What makes a Great First Line? #amwriting

What makes a great first line? For me, it's the one line that hooks you and makes you want to keep reading the book. Sometimes it can be simple. Other times it can be complicated. But each and every line that grabs my attention have been funny -- or intriguing -- or something I can relate to.

I've been reworking an introduction of a WIP and as part of my revision, I've scoured my favorite reads first lines. In honor of this, I'm sharing my favorites below. 

"Saying that she went to the annual Firefighter's Charity Breakfast for pancakes was like saying she watched baseball for the game  -- when everyone knew that you watched baseball for the guys tight uniform pants." - Always on My Mind, Jill Shalvis

"Kate Evans would've sold her soul for a stress-free morning, but either her soul wasn't worth much or whoever was in charge of granting wishes was taking a nap." Rumor Has It, Jill Shalvis

"Liz Kowalski's thirty-year-old shitbox, loaded down with everything she owned, went by the Welcome to Whitford, Maine sign trunk-first, bald tires hydroplaning as it headed for the ditch." - Love a Little Sideways, Shannon Stacey

"Rational thought and a working knowledge of hand-to-hand combat were useless when faced with the villainous power of the American house spider." Two of a Kind, Susan Mallery

"In the split second before hell exploded, Jackson Wilder picked up his weapon and pounded the bastard back." - Sweetest Mistake, Candis Terry

"Apparently, even spammers were bound and determined to shove her lack of a love life in her face today." - Falling for Her Fiance by Cindi Madsen

How about from my own novels? I spend a lot of time trying to form the perfect first line that will make you want to read more. Here they are:

One Lucky Night: Drink or Dare
"May your troubles be less and your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door," Killian recited the blessing his father taught him as he entered The Brazen Head.

Love and Other Games: Trouble with Gold
"Okay, buddies, this is the place," Chris declared displaying a wide grin under his retro beanie hat, splaying his hands out by his side.

Breaking the Rules
The minute Colin stepped foot into the middle school office, the sinking feeling dropped deep into the pit of his stomach.

Time Changes Everything (Temporarily unavailable)
Amanda's priorities for the evening did not include a night of playing hide-and-touch boy-toys with her friends.

The Boy Next Door (Temporarily unavailable)
With four words, Gabe ruined Amanda Larson's teenage life.

What is your favorite first line? Do you have a favorite author or one you've written in your own book? Please share in the comments!

Thanks for visiting,
Melinda

Naughty No-No's Blog Hop: Breaking the Rules by Melinda Dozier

It's great to participate in a Naughty Blog Hop! I love naughtiness and so do my characters. I'm happy to share a pre-naughty scene from my last release, Breaking the Rules.

     Colin grabbed her hand, put his finger to his mouth and took her to the back sliding door. Never taking his eyes from hers, he slid open the door, squeezing her hand.

Once they stood by the pool, Colin ran his hand from her head to her fingertips. “You

don’t want to run away now that I took complete advantage of you?”

     She pressed her body up to his. “You haven’t taken enough advantage of me tonight.”

     He kissed her lips, moved to her chin and then her ear. Then he whispered, “Let’s let

Jason fall asleep first. Come on.” He grabbed her hand and led her to a patio lounger.

     They curled up together on the big, fluffy outdoor pillows and looked up into the

night. Her body pressed against his with her hand across his chest, her head in the crook

of his neck. “What was the emergency?” she asked.

     “Can you believe my patient decided to take his own cast off and then hurt his leg

again? I had to re-reset his bone, recast him and then lay into him that he cannot remove

the cast.” He closed his eyes. “Let’s not talk about it.” He pulled her closer and ran his

hand down her arm. “I bet you didn’t know how often I have to run out at night.”

     “I know you’re a doctor and that sometimes you’re on call.” She shrugged. “No

biggie.”

     He brought her chin up and forced her to look at him. “Seriously? You’re not mad?”

     “I’m not mad, only disappointed that we couldn’t spend more time together.”

     “You’re amazing, you know that?” He leaned down and kissed her. When his tongue

searched hers, she opened her mouth, letting her own explore his. He pulled her body on

top of his and she squealed and laughed at the same time. Then his hands roamed her

butt, like she’d wanted him to do all night. Only this time his hands brought the entire

skirt up to show her matching pink thong. “Holy shit. You’re driving me crazy.”

     “Do you think he’s asleep?” She bit her lip.

     “He’s usually a deep sleeper.”

