#FirstLineFriday

#FirstLineFriday#2 Submissions Are Now Closed – Here’s the Answer to Our Quiz

/ Marcia Meara / 16 Comments

Submissions for #FirstLineFriday are officially closed now. My thanks to all who emailed me with their guesses. Today, I’m sorry to say we have no winners. While I was hoping I’d be wrong, I was pretty sure this would be a tough one, even though it made an official Top 100 Opening Lines list. 

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

“The first time I laid eyes on Terry Lennox he was drunk in a Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith outside the terrace of the Dancers.” is the opening line of The Long Goodbye, written by Raymond Chandler in 1953.

WHAT WIKI SAYS:

The Long Goodbye is a novel by Raymond Chandler, published in 1953, his sixth novel featuring the private investigator Philip Marlowe. Some critics consider it inferior to The Big Sleep or Farewell, My Lovely, but others rank it as the best of his work. Chandler, in a letter to a friend, called the novel “my best book.” (NOTE: In early films, Phillip Marlowe was played by Humphrey Bogart, notably with Lauren Bacall in Chandler’s The  Big Sleep. )

The novel is notable for using hard-boiled detective fiction as a vehicle for social criticism and for including autobiographical elements from Chandler’s life. In 1955, the novel received the Edgar Award for Best Novel. It was later adapted as a 1973 film of the same name, updated to 1970s Los Angeles and starring Elliott Gould.

WHAT AMAZON SAYS:

Crime fiction master Raymond Chandler’s sixth novel featuring Philip Marlowe, the “quintessential urban private eye” (Los Angeles Times). 

In noir master Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye, Philip Marlowe befriends a down on his luck war veteran with the scars to prove it. Then he finds out that Terry Lennox has a very wealthy nymphomaniac wife, whom he divorced and remarried and who ends up dead. And now Lennox is on the lam and the cops and a crazy gangster are after Marlowe.

Buy The Long Goodbye  HERE

And that wraps up this week’s quiz, folks! Again, sorry I couldn’t give away any downloads, but as I’ve mentioned, we are down to some of what I believe to be the most difficult to recognize opening lines on the Top 100 list I’m using. Still, I think it’s fun to challenge ourselves, and to study some of the things that have apparently worked well for other writers. Hope you enjoyed this one! 🙂

#FirstLineFriday will be back in two weeks, with another challenge   😀  See you then!

 

#FirstLineFriday #GiveawayContest #FreeDownloads

/ Marcia Meara / 25 Comments

Time for another #FirstLineFriday folks, and today I’ve chosen something  from an author whose name I think most will be familiar with, even if they haven’t read this book. I can tell you that after reading this line, I WANT to read the book, as well. Hope you’ll enjoy it, too, and crossing my fingers that it might ring a bell with a few of you, also.

PLEASE READ these simple rules, just to refresh yourself on how this should be done. Thanks.

  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! Put on your thinking caps, because here is today’s opening line:

“The first time I laid eyes on Terry Lennox he was drunk in a Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith outside the terrace of the Dancers.”

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

 

 

 

#FirstLineFriday#2 Submissions Are Now Closed – Here’s the Answer to Our Quiz and the Names of Our Winners

/ Marcia Meara / 18 Comments

Submissions for #FirstLineFriday are officially closed now. My thanks to all who emailed me with their guesses. Today, I’m delighted to say we have FIVE  WINNERS!  Congratulations go to:

Janet Gogerty, Alex Craigie, Darlene Foster, Harmony Kent, and Teri Polen. Thanks so much for playing, ladies, and for being so quick to recognize this opening line!

Now, without further ado, here’s the answer to today’s quiz:

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” is the opening line to 1813’s Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  Those who love the classics will be very familiar with this one, I’m sure, while many will not have read it yet. I do recommend giving it a try, to see why a book written over 200 years ago has remained so popular for so long.

The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness. Its humor lies in its honest depiction of manners, education, marriage, and money during the Regency era in Great Britain.

Pride and Prejudice has consistently appeared near the top of lists of “most-loved books” among both literary scholars and the reading public. It has become one of the most popular novels in English literature, with over 20 million copies sold, and has inspired many derivatives in modern literature. For more than a century, dramatic adaptations, reprints, unofficial sequels, and many, many films and TV versions of Pride and Prejudice have portrayed the memorable characters and themes of the novel, reaching mass audiences.

WHAT AMAZON SAYS:

Austen’s most popular novel, the unforgettable story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.

Pride and Prejudice is a novel of manners by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character, Elizabeth Bennet, as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education, and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of the British Regency. Elizabeth is the second of five daughters of a country gentleman living near the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire, near London. Page 2 of a letter from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra (11 June 1799) in which she first mentions Pride and Prejudice, using its working title First Impressions.

Set in England in the early 19th century, Pride and Prejudice tells the story of Mr. and Mrs Bennet’s five unmarried daughters after the rich and eligible Mr. Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr. Darcy, have moved into their neighborhood. While Bingley takes an immediate liking to the eldest Bennet daughter, Jane, Darcy has difficulty adapting to local society and repeatedly clashes with the second-eldest Bennet daughter, Elizabeth.

