It’s Friday again, and though I’m not yet back to my normal weekly schedule, today has worked well for me to present you with another #FirstLineFriday quiz. As you know, this quiz is designed to help us appreciate some of the best opening lines in literary history. From the classics of long ago to the latest best-sellers, no matter how old or how recent, everything is fair game on #FirstLineFriday. Let’s see how many of you recognize (or can guess at) this one.  

As always, the rules are simple:

1. Be one of the first five people to email me before the game ends at 4:00pm, with the title and author of the correct book. 
2. Do not reply here on the blog. Email only: marciameara16@gmail.com
3. Honor System applies. No Googling, please.
4. Submissions end at 4:00 P.M. EST, or when I receive 5 correct answers, whichever comes first.
5. Winners who live in the U.S. may request a free download of any one of my books for themselves, or for someone of their choice. OR, if they’ve read all of the offered books, they may request a free download of my next publication.
6. Winners who live elsewhere may request a mobi or PDF file of the same books, since, sadly, Amazon won’t let me gift you from the site.

Remember, guesses are free and I am the only one who’ll know if you guess incorrectly, so go for it! And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for! Put on your thinking caps, because here is today’s opening line:

“The stranger came early in February, one wintry day, through a biting wind and a driving snow, the last snowfall of the year, over the down, walking as it seemed from Bramblehurst railway station, and carrying a little black portmanteau in his thickly gloved hand.” 

Remember, email answers only, please. Thanks! And now off I go to await your guesses. 

It’s Friday again, which means you have another chance to try your hand at  #FirstLineFriday, our little quiz designed to help us appreciate some of the best opening lines in literary history. From the classics of long ago to the latest best-sellers, no matter how old or how recent, everything is fair game on #FirstLineFriday. Let’s see how many of you remember this one.  

As always, the rules are simple:

1. Be one of the first five people to email me before the game ends at 4:00pm, with the title and author of the correct book. 
2. Do not reply here on the blog. Email only: marciameara16@gmail.com
3. Honor System applies. No Googling, please.
4. Submissions end at 4:00 P.M. EST, or when I receive 5 correct answers, whichever comes first.
5. Winners who live in the U.S. may request a free download of any one of my books for themselves, or for someone of their choice. OR, if they’ve read all of the offered books, they may request a free download of my next publication.
6. Winners who live elsewhere may request a mobi or PDF file of the same books, since, sadly, Amazon won’t let me gift you from the site.

And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for! I’ve been easier on you this time, so put on your thinking caps, because here’s today’s opening line: 

“Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she’d been told that she would kill her true love.” 

Remember, email answers only, please. Thanks! And now off I go to await your guesses. 

Submissions for #FirstLineFriday are officially closed now. My thanks to all who emailed me with their guesses. Today, we have two winners: Darlene Foster and Sarah Brentyn.  And I’ve decided to add a new feature to this Winner post: the link to each winner’s Author’s Page. I hope you’ll all enjoy being able to learn more about what these good folks have written and how to buy their books. And I also hope it inspires more of you to take a guess each week.

Darlene Foster’s Author Page can be found HERE.
Sarah Brentyn’s Author Page can be found HERE.

Congratulations to both of you, and I hope you enjoy your prizes.

And now, here’s the answer to today’s quiz:

“We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold” is the opening line of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a 1971 novel by Hunter S. Thompson and illustrated by Ralph Steadman.

The book is a roman à clef, rooted in autobiographical incidents. The story follows its protagonist, Raoul Duke, and his attorney, Dr. Gonzo, as they descend on Las Vegas to chase the American Dream through a drug-induced haze, all the while ruminating on the failure of the 1960s countercultural movement.

The work is Thompson’s most famous book, and is noted for its lurid descriptions of illegal drug use and its early retrospective on the culture of the 1960s. Its popularization of Thompson’s highly subjective blend of fact and fiction has become known as gonzo journalism.

The novel first appeared as a two-part series in Rolling Stone magazine in 1971, and was published as a book in 1972. It was later adapted into a film of the same title in 1998 by Terry Gilliam, starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro who portrayed Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo, respectively. The novel lacks a clear narrative and frequently delves into the surreal, never quite distinguishing between what is real and what is only imagined by the characters.

NOTE: I wish I could tell you I’ve read the book or seen the movie, but even in 1971, it seemed a bit over the top for me. I do, however, think that opening line is a real grabber, and I’m glad we had some winners this week! 🙂 (And I must say, this cover certainly looks quite fitting. 😀 )

Buy Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas HERE

That wraps it up for this week, folks. Thanks so much for taking part, and I hope you’ll stay tuned for another #FirstLineFriday quiz next week. See you then!

Two weeks in a row! We’re on a roll with  #FirstLineFriday, our little quiz designed to help us appreciate some of the best opening lines in literary history. Told ya I was gonna do my best to catch up on things here at The Write Stuff, and I’m working on it! As usual, from the classics of long ago to the latest best-sellers, everything is fair game on #FirstLineFriday, and I have an interesting and slightly newer line for you today.