     She rose and stood in front of the chair, reaching under her shirt and taking off her bra

underneath her shirt. She threw it at him, which made him groan and try to stand.

     “Nuh uh uh. No getting up yet.” She reached down and slid her bright pink underwear

down her legs and circled them on a finger.

     “How can I just sit here and watch this?” He reached out and she swatted at his hands.

     “This is complete torture.”

     “Don’t you like watching?” She strutted a few steps toward the pool.

    “I love watching, but I also love touching.” 

Want to read more of the naughtiness? You can find Breaking the Rules at all major ebook retailers. Here's more information about the book:

Title: Breaking the Rules

Publisher: Crimson Romance

Release Date: July 8, 2013

A forbidden love affair in the past has led HOPE ROBINSON, a middle school principal, to Harbor Bay, where she commits herself to play by the rules. This can be difficult for a perpetual klutz, who – even strapped to a cast – has to uphold a competent attitude at all times.

Luckily, she has Dr. Colin Calaway on her side, a widower and father of a student, who is ready to give love another try. When Colin convinces Hope that they should explore the connection between them, a steamy romance develops – though it could destroy them both. They must decide if their jobs – and their hearts – are worth the risk.

I will give away an ecopy of either Time Changes Everything or Breaking the Rules from Amazon. Enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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NOW, follow the other blogs participating in the Naughty No-No's Blog Hop using the links below:

Lovestruck Giveaway Hop #giveaway #win #ebook

Have you ever been lovestrucked? I'm afraid I have been TOO many times. Yes, I have a list of fictional book boyfriends. They get me every time! Lovestruck! 

I'm happy to say that I am officially lovestruck by my heroes in my novels. So, here's your chance to win one of those novels and to fall instantly in love. 

Your choice between:

Breaking the Rules - Dr. Colin Calaway is a single father, busy raising his son on his own. When he meets Hope Robinson, he is instantly attracted. Having learned the hard way that life is too short to let anything pass him by, he'll do anything to tempt Hope to break the rules and follow her heart!

Time Changes Everything - Jake Edwards is the boy-next-door turned hotshot lawyer. When Amanda and Jake meet up again in New York City, their teenage crushes turn into something much more steamier.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the hop for more chances to win:

Breaking the Rules Review Tour - Tasty Book Tours

For the next two weeks, Tasty Book Tours has a review tour scheduled for me! Below you can see the stops. Why not stop by yourself? 

July 29th- Deal Sharing Aunt
July 30th- SMI Book Club
July 31st- Storm Goddess Book Reviews
Aug 1st- Racing to Read
Aug 2nd- A Tasty Read Book Reviews

Aug 5th- Books, Coffee and Wine
Aug 6th- Romancing the Readers
Aug 7th- Once Upon a Book
(Stop 2) Romance Bookworm
Aug 8th- Faerie Tale Books
Aug 9th- For the Love of Bookends

Our Favorite Heroes -- Ull, Jake, Colin are back Like Never Before!

We're at it again!!!

ST Bende, author of Elsker and Endre, and I love to have fun! Today we're featuring our favorite heroes -- those from our books. 

First, we have to see them shake and wiggle. Starring Ull (from Elsker), Jake (from Time Changes Everything), Colin (from Breaking the Rules) and a sneak peek at two new characters you will meet later this year, Ty (from Trouble with Gold) and Grant (from Time Out, Valentine)

Ull (Alexander Skarsgard), Jake (Matt Bomer), Colin (Chris O'Donnel), Ty (from Trouble with Gold) and Grant (from Time Out, Valentine)

It's no lie that ST has actually met her hero, Alexander Skarsgard. Yep! For reals. Here's a photo to prove it. And check out this blog post for more details & photos: The Day I Met Ull

So, it's only fair that I "pretend" that I met my heroes too (thanks to Faceinthehole.com).

Here I am with Jake (aka Matt Bomer) from Time Changes Everything. Jake's a bigshot lawyer in new York City. You can read Jake's story today ... available at all ebook retailers! 

Now, I'm happy to introduce my latest hero, Dr. Colin Calaway (aka Chris O'Donnel). Colin is a successful doctor, but also a dad busy raising his son alone. When he meets Hope Robinson, his son's principal, he tempts her to break the rules. Breaking the Rules was released on July 8 from Crimson Romance. Check it out!

Now that you've briefly met our heroes, it's time to go buy those books so you can really get to know them. Thanks for stopping by today!