Though Austen set the story at the turn of the 19th century, it retains a fascination for modern readers, continuing near the top of many lists of “most loved books.” It has become one of the most popular novels in English literature, selling over 20 million copies, and receives considerable attention from literary scholars. Modern interest in the book has resulted in a number of dramatic adaptations and an abundance of novels and stories imitating Austen’s memorable characters or themes.

A True Classic that Belongs on Every Bookshelf!

BUY PRIDE AND PREJUDICE HERE

And that wraps up this week’s quiz, folks! Again, congratulations to our winners, and for the rest, best of luck next time!

#FirstLineFriday will be back in two weeks.  See you then!

 

#FirstLineFriday – #FreeDownloads – #GiveawayContest

/ Marcia Meara / 28 Comments

Time for another #FirstLineFriday folks, and today I’ve chosen something I suspect will pretty easy for many of you, though it could be challenging for quite a few, as well. Still, it’s a pretty good opening line, whetting one’s curiosity as it does. Hope you’ll enjoy it.

PLEASE READ these simple rules, just to refresh yourself on how this should be done. Thanks.

  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! Put on your thinking caps, because here is today’s opening line:

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

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

 

 

 

 

#FirstLineFriday – #GiveawayContest – #FreeDownloads

/ Marcia Meara / 24 Comments

Time for another #FirstLineFriday folks, and today I’ve chosen something I suspect will be super tricky. It was just too good NOT to share with you, even if it’s the first time you’ve ever read it. I think you’ll enjoy it, whether or not you recognize it. I know I did.

PLEASE READ these simple rules, just to refresh yourself on how this should be done. Thanks.

  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! Put on your thinking caps, because here is today’s opening line:

“He was an inch, perhaps two, under six feet, powerfully built, and he advanced straight at you with a slight stoop of the shoulders, head forward, and a fixed from-under stare which made you think of a charging bull.” 

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

#FirstLineFriday Submissions Are Now Closed! Here’s the Answer to Our Quiz

/ Marcia Meara / 21 Comments

 

Submissions for today’s #FirstLineFriday are officially closed now. My thanks to all who stopped by to see if this one rang a bell. I’m sorry—but maybe not surprised– to say we have no winners, though. While I was hoping I’d be wrong, I was also thinking this would be a tough one, and it turns out, I was right.  I hope you enjoyed taking a look at what’s considered an excellent first line, and without further ado, here’s the answer to today’s quiz:

“The year 1866 was signalized by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and inexplicable phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten.” is the opening line of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by French author, Jules Verne.

The novel was originally serialized from March 1869 through June 1870 in Pierre-Jules Hetzel’s fortnightly periodical, the Magasin d’éducation et de récréation. A deluxe octavo edition, published by Hetzel in November 1871, included 111 illustrations by Alphonse de Neuville and Édouard Riou. The book was widely acclaimed on its release and remains so; it is regarded as one of the premiere adventure novels and one of Verne’s greatest works, along with Around the World in Eighty Days and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Its depiction of Captain Nemo’s underwater ship, the Nautilus, is regarded as ahead of its time, since it accurately describes many features of today’s submarines, which in the 1860s were comparatively primitive vessels.

WHAT AMAZON SAYS:

The world’s surface has been explored. Humans have reached the land’s highest peaks and lowest vales. And yet vast regions of the planet remain unexplored. Much of the oceans’ vast depths remain a mystery. Few writers have dared imagine what lies beneath the waves. Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is one of the first novels to envision the vast environs locked beneath tons of swirling water. As ships are damaged and scientists report mysterious sightings of a massive sea monster, a ship is sent out to discover the beast. Only it turns out this monster is actually a ship, the most advanced submarine ever built. Follow the crew of the Nautilus as they explore the world’s oceans. They will confront giant squids, delve into the mysteries of Atlantis, and face new challenges none of them dared imagine.

Buy Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea HERE

And that wraps up this week’s quiz, folks! Again, sorry I couldn’t give away any downloads, but I’m still happy to be sharing a book considered to be a pioneer in the genre and a great example of an opening line.

#FirstLineFriday will be back soon, and I’ll try to have something that rings a bell with more of you. Maybe. You never can tell. 😀  See you then!

#FirstLineFriday #GiveawayContest #FreeDownloads

/ Marcia Meara / 28 Comments

Time for another #FirstLineFriday folks, and just to keep you on your toes, I’ve chosen  an opening line from well-known classic. Let’s see how you do. 😀

PLEASE READ these simple rules, just to refresh yourself on how this should be done. Thanks.

  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! Put on your thinking caps, because here is today’s opening line:

“The year 1866 was signalized by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and inexplicable phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten.” 

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

#FirstLineFriday#2 Submissions Are Now Closed! Here’s the Answer to Our Quiz, and the Names of Our Winners!

