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

Five Things I’ve Learned about the Amish through Reading Fiction

by Meghan Carver

When I pick up a book to read for pleasure, my first goal is usually escape, to be immersed in another world, on a different journey, with other people, to forget where I am and what my current problems are for a time.

I think that’s why most people pick up fiction.

But when I inventory what I’ve been reading recently, I realize I’ve been learning as well. Lurking in between those carefully crafted sentences, the toe-curling scenes of drama and suspense, the creation of other peoples and their worlds, I receive an education.

Here are five things I’ve learned about the Amish through reading fiction ~

(Disclaimer: I have researched for myself all the Amish details in my books. 😊)

The Amish travel and even move sometimes. Because their typical mode of transportation is horse-and-buggy, I always thought the Amish never went far from home. Sure, I knew they would pay a driver sometimes (The Amish Taxi) if they needed a hospital or something a little further away. But travel from state-to-state? And yet, they do. They might pay a driver or, more likely, take a bus or a train, but they visit family and friends in other states. In fact, plenty of Amish have moved, whether it be to find larger areas of land or new job opportunities or to begin a new settlement.

Not all Amish are saved. It’s easy to think that because of the way they look and behave that they are all super-spiritual and close to God. And many are, in fact, wonderful Christians! But just like all churches and denominations, there are many who have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof. (2 Timothy 3:5)

Church ministers (“preachers”) are chosen by lot. This, in particular, fascinates me, because there are no resumes, no interviews, no checking of references, no degrees from seminary. There is great reliance on God’s leading and the trust that the men in the church are all prepared through their own personal study to be spiritual leaders if the Lord should will it.

The women’s dress bodices (the top part) fasten to the skirt with straight pins…all the time. Every morning, they pin their dresses together. It sounds uncomfortable to me, and I think I’d be nervous all the time that it would come undone, but apparently they have a method that makes them secure and comfy. This means they don’t have to resize or let the waistband out as needed.

Weddings typically take place in November and involve a lot of celery. The bride and groom don’t get to choose a wedding date for the season they prefer or a sentimental reason. Most Amish weddings occur in November, after the harvest. They also eat a lot of celery and use it in decorations such as table centerpieces, at least in the Lancaster County area in Pennsylvania.

Of course, it’s still fiction and authors insert their own details if needed to help the story.

But many facts and tidbits I’ve picked up between the pages of those novels have been the inspiration for my own Amish inspirational romantic suspense novels.

Amish Covert Operation is available online and at your favorite retailer in this month of July.

You can find information about my books as well as buy links on my website. 

Also, if you'd like to keep up on my author news and be automatically entered in a giveaway with each issue, you can sign up for my newsletter HERE.

Q4U: What have you learned in your novel reading?

Sometimes the Suspense is Real

By Meghan Carver

For the past couple of years, I have had the honor of working with a missionary from our connection of churches to write his story of surviving an attack by a Mexican gang.

As you know, I write inspirational suspense, and I often scare myself or become worried over my characters as I plot how to make their story more difficult. {Read to the end to see my new Amish Love Inspired Suspense releasing next month!}

This missionary story, though, just now released, is no suspense novel. This is real. This book will give you goosebumps as you read of God's protection over this family who sacrificed to bring the gospel to Mexico.

In Angels’ Charge is the incredible true survival story of a missionary attacked by a Mexican gang and God’s amazing protection over him as his family journeyed into another culture, suffered spiritual attack, and came within breaths of seeing Heaven.

Here’s a sneak peek from the prologue:

Somewhere in Mexico, October 23, 2009, before sunrise

Blood pulsed out of the large wound in my head. I had a white dress shirt on that morning, and it was so completely saturated with my red blood that you could not tell it had been a white shirt. My pants were covered with blood. The car seat between my legs was pooling with my blood. The steering wheel, the dash, the window, and the console of my Toyota Sequoia were all completely covered with blood. Blood had exploded from my forehead, and even John was sprinkled with droplets of my blood.

The first thing I remember after returning to consciousness was John’s voice tinged with panic, “Oh God, please don’t let Marc die!” In a haze of semi-consciousness, I asked, “What happened?” Even as I write this, John’s next words echo in my memory transporting me back to that terrifying moment: “Marc, you’ve been hit in the head with a rock, and I don’t think you’re going to make it.” There was a trembling tone of fear and resignation in the way he spoke those words to me that morning that I can never dislodge from my memory.

