Today, a buddy and I were talking about the beginning of books. How it's best to start off with a bang. Most readers no longer want a slow build of the plot. They want it to hook you from the first word and not slow down until about ten pages in. Then only sprinkle in backstory through the rest of the book.
I write a mixture of starts in my books and most have action hooks. For examples,
1) THE PREACHER'S SON: Mary Hightower watched Chet swing at Dusty and miss. Again.
2) A SHERIFF TO CALL HER OWN: Sitting in a graffiti-smeared cell on a Sunday afternoon wasn’t what Molly Hicks would call a good way to end a weekend.
3) OUT OF THE SHADOW: Olivia typed the ammunition data into the keypad on her sniper rifle and then nestled her cheek against the stock’s custom-fit pad, waiting for the information to be processed and her target to come into view.
4) DEADLY TEMPTATION: It sucks to be me. I had hoped I’d gotten over my obsession with Dad’s employer, but here I stood in his study almost drooling on the big, bad boss man’s Gucci leather shoes.
5) BLOOD PROTECTOR: Sinon Warrick didn’t give a damn about being more than an hour late for his meeting, but the second call was filled with such panic, he knew he no longer had a choice. So he untangled the arms and legs wrapped around his waist and neck and shrugged on the black silk dragon robe he favored.
6) SHADOW HEALER: Cassidy’s hands itched to circle Micah’s neck and squeeze. Running away and making her search long into the night for her brother’s skinny butt was so wrong! How many times had she told him to think before acting? The overgrown brat! If anything ever happened to him, she’d never forgive herself.
7) THE CHAMPION: Taut ropes cut into Tori Amherst’s wrists and ankles as her body jerked and shuddered. Each time the blade ran along her skin another thin layer fell on the floor.
The first three are romantic suspense and the last four paranormal.
