Opening Lines Quiz - The Answers

Here are the answers to yesterday's first lines quiz.

1. They threw me off the hay truck about noon—The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James M. Cain.

2. Eunice Parchman killed the Coverdale family because she could not read or write—A Judgment in Stone, by Ruth Rendell

3. Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again—Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier.

4. My bodyguard was mowing the yard wearing her pink bikini when the man fell from the sky—Dead Over Heels, by Charlaine Harris

5. When I finally caught up with Abraham Traherne, he was drinking beer with an alcoholic bulldog named Fireball Roberts in a ramshackle joint just outside of Sonoma, California, drinking the heart right out of a fine spring afternoon—The Last Good Kiss, by James Crumley

Stephanie Patterson

First Lines That Keep You Reading: A Brief Quiz

So below you will find five of my favorite opening lines in mystery novels. What are the books? The answers will appear tomorrow. Feel free to add your own favorites. (No fair looking on Google.)

1. They threw me off the hay truck about noon.

2. Eunice Parchman killed the Coverdale family because she could not read or write.

3. Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.

4. My bodyguard was mowing the yard wearing her pink bikini when the man fell from the sky.

5. When I finally caught up with Abraham Traherne, he was drinking beer with an alcoholic bulldog named Fireball Roberts in a ramshackle joint just outside of Sonoma, California, drinking the heart right out of a fine spring afternoon.

Stephanie Patterson

First Lines That Went Nowhere

While rooting through some old papers, I came across a battered notebook listing some first lines of stories or novels I’ve never written.

I thought I’d ask you which one, if any, sounds the most promising, and if I should continue it. I no longer trust my own judgment. I need help.

1. Pennies, which plague me today, once played a big part in my life.
2. This morning I took my dog and my mother-in-law to have their toenails cut, which pretty much sums up my life these days.
3. “Don’t touch me!”
4. The face in the glass bore no resemblance to the person I know, and whose skin I have worn for almost eighty years.
5. Every station stop on this train ride brought back memories; mostly unpleasant.

Robin Hathaway

Answers to First Lines That Grab You!

Click here to see the questions.

1. “Where is Papa going with that ax?” / Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White
2. “Tom!” / The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain
3. The towers of Zenith aspired above the morning mist… / Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
4. “Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents.” / Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
5. The Mole had been working all morning spring-cleaning his little home. / The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame
6. On Friday, June 12th I woke up at six o’clock and no wonder; it was my birthday.  / The Diary of Anne Frank, by Anne Frank
7. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man, in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. / Pride & Prejudice, by Jane Austen
8. “That’s torn it!” said Lord Peter Wimsey.  / The Nine Tailors, by Dorothy L. Sayers
9. Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.  / Ulysses, by James Joyce
10. It was five o’clock on a winter’s morning in Syria. / Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie

Robin Hathaway

First Lines That Grab You!

I’ve been told that it’s important to start your book with an exciting, or at least intriguing, first line. For fun, here is a list of a few first lines. See if you can name the books they came from and their author. (My next blog will have the answers.)

1. “Where is Papa going with that ax?”
2. “Tom!”
3. The towers of Zenith aspired above the morning mist…
4. “Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents.”
5. The Mole had been working all morning spring-cleaning his little home.
6. On Friday, June 12th I woke up at six o’clock and no wonder; it was my birthday.
7. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man, in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
8. “That’s torn it!” said Lord Peter Wimsey.
9. Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
10. It was five o’clock on a winter’s morning in Syria.

Robin Hathaway