As always, the rules are simple:

1. Be one of the first five people to email me before the game ends at 4:00pm, with the title and author of the correct book. 
2. Do not reply here on the blog.Email only: marciameara16@gmail.com
3. Honor System applies. No Googling, please.
4. Submissions end at 4:00 P.M. EST, or when I receive 5 correct answers, whichever comes first.
5. Winners who live in the U.S. may request a free download of any one of my books for themselves, or for someone of their choice. OR, if they’ve read all of the offered books, they may request a free download of my next publication.
6. Winners who live elsewhere may request a PDF file of the same books, since, sadly, Amazon won’t let me gift you from the site.

And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for! Put on your thinking caps, because here’s today’s opening line: 

”There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.” 

Well—whaddya think? Sound familiar? DON’T forget, it costs nothing to guess, but do remember, email answers only, please. Thanks! And now off I go to await your guesses. 

Submissions for #FirstLineFriday are officially closed now. My thanks to all who emailed me with their guesses. (ONE!) Sadly, we have no winners today, but I’m pretty sure most if not all of you have heard of this book and the hugely popular movie, even if you haven’t read it. (I read it and saw the film, but it was a long time ago, when I read a lot more horror than I do today.)

And now, here’s the answer to today’s quiz:

“Like the brief doomed flare of exploding suns that registers dimly on blind men’s eyes, the beginning of the horror passed almost unnoticed; in the shriek of what followed, in fact, was forgotten and perhaps not connected to the horror at all.” is the opening line from The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty.

The Exorcist is a 1971 horror novel by American writer William Peter Blatty. The book details the demonic possession of eleven-year-old Regan MacNeil, the daughter of a famous actress, and the two priests who attempt to exorcise the demon. Published by Harper & Row, the novel was the basis of a highly successful film adaption released two years later, whose screenplay was also written and produced by Blatty, and part of The Exorcist franchise.

The novel was inspired by a 1949 case of demonic possession and exorcism that Blatty heard about while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University. As a result, the novel takes place in Washington, D.C., near the campus of Georgetown University. In September 2011, the novel was reprinted by Harper Collins to celebrate its fortieth anniversary, with slight revisions made by Blatty as well as interior title artwork by Jeremy Caniglia.

One of the most profitable horror movies ever made, this tale of an exorcism is based loosely on actual events. When young Regan (Linda Blair) starts acting odd — levitating, speaking in tongues — her worried mother (Ellen Burstyn) seeks medical help, only to hit a dead end. A local priest (Jason Miller), however, thinks the girl may be seized by the devil. The priest makes a request to perform an exorcism, and the church sends in an expert (Max von Sydow) to help with the difficult job.

AMAZON SAYS:

The Exorcist changed popular culture forever. Now, William Peter Blatty’s groundbreaking story of faith and supernatural suspense–the runaway #1 bestseller that started it all–is reincarnated in this spectacular newly polished and rewritten 40th Anniversary Edition of the novel that burst through society’s seven seals and paved the way for the entire genre that followed it: the unforgettable The Exorcist.

Buy The Exorcist HERE

That wraps it up for this week, folks. Thanks so much for taking part, and I hope you’ll stay tuned for another #FirstLineFriday quiz next week. See you then, if the bridge don’t go, an’ the creek don’t rise! In the meantime:

It’s BAAA-AAACK!  #FirstLineFriday, our little quiz designed to help us appreciate some of the best opening lines in literary history, has returned. For today at least. (I’m going to do my best to catch up on things here at The Write Stuff, but I’m still not at 100%, so bear with me, if you would, thanks). From the classics of long ago to the latest best-sellers, everything is fair game on #FirstLineFriday, and I have an oldie but a goodie for you today.

As always, the rules are simple:

1. Be one of the first five people to email me before the game ends at 4:00pm, with the title and author of the correct book. 
2. Do not reply here on the blog. Email only: marciameara16@gmail.com
3. Honor System applies. No Googling, please.
4. Submissions end at 4:00 P.M. EST, or when I receive 5 correct answers, whichever comes first.
5. Winners who live in the U.S.may request a free download of any one of my books for themselves, or for someone of their choice. OR, if they’ve read all of the offered books, they may request a free download of my next publication.
6. Winners who live elsewhere may request a PDF file of the same books, since, sadly, Amazon won’t let me gift you from the site.

And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for! Put on your thinking caps, because here’s today’s opening line:

“Like the brief doomed flare of exploding suns that registers dimly on blind men’s eyes, the beginning of the horror passed almost unnoticed; in the shriek of what followed, in fact, was forgotten and perhaps not connected to the horror at all.” 

Remember, email answers only, please. Thanks! And now off I go to await your guesses.