a contract from The Wild Rose Press and will be released in 2013. She lives in New England with her husband, her sons, and a number of rescued animals. Please visit her at www.kathrynknightbooks.com, http://kathrynknightbooks.blogspot.com/, or on Facebook at Kathryn Knight books.

Kathryn Knight

~Passionate Romance with a Paranormal Twist~

http://www.amazon.com/Silve

r-Lake-Kathryn-Knight/dp/1612173853/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1350858685&sr=8-2&keywords=silver+lake

American Holidays and Alana Lorens

29 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by lillygayle in Alana Lorens, authors, books, historical romance, Lilly Gayle, love stories, paranormal romance, readers, romance novels, romantic suspense, The Wild Rose Press

≈ 11 Comments

July 4th is just around the corner, that famous holiday where Americans celebrate the birth of our young nation. And on this weekend before my favorite summer holiday, I have romance author
Alana Lorens who’s in the midst of a dual blog tour.

A DUAL BOOK/BLOG TOUR!!

CONVICTION OF THE HEART (release date June 8, 2012)

And SECOND CHANCES (release date June 19, 2012)

The first and Second books of the Pittsburgh Lady Lawyer Series!

Come by the following blogs or live booksignings and leave a comment to be entered in a drawing—at the end of the tour, Alana will give away one ebook copy of each book and one paperback copy of each book—Four lucky winners! Check out all the websites at http://alanalorens.com

And now, Alana’s going to share some thoughts on another American holiday.

So, take it away, Alana…

Holidays. The thought of a holiday dinner just conjures up pictures of steaming, aromatic dishes of food, happy music, the sounds of voices of all ages, and family. You know, all those family games and shared memories and chestnuts roasting on the open fire? Or maybe it’s more a gathering of nuts, period.

A whole group of family. Yes. What a perfect time to introduce your new “friend’ to a whole bunch of strangers at once! Who would put someone through such torture?

Nick Sansone, a Pittsburgh police lieutenant, is a friendly guy, but when the woman he’s after, attorney Suzanne Taylor, invites him to “meet the parents” at Thanksgiving dinner (at her persistent parent’s insistence), his heart has to stumble a little. But his own mother passed away several years before, and his retired cop father is just as happy with a turkey TV dinner. He’s about out of excuses.

Even worse, Suzanne’s father and two teenaged daughters are avid Steelers fans—and he roots for the Dolphins.

Nobody’s perfect.

What holidays have you spent trapped with a loved ones’ family—did it bring you closer or pull you apart?

Alana Lorens’ Conviction of the Heart is available from:
http://www.amazon.com/Conviction-of-the-Heart-ebook/dp/B0089PTPAO/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1340851365&sr=8-1

BLURB:

Family law attorney Suzanne Taylor understands her clients’ problems—her own husband left her with two babies to raise alone. Now that they’re teenagers, her life is full. The last thing she wants is the romantic attentions of a police lieutenant, no matter how good-looking.

Lt. Nick Sansone is juggling the demands of a new promotion, and doesn’t need complications either. But when he sends a councilman’s battered wife to Suzanne for help, he realizes he wants to connect with the lovely, prickly lawyer on more than a professional level.

They are soon confronted with a different battle, when the abused woman’s husband threatens retribution. The powerful, well-connected councilman can damage both their careers—not to mention hurt those they love. Can they bend enough to admit they need each other in a time of crisis? Or will a husband’s revenge take them down before they ever get a chance?

EXCERPT FROM THE FATEFUL THANKSGIVING DINNER:

