Thursday, March 22, 2012

Leprechaun Luck





LEPRECHAUN LUCK:
ROMANCE DWELLS WITHIN A HEART OF GOLD
Blog Hop Tour
March 23-25

 
 
I have always loved rainbows. They are probably the most colorful things found in nature.Whenever one crops up around here, I grab my camera and run out to capture the phenomenon. And of course, if you're lucky enough to capture a double rainbow...well, that's a good day.


Rainbows are the subject of old wives' tales, myths, legends and beliefs. There is the ever-popular pot of gold hidden at the end of the rainbow, the path Iris (the messenger of the gods) takes when travelling between Mt. Olympus and earth, and of course, the symbol of the promise that the earth would never again be destroyed by a flood.


That's what I want to discuss. The rainbow as a promise. A promise of new beginnings. There's nothing quite as promising as a beginning.


The beginning of the school year for me means a new group of students to get to know. And with that the promise that this will be the best year yet. One year on the first day of school, I had the pleasure of waking up to a double rainbow hanging in the horizon. It was an optimistic omen.



A wedding holds a promise of wonderful beginning of a life with the one you love.


The dawn each morning brings promise of a new day. And I am reminded of Anne Shirley's (from L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables) assessment of a new day, "Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?"


Another wonderful new beginning is the start of a book. There are so many possibilities when you sit down to read that first line. 


I love the first lines of some books. They set the stage for what is to happen. A promise of an amazing adventure the author will lead you on.


Consider some of the most famous first lines of Western literature:


It was a pleasure to burn. ~ Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury


In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. ~ The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Call me Ishmael. ~ Moby Dick by Herman Melville

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a good wife. ~ Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen


It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... ~ A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. ~ 1984 by George Orwell



The first lines in books are the rainbows of good reading. Here are the first lines from my books.

Sacred Ring: “Your Holiness, there has been a development at the Saint Hippolytus catacomb site.”

The Parting Gift: David Graham stood over his wife’s grave while the minister prayed.

Waltzing with the Wallflower: “Do you think it best to fight your brother so deep in your cups?” Wilde asked a foxed Ambrose.

All We See or Seem (w.i.p.): His orders lay unopened on the table.

What are your favorite first lines?
Leave a comment for me with your contact information for your chance to win a $10 gift card for Amazon or Barnes and Noble and a copy of your choice of Sacred Ring or The Parting Gift.
The winner will be chosen at random, notified, and posted on March 26th.



1) HAVE FUN!!!

2) INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!! SPREAD THE WORD!!!

3) THIS TOUR STARTS: Friday, March 23rd, at Midnight (Arizona Time)
THIS TOUR ENDS: Sunday, March 25th, at Midnight (Arizona Time)
Winners will be drawn and posted Monday, March 26th!

4) MEET AND MINGLE WITH ALL THE AUTHORS & BOOK PAGES! EXPERIENCE A NEW DESTINATION AT EVERY STOP! PARTICIPATE IN EVERY BLOG CONTEST AND BE ENTERED FOR CHANCES TO WIN MULTIPLE PRIZES! EVERY BLOG VISITED IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO WIN!!

5) PARTICIPATION AT ALL BLOGS IS RECOMMENDED, BUT NOT REQUIRED. REMEMBER, THE MORE BLOGS YOU HOP, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING PRIZES. EVERY AUTHOR & BOOK PAGE IS WAITING TO MEET AND INTERACT WITH YOU, SO PLEASE BE SURE TO SHOW THEM SOME LOVE!

6) DID I MENTION TO HAVE FUN? WHOO! HOO!! HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOO!
***Authors & Book Pages have full discretion to choose an alternate winner in the event any winner fails to claim their prize(s) within 72 hours of their name being posted or after notification of win, whichever comes first. Anyone who participates in this blog hop tour is subject to these rules***

Back to the Linky List.

12 comments:

  1. Blog Hopping! Woohoo!

    What a great way to discover new authors/blogs and visit with old friends. Everybody wins this way! LOL
    The only first lines that come to mind are: "IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT" I don't know why, but it was either that or "ONCE UPON A TIME" immediately came to mind when you said first lines.
    Thanks for being part of the hop and for the chance to win such a fantastic prize! <^_^>

    reneebennett35(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  2. This was my favorite quote from Pride and Prejudice: An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do." Elizabeth was a herione before her time and an inspiration to many many writers. But I loved the fact her father sided with her. In that day, it was an unlikey occurance..Great giveaway!!! It so nice to have discovered you!!
    viajeradelmar@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. My Favorite quote would be one of two:

    Never judge a book by its cover, cause you never know the joys of the what author's imgination can give you (don't ask who said that cause I don't remember at this moment)

    OR

    Life is like a box chocolates, you never know what you are gonna get (of course Forrest Gump-Tom Hanks)

    Great Blog Hop & A Wonderful Way to discover Authors you never heard about :)

    Take care
    Beckey

    BeckeyWhite at GMAIL dot COM

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great post! One of my favorite first lines is, "Death growls, devil horns, and a mosh pit. Not Orpheus’s idea of a good time. Not by a long shot." It is from Elisabeth Naughton's Enraptured. I know it is more than the first line, but... ;)
    First lines definitely have the ability to really draw me into a story. Thank you for the giveaway and the HOP!

    trb0917 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for joining blog hop. I just love hops because I get to discover so many new authors and blogs.

    First lines...on of my favorite first lines is from Dean Koontz's book Lightning - A storm stuck on the night Laura Shane was born, and there was a strangeness about the weather that people would remember for years.

    Lori

    knitrix29 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Fave first line:
    "When I met Lenore, she'd been dead for four days"
    J.M. Tohline ~ The Great Lenore

    Fave quote: “We're all atheists. You don't believe in Zeus or Thor or Neptune or Augustus Caesar or Mars or Venus or Sun Ra. You reject a thousand gods. Why should it bother you if someone else rejects a thousand and one?”
    ― Lee Child (said by Jack Reacher)

    elizabeth @ bookattict . com
    GFC: BookAttict

    ReplyDelete
  7. Whoo Hoo...I can't wait for your next book...seriously...it's killing me....GO "Leah"!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wonderful giveaway! Thank you for sharing and for the giveaway! I dont really know any quotes. I dont really pay attention. I just read the book and jump to the next one. :) Thanks!
    gfc- shadow_kohler
    shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great post and giveaway. I love blog hops. It's a great way to catch up with other authors.
    I read alot so remembering first lines is impossible. But I will say I read the back, if it captures my attention I read the first paragraph. But I have been known to buy a book because of the cover.
    Thanks
    Lynda
    lyndakayefrazier@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. A couple that I like:

    "On Monday, Roxanne Lynne Treymayne Parker bleached her hair blonde, had her navel pierced, and got a tattoo on her right ass cheek." TALK OF THE TOWN by Karen Hawkins

    "If she didn't have sex with something soon, she would burst out of her skin." SEA WITCH by Virginia Kantra


    GFC: June M.
    manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  11. I like (I see it's mentioned on this post) "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"...from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Thanks for the giveaway! GFC:cheryllynne cheryllynne(at)rocketmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks, everyone, for stopping by and leaving comments! The winner of the Leprechaun Luck giveaway goes to Renee! Congratulations! :)

    ReplyDelete