Time Changes Everything by Melinda Dozier

Breaking the Rules by Melinda Dozier

Elsker by ST Bende

Breaking the Rules Blog Tour Continues ... Week 2

What a fantastic week! 

I hope you've enjoyed the #breakingtherules posts from guest authors! What a bunch of fun ladies! Here are some excellent posts and promotion that happened last week.

#1 Excitement Post - Mention on USA Today's HEA

Crimson Authors Break the Rules, Too!

YA & NA Authors Break the Rules

More Authors Break the Rules

Now we have a new week with the Breaking the Rules Blog Tour. Here's what's planned:

JULY 15

Joanne Stewart / Author Interview / http://jm-stewart.blogspot.com/

JULY 16

Chantel Rhondeau / Melinda and Colin Interview /http://www.chantelrhondeau.com/

JULY 17

Rachel Kall / Melinda and Hope Interview http://www.rachelkall.blogspot.com/

JULY 18

Kara Leigh Miller /http://www.karaleighmiller.com/p/welcome.html

Selena Laurence / Author Interview / http://selenalaurence.com/

JULY 19

ST Bende / Ull Chats with Colin / http://stbende.blogspot.com

JULY 20

Leslie Garcia / Interview / 

JULY 21

Romance Lives Forever / Character Interview / http://romancelivesforever.blogspot.com/

Don't forget to visit and enter the giveaway! I'm giving away an ecopy of my book AND a Yankees or RedSox cap (winner's choice). 

Also, I have a twitter contest that needs participants. Grab one of the badges below, hashtag #breakingtherules and share how you broke the rules. Easy! 

Authors Who Break the Rules

We're still on a roll! Authors LOVE to break the rules, so of course our characters do too! Let's read more about our Rule Breakers!

Paloma Beck, Author of Hold My Hand
How did I break the rules when I wrote Hold My Hand?

I made the story personal and included elements that hit very close to home. When I decided to write for publication, I intended to hold back enough of myself that my characters wouldn't have too much of my personality or issues in them. I blew that out of the water when Aubrey came to me and demanded her story be written. I broke the rules and I'm so glad I did.

How has Aubrey broken the rules?

Aubrey thinks the relationship William wants with her might be breaking the rules she's lived by her whole life. She may not be tight with her family but she's always had her faith. When she decides to break the rules -going against the church's teaching- she comes to realize that sometimes rules are all about interpretation.

Rachel Kall, Author of Legally Undercover

How did I break the rules?

This is a difficult question for me because I am the ultimate rule follower. Call me crazy, but that’s just me. So I thought about this and wondered when I did something that I theoretically shouldn’t have. When I rescued my dog Zoe from a high kill shelter, my husband had specifically told me when I called him to tell her what I was doing that a) he didn’t want another dog and b) I should not get another dog. Under no circumstances is what he said. Well you know what I did? I broke the rules. I left work, drove down to the animal control, and busted Zoe out. Years later my husband is glad I broke the rules:)

How does my character break the rules?

Alex Popov is a high powered attorney with her eyes set on partnership. When Alex is faced with evidence provided by the FBI that her client contact Pedro Martin is involved in illegal arms trading, she breaks the rules. She decides to trust in him and goes against the FBI even when the evidence is stacked against Pedro. Was she right? Check out Legally Undercover to find out!

Tammy Dennings Maggy, Author of For the Love of Quinn

How I broke the rules

When it comes to romance, there are many “rules” a writer should follow in order to appeal to specific publishers. Well, I broke several with For the Love of Quinn (Now and Forever). First and foremost, the novel is HUGE at well over 200,000 words.  The heroine isn’t a young twenty-something either. She’s just like me, over forty with a successful career as a veterinary surgeon. She’s also MARRIED when she meets and falls in love with the two men who would change her life forever. One would be with her through thick and thin and the other is her soul mate, searching for her through each and every lifetime. I made one of the heroes confused and unsure that he was the one for her.  More often than not, publishers want sure, confident heroes who know what they want and go out and get it. I wanted to show real life situations with these characters because I lived it myself.

How my characters broke the rules

Quinn stays in a loveless and sexless marriage because of a promise she made to an old woman on her death bed. This seems honorable on the surface, but ultimately it ends up causing her years of unnecessary sadness and pain.  She decides to finally enjoy herself on a trip to Las Vegas, determined to let whatever happens in Vegas stay there, but her heart had other plans.  Not one, but two men stake claims on her affections.  Casino owner Steve Eischer is the first to have her in his bed and determined to keep her there for as long as she’ll have him.  Jake Hartley, the classic bad boy is nearly struck dumb when his eyes meet with hers on the dance floor. Never before had he felt a pull so strong. He wants her, but more than just a one night stand.  He pursues her even though it’s clear Steve will do whatever it takes to keep her.  

