October 20, 2025
What is the best line/s that you’ve written recently?
I’ve recently returned to the first draft of a book I started over a year ago.
It’ll be the second book in the Edwards Investigations series. I took a long break from it to write a short story for an anthology. (The anthology will be released mid-November. Stay tuned for more information!)
I’m at a point where I’m trying to decide whether my second victim is going to live or die. It’s still up in the air. I’m not sure which will serve the plot better.
So, I went back to the beginning to look for my best lines. Please remember these lines are unedited.
I’m fond of the first paragraph, but knowing how first paragraphs go, it’ll change.
Another night, another cheating husband, but the bar, The Squirrel’s Nest, was a repeat. From her stool, Annie McGregor nursed her mug of Iron City beer and a hamburger as she tracked Wayne Zabrinski in the mirror. He was having no luck getting the attention of the gaggle of college-aged girls who inhabited two of the tables.
But that isn’t my favorite.
This is. It is so characteristic of Annie (my main character, a female PI in Pittsburgh, PA in the mid 1980s) that it sets the tone for what comes next.
It wasn’t the first time that Annie had sat on a curb waiting for the cops to interview her, but at least this time she wasn’t in handcuffs. In fact, her hands were tucked into her coat sleeves, trying to keep them warm. A pile of crumbled tissues lay on the sidewalk beside her; she’d used them to scrub as much blood as possible from her hands.
There you have it. Makes me want to get back to my work in progress.
What do the other authors have to share? As good as they are, I’m looking forward to their work Check out the links below.
And, as always, until next time, please stay safe.
October 20, 2025