/ Marcia Meara / 17 Comments

Submissions for #FirstLineFriday are officially closed now. My thanks to all who emailed me with their guesses. This is one of my favorite opening lines, and well deserving of being included in this list, in my own opinion. Sadly, wonderful as it is, many of us who’ve read the book seem to have forgotten it. Happily, two folks remembered. Congratulations to our winners:

Bob Nailor 
Harmony Kent

Hope you two will enjoy the books you selected! 

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

“When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.”  is the opening line from The Hunger Games, a series of young adult dystopian novels written by the American author Suzanne Collins. The series is set in the Hunger Games universe, the first three novels being a trilogy following teenage protagonist, Katniss Everdeen.

The novels in the trilogy are titled The Hunger Games (2008), Catching Fire (2009), and Mockingjay (2010). These novels were all turned into films starring Jennifer Lawrence, with the film adaptation of Mockingjay split into two parts. The first two books in the series were both New York Times best sellers, and Mockingjay topped all US bestseller lists upon its release. By the time the film adaptation of The Hunger Games was released in 2012, the publisher had reported over 26 million Hunger Games trilogy books in print, including movie tie-in books.

The Hunger Games universe is a dystopia set in Panem, a North American country consisting of the wealthy Capitol and 13 districts in varying states of poverty. Every year, children from the first 12 districts are selected via lottery to participate in a compulsory televised battle royale death match called The Hunger Games.

The novels were all well received. In August 2012, the series ranked second, exceeded only by the Harry Potter series in NPR’s poll of the top 100 teen novels, which asked voters to choose their favorite young adult books. On August 17, 2012, Amazon announced the Hunger Games trilogy as its top seller, surpassing the record previously held by the Harry Potter series. As of 2014, the trilogy has sold more than 65 million copies in the U.S. alone (more than 28 million copies of The Hunger Games, more than 19 million copies of Catching Fire, and more than 18 million copies of Mockingjay). The Hunger Games trilogy has been sold in 56 territories in 51 languages to date.

WHAT AMAZON SAYS:

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, “The Hunger Games,” a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed.

BUY THE HUNGER GAMES HERE

And that wraps up this week’s #FirstLineFriday quiz. Thanks for playing everyone! Hope to see more winners next time, but for now, congratulations again to Bob and Harmony! Happy Reading, you two!

#FirstLineFriday #GiveawayContest #FreeDownloads

/ Marcia Meara / 29 Comments

Time for another #FirstLineFriday folks, and just to keep you on your toes, I’ve chosen something I suspect will be tricky, even though it isn’t a classic from decades gone by. Let’s see if you prove me wrong today.

PLEASE READ these simple rules, just to refresh yourself on how this should be done. Thanks.

  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! Put on your thinking caps, because here is today’s opening line:

“When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.” 

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

#FirstLineFriday Submissions Are Now Closed! Here’s the Answer to Our Quiz, and the Name of Our Winner!

/ Marcia Meara / 22 Comments

 

Submissions for #FirstLineFriday are officially closed now. My thanks to all who emailed me with their guesses. Today, I’m sorry—but maybe not surprised– to say we only have one winner. While I was hoping I’d be wrong, I had a feeling this would be a tough one, even though it’s a title sure to be familiar with most, if not all, of you. Still, I think it’s fun and interesting to study these opening lines, and I hope you enjoy this little quiz as much as I do.

Congratulations to our winner today, Jeanne Owens, who blogs HERE.

Now, without further ado, here’s the answer to today’s quiz:

“Left Munich at 8.35 pm on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6.46, but train was an hour late.” is the opening line to Bram Stoker’s classic novel, Dracula.

While I know each of you is very familiar with the character of Dracula, whether you’ve read the original story or not, here’s what Wikipedia has to say about Stoker’s book. Dracula is an 1897 Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. It introduced the character of Count Dracula and established many conventions of subsequent vampire fantasy. The novel tells the story of Dracula’s attempt to move from Transylvania to England so that he may find new blood and spread the undead curse, and of the battle between Dracula and a small group of people led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing.

Dracula has been assigned to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, gothic fiction, and invasion literature. The novel has spawned numerous theatrical, film, and television interpretations, and none more famous than the 1931 Hollywood film starring Bela Lugosi.

BLURB:

The hunt is on! Dr. Van Helsing and his accomplices begin the chase to track down the infamous vampire Count Dracula before he completes his quest of moving into England and further spreading the undead disease. Even with the garlic, the crosses, and the holy water, the Count manages to entrance a fellow lady vampire hunter and bring her to the undead side. An invincible foe Dracula may appear to be, but Van Helsing and his group will stop short not even to death itself until they have conquered the most notorious villain of all time.

From Transylvania to England and then back again, this classic 19th century Gothic horror became the cornerstone for the horror genre that boomed in the century to follow.

You can download numerous versions of this famous book on Amazon, including the leather bound version HERE.

And that’s it for this week’s #FirstLineFriday. I’ll be back with another in a couple of weeks, if the bridge don’t go, an’ the creek don’t rise. 😉 Hope you’ll join us then, when the line may turn out to be one you recognize at once.

Thanks for taking a look today! See you next time!