Ultimately, Quinn finds herself in love with both men and yet unable to give herself completely to either one because of her bad marriage.  The guilt she feels over this overwhelms her and yet she can’t stay away from either one of them. She relies more and more on Steve to escape her nasty husband and yet her heart also yearns for Jake even after he shatters her world by agreeing to marry another.

Will Steve be able to move heaven and earth to give her the happiness she deserves  or will he lose her forever to a broken heart?  Read For the Love of Quinn to find out.

Crimson Authors Break the Rules, Too!

This week my contemporary romance, BREAKING THE RULES, has been released! In honor of this, I've asked some author friends to answer two questions: 

How did you break the rules? How has your character broken the rules?

Find answers below from some of my fellow Crimson Romance authors. Check back in two days for more responses!

ME! Melinda Dozier, Author of Breaking the Rules
How did I break the rules? 
This is a tough one, because I am a rule follower, just like my character Hope. In fact, I'm a sixth grade teacher and rules are very important in my life -- otherwise I'd end up in a looney house. But, I did break the rules when I was a teenager. I wasn't too bad --  really. In 10th grade, I was signed up for Typing class. Typing? Really? With those old-fashioned type writers and all. I found it pointless, so I skipped class. ALL THE TIME. Unfortunately, my parents got a truancy notice in the mail and I had to come clean. Luckily, it was taken care of and I am one damn good typer!

How did my characters break the rules? 
When you read Breaking the Rules, you'll see that Hope and Colin have to decide to bend the rules a little in order to continue their relationship. Hope is the strict, uptight middle school principal and Colin's eleven-year-old falls into some trouble. After their attraction builds, Hope has to come to terms with her feelings for Colin and the ethics behind dating a student's father. Luckily, Colin's charm and ease tempts Hope into following her heart instead of her rules. You'll have to read to find out how!



Micah Persell, Author Of Consuming Fire (RELEASED YESTERDAY AND I LOVED THIS BOOK!)

How did I break the rules?

When I was in college, I toured two summers with a traveling music group of 5-8 members to fulfill some of the requirements of my music scholarship. There was a strict no-dating rule on these tours; we even had to sign a statement saying we would not engage in a romantic relationship with one of our fellow musicians.  Alas, I am a sucker for a deep voice, and both summers, I ended up falling for the basses of the groups. Clandestine relationships are pretty exciting, especially when you're a college kid.  Unlike the heroine of Breaking the Rules, who also engaged in a clandestine relationship, I did not find true love. My romances ended pretty quickly after the tours, but they were sure fun while they lasted!

How has my character broken the rules?

I love characters who break the rules.  In my paranormal series, Operation: Middle of the Garden, I have a rule-breaker in every book.  The heroine of Of Eternal Life, Dr. Abilene Miller, breaks the rules by falling in love with her patient.  In book two, Of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, my heroine Dahlia breaks pretty much every rule--and law--she can; she likes it that way.   And in Of Consuming Fire, my latest release, my angel, Jayden, breaks the one and only rule that governs angels and ends up Falling.  

www.micahpersell.com

Rachel Cross, Author of Rock Her

How did I break the rules?

Obviously I haven't broken enough rules, since I've passed two pre-employment polygraphs for public safety jobs in the past twenty years. However, I may have broken every unwritten rule for career satisfaction and advancement known to mankind. I've changed jobs a half-dozen times; left a lucrative career to take a volunteer gig and given up a phenomenally fun job to take a miserably boring position. I've failed and been unhappy in more than one occupation but I've been successful and found my passion too many times to count. The latest one is a writing gig and it's a keeper.

How did your character break the rules? 

Alec Sawyer was rock music’s most infamous guitarist. His past was an excess of everything: drugs, parties, rock, sex, and money. His downfall had been long, spectacular, and public. Eventually, he picked himself up, got sober, went back to college and law school and now follows all the rules as an attorney. But love doesn't follow rules, and sometimes you have to take that leap of faith.
www.readrachelcross.com

Leslie P. Garcia, Author of Unattainable
How have you broken the rules? 
I broke rules by falling in love with an illegal alien which got me kicked out of my family by my father (shades of Unattainable except that I'm not an heiress ;) ).

