Will Ya Call Me Ishmael Already?

Last week I gave a presentation to Long Island Romance Writers, my home chapter of Romance Writers of America, on the Opening Hook—how to start your book with a bang. Who doesn’t love great first lines? Here are a few of my faves:

“I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974.” MIDDLESEX, Jeffrey Eugenides.

“One hot August Thursday afternoon, Maddie Faraday reached under the front seat of her husband’s Cadillac and pulled out a pair of black lace underpants. They weren’t hers.” TELL ME LIES, Jennifer Crusie.

“Jack Newton had no choice but to frame himself for murder.” MOMENT OF TRUTH, Lisa Scottoline.

“Fear presides over these memories, a perpetual fear. Of course no childhood is without its terrors; yet I wonder if I would have been a less frightened boy if Lindbergh hadn’t been president or if I hadn’t been the offspring of Jews.” THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA, Phillip Roth.

“After nearly a quarter of a century of marriage, Richie Meyers, my husband, told me to call him Rick. Then he started slicking back his hair with thirty-five-dollar-a-jar English pomade.” AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, Susan Isaacs.

“’Where’s Papa going with that ax?’ said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.” CHARLOTTE’S WEB, E.B. White. (Thanks to my chapter-mate Jeannie Moon for suggesting that one.)

“On the morning of November 25, a woman named Jo-Layne Luxe drove to the Grab ‘N Go minimart in Grange, Florida, and purchased spearmint Certs, unwaxed dental floss, and one ticket for the state Lotto.” LUCKY YOU by Carl Hiaasen.

“What I warn you to remember is that I am a detective. Our relationship with truth is fundamental but cracked, refracting confusingly like fragmented glass.” IN THE WOODS by the ridiculously talented Tana French.

“The building was on fire, and it wasn’t my fault.” BLOOD RITES, Jim Butcher (My gratitude to the Good Twin, Patricia Ryan, for that gem.)

“Suicide bombers are easy to spot.” GONE TOMORROW, Lee Child.

“My name is Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.” THE LOVELY BONES by Alice Sebold.

And finally, one of my all-time favorites…

“Daisy Devereaux had forgotten her bridegroom’s name.” KISS AN ANGEL, Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

What’s your favorite first line?