Hooking
the Reader:
Opening Lines
that Sell
What grabs the
reader?
Try these opening lines…
Regina Dalton
snapped awake the instant the coffin lid closed.
Jennifer Blake, Kane
She figured it came
down to a choice between going to work or committing murder.
Aileen Schumacher, Affirmative
Reaction
Standing in front of
his dresser mirror, the young man pointed the revolver at his reflection.
James W. Hall, Under
Cover of Daylight
When and where the
heart can celebrate each awakening day - that becomes home.
Priscilla Cogan,
Winona's Web
...then read what
these authors say about their openers.
Here is the cast:
| Poul Anderson |
Janet Jeppson Asimov |
E.C. Ayres |
| Mary Balough |
Martha Bayless |
Greg Bear |
| Nina Beaumont |
Jennifer Blake |
David Brin |
| Terry Brooks |
Harlen Campbell |
Robert Chase |
| B.A. Chepaitis |
C. J. Cherryh |
Margaret (Meg) Chittenden |
| Sir Arthur C. Clarke |
Priscilla Cogan |
Michael Connelly |
| L. Sprague deCamp |
Claire Delacroix |
Carol Dennis |
| William C. Dietz |
Patricia Eakins |
Earl Emerson |
| Lynn Erickson |
Loren D. Estleman |
Sheila Finch |
| Charles L. Fontenay |
Alan Dean Foster |
Kate Freiman |
| Valerie J. Freireich |
Sara Hoskinson Frommer |
Nina Gettler |
| Voyle A. Glover |
Ron Goulart |
Jean Hager |
| Joe Haldeman |
James W. Hall |
Tara K. Harper |
| Lee Harris |
Brian Herbert |
Edward D. Hoch |
| Joan Hall Hovey |
Dean Ing |
Jonnie Jacobs |
| Russell James |
Phyllis Ann Karr |
Eileen Kernaghan |
| Nancy Kress |
Ellen Kushner |
Peter Lance |
| Joe R. Lansdale |
J.A. Lawrence |
Martha C. Lawrence |
| Laura Lynn Leffers |
John Legg |
Justin Leiber |
| Paul Levinson |
Scott Mackay |
Anne McCaffrey |
| Dennis L. McKiernan |
Marilyn Meredith |
Fern Michaels |
| Sasha Miller |
John Moore |
Deborah Morgan |
| Shirley Rousseau Murphy |
Yvonne Navarro |
Larry Niven |
| G. David Nordley |
Barbara Paul |
Michael H. Payne |
| Carla Peltonen |
Joanne Pence |
Frederik Pohl |
| Eileen Putman |
Mary Jo Putney |
Jaclyn Reding |
| Martha Kay Renfroe/ M.K. Wren |
Lora Roberts |
Peter Robinson |
| Mary Rosenblum |
William Sanders |
Walter Satterthwait |
| Robert J. Sawyer |
Aileen Schumacher |
Laurence Shames |
| John Paxton Sheriff |
Sarah Smith |
Ralph A. Sperry |
| Dana Stabenow |
Les Standiford |
Janice Steinberg |
| H.G. Stratmann |
Mark Sumner |
Molly Swanton |
| Frank Thompson |
Jane Toombs |
Denise Turney |
| Edo van Belkom |
Mark L. Van Name |
Joan Van Nuys |
| Lawrence Watt-Evans |
Robert Weinberg |
K. D. Wentworth |
| Carolyn Wheat |
Jack Williamson |
Charles Wilson |
| Gene Wolfe |
Valerie Wolzien |
Steven Womack |
| Stuart Woods |
Courtni Wright |
Jane Yolen |
This exciting book includes more
than one hundred best-selling and otherwise well-known authors’ original material
about their own openers, processes, and stories behind their opening lines. It provides
readers entertainment and writers hints to improve their work.
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