First Lines, Part 3

Some more first lines from my writing pals. Which ones really whet your interest?

Someone was going to have to explain about the dead body in the bathtub. From The Pastoral, by Lenora Worth.

Jo Tulip sat across from the detective, trying not to be distracted by his tie. From an untitled “Tulip” mystery by Mindy Clark.

Smile. From "The Only Best Place” by Carolyne Aarsen

"I never asked to be made over." From PERFECTING KATE by Tamara Leigh

I should’ve known I’d lose my job after splurging on my first pair of Prada boots. From: These Boots Aren't Made for Walking by Melody Carlson

Katrine squared her shoulders and instinctively pressed a hand to her stomach as she stepped through the open doors of the café, past the yellow sign that read NO JEWS ALLOWED. --Tricia Goyer, Arms of Deliverance

"You know I hate school." --From an untitled work by Lauraine Snelling

On a warm June night, I stand back stage at the Nashville Titans Coliseum waiting to perform, just like I’d done a thousand times before in coliseums and stadiums all over the world. - From Diva NashVegas, by Rachel Hauck

"Hello, Roger," the dying man said. From a short story in progress (SSIP?) by Jim Denney.

"They died with smiles on their faces," the coroner had told them. from Scoop, by Rene Gutteridge

"Snowflakes—silent and angelic—powdered the prison parking lot as if to soothe the stark landscape with messages of absolution." From "Sticks and Stones," by Susan Meissner

"I was a spy for the United States Government and didn't know I was a spy."
From "WHO?" by Lois G. Leppard

"A surge of energy flowed through the wire, a cocktail of adrenalin greedy for power. "

from The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Rolling, by Neta Jackson

Mesquite trees, prickly pear cactus, a vast uninhabited land -- she was in the Southwest, somewhere between California and Texas. Maybe Mexico. From HOME SWEET TEXAS,by Sharon Gillenwater

Life can turn on a dime. . .or the tap of a brake pedal. --From an untitled WIP by Roxanne Henke

"It was a glorious blaze, the fire we set. A wicked, glorious blaze." From Dark Star: Confessions of a Rock Idol,by Creston Mapes (okay, so that's two lines).

And finally--

With one hand on her hip, Lavinia Dressler inhaled a deep breath and surveyed the spreading chaos. From the TOP SECRET PROJECT by Angela Hunt.

--Angie