How has your character broken the rules? 
As far as my character, Jovi Trevino breaks rules by falling in love with the woman he's investigating.  Not original, but it can be deadly!

http://lesliepgarcia.wordpress.com/return-to-rio/   

Christine Feldman, Author of The Bargain

How do you break the rules?

Normally, I do not break rules.  In fact, I'm rather tightly wound, which naturally makes me the life of every party.  (Not.)  But I am breaking the rules now in a big way by taking a huge plunge:  I'm taking a leave of absence from my day job--which provides steady pay and security--in order to pursue my lifelong dream of writing, which does NOT offer steady pay or security unless you're J.K. Rowling.  (And I am not, as you may have already guessed, J.K. Rowling or even a distant relation.)  Does this qualify as breaking the rules?  Not written rules, but sometimes the expectations placed on you by society sure feel a lot like rules, and some of those need to be broken in order to see just exactly what you're capable of doing after all.

How has your character broken the rules?

In The Bargain, Shannon Mahoney isn't exactly someone you'd call a rule breaker.  In fact, this particular tomboy is more of an awkward wallflower, especially when it comes to matters of the heart and the opposite sex.  But in the end, she does break free from certain things holding her back and makes a very bold move that defies the expectations of everyone who knows her--but I can't tell you anything more about it here because it will spoil the ending.  Can't have that!

http://christinesfeldman.com 

JM Stewart, Author of Her Knight in Black Leather

How do you / did you break the rules?

--hahahaha. I have to laugh at this one. For the most part, I don’t. I’m a wanna-be rebel, or you could call me a closet rebel. I tend to rebel at the small stuff. For example, when I was first learning how to write, I was told never ever ever switch POVs mid scene. Guess what was the first thing I wanted to learn how to do? Lol I’m afraid, that’s the type of rules you’ll tend to see me breaking.

How has your character broken the rules? 

I modeled the hero of Her Knight in Black Leather in part after my husband, who really was a bad boy. Michael marches to the beat of his own drummer. He’s broken laws as a teenager. Stealing his father’s car. Smoking. Drinking. Spent more than a few nights in jail for all of it. Typical rebellious teenager stuff. He spent most of his teenage years doing everything he could to piss off his overbearing father. At eighteen, he left home and went off on his own, to prove to his father he didn’t have to be who he demanded him to be.

But mostly, I suppose Michael’s a bit like me. He doesn’t follow the crowd. He does his own thing, so for the most part, he’s a loner. Michael’s the type of guy who doesn’t care what people think of him. He isn’t afraid to be different. When people push, he isn’t afraid to push back. So, when being seen with him puts the heroine, Cat’s life in danger, Michael puts himself in front of her. He wears a black leather jacket and rides a custom motorcycle he built himself. He owns a custom bike shop in L.A rather than working for his father in the family business. So, I guess you could say Michael is more of a rebel than an actual rule breaker. The rules he breaks are more society’s “norms,” what people expect of him. Or tell him he has to be.  

http://www.crimsonromance.com/crimson-romance-ebooks/crimson-romance-book-genres/contemporary-romance-novels/her-knight-in-black-leather/

Robyn Neely, Author of Destination Wedding

I broke the rules to see Bon Jovi!

 Working for a major university,  my boss and I did a site visit to our newly opened arena. They were setting up for a sound check, and after a little probing (and flirting with the event director - he didn't see it coming) we found out that Bon Jovi was playing a private concert for some big high tech agency.

 We began to concoct our plan - after all it was Bon Jovi on our turf! During our tour, we decided to leave my keys in one of the suites when the event director wasn't looking. Now I was smart and took my house and car keys off the key ring. Phase 1 in Operation Slippery When Wet was complete.

 That evening, we showed up at the arena. It was soooooo chaotic but as the Living On a Prayer gods were looking down on us, we ran into the director on the crowded street. I immediately went into "I left my car keys in the suite" mode. He bought it hook, line and sinker and escorted us in. Then, I took him to every suite BUT the one that I knew my keys were in.

 He finally gave up and told us to have a good time! We sent him a bottle of wine a couple days later. BEST CONCERT EVER!

How has your character broken the rules?  

In 'Destination Wedding', Wedding Planner Kate Ashby can't keep her lips off her client, so she thinks!

http://robynneeley.com/books/