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Wednesday, November 04, 2015

C. J. Carmichael: The First Sentence Matching Game

In every book I write, no sentence gets as much attention from me as the opening line. If I spent as much time on every sentence I wrote, I’d be finishing my first book...oh, about six months from now. Why is that opening so important? Well, I want to hook the reader into buying the book. But I also want to be true to my characters and the setting, and hopefully hint about the conflict about to unfold.

The best book covers have the same objectives as the first sentence, only using a title and a picture as tools to attract the reader’s attention while giving them an idea of the characters, setting and type of story.

So, theoretically, a good opening line should match the cover of the book, right?

To test this theory I came up with a matching game for my 6 book Carrigans of the Circle C series. Can you match the following opening lines to the correct book cover? (Note: I’ve substituted my name—Carla—whenever the heroine is named in the first line.)

Opening Lines: A, B, C, D, E, F






Book Covers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6






Share your answers below and on November 6th I will pick two random commenters to receive an ebook of their choice from me (provided they contact me with their email address by November 8th). You can shop for your prize here: http://cjcarmichael.com.

One more thing...this month I’m running a contest for a Kobo Glo HD. Wouldn’t you, or someone on your Christmas list, love a new ereader? Enter here: http://cjcarmichael.com/connect.php

It’s snowing in Calgary while I write this, thick, slow-falling flakes that are the true markers of a changing season. Winter is here. Happy Reading!

C. J. Carmichael

11 comments:

dstoutholcomb said...

I know, but I'm not entering. But, I think there are too many women named "Carla" in the sentence memes.

Denise

dstoutholcomb said...

And, I should have paid more attention to the fact you did that on purpose. Again, I know the answers, but I'm not entering--just visiting. I've been blessed with wins lately!

Denise

Unknown said...

Hi Denise,Christmas has come early, has it? That's awesome!

You're right, all the Carla's are confusing! Hope you had a great day--thanks for visiting!

CJ

bn100 said...

1E
2D
3B
4F
5A
6C

bn100candg at hotmail dot com

Laney4 said...

I agree with bn100, although I determined #2 based on process of elimination because the first line I found didn't match the first line provided:
1E
2D
3B
4F
5A
6C
Many thanks, CJ. Keep up the good work!
seytype at hotmail dot com

Ada said...

I totally agree that the first line sets the tone for the entire book and the book covers are so much a part of hooking in a reader. You have so many intriguing first lines, now I can't wait to find out what happens!
Here are my guesses
#1-E
#2-D
#3-B
#4-F
#5-A
#6-C

Thanks for sharing your books!
ahui89 at hotmail dot com

Anita H. said...

1(E) 2(D) 3(B) 4(F) 5(A) 6(C)
First lines are so very important to a story and I like the examples of how you open your books. I'm looking forward to reading this series!

thebigbluewall77 (AT) gmail (DOT)

Mary Preston said...

Hi,

I got E D B F A C as well.

marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

Unknown said...

Laney, Mary, Anita, Ada well done, you got them all! bn100 you got 5 out of 6. Everyone who played please email with your choice of ebook from my backlist on my website. I think it was awesome that you played my little game!

contact me via my website: cjcarmichael dot com.

(please contact me by Nov 10 to be eligible.)

Cheers,
CJ

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mary Preston said...

Very generous thank you.