First Lines: September 2018

A look at some of the best opening lines from titles by BookLife authors.

This month we’ve got multiple wives, naked Thomas Jefferson, and more. To submit a first line, email booklifeeditor@booklife.com.


Anne and Louis by Rozsa Gaston


“He was mad to make her his wife. Too bad he already had one.”

T. Jefferson’s Chant by Ronald Paul Speakes

“Thomas Jefferson came naked out of Lake Michigan, the waves choppy about his ankles.”

Forever More by Michele DeLuca

“As passings go, he told me his was a good one.”

The Competition by Cecily Wolfe

“Matias had warned her to be careful what she wished for.”

The Dragon’s Harvest by Jason F. Boggs

“In the haze of twilight, the world first saw the shimmering images loom on the horizon.”

The Song of Sadie Sparrow by Kitty Foth-Regner

“In all her eighty-six years, Sadie Sparrow had never been as miserable as she was this dreary Saturday afternoon.”