“He’s nice looking, your lieutenant,” Maureen said, a twinkle in her eye as she poured them both a cup of coffee and set out the cream. “So tall.”
“Yes, he certainly is.” Suzanne read her mother’s face, seeing only approval. “Just what the fortune teller ordered.” Tall, dark and handsome, wasn’t that the usual lingo?
“You went to a fortune teller?” Maureen gasped.
“No, Mom. I didn’t go to a fortune teller.” Suzanne laughed. “I’m teasing you. I told you Nick was a nice guy. He’s very thoughtful. Believe me, he wants to look out for us in every sense of the words. It’s his job, you know.”
“That’s good. You know I worry about you, Suzie. I know you’re one of these new liberated women who can take care of yourself and handle everything.” Her dark eyes searched Suzanne’s face, emotion intensifying as she continued. “Last year, when I almost lost your father, I learned that we all need to love and be loved. Facing the prospect of being alone scares me to death. You’re human, too. Your children love you, but not in the way each adult person needs, love, support, understanding. No man is an island—and no woman, either.”
Silence hung for a few seconds in the kitchen, then Suzanne’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She took it out to look at it. A text message from her client Maddie. “Excuse me a minute, Mom.”
She selected the message. He’s taken Katie!
Irritation prickling through her skin, Suzanne apologized with her eyes and stepped into the pantry for some privacy, dialing Maddie’s number. When she answered, Suzanne said, “When did he take her?”
“She must have slipped out this morning. I thought she was studying in her room, but she’s gone.” Maddie’s voice cracked with the effort of holding back tears.
“Did you call the police?”
“Not yet. I called you first. I don’t believe he’s doing this! He knows the children are the only thing I care about.” The sobs tore loose, and Suzanne heard a loud clunk, as if the phone had been dropped, then anxious voices.
“Maddie?” A growl of frustration escaped her. If Greg had broken into the house, someone should call the police. Do something. “Maddie?”
A moment later a scrabbling noise on the other end of the phone and then a relieved Maddie. “She’s here. She’s back. Joshua took her for a walk, but she told him she wasn’t going to Greg’s.” The hint of a smile in her voice. “I’m so sorry for disturbing your holiday. I promise I won’t call again.”
“Don’t be silly. If you call, I’ll be there for you, Maddie. That’s what I’m here for.”
Maddie said goodbye and Suzanne held the blank phone in her hand a moment, glad the pantry door was closed. Maybe she could stall off her mother’s persistent nagging a little longer. Or at least formulate a coherent response.
She only wants to see you happy. By her definition, that is. A happily married woman, at home, caring for her man.
Suzanne shuddered. No, thank you. She enjoyed her independence and intended to keep it.
The door opened suddenly, startling her. She nearly dropped the phone as she took a step back, ramming her shoulder into a thick shelf of canned goods. “Ouch!”
Nick studied her curiously. His broad shoulders blocked the kitchen from her view. “What are you doing in here? Did your mom put you in time-out or something?”

Meet British Author, Rachel Brimble

23 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by lillygayle in Lyrical Press, Paying the Piper, Rachel Brimble, romantic suspense, The Wild Rose Press

≈ 16 Comments

British author Rachel Brimble was kind enough to drop by today to answer some questions.

Thanks for visiting Rachel!

1- When do you do your best writing? Morning? Evening? Or mid-day? And how do you organize your writing time?

Morning, definitely – I tend to start my writing day at 9am and do an hour of interviews/blogs/emails and then spend the next four hours creatively with a ¾ hour dog walk in between. Then it’s the school run and chores…often with sneaks to and from the laptop until 7.30pm 😉

Chores sure do cut into a writer’s valuable time. Huh? lol!

2- Are you a reader as well as a writer? What have you read lately?

Can you be a writer if you don’t read?? I read as much as possible and tend to have two or three books on the go at any one time. Currently reading Iris & Ruby by Rosie Thomas which is fantastic, Remember Me? By Sophie Kinsella, hilarious & Highland Arms by Cathie Dunn, fabulous Scottish romance from a lovely fellow Wild Rose Press writer.

I’ve met writers who no longer read for lack of time. I admit, I don’t read as much as I used to or as much as I’d like. But I’m trying to fit more pleasure reading into my life.

3- How do you spend your free time when not reading or writing? Do you even have free time?

My evenings are usually spent in front of the TV with hubby and my two young daughters. On the weekend, we walk a lot. We spend hours walking our Labrador around the fantastic English countryside especially Wiltshire and the Cotswolds.

Visiting England is definitely on my bucket list!

Biddestone Box

4- Since I love to travel and seldom do, I like to hear about other places. It’s one reason I love to read and write. I get to travel in my head. Much cheaper that way. Lol! So, where do you live? What’s the climate and topography like?

See previous question, lol! I live in Wiltshire in South West England. It is full of surrounding fields and countryside steeped in history. I am attaching some pics of the surrounding villages, beautiful!

Bourton

Who needs to go on vacation with such beauty right at your back door? Gorgeous!

5- Where is the most exotic place you’ve ever visited?

I haven’t really visited anywhere exotic yet although it is on the ‘to do’ list once the kids are grown. We’ve been to Zante and Fuerteventura which are beautiful places to holiday for sun, sea and sand.

Fuerteventura

I’ve never heard of Zante and Fuerteventura. I’ll have to Google them. I love the sea and sand too. But I usually visit the NC coast since it’s only about a 3-4 hour drive.

6- Was it vacation, business, or research? And, have you ever combined travel and research?

Holiday – although most of the places I visit usually end up in one story or another. I think us writers just can’t help ourselves. We have to glean every idea possible from wherever we go and experience

I agree. I also find myself taking pictures of random places and things in case I ever need it for a blog or inspiration for a story.

