Happy New Year Everyone!

Next week at Maine Crime Writers there will be posts by Kathy Lynn Emerson/Kaitlyn Dunnett (Monday), Kate Flora (Tuesday), Brenda Buchanan (Thursday) and Maggie Robinson (Friday).

In the news department, here’s what’s happening with some of us who blog regularly at Maine Crime Writers:

Earlier this week, we shared some other writers’ thoughts on great first lines. Here are some of ours, as well:

John Clark:

Don’t know about the greatness, but here’s the first line from “Don’t Say It.”
Marcy-Jo Parmenter kicked the log she was sitting on and scowled. So much of life was unfair and no matter how hard she tried to deal with what frustrated her, solutions seemed just out of reach.

Matt Cost:

In regard to my own books, I’m sort of partial to: She should’ve taken an Uber. From Mainely Money. Simple and to the point.

For other authors, I was always liked Robert Parker’s The Godwulf Manuscript. The office of the university president looked like the front parlor of a successful Victorian whorehouse.

Susan Vaughn:

I love the idea of first lines. Here’s mine from ALWAYS A SUSPECT, and a link to the book on Amazon. A short book description is here also.
“Marie Claire Saint-Ange didn’t look like a woman who could murder three men.”
A persecuted widow thinks the P.I. she hired will clear her and protect her. Instead he’s a federal agent who came to this coastal Maine town to uncover her darkest secrets-and maybe arrest her. But her gentle soul makes him long to believe in her innocence. Fighting her attraction to the rugged investigator, the widow can’t risk losing someone she cares about. Not again. Never again.
Link: http://getBook.at/Always-a-Suspect .

Kate Flora:

I’ve always worried about this, the opening line from The Angel of Knowlton Park, but when I was writing the book, I took it out, fearing it might put readers off, but it insisted on being put back in, and it is the perfect opening to a story that begins with a murdered child in a Portland park on a stinking hot summer day:
The fat, blue-black fly circled lazily in the July heat before landing in the child’s open eye.
https://www.amazon.com/Angel-Knowlton-Park-Burgess-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07QMF99FH/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2TZ8VECECW45S&keywords=The+Angel+of+Knowlton+Park&qid=1640732516&sprefix=the+angel+of+knowlton+park+%2Caps%2C84&sr=8-1

Charlene D’Avanzo:

Here’s the first line from Demon Spirit, Devil Sea – book two in my Maine Oceanographer Mara Tusconi series.

“A cocktail of fear and fury bubbled up from my belly ad coated my tongue – taste of cold metal.”

A reminder that there will be a “Win a Book Wednesday” this week, so be sure to drop in and see what we’re offering.

Berries after the freezing rain

An invitation to readers of this blog: Do you have news relating to Maine, Crime, or Writing? We’d love to hear from you. Just comment below to share.

And a reminder: If your library, school, or organization is looking for a speaker, we are often available to talk about the writing process, research, where we get our ideas, and other mysteries of the business. We also do programs on Zoom. Contact Kate Flora