In the Beginning…

By Danielle Jackson

As an avid reader, I know that an opening line sets the tone for the entire novel—whether it actually has anything integral or not to do with the plot and overall outcome for the characters—if it even has to do anything with the main characters… Anyway, I thought it would be fun to have a little quiz, which will have some recognizable first lines from books we all know and love, as well as some first lines from some author on the rise ;-) I’ll reveal the answers in the comments around Noon (CST). Until then, let us know your guesses, and share your own favorite first lines!

1) It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…

2) Lady Callista Taillefaire was a gifted wallflower.

3) It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

4) If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.

5) I found him in the slave market on Orpheseus Prime, and even on such a godforsaken planet as that one, their treatment of him seemed extreme.

6) In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice I've been turning over in my mind ever since.

7) Beau stomped on the brakes and jumped off the three-wheeler, anger boiling up from somewhere down deep in his scuffed-up cowboy boots.

8) The waxing moon was calling to her. Again.

9) Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.

10) Gayle Windham, Earl of Westhaven, was enjoying a leisurely measure of those things that pleased him most: solitude, peace, and quiet.

11) As Gregor Samsa awoke from a night of uneasy dreaming, he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.

12) Karma Kincaid, will you marry me?

13) Summer Wine Lee peeked through the drapery covering the second-story window of their rented London townhouse, hoping to catch a glimpse of the man she intended to hire to change her life forever.

14) Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.

15) Lily Rutledge had never contemplated murder before, though she was warming to the idea.

Good luck!