Yvonne
Breathing, feet, and baseline pound together as one as Julie reaches the end of the cul-de-sac and jogs onto the scrubland. The music is already loud but ‘Lost and Not Found’ is her favourite ‘Chase and Status’ tune so she fumbles for the volume and pushes it up further, even as she urges her legs to go faster, making her jet black ponytail bob up and down like crazy.
Running is the one thing she can always rely on to relax and invigorate her, although over the last few months she has completely abandoned it. She has needed all her energy to hold on to her sanity instead. This is her first day back running, and although she doesn’t want to push herself too hard she finds the sense of freedom exhilarating.
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I wonder what has happened to Julie, to make her fear for her sanity?
It must have been something quite life-changing, to have forced her to stop doing something she clearly loves.
So many joggers and runners listen to personal music, and I can fully appreciate the motivational power it offers, but how safe does that make you or any passer-by, when you can’t hear a car or pedal cyclist bearing down on you? – especially if you are road running!
If these first lines are enough to make you want to know more about ‘Flowers For The Dead’, you can click directly on the book image, or go here for more details – ‘Happy Reading’
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WHAT IS ‘BOOK BEGINNINGS’ AND HOW CAN YOU JOIN IN THE FUN ?
Would the first few lines of your book make you want to read on?
If so, would you like to share them with us, (without revealing too many spoilers of course) ?
Click here and visit your host, Gilion @ Rose City Reader
You can then leave a link to your own book beginnings post, or just browse for some great reads, there are always plenty of new authors and titles to be discovered.
Don’t forget that Gilion and all the other contributors to this meme love to hear from you, so why not leave a comment or two at the same time?
I can’t wait to do a little blog hopping myself and check out all the great Book Beginnings you have!
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Interesting that you found two quotes about running and what trauma happened between one and 56?
My Friday Quotes
Hi Anne,
Oops! I made a real boo-boo here!
Both of my excerpts came from the start of the book – just two separate paragraphs!
I didn’t mean to confuse the issue, I don’t take part in the ‘Friday 56’, although I keep meaning to stop by and see what it involves.
Your comment has given a gentle nudge in the right direction – so ‘watch this space’ 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, I always appreciate your comments and have a good weekend.
Thank you for featuring Flowers For The Dead today. I love this section of your blog, and can’t wait to see what people think will happen next. One thing is for certain, with a main character like Adam around, the answer is bound to be shocking! 🙂
Hi Barbara,
Now that all the immediate comments appear to have been posted, you can gauge the interest in ‘Flowers For The Dead’ and so far, it all looks very positive indeed 🙂
I have also been tracking the ratings and reviews on a few sites and so far they have all been amazing, which is excellent news.
‘Teaser Tuesday’ will offer another short extract from a random page in the book (or Kindle %), so I’ll let you know when that goes live!
Adam sounds like every psychiatrists dream patient, however I shall be interested to see how you portray his personality to his unsuspecting victims, as he is busy preparing them for their fate!
If you ever feel like contributing a guest post, then I will be only too happy to publish – Subject matter, a completely free choice for you to decide 🙂
Thank you so much for your support, Yvonne. It has been really lovely to see such a positive response to the opening of FLOWERS FOR THE DEAD on your site. I can’t wait to see what you choose for Teaser Tuesday when you feature it!
Adam is indeed a psychiatrist’s dream! He is definitely a complex man, and one who seems to elicit a real mix of emotions, despite his terrible crimes.
I’ll have to get my thinking cap on, and see if I can come up with a good guest post for you. Thank you so much for the kind offer. 🙂
Ooh, liking the sound of this. Definitely one to keep a look out for. This was definitely the place – although as with everything in her life, she retained a niggle of doubt.
Rose looked up at the hotel, wishing she’d been allowed to save the image on her phone, that it wasn’t against the rules.
– The Blissfully Dead by Louise Voss and Mark Edwards.
Hi Tracy,
I am nowhere near ready to be able to read ‘Flowers For The Dead’ yet. however it does sound rather chilling and probably one you would enjoy – Personally, I can’t think of anything better than a good thriller, although the main protagonist in the story does sound quite disturbed to say the least!
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I already have ‘The Blissfully Dead’ on my ‘Want To Read’ list, after being recommended to the work of Voss and Edwards some time ago by Nikki-Ann, a fellow blogger. I now have a couple of their co-written books in my TBR pile, although I have yet to read them and I have recently noticed that the couple appear to be writing independently, so I am wondering whether that is a permanent or transcient split.
Thanks for sharing and I hope you enjoy 🙂
Makes me wonder too.
Hi Jo,
I love a good psychological thriller and these opening lines really sound as though they are settting the scene for a chillingly good story in ‘Flowers For The Dead’!
Thanks for stopping by this week and I hope that you are enjoying your current read 🙂
That’s a great beginning that makes me want to know more about this character. I’m also wondering how the book’s title relates to the story. Sounds like a book I’d enjoy.
My Friday post features Seeing You Again.