In that moment, in the midst of those dire and surreal circumstances, John grasped the steering wheel from the passenger seat, and I remained incapacitated in the driver’s seat. I had been instantly blinded by the attack, so he was telling me when to brake and when to accelerate –all the time hoping and praying I wouldn’t lose consciousness or worse as he attempted to find someplace where we could get help.

For indeed, in that moment, I was dying.


It was a true blessing to work with Marc, to have the honor of asking him probing questions about his experiences and his faith. I pray you will be blessed by this story!

In Angels’ Charge is available now for kindle. You can find it on Amazon HERE.

~~~~~

My next Amish Love Inspired Suspense releases next month!

After Amish widow Katie Schwartz’s search for her reclusive brother results in a shooting and her finding a cryptic message, she must rely on federal agent Adam Troyer to shield her. But, undercover as a Plain man, can Adam save her brother’s life and protect Katie? Trusting the handsome Englisch agent is already dangerous…but falling for him could risk everything Katie holds dear.

You can pre-order Amish Covert Operation HERE.

Meghan Carver is a homeschooling mother of six, writer of faith-filled romantic suspense, unabashed bibliophile, and law school graduate. She has four books published with Love Inspired Suspense (Under Duress, Deadly Disclosure, Amish Country Amnesia, and Amish Covert Operation). You can connect with her on her author Facebook page or sign up for her author newsletter and find links to buy her books at meghancarver.com.

Our Family’s Favorite Easter Resources + Love Inspired Suspense Cover Reveal

by Meghan Carver

When I was a child, Easter was a special time…of sorts.

My mother would usually make me a new dress. That was about the only time of the year she completed a sewing project, so it was extra special. J

We would usually spend the weekend at my grandparents’ house about two hours away. My grandmother would hide jelly beans all over her house for an egg hunt on Sunday morning…including in our shoes. Candy of any kind was such a rare treat for my brother and me that I apparently didn’t notice the slight taste of feet. J At my grandparents’ church, we would sit on the front pew. I don’t remember any of the sermons, but I remember my grandmother’s hats.

While these are nice memories, my husband (who didn’t have any Jesus in his childhood Easters) and I have decided to take advantage of the many resources available today to get more Jesus in our family’s Easter. Over the years, we’ve collected several books and videos…and a couple other things as well.

Books

Cute drawings and the basic story any child can understand.

 

Super adorable drawings and rhyming text.

 

We actually purchased this as an Abeka book for our homeschool curriculum, but I found it available for Kindle on Amazon. My two oldest girls have read it and thought it really brought the Bible to life, although the ending for Titus was surprising and sad. The story of the character Titus is fiction, but the setting, the society, and Jesus are based on the truth of the Bible. This one is shooting to the top of my to-be-read list, and in fact, I found two others by the same author on Amazon, a trilogy called Comrades of the Cross -- Stephen: A Soldier of the Cross and The Cross Triumphant.

Videos

Provides an entertaining contrast between plastic eggs and the resurrection. Try watching it and not singing about mechanical chickens. J

 

What an emotional experience! A couple of years ago, we let our older children watch it with us. We thought the two oldest were mature enough and knowledgeable enough to handle it. The visuals definitely made what they had only read about more real. In regard to your children, use your discretion.

Radio Theatre Drama

 

Specifically The Easter Story – Digger Digwillow travels back in the Imagination Station to witness the last week of Jesus’ life. The cover looks like it's just for children, but don't be fooled. Our teens and my husband and I love Adventures in Odyssey!

And don’t forget….

 

We always have a little egg hunt for our children at home after church. Scavenger hunts are just fun, and we take the opportunity to insert a little more teaching through the Resurrection Eggs. Our children usually end up competing to see who can find the most of these special eggs.

Isn't the cover of this adult coloring book fun and whimsical? So, my last item isn't terribly spiritual, but it can be stress-relieving.

What are your go-to resources for Easter?

~~~~~

Before you leave, may I share the cover of my Love Inspired Suspense coming this July? I love how pretty…worried the heroine looks!

Sign up for my author newsletter and be automatically entered into a giveaway with each issue. Soon, I’ll be giving away advance copies of Amish Covert Operation! You can sign up HERE, and thank you!

