Rick Mofina's blog #1 dispatches from a criminal mind

[Rick Mofina]

Everyone:

I've never blogged. Never considered it. Never had the time.

So here I am stepping away from writing my 9th thriller to give it try.

The rules say I can blog about anything. Okay. My background is in crime reporting and in writing news. The lead (some say lede) - the opening of an article - is crucial to pull people into your item.

I have tried to apply it to my crime novels whenever it seemed fitting. I don't believe in a slam bang opening every time, but when it's right, I enjoy giving it a whirl.

Here's one I like:

"The last thing Paige Baker saw before fleeing her family's campsite was the blood dripping from her father's ax."

This is from one of my books. Tell me what you think by emailing me,

[ [e-mail]]

And, a high five to anyone who can identify its source. The book was optioned for a movie, a script was written but the deal never went into production.

Well, my shift supervisor is calling me back to the novel in progress.

Thanks,

Rick Mofina

[Geoff McGeachin]

The opening paragraph of my first book was simply a description of a hotel car park late at night. A horrified editor pointed out that the first sentence contained eight adjectives. I took out four and at my wife’s insistence – God bless her - put three back in. Hey, what’s a puddle of vomit if it ain’t lumpy? Someone whose opinion I trust said, ‘I read that first line and knew exactly the kind of ride I was in for.’ The book is a quietly relentless seller, now heading for a fourth reprint.

[Jon Paske]

For me the book has to grab me by the first page, preferably the first paragraph even. Sometimes when I pick up a book by a author known to me that first page can make me gleeful in anticipation for what's in store. If it is a new author that I'm reading by chance, recommendation or just a great cover, the first page will either give me high hopes or a nagging sense of dread for what's to come. In a book store you usually have enough time to check out the cover, read the synopsis on the back {please put one on dear authors}, read the first page and some reviews if supplied, though a review from the Eketahuna Daily Times is hardly awe inspiring. Sometimes I think long lists of glowing reviews from unknown, except to the locals, newspapers a bit desperate.
I think a lot of people pick up a book because of its author, cover or title, then go straight to the back cover to find out what it is about, then comes the first page reading and hopefully to the counter to purchase it.

[Richard Madelin]

Thanks for the invite, Rick.