The First Sentence...

First sentence

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The First Sentence...

I have long been fascinated by the first sentences in novels and their ability to set a tone and lead one into the story. Here are some examples:

Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. - Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude
"Take my camel, dear," said my Aunt Dot, as she climbed down from this animal on her return from High Mass. - Rose Macaulay, The Towers of Trebizond
Duane was in the hot tub, shooting at his new doghouse with a .44 Magnum - Larry McMurtry, Texasville
I planned my death carefully; unlike my life, which meandered along from one thing to another, despite my feeble attempts to control it. - Margaret Atwood, Lady Oracle
The telephone rang, and she knew she was going to die. - Arturo Perez-Reverte, The Queen of the South
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. - Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

I also admire art which can, in a subtle way, suggest a story as the image below does.

Now, it is your turn. Imagine that you are writing a novel and that you have decided that the picture above will be on the dust jacket. Your next tasks are to decide on a title and a first sentence.

First sentence

Use the form below to enter the title and the first sentence. This is not a contest; it's only for fun. Suitable entries will be published on this page. Your email address will NOT be published and you can decide whether or not your name will appear with your work.

Please remember that it is only the first sentence.

Entries Received

Book Title: In the Mind of a Policewoman

First Sentence: "I'm like 10-4, right?" said Tina as she was getting ready to make a traffic stop after it was reported that the priest had just been drinking wine earlier that Sunday.

Book Title: A Complete Confession

First Sentence: The priest tried to drive off hoping not to have to finish listening to her confession, but Lola was determined to get to the end of her shady motel story.

Book Title: The Confessional Murders

First Sentence: As she rushed to arrest the man she believed was the serial killer, she fought visualizing stark images of the tenth victim in the confessional without a head.

Name: Michel Proulx

Country: Canada

Book Title: Real Cops of Jersey Shore

First Sentence: The badge was not real, the uniform was not real, the baton was not real either, heck you look closer: nothing here was real apparently; but the focus group was sure that mixing the best of all the reality shows would be a recipe for a best seller. So here's the story.

Book Title: Letter of the Law

First Sentence: He always struggled against it, but unclean thoughts had always troubled Father Peter, so as he watched the motorcycle cop in his rear view mirror striding closer toward his stopped car, it was difficult to ignore her swaying hips, or low cut shirt full of round, firm HER, without wishing he could see her ride that enormous bike in her short, tight skirt. just one more time.

Name: Michel Proulx

Country: Canada

Book Title: Profession: Policewoman

First Sentence: Cindy was always filling up her quotas of traffic tickets every month, sometimes by stopping the same person several times a day.

Name: Michel Proulx

Country: Canada

Book Title: Nocturnal meanderings

First Sentence: The psychoanalist attempted to guess what Father Thomas had been dreaming about recently, but that was not it.

Name: Michel Proulx

Country: Canada

Book Title: Oedipus Quest

First Sentence: Annie had become a policewoman for the sole purpose of finding her biological father and make him pay for her emotional unbalance; this roman collar would not be enough of a reason to stop her from getting some of that DNA sample with her baton.

Name: Michel Proulx

Country: Canada

Book Title: The Rapture

First Sentence: The A.M.B.E.R. alert, once again, was key to finding little Timmy alive and safe.

Name: Michel Proulx

Country: Canada

Book Title: Parish the Thought

First Sentence: She was sexy, she was older, she was a woman: the priest had no idea how he would get away without a ticket.

Name: Michel Proulx

Country: Canada

Book Title: The Villain

First Sentence: He had been on the run for many years but this time the police had used their secret weapon to confuse and capture the one known as The Mass Molester.