Four Non-Traditional Valentine’s Day Gifts for Husbands

By Meghan Carver

After twenty-six years of marriage, it can be a little difficult to figure out something interesting and appropriate to give my husband for Valentine’s Day. I know we have many authors on this blog who have been married many more years than I have, so you can either chuckle at my youth, commiserate with my plight, or share your advice in the comments. 😊 

I figure a lot of us who read Love Inspired and Love Inspired Suspense have this same predicament.

With Valentine’s Day later this week, I thought I would share with you all some gift ideas for the man in your life.

The problem is, to be perfectly honest, that for many years we haven’t even given gifts, not in the traditional sense.

So, I went to Google, the source of all answers. {I don’t recommend this….}

That didn’t help.

I’ve been decluttering like crazy, so I know that my husband does NOT need –

•          another power tool
•          a kitchen appliance
•          a red-and-white-striped dish for his popcorn
•          a tee-shirt that labels him as “Hot Stuff”
•          a piece of tree bark with our initials cut into it to sit as a keepsake on our side table in the living room.

I was back at the beginning.

I love words {obviously 😊}, so I went to the dictionary. Here are a few intangible {and free!} items we could give our husbands on Valentine’s Day…and every other day of the year.

•          Love: an intense feeling of deep affection; a great interest and pleasure in something.
•          Respect: a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements; due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others.
•          Encouragement: the action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope.
•          Fun: enjoyment, amusement, or lighthearted pleasure.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

~~~~~

Speaking of Valentine’s Day, do you need a new romance to read…with a little bit of danger thrown in?

Amish Country Amnesia is still available online.

His past is a mystery to everyone…except for the men trying to kill him

When a snowmobile accident leaves a man injured and with no memory, Amish widow Sarah Burkholder and her young daughter rescue him. Even as Sarah’s feelings for him grow, they discover unknown assailants are after him—and Sarah and her little girl for helping him. But if he can remember who he is, he might just save all their lives.

You can order HERE.

And…Sarah’s friend Katie has her own story coming this July, Amish Covert Operation.

She witnessed a crime. Can an agent in disguise keep her safe?

After Amish widow Katie Schwartz’s search for her reclusive brother results in a shooting and her finding a cryptic message, she must rely on federal agent Adam Troyer to shield her. But, undercover as a Plain man, can Adam save her brother’s life and protect Katie? Trusting the handsome Englisch agent is already dangerous…but falling for him could risk everything Katie holds dear.

I can’t reveal the final cover yet, but if you’d like to be the first to know, I’d be honored if you sign up for my author newsletter. I give away books and prizes with every issue!

Sign up for my author newsletter HERE.

You can pre-order Amish Covert Operation HERE.

Thank you for reading! 😊

Five Fast and Easy Ways to Help an Author

with Meghan Carver

I came across this meme quite a while ago, and quite frankly, I can’t remember where. (I’m glad it has the url on the bottom. At least amarketingexpert.com can get the credit. 😊 )

It summarizes perfectly several fast and super-easy ways a reader can help an author. In this day of social media and online shopping, it isn’t just a matter of writing anymore.

As the image says, reviews really do matter. This past Sunday, a woman at church told me how much she had enjoyed Amish Country Amnesia and that she had stayed up way too late to finish it. (By the way, that’s one of the best compliments you can give an author. We love keeping you up late! 😊 ) But then we talked about reviews, and she stated quite emphatically that she always reads the reviews for anything that she is thinking of purchasing.

That started me thinking about all the reviews I read as I browse online. If I’m looking at a jacket online and reviewers say that the zipper doesn’t work well, I’m much less likely to follow through with the purchase. On the other hand, if several buyers rave about the soft fabric of a knit top I’m considering, then that will, most likely, seal the deal. Truly, though, I find reviews as simple as "I love it!" helpful.

On behalf of all the authors on this blog, thank you for reading our books! We appreciate you!

Q4U: How much do reviews influence your purchases?


Before you go, let's take a moment to remember what happened on this day seventeen years ago ~

May God bless the sacrifice of so many that day, the families left behind, and may He preserve and protect our freedoms!

~ Meghan

Amish Words of Wisdom + A Giveaway!