7- Where is your most recent release set?

In a bustling town in South West England – I based it on my own town but gave it a fictional name. Even though Paying The Piper is novel number six for me, I haven’t used my own town as a setting before so this one was quite easy to imagine, lol!

8- Tell us something about the book.

Sure. Paying The Piper is a great romance about two people fighting their demons in order to be together, set against the darker world of nightclubs.

Here’s the blurb:

Nightclub manager Grace Butler is on a mission to buy the pub where her

mother’s ashes are scattered but the owner wants to sell to anyone but her. And that owner happens to be her father…who has a secret she

will do anything to discover.

Social worker and all around good guy Jimmy Betts needs funds to buy a house

for three special kids before their care home closes. Time is running out

and he’s desperate for cash. He agrees to to a one-time ‘job’ for bad-man

Karl Butler. But in a sudden turn of events, Jimmy finds himself employed by

Karl’s beautiful, funny and incredibly sexy daughter, Grace. Their lives

couldn’t be more different, yet one thread binds them: they’re both trying

to escape the bonds of their fathers. Maybe the only way they’ll be free is

by being together, instead of alone.

Sounds like a great read!

9- Lastly, what are you working on now?

I am currently writing a sexy contemporary romance that will be shorter than I usually write at around 65,000 words rather than the usual 85,000. This one is more category than single title and revolves around a heroine who wants to move her sexy lingerie and toy store next door to a single dad with four-year-old twins. Say no more… 😉

Talk about conflict. lol! That’s going to be a fun read when it’s done.

You can find Rachel’s Paying the Piper at:

http://www.lyricalpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=81&products_id=424

Other books by this author can be found on her website:
http://www.rachelbrimble.com/books.html

Are you Superstitious?

13 Friday May 2011

Posted by lillygayle in Friday 13th, historical romance, Hope Diamond, Jennifer Coffeen, Lover's Gamble, mystery, romance, romantic suspense, The Wild Rose Press

≈ 5 Comments

I’m taking a break from my vacation posts today to welcome fellow TWRP author Jennifer Coffeen.

Welcome, Jennifer!

Hi Lilly,

Did you wake up this morning with a case of Paraskavedekatriaphobia? If your doors are locked and Friday the 13th is circled on the calendar, you might be a candidate for this phobia.

Friday the 13th has long been a day of superstition, legends, and curses. No one is quite sure where the fear of this particular day began, but many attribute it to the evil surrounding number 13 combined with Friday, considered the unluckiest day as far back as the Middle Ages. Wherever the superstition comes from, nothing beats a good scare to add spice and intrigue to your writings.

My novel “Priceless Deception”, due out this summer on August 14th, is centered around the heroine’s search for the cursed French Blue diamond. The French Blue diamond has touched many famous people and events through history, though most people know it by its more modern name, the Hope Diamond.

The curse of the French Blue diamond began in 1642 by a Frenchman named Jean Baptiste Tavernier. The legend states that Tavernier plucked the enormous blue diamond from the forehead or eye of an idol during his travels in India. After returning to France and selling the diamond to King Louie XIV, Tavernier continued his travels to Russia where he was reportedly ripped to pieces by wild dogs as punishment for removing the stone. The diamond was later recut and passed down to Louie XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette. Both were executed by the guillotine during the French Revolution and many believe it was the diamond’s curse that caused such a violent end. After that the French Blue was stolen and remained lost until 1812, when it mysterious appeared for sale in London. There are rumors it was purchased by King George IV, and several paintings portray him wearing a very large blue stone in a pendant.

The French Blue eventually resurfaced in America in the hands of Henry Philip Hope where it got its name the Hope Diamond. The curse soon struck again, as the once wealthy Hope family went completely bankrupt after taking possession of the diamond.

In 1910 Pierre Cartier sold the diamond to Evalyn Walsh McLean who proclaimed it her good luck charm. According to some close to Evalyn, the wealthy woman was obsessed with the Hope diamond, refusing to take it off even for a goiter operation. Sadly, it not the good luck she wished for, and Evalyn’s family had their own share of tragedy. Her first born died in a car crash, her daughter committed suicide and her husband went insane and was confined to a mental institution. Many saw this as the long fingers of the diamond’s curse, but Evalyn stubbornly wore the diamond until she died. It was sold in 1941 to settle debts from her estate and purchased by Harry Winston. Winston wanted nothing to do with the diamond’s curse and later, some say for mysterious reasons, offered to donate the diamond to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.

Are you a believer yet? Though I wouldn’t diagnose myself with any phobias, you won’t catch me walking beneath any ladders today!

