First Lines of Famous Books Quiz + Giveaway

By Meghan Carver

The first lines of books have an incredibly important role – to pull the reader in and make her want to read more.

If you’ve read a lot (and you probably have since you’re here, reading this), you’ve read a lot of good first lines. Want to test your knowledge?

Better yet, want to win a signed copy of a new 2-in-1 that includes my Love Inspired Suspense novel Amish Country Amnesia and Leigh Bale’s Runaway Amish Bride?

Buy Now on Amazon

The following are the first lines of well-known books. All you need to do is leave a comment with the titles, and the one with the most right wins a book. It’s the honor system, so no peeking at someone else’s answers! 😊 Alternatively, if several have the right answers, I’ll randomly choose a name. (U.S. winners only. Post will be updated at 8:00 tonight with the answers and the winner.)

1. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
2. Once upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs.
3. Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.
4. “Where's Papa going with that axe?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.
5. Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air-raids.
6. “Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.
7. Mrs. Rachel Lynde lived just where the Avonlea main road dipped down into a little hollow, fringed with alders and ladies' eardrops and traversed by a brook that had its source away back in the woods of the old Cuthbert place; it was reputed to be an intricate, headlong brook in its earlier course through those woods, with dark secrets of pool and cascade; but by the time it reached Lynde's Hollow it was a quiet, well-conducted little stream, for not even a brook could run past Mrs. Rachel Lynde's door without due regard for decency and decorum; it probably was conscious that Mrs. Rachel was sitting at her window, keeping a sharp eye on everything that passed, from brooks and children up, and that if she noticed anything odd or out of place she would never rest until she had ferreted out the whys and wherefores thereof.
8. "Tom!" No answer. "Tom!" No answer. "What's gone with that boy, I wonder? You Tom!" No answer.
9. Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay out scene, from ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
10. As I walk’d through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where was a Den, and I laid me down in that place to sleep; and as I slept, I dreamed a Dream. I dreamed, and behold I saw a Man cloathed with Rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a Book in his hand, and a great Burden upon his back.

This is the honor system. No google! 😊

Have fun, and I'll post a winner at 8:00 tonight!


***UPDATED WITH ANSWERS***
Are you ready for answers?

1. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
2. Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder
3. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
4. Charlotte's Web, E.B. White
5. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis
6. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
7. Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maude Montgomery
8. Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens)
9. Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
10. Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan

{An interesting side note: E.B. White was an English professor who wrote what writers just call “Strunk & White,” a brilliant little book actually titled The Elements of Style.}

And the winner is….

~~ Debbi ~~

Congratulations! Send an email to MeghanCCarver@gmail.com with your mailing address, and I’ll get the book out to you. 😊

Thanks for taking part!

~ Meghan

Sign up for Meghan’s author newsletter HERE.

MeghanCarver.com

I Can't Believe I'm here!

It's a dream come true being new to the Harlequin Publishing family and the Love Inspired line. So, I thought I'd do a top ten list of things you might want to know about me as a way of introducing myself to this fabulous group! So here goes....

10. I was born and raised in Columbia County, NY, an area in upstate New York, about 120 north of New York city.

9. I married my high school sweetheart 38 years ago...and that sounds like a really, really long time ago! LOL! And when we renewed our wedding vows our first time, (yes, we did it twice, and Elvis officiated in Vegas) my husband did a top ten list of why he loved me. Not a dry eye in the church!

8. I love to cook, but cleaning up the mess I make....not so much.

7. I always wanted to be an actress, but never got over my stage fright. My degree is in Theater Arts and I loved creating so much that I decided to write instead...and later in my life I realized I wanted to be a NASCAR driver. I'm still trying to figure out a way to make that happen.

6. I sold my first book on 9/9/99 at 1:30 pm. I was watching my favorite daytime soap, Days of Our Lives when Amy Garvey from Kensington Publishing called to make an offer for my novel, Adirondack Jewel which was published as Mountain Jewel.

5.  I love history and happy endings, which is probably why my first love as an author was to write historical romances.

A field in Clymer, NY the setting for A Love For Lizzie 

4. I love binge watching TV shows, like The Gilmore Girls, The Hart of Dixie, and When Calls The Heart.

3. I'm a country girl at heart.

2. I adore my family, which consists of our two married sons and five grandkids. Who knew having grandchildren could be so much fun?

1. My first Love Inspired book, A Love for Lizzie, (A New York state set Amish story) will be releasing in 2019.

Thank you so much for indulging me. I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you. In the comment section tell me one thing about yourself! There will be a drawing! One lucky winner (USA only) will be given an autographed print copy of A Changed Agent, Waterfall Press, book one, The Adirondack Pinkertons series.

I invite you to join me on Facebook 

visit my website 

Amazon author page 

Pinterest 

My Call Story by Merrillee Whren

I started writing stories just for fun when I was in high school, and I shared them with my friends. But it was many years before I decided to write something with publication in mind. I wrote for many years before I sold. Winning the Romance Writers of American Golden Heart Award in 2003 was something that gave me a lot of encouragement and kept me writing, but my targeted publishing house had already rejected my winning manuscript. So I was a little down after all the hoopla of the conference and the excitement of winning had worn off. However, I had two other completed manuscripts. One of them I had entered in some local chapter contests.

