Thursday, June 16, 2011

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen first paragraphs of my WIPs:

1. Euphoria flowed through my body, and I collapsed on his chest.  “See you next summer?” I said, breathing heavily.  I started to get up and Mike grabbed my hips.

2. Choose to be the new girl in town at your own peril.  I get now why Mom never lived farther than twenty minutes from the house she was born in all her life.  I looked around my empty living room, the balloons in the corners mocking my solitude.  The food on the kitchen table sat untouched, a chocolate cake still pristine in the center.

3. Brother Michael told me to stay in the root cellar until it was quiet.  Above, I heard the screams, then gurgles, of my fellow brethren.

4. My active imagination only mattered when it came to playing the piano.  I was a concert pianist, in demand, and traveling for the past year after losing my apartment.

5. Jacob unlocked the front door and walked inside. “Love? You home?” He closed the door and glanced in the kitchen to his right. Empty. “Beth?”

6. Beth changed for bed. She still felt shy undressing in front of him when it didn’t involve sex. “You’re staring again.”

7. I dodged the man-turned-werewolf, tucking into a roll, and—yuck—stood with dog poop stuck to my coat.  Couldn’t people clean up after their mutts in the park?

8. When the hospital called to say Mom had fallen and broken her hip, I wasn’t surprised.  The only remarkable thing about it was the time—before noon.  Had she started drinking early, or was she suffering the effects of the previous day?

9. Jason Cole + Holly Perry - I’d doodled it on a dozen class notes so far this semester.

10. My ability to choose a man sucked. I was with my first boyfriend ever for two years. It was bliss in the beginning. We were sickeningly lovey-dovey, finishing each other’s sentences and seeing each other every day. Then, he proposed.

11.
William Carlisle
Private Investigator
It was painted on the glass in my office door. The door that hadn’t opened to reveal a client in three months. You catch one beloved star cheating on his wife, and no one wants to work with you.


12. My pillow wiggled beneath me.  “Bethie-love, I have to leave.”

13. I finished writing the note inside my Christmas card to Mom, hoping it’d make up for missing Thanksgiving.  Amelia came back in the room and put her phone in her bag.


Okay, I cheated on #11, but those lines really need to go together.
#5 and #6 are from a couple drabbles I did last year set post My Once and Future Love.

14 comments:

  1. Great openings! I think your cheat is warranted. :) Happy TT!

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  2. I like 12, although I'm sorry he had to leave. *wink*

    Happy TT,

    ~Xakara

    13 DVR'd Shows

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  3. Nice excerpts. And I love the one where she gets dog poop on her coat. They never do that in books and that's more realistic.

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  4. You've got some hot first paragraphs!

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  5. You have some very nice beginnings there! I have to say, that #7 really sparked my interest. :)

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  6. Some nice beginnings. Welcome to the T13 loop!

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  7. Sounds great! Welcome to TT!

    *hugs*
    Paige

    My TT is at http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com

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  8. Lots of great beginnings here! And they all set very different moods. I'm especially curious though to learn more about what's going on in #3!

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  9. Nice sentences. Makes me wonder about the book.

    Janice~

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  10. Thanks, all! I'm so glad you like them.

    #7 is popular today! That's one of the stories for Della, my urban fantasy character.

    @Xakara - Yeah, in #12, the rock-star boyfriend got to visit for one day and has to go back on tour. A very pouty morning for the heroine. :D

    @Tatiana - #3 is the story of how my vampire Adam gets turned. He was raised most of his life in a monastery.

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  11. "the balloons in the corners mocking my solitude" Love this line.
    Good stuff! Happy T13!

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  12. Thanks, Adelle. The character is having a birthday and no one showed. Starts pretty sad. ;)

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