Jennifer Coffeen is a fellow TWRP author and if you can’t wait until until summer for the release of Priceless Deception, she has a hot release that’s available now. http://thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4449

Here’s a blurb and excerpt from Jennifer’s April release, Lover’s Gamble.

Sophie Hartlend likes to play with fire.

The reckless and beautiful Miss Sophie has spent her young life doing whatever she pleases without much consequence—except for that one night when passions went too far with the maddeningly handsome Lord Rayburn.

Months after their encounter, Sophie’s newfound infatuation with gambling has landed her in trouble, threatening her precious independence. Lord Rayburn gallantly offers to help, but he insists the wild Miss Sophie do things his way. Once again they find themselves in a battle of wills, attracted but with opposing views.
Will Sophie relent when she discovers she must lay down all her cards in order to win Lord Rayburn’s heart?

(Pages 58) Spicy
Word Count 15000

Excerpt:
Hugh shook his head, forcing his vision to clear. It couldn’t be. He simply had to be mistaken… But no, when he looked again there was no doubt. It was none other than Miss Sophie Hartlend, chattering away like she’d been gambling in Newbury House for years.

What the hell does she think she’s doing? It’s nearly two in the morning, and not a chaperone in sight! He had to admit she looked as stunning as he remembered her, like a long-worshipped Grecian goddess, her long hair curled artfully around her high cheekbones. He had a sudden vision of releasing that cascade of hair from its heavy pins, watching it flow down her naked back in waves.

With a sharp pang Hugh remembered the feel of it through his fingers as he kissed her that hot August night—nearly a year ago now, but a night he’d never forgotten. He’d fallen in love during that single night of passion and, stupidly, assumed she felt the same way. The next day he laid his pride at her feet, making an utter fool of himself over a woman.

Hugh’s hand tightened into a fist. After that day he’d never seen her again, until now. And suddenly here she was, in the most inappropriately low-cut gown he’d ever seen, gambling like a common bit of muslin.

And apparently quite bad at it, too.

You can find Jennfer at: http://www.jenniferanncoffeen.com/ and on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jennifer-Ann-Coffeen/119223098153686

and check out her book trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYpv1MQGJU4

Thanks for sharing a bit of mystery and history with us today. And stay away from ladders. lol!

The Significance of First Lines

02 Wednesday Feb 2011

Posted by lillygayle in contest, Kat Duncan, prizes, romance novel, romantic suspense, The Wild Rose Press

≈ 12 Comments

Welcome to week one of the Wild Roses Valentine’s Month Blog Tour! Commentors on all eleven Wild Roses Blogs are automatically entered to win one of four weekly prizes and a grand prize worth $50. So stay tuned all month, visit as many blogs as possible and leave a comment for your chance to win!

Blog participants are:
Linda Kage- http://lindakage.blogspot.com/, Amie Louellen- http://amielouellen.wordpress.com/ ,Caroline Clemmons- http://carolineclemmons.blogspot.com/, Jennifer Jakes- http://authorjenniferjakes.blogspot.com/AJ Nuest- http://www.ajbooks.blogspot.com/ , Lynne Roberts- http://lynneroberts.blogspot.com/, Maeve Greyson-http://maevegreyson.blogspot.com/ ,Amy Corwin- http://amycorwin.blogspot.com/, Jill James- http://www.jilljameswrites.com/, Kat Duncan- http://www.katduncan.net/writeabout

My guest today, who’ll be talking about the significance of first lines, is Kat Duncan.

As a young child, Kat once tried to confess the telling of her stories to her parish priest because she thought they fit the definition the nuns gave for ‘telling a lie’. The wise priest asked her if her stories were told to hurt other people. “Oh, no!” she replied, “I only tell them to make people happy.” The priest asked her if she had any other sins to confess and when she didn?t, he advised her to continue telling her stories and then he assigned her a few prayers to say for those who could not hear them. Kat has been telling her ‘lies’ ever since and writing stories to entertain and enlighten. After a successful career as a software engineer, Kat decided she needed something different to do. She’s now a tutor of adolescents with special needs. With one teenager in high school (home school) and another in college, every moment of her meager spare time is spent creating romances.

So, Kat, tell us what you think about the Significance of First Lines~

You want to be seduced when you read a book. You want to be drawn in, to forget your troubles and just enjoy yourself. That’s why first lines in a book should be like pickup lines. They could be the kind you might expect to hear in a bar, “Hi gorgeous, can I buy you a drink?” or in a nightclub, “Hey, I’m Joe, wanna dance with me sexy lady?” These kinds of first lines are a sexy come-on. They promise an enjoyable, sensual experience. How’s this for a first line:

“Strip off his shirt,” she said.