A couple of months after the Golden Heart win, I received word that my story, Second Chances, had won the Dixie First Chapter Contest and the full was requested by the judging editor. I gave that baby a once over and sent it off to Steeple Hill. Then I got busy and polished that other manuscript while I was waiting to hear. In the meantime that manuscript won a contest judged by the senior editor at Steeple Hill. She requested that I send the full to the editor that had my other manuscript. Talk about everything falling into place. I sent that manuscript off after sending the editors a letter to make sure they wanted to have both manuscripts there at the same time. A few weeks later, I called the editor to find out what was happening with the first manuscript, but I always got her voice mail. When she returned the call, I was always out. She talked to my husband and indicated that she was sending the manuscript to the senior editor.

So here's how it all happened. Friday morning February 20, 2004, I went to get my haircut. When I got back home and walked in the door, I saw the light blinking on the answering machine. I punched the button to play the message. "This is Diane Dietz from Steeple Hill. Please call me." My heart was racing, and I was thinking this has got to be THE CALL. (I missed it!!!) At least this time my husband was busy on his business phone and didn't have the chance to answer. But then I thought maybe she wasn’t calling to buy my book, but I thought surely she wouldn't call unless she's going to buy the book. (Was I a little neurotic or what?)

My husband was still on the phone, so I couldn’t even scream or talk to him. Instead, I got teary eyed and waited around until he got off the phone. I told him Diane Dietz called. I think she called to say she wants to buy my book. He said to call her. I said I was afraid. What if she wasn’t calling to buy the book? He just shook his head. I said that I would call when I got myself together. So I took a few minutes to calm myself down. Then I punched in the number, hands shaking. She answered and asked me if I was sitting down. I was. She said, "I'd like to offer you a contract on Second Chances." At least I think that's what she said. I had to be very calm because my husband was still on his business line just up the stairs. I told her that was fabulous. I think she was a little disappointed that I was so calm. I told her I'd taken plenty of time to calm down after I listened to her message. Anyway, she went into details about money, time lines of revisions, option book, publication, etc. And she explained some of the revisions they wanted.

After I hang up and my husband wasn’t on the phone, I screamed, "THEY WANT TO BUY MY BOOK. I GET TO GO TO THE HARLEQUIN PARTY."

Here is the cover of the first book I sold to Love Inspired, which was Steeple Hill at that time. As you can see they changed the title from Second Chances to The Heart's Homecoming.

I've written thirteen other books for Love Inspired, and now I am publishing books on my own. Here are the books in my new series, FRONT PORCH PROMISES. 

I will be giving away a copy of A PLACE TO CALL HOME, the first book in my Front Porch Promises series to one person who leaves a comment. I will draw the winning name on November 19, 2017 at 9PM MST.

Merrillee Whren is the winner of the 2003 Golden Heart Award presented by Romance Writers of American. She is married to her own personal hero, her husband of forty-plus years, and has two grown daughters. Connect with her on her Facebook page and sign up for her newsletter.

My First Love Inspired Sale & An Unexpected Answer

Answers come in unusual ways sometimes. Several Christmases ago I travelled all by myself to three different African countries to visit some amazing non-profit workers and see some of the innovative and life changing work they were doing. When I got back home, I wrote down stories about some of the people I’d met and the experiences I’d had. These stories grew into a very long and beautiful story, that rambled on and on for hundreds of pages. I knew I loved it and had poured my heart into it. I also knew it was unfocused, too long and wasn’t publishable.

I mailed it to my editor Emily Rodmell and a few weeks later I got “the call” telling me that Love Inspired Suspense was going to publish it.

Years later I started reading Love Inspired Suspense books and wanted to write my own. But I didn’t have a story. I prayed and searched my memory for anything I could turn into a book. Suddenly the people I’d met in Africa and their stories came flooding back to me. I pulled the old stories out and rewrote them entirely into a fun and tense book called Killer Assignment, about a plucky reporter named Kate who was being pursued by ruthless criminals and a daring charity worker named Mark who was hiding a huge secret about his past.

I’d been walking through the park when the call came in. I’d been both praying and crying while I walked, because what I was going through was so hard it felt insurmountable. And that was the moment my prayers were answered with the unbelievable phone call that changed my life.

My tenth Love Inspired Suspense book, Undercover Holiday Fiancée, is out in stores right now. My heroine, Chloe Brant is a detective who had a small walk on role in that first book. Then Chloe reappeared three years later in Headline: Murder where she teamed up with roguishly handsome and determined undercover detective Trent Henry. Even back then I could tell they had a complicated relationship, but I had no idea just how complicated their relationship would become.

Now Chloe is back, working alongside Trent and posing as his loving fiancée, even though she promised herself she’d never work with him again because of the confusing and infuriating things he does to her heart. It’s one of my favorite books and I hope you like it too.