with Meghan Carver

One of the most loved books of the Bible is Proverbs. It’s full of little gold nuggets of wisdom ~ wisdom that could fill many, many books but is condensed into a handful of easy-to-remember pithy sayings.

The beauty of proverbs, or sayings, is that they tell us more about the values of those people who value those particular sayings. 

The language of the Amish is Pennsylvania German, an oral language. It does not have written words. It seems to me that this makes their cherished proverbs even more valuable since they are handed down through the generations as part of an oral tradition. This oral tradition then helps to maintain the cohesiveness of the community.

In my research on the Amish, I found a wonderful little book by Suzanne Woods Fisher ~ Amish Proverbs: Words of Wisdom from the Simple Life.  

The chapters are organized by virtues and include Time, Money, Faith, In Word & Deed, Work Ethic, Handling Adversity, Education, Community, Character, and Just for Fun.

Here’s a sampling ~~~

“To stay youthful, stay useful.” (p. 20)

“One thing you can learn by watching the clock is that it passes time by keeping its hands busy.” (p. 21)

“Things that steal our time are usually the easiest to do.” (p. 25)

“The debt that is paid is best.” (p. 31)

“An industrious wife is the best savings account.” (p. 32)

“Walk softly, speak tenderly, and pray fervently.” (p. 44)

“Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps if you are not willing to move your feet.” (p. 47)

“The right temperature at home is maintained by warm hearts, not hot heads.” (p. 60)

“An unkind remark is like a killing frost—no matter how much it warms up, the damage is already done.” (p. 67)

“The soundness of your ideas is more important than the sound of your words.” (p. 81)

“The trouble with doing nothing is it’s too hard to tell when you’re finished.” (p. 85)

“You’re never too old to learn.” (p. 108)

“If you won’t admit you’ve been wrong, you love yourself more than truth.” (p. 121)

“Apple butter, just like relationships, takes time to boil, time to cool, and time to turn out wonderfully.” (p. 122)

“Good character like good soup is usually homemade.” (p. 125)

“An honest cook serves her food with the burnt side up.” (p. 135)

There is so much wisdom in these sayings that I’ll be thinking on them for quite some time.

Which is your favorite?

Let’s end today’s post with a giveaway ~ one signed copy of my September release, Amish Country Amnesia!

Please leave a comment to be entered. US winners only. A winner will be chosen after midnight tonight.

Best wishes and many blessings!

~ Meghan

UPDATED: And the winner is...LELA W! Congratulations! Lela, please contact me at MeghanCCarver@gmail.com with your address, and I'll get your book to you right away. Thank you, everyone, for the comments!

The Dangers of Writing Suspense ~ Meghan Carver

I’m starting a new story. I love this phase of brainstorming and creating characters and figuring out the villain and watching them all interact.

To fit in writing with six children at home, I usually tuck the younger ones away in a bedroom to play quietly or read (since they’re beyond the age of napping now). This is what I did a couple of days ago to get some time to start my new story. I had settled at my desk with a huge glass of iced tea (half sweet – half unsweet J ) and was beginning to set the opening scene. My oldest teen daughter was working quietly on homework at a desk next to mine, and my other two teenagers were on the couch behind me reading. My husband had come home from work a little early, and he was finishing up a work project on another laptop behind me.

It was a dark and stormy afternoon. A gray gloominess filled the room, despite the little globe lights that hung from the desk hutch. Rain pounded a steady beat on the roof.

Taking advantage of the circumstances around me, I amplified the weather and wrote it into my opening scene ~ my heroine on a bicycle in that eerie yellow haze that appears before a summer storm, the crackle of lightning behind her, the hair on the back of her neck standing at attention as she feels like someone is watching her.

I was in that scene, picturing it, feeling it, living it. Everything around me had disappeared. Only the pounding of the rain remained in my consciousness.

And then a chanting of mingled voices filtered into my hearing. An ominous rhythmic monotone that drummed into my mind.

Pedal faster, Heroine! My heart and fingers raced as I urged her on. I didn’t know how the villain had appeared so quickly, but he seemed to be there. Get away, Heroine!

I stopped typing and clutched my shirt, my brain struggling to understand where this chant was coming from in the story.

And then the chant mingled with laughter. I forced myself to focus on the room around me and found my teen daughter watching me with an amused smile stretched across her face. I turned to see my husband laughing at my fright. My two little boys stood in the doorway, chanting their rhythm. “We’ve read the book. May we come out?”