That’s the first line of the book I’m working on now, Ransom’s Captive. It’s an historical romance and I wanted the first line to be a bit scandalous-sounding. The next few paragraphs show why the man’s shirt has to be stripped off.

First lines could also be the kind you might hear from the cell phone salesman at the mall “We’ve got a 1-day special on iPhones.” These can feel a bit off-putting, making you feel as if you have to pay attention to something you don’t want to miss out on. The first line of my romantic suspense, Fifty-eight Faces, is:

“We’re gonna win this one, Caroline.”

Win? What are they gonna win? I have to find out. Within a few paragraphs it’s clear they need to win a big court case over the Blue Diamond or they’ll have to close their financially-challenged children’s hospital.

Still other first lines are the kind you might hear walking around a huge warehouse store “Were you able to find everything you’re looking for?” The solicitation lets you know you are in good hands, or maybe it irritates the heck out of you because you don’t like to be interrupted while you shop. The first line of Six Days to Midnight, another romantic suspense I wrote, goes:

“With an explosion of dirt and hooves, Mirza whipped her mount toward the starting line.”

The words are harsh and the character, Mirza, sounds merciless. She hurts my feelings just whipping her horse. She doesn’t even think of it as a horse. To her it’s just a “mount”. An evil woman. I don’t like her already.

And then there are the kinds of first lines that are sort of slow-witted. The kind you don’t always understand right away, but yet can’t stop listening to. The kind you might hear sitting next to an old man at a bus stop. “You know, back when the bus stop was on Main Street, folks used to wait inside the newspaper office. Good stories weren’t so hard to find back then.” You scratch your head and read on, hoping everything will become clear if you keep reading. Another of my historicals, Without a Lord, starts like this:

“It isn’t possible to capture a faerie.”

Huh? If it’s not possible, then why are we talking about it? In the short conversation that follows, we learn that dozens of knights, desperate to end a local war, insist that they’ve seen a faerie.

Depending on what kind of mood you’re in, you may be turned off by the first line or you may be interested in hearing more. Personally, I’d rather have a reader put my book down if they’re turned off. I’d rather they read it when they’re in a mood to enjoy it. The first lines of a book set the mood and tone and should be an honest indication of what is to come. If I keep reading it’s because I’ve been seduced by the first line.

So, which first line of mine would seduce you?

Kat Duncan’s most recent release, Fifty-eight Faces is part of the Jewel of the Night series. You can purchase this book at: http://thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=137&products_id=4366

Blurb:

Chief of surgery at a small children’s hospital, Caroline’s last hope to save it from financial ruin evaporates when she loses the Blue Diamond case to greedy Evan Quinn. When Evan buys the hospital property for high profit condo conversion, Caroline’s hatred shifts into full red-alert.

But Evan is not her real enemy. Rolf, the hospital’s chief administrator, has had his eye on the blue diamond since he learned of it from his Nazi grandfather. To be the 58th face to possess the Blue Diamond, one for each of its facets, grants the owner unlimited power. Rolf plans to kill the current owners and use the diamond to build his Neo-Nazi regime. Can Caroline give up her hatred and Evan his greed before Rolf kills them both?

Excerpt from Fifty-eight Faces:

“If I wasn’t sworn as a doctor, I’d pull this trigger.”

A flash lit the darkness. An ear-shattering echo reverberated in the concrete vault. Evan staggered. Caroline dropped the gun, and its over-sensitized trigger fired again. It spun like a top on the concrete. She rushed forward.

“Evan. Evan. Are you hurt? Where? I didn’t pull the trigger. It just went off in my hand.” She grabbed his shoulders, bracing him, scanning him for a wound.

He steadied himself and pushed her aside. “You missed.” He stared at the gun lying on the floor. He picked it up and hefted it, his brows pinched in thought. Pointing it away from her, he firmly grasped the weapon and gently tapped its side. It fired.

He turned on her, his mouth thinned into a grimace, his eyes squinting.

She put up her hands. “Evan, don’t…”

He tipped the gun toward the ceiling and, with a snap, removed the clip. He tossed the pieces in opposite directions. They spun and clattered on the concrete floor. In a few quick steps, he closed the distance between them. His broad hands engulfed her shoulders, infusing her shivering body with a surge of solid warmth.

“That gun was rigged by an expert. An expert who arranged for us to meet here. Then disappeared.”

Kat Duncan writes romantic suspense. Visit her at http://www.katduncan.net/ or http://www.katduncan.net/writeabout and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/WriteAbout/150069588366130
She’s also on Twitter: Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/write_about

Lilly Gayle Romance

Category Archives: romantic suspense