What was the most unexpected answer to prayer you’ve ever received?

The Man of Her Dreams. Literally.

As a young, widowed, single mom, Arlene James didn't think she would remarry. She was occupied with other things, mostly her baby boy and her anger at God. After the death of her soldier husband, she could not force herself to walk through the door of a church. She couldn't even pray, and she didn't want to talk about it, not even with her beloved grandmother.
Her baby turned into a toddler. Suddenly one evening in October as she put him to bed, she realized that they had it pretty good. Her son was happy and healthy. They had a fine home in Duncan, Oklahoma, and steady income, supportive friends and family. So why wasn't she happy? Eventually she knew that she would never be happy as long as she remained angry with God. At long last she hit her knees and felt an enormous weight lift.
A few nights later, she had a vivid dream. In the dream, a huge hickory tree in the backyard fell on the swing set that her son so enjoyed. Somehow she saw it fall from inside the house and ran to the backdoor in a panic, only to realize that she could hear her son speaking with someone. In the illogical way of dreams, she ran to the window and looked out, seeing her son walking away hand-in-hand with a tall, slender man with long, dark, curly hair, glasses and a beard. Horrified, she darted from window to window in the house, watching this stranger walk away with her son. Finally, they turned to wave and smile at her, and somehow she knew it was okay. Relief overwhelmed her, and that was that, until...
She walked into the kitchen one morning the next week and saw through the window that the tree had fallen on the swing set! Even though she knew her son still slept soundly, she felt the same panic as in her dream and immediately called her grandmother to tell her all about it. Again, that seemed to be that, until...
Not long afterward, she went to visit her friend, Clora. She was sitting at the kitchen table, listening to the kids play, when Clora's cousin walked in. The instant she saw him, Arlene gasped, knocked over her coffee, and burst into tears. He was, literally, the man in her dream. Everyone thought she was upset because she'd spilled her coffee. Panicked, she left as soon as she gracefully could.
The stranger, however, got her phone number from his cousin. At first she refused to talk to him, but he showed up with Clora weekend after weekend, despite living 200 miles away, and gradually Arlene began to speak with him. Jim had finished his bachelor's degree after 8 years in the Navy and was working on his master's while holding down a full-time job in Tulsa.
The night of her son's 3rd birthday, December 26, Jim showed up at her house. Like a bad door-to-door salesman, he stuck his foot in the door and said, "Now, you know we're supposed to be getting married." Again, she burst into tears. Chuckling, he put his arms around her. They talked for hours, and she agreed to marry him.
Everyone who knew them was appalled. They hadn't even dated! So they dated. On their first date, they took her son to see Cinderella at the movie theater. The boy was calling him Daddy by the end of the evening.

They married on April 16, Good Friday, at Arlene's home church in Comanche, Oklahoma. 42 years ago. Arlene will always believe that God gave her this dear man in a dream.

He was determined not to have a girlfriend. But a wife on the other hand…

Maggie K. Black here! It’s my very first blog post and I’m remembering a fierce battle of wills I witnessed twenty years ago.

I’d never seen a young man teased so badly! Or handle it so calmly. I was twenty-one and I’d gone to a comedy club with a large group of fellow students. For some reason, the terrible stand up comedian decided to pick on the rather dashing and clean cut young man named Michael at the far end of our table.

Poor Michael. No matter how hard he tried not to get lured into a fight, the comedian goaded him, relentlessly, about the fact he went to church, was involved in politics and wanted to become a teacher. Time and again, the room would hold its breath waiting to see what jab would make Michael lose his temper. But instead he held his cool. And even though some of his views were very different from mine, I respected the way he handled himself with strength and respect. It even captured my heart.

At least, until the comedian asked him the fateful question, “Michael, do you have a girlfriend?”

“No Sir,” Michael replied. “And I’m not looking for one.”

My heart sank. Mutual friends introduced us after the show and we started talking. 

“I don’t want a girlfriend,” he said to me, earnestly, his green eyes wide. “I really mean it.”

But that was okay. We could be friends. We went to a movie a few days later and then I invited him over for dinner. He was fascinating, funny and kind, with the wonderful ability to discuss interesting topics while respecting the fact we didn’t always agree. I seem to remember our biggest fight was over the fact I wanted dogs and he didn’t.

Three months later, to my total shock, he proposed.

“I still don’t want a girlfriend,” he said. “But I want you as my wife.”

I told him to wait six months and ask me again. Which he did and I said yes! 

It definitely confused some people that we got married so young and so quickly. But, after almost twenty years together, I’m so very thankful for all the adventures we’ve been able to share. 

Now, he proofreads all my Love Inspired Suspense books, and says that when my heroes and heroines spar and argue in the face of danger it reminds him of us!

He’s been the perfect, steadfast hero for me to face down each challenge and battle that life threw our way. And while we each won and lost our fair share of disagreements, I did finally get my dogs.

Do you agree that opposites attract? Do you like the kind of book where the hero and heroine who have major differences, but love brings them together?