First Crush

Learning of her inheritance�a vintage European home in sleepy southern California wine country�is a dream for adopted daughter Natalie Turner. The search to learn more about her birth family drives Natalie to renovate the dilapidated chateau into a stylish bed-and-breakfast complete with wine tastings amongst beautiful vineyards. But danger awaits her around every corner of the aged home and every lush row of grapes. For twenty-five years a serial killer has left a trail of bodies in his wake. Now the Lakeview Slayer has his sights set on Natalie.� Nick Hardaway never recovered from his sister�s murder�a victim of the Slayer. When news of the killer�s latest murder breaks, Nick grows more determined to make amends for his sister�s death, and joins Natalie in her renovations of the chateau. Natalie may hold the key to capturing the Lakeview Slayer before he kills again, but first the pair must decide if their newfound love is worth dying for. **

Admit it: you've gone to your local book store, picked up a book, and skimmed the opening page. Don't be ashamed. You're not alone. Now, as a writer, ask yourself this: if a casual consumer picked up your story, your novel, what would they think of your first line? Scary thought? If you're a writer, chances are you've been stuck on how to craft an opening line. This book can help. Analyzing some of the greatest first lines in fiction can help us find the techniques the masters used in creating some of the most enduring lines in literature. But more than just a simple analysis, this book will show you how to compress things like character, conflict, voice, and setting into a line that will embody an entire work, and immediately establish your authority as a writer. After reading this book, you'll have the confidence and tools to craft a first line that will make editors and casual consumers stand up and take notice. And regardless of the words you choose to use, your first lines will say, very loudly, very proudly, "This is a book you have to read."

"Learning of her inheritance--a vintage European home in sleepy southern California wine country--is a dream for adopted daughter Natalie Turner. The search to learn more about her birth family drives Natalie to renovate the dilapidated chateau into a stylish bed-and-breakfast complete with wine tastings amongst beautiful vineyards. But danger awaits her around every corner of the aged home and every lush row of grapes. For twenty-five years a serial killer has left a trail of bodies in his wake. Now the Lakeview Slayer has his sights set on Natalie. Nick Hardaway never recovered from his sister's murder--a victim of the Slayer. When news of the killer's latest murder breaks, Nick grows more determined to make amends for his sister's death, and joins Natalie in her renovations of the chateau. Natalie may hold the key to capturing the Lakeview Slayer before he kills again, but first the pair must decide if their newfound love is worth dying for"--Amazon.com