I could only smile at myself as I inhaled deeply, willing my heart to stop racing.

{My next Love Inspired Suspense is coming this September, and I'm eagerly awaiting the cover. If you'd like to be the first to see it and have the opportunity to win an advance copy, sign up for my author newsletter at www.MeghanCarver.com. Thanks!}

~ Meghan ~

Does your heart race when you read suspense? How much do you immerse yourself in a story?

How Do You Fit Reading into Your Day?

Hello! Meghan Carver here.

When I was a child, I read all the time.

Seriously.

All. The. Time.

When I was in middle school, I spent an entire day on summer break reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It hadn’t been assigned, since we were out of school. But I had heard of it and was curious. It was so good, I barely moved from the couch and read it in one day.

Now, decades later, I have six children, I homeschool, I write, I keep house {sort-of}. There are too many responsibilities to list. You know what I mean. J

I can no longer spend an entire day reading. Some days, I can barely find five minutes to read.

How’s a busy girl to fit it in?

{Shameless photo plug: 

My daughter reading my August Love Inspired Suspense, 

Deadly Disclosure, which is still available online.}

Of course, there’s always staying up late or getting up early. Too often, I stay up late. {Can I get an amen? J}

But I’ve found another few ways to fit in reading. Keep your book or kindle handy when you ~~

Cook. When I wait for something in the oven or I’m stirring something in the pot, I read. Of course, be mindful of your time or you might burn the Christmas caramels. Don’t ask me how I know.

Brush your teeth. If your book is really good, you’ll get in a few more minutes on your pearly whites.

Wait in line. At the pharmacy, in the grocery store, at the school.

Have to sit through a boring movie. Sometimes, there are movies that others in my family want to watch, but I just don’t. But movie-watching is sometimes a family activity, and that husband or that child just wants me to sit next to them. Why not read?

Shower. I haven’t actually tried this, and it may not work well with a print book. But with a neoprene, weather-proof, zip-up case for a kindle, reading can be done in the shower.

My kindle is always in my purse. ALWAYS. Any spare moment, out it comes.

I’m always on the lookout for more tips, though. How do you fit reading into your day?

You can find me at www.meghancarver.com or on Facebook. 

The Fun of Research for Suspense ~ Meghan Carver

It’s a common dilemma among us suspense writers. Are we attracting unwanted law enforcement attention with our keywords in the internet search engines? You know what I mean. A writer can google “how to make a bomb” or “what authority do airport police have” only so many times before she starts to wonder who’s watching.

Still, though, the research in a suspense novel can be some of the most exciting part of writing the story. In my family, it’s resulted in some of the most lively conversations!

My second book, Deadly Disclosure, is available next week in print (available now for kindle), and it’s exciting to see those times of research come to fruition in a story.

Of course, not all research is related to weapons and danger and suspense.

For example, I confirmed that it truly isn’t as easy for an adopted person to find birth parents as many people think. I found my birth parents more than twenty-five years ago, but it was through the agency that handled the adoption, and even then, I didn’t get any identifying information until the agency had contacted my birth mother and obtained her permission. The laws are designed to protect the anonymity of birth parents so as to encourage adoptions. There are online registries that exist now that didn’t exist then, but if a birth parent doesn’t register, that won’t help an adoptee who is searching.

I also discovered that many wealthy people still have butlers and those butlers dress rather formally. Picture black pressed pants, a crisp shirt, a black tie, a gray coat with tails. Some even wear white gloves while holding out the silver tray to serve, an arm held behind their backs.

I found a neat wristwatch for lawyers that may make it to my wish list.

The most interesting bit of research was finding videos of people shooting fire extinguishers. I don’t understand why someone would want to video themselves shooting their weapon at a fire extinguisher out in the open field and then post it on YouTube, but I’m glad they are there. (You’re going to go look now, aren’t you? 😊)

Deadly Disclosure, my second Love Inspired Suspense, is available in print on Tuesday and available on kindle now. I would be honored if you signed up for my author newsletter at www.MeghanCarver.com.

What do you think? Wouldn’t it be grand to have a butler? What’s the most interesting thing you’ve researched?