Hi Sandra,
The book’s title is really very relevant to the story, as you can see just by checking out the synopsis.
Also, if I give you another clue, that the the title of this first chapter is “Daffodils – Unrequited Love”, then the spooky and potentially dangerous connection, becomes more obvious!
I appreciate you taking the time to stop by this week, I always value your comments 🙂
Sounds intreaging! I haven’t done much reading of late (I really need to change that!).
Hi Nikki,
It is so good to hear from you after all this time, I was almost on the point of deleting links to your site, as I had assumed that you had decided to call it a day with blogging.
Sorry to hear you haven’t been feeling up to much lately and I hope that you soon get some of your reading mojo back!
All links to the new site have been established, so we are good to go 🙂
Thanks Yvonne 🙂
Funnily enough, since commenting I’ve actually read a whole book (and reviewed it!). I know it’s not one for you though as it’s an autobiography.
I hope you’re well.
I’m keeping well, thanks for asking 🙂
I admit that I am not a great fan of memoirs, especially when like Paul, you are on your fourth installment! He has obviously led a very rich and varied life to need so much in print!
Have a good week 🙂
I like the title. 🙂
It is pulling me in.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
My Book Beginnings
Hi Elizabeth,
In this particular case, the title of the book and the way in which it is presented on the cover image, are both very relevant to the storyline and one of the most chilling aspects of the plot!
Thanks for taking the time to stop by, I aways look forward to seeing your name amongst the commenters 🙂
This sounds like an engaging read, I hope you enjoy it.
“she finds the sense of freedom exhilarating”- Being a runner myself, I totally agree with this line. I don’t run without my headphones, but what I do is I either put the volume on low enough to hear my surroundings, or I will just wear one headphone in, leaving my other ear free. The best part is I run with my daughter and it really is wonderful sharing that with her.
Happy weekend!
Hi Naida,
I see so many solitary female runners out and about, at all times of the day and night and I do admit to worrying so much for them. It is so good that you have a running partner and even better that it is your daughter.
I love it that you and your daughter have made the decision to run together. Even though you may not be talking during the run, there has to be that extra bond between you, as well as the fact that you can look out for one another, whilst enjoying your freedom to run and “blow away the cobwebs”.
I am not so sure that Julie’s run is going to be quite so uneventful and even if it all does go smoothly, that her life is going to be anything short of dangerous, into the future!!
Thanks for stopping by. I hope that all is well with you and that you have some great books to enjoy 🙂
Its a great beginning because she’s so alone — out in “scrubland” (what an image!) and lost in her music. You just know something bad is going to happen.
Thanks for participating in BBOF! I don’t often get around to everyone to leave a comment, but I am always happy when you share your book beginning!
Hi Gilion,
This image of aloneness and being cut off from what is potentially happening around her out of her line of sight, definitely sounds like a recipe for disaster, especially as the state of her mind also sounds a little in the balance still!
If I were a runner, which I am not!, I would definitely stick to road running in well lit and populated areas, or even better, in a gym. The image the words from the book conjures up in my mind, would scare the living daylights out of me!!
Thanks for continuing to host BBOF, I always enjoy taking part and checking out everyone else’s great first lines 🙂
This does sound good and I have many of the same thoughts as you do as to what is going on. It certainly would keep me wanting to read!
“It was late at night and Lula and I had been staking out Salvatore Sunucchi, better known as Uncle Sunny, when Lula spotted Jimmy Spit. Spit had his prehistoric Cadillac Eldorado parked on the fringe of the Trenton public housing projects, half a block from Sunucchi’s apartment, and he had the trunk lid up.”
-Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich.
Hi Kelly,
Barbara Copperthwaite is going to be the latest in a long line of great thriller writers, to be added to my list!
I have also added her debut novel ‘Invisible’ to my ‘Want To Read’ list, which has an even more intriguing storyline, influenced partially by Barbara’s time spent working in a men’s maximum security prison!
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I have of course, heard the name of Janet Evanovich many times, however I haven’t read any of her work and I’m not too sure that hers is quite my style of writing. From the cover art, it looks as though this isn’t a series to be taken altogether too seriously and is definitely one where I would need to go back to the beginning, to get inside the character of Stephanie Plum.
Have you read many of the books in this series and if so, what is your take on them?
Thanks for sharing and ‘Happy Reading’ 🙂
I’ve read the Stephanie Plum books from the start and no, they’re not to be taken very seriously. I would classify them as a cross between mystery and chick-lit. They’re always a little crazy and full of humor, but in recent years seemed to get stale (same ole, same ole). I actually finished this one today and thought it was better than the last few. Maybe that’s just because I hadn’t read one in awhile.
Thanks for being so honest about ‘Stephanie Plum’, I appreciate that 🙂
I have read one or two mystery capers in the past, however I couldn’t see myself reading an entire series in the genre, especially not knowing that there are already 22 of them!
I hope that number 20 was good enough to make you want to catch up on the two later installments 🙂