Monday 16 July 2012

Hookers & Hangers Blogfest: Hookers

It's time for the Hookers & Hangers bloghop, hosted by the ladies at Falling For Fiction. The deal is to post as many first lines and last lines from chapters of your WIP as you can: Hookers today, Hangers on Wednesday.


I just completed my WIP first draft, The Memory Cell, last week and tried to get all my hookers ready for action (!) over the weekend, as I don't write in chapters, but with one thing and another... didn't happen. I've got nine for you, which is about a third of the book. But hey, that gives you more time to check out all the other great entries!

So, here we go...


Chapter 1: She had been feeling pretty good about herself that day, until it happened.

Chapter 2: The first thing she saw when she woke up was Michael lying twisted on the road.

Chapter 3: On the Saturday, Helen got up, dressed in her casual gear as she had since Tuesday, and arrived at the bedside at the normal time.

Chapter 4: Helen stayed with Michael on the Saturday night.

Chapter 5: On Monday morning, Julie Hanbury sat up in bed and, as she had done every day for the past week, opened up her laptop to trawl for any more news.

Chapter 6: He slept for a long time in the morning.

Chapter 7: When Michael was dressed in his new clothes, Helen helped him to walk out of the ward with the holdall over her shoulder.

Chapter 8: She awoke two hours later to find Michael staring at her owlishly.

Chapter 9: Julie was stuck.

Don't forget to check out the linky list to visit all the other participants!

62 comments:

Suze said...

That's kinda fun.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Curious what the story is about now!

Dani said...

The second line struck a cord in me. Very vivid.

Unknown said...

I related to the hooker for Chapter 2, but the rest are good! I am left wondering where this story is going to go.

Stina said...

I want to know what 'happened' in chapter one. Intriguing!

Martin Willoughby said...

That chapter 2 opening makes me wonder what's going on. It's the best a good set.

Lisa Regan said...

Wow! The first two are AWESOME!!!

Kyra Lennon said...

I absolutely love the first one, and the start of Chapter 5 - both really gripped me! And I really want to know what is going on in Chapter 9!

Tyrean Martinson said...

1,2,5,8, and 9 really got me curious and interested. Nice post!

Summer Ross said...

My favorite is chapter 2.

Cassie Mae said...

Awesome hookers! I'm wishing I could live chapter 6 right now. If I sleep past 7 it's a good day, lol.

Can't wait to see your hangers!

Emily R. King said...

#2 is sad! I'd read on.

Hope Roberson said...

Great job! I'm so curious about this story :) The hookers and very hooking :)

Tobi Summers said...

I really like those, especially the first and last ones. I'm curious about the story!

Mara Rae said...

Loved 1 and 8! Great job!

Rachna Chhabria said...

Hi Nick, I love the second, seventh and the eight ones a lot.

prerna pickett said...

really liked 1,3, and 8.

Ruth Schiffmann said...

What a great bloghop. Thanks for sharing your hooks. My favorites are 1, 2, & 8.

Jenny S. Morris said...

Chapter 2 really has me curious, it's so sad. Great job! Can't wait to read your hangers.

Kimberly Gabriel said...

Ooh - love the second one. Very intriguing!

Leigh Covington said...

Love 'em! But Ch2 is killing me! I must know more!

Rena said...

Holy Krakatoa, Ch2! I want to know what's going on there.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Oh, this is fun! I wish I hadn't missed participating in this. That second line of yours is an intriguing doozy.

Nick Wilford said...

Suze - Fun and a bit scary. ;)

Alex - Thanks! Good to hear.

Danielle - Thanks very much.

Carolyn - It's quite interesting to read these lines out of context. Glad to hear you're interested!

Stina - I'm not sure whether that line should include more detail. Funny to think I wrote it over two years ago!

Martin - Thanks! Glad you liked it.

Lisa - Thanks! :D

Kyra - I guess you want to hear more from Julie! Your wish is granted as I've sent you 7-9 now. :)

Tyrean - Thanks!

Summer - It does seem to be the one - now to make them all as good!

Cassie - Thanks! Lol, 7 is a lie in for me.

Tasha Seegmiller said...

Chapter two completely intrigued me! Great job.

Nick Wilford said...

Emily - Thanks! I'd like to have had more ready.

Hope - Thanks, lol. :)

Tobi - Thank you! Nice to hear.

Mara, Rachna, Prerna, Ruth - Thanks! :D

Jenny, Kimberly, Leigh, Rena, Shannon, Tasha - OK, it looks like I have some work to do to make everything as good as Ch 2. Thanks for the input, everyone! :)

Nick Wilford said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Susan Oloier said...

What a great blogfest!
I especially like Chapter 2's hooker. Wow! I mean, wow!

VikLit said...

2 and 9 especially grab me!

Kelley Lynn said...

You don't write in chapters?? Interesting... I love hearing about what works for writers. :)

And I really love number two. Such great description. Thanks for participating!

Nari said...

Chapter 2 is definitely my favourite - totally intriguing. You really get a sense of some of the struggles going on just from these first lines. good work :)
Nari X

Jay Noel said...

Your hookers are doing their job very well.

#2 is my fave.

Jade Hart said...

Awesome hookers. I liked number 8. 'owlishly' is a great word - invokes a lot of imagery. :)

DL Hammons said...

Staring owlishly is freaky!! :)

Kim said...

Great opening! And I agree with the above comments - the word "owlishly" jumped out at me - awesome :)

Anonymous said...

Ohh nice opening line for chp 1. You've got me hooked. All the lines are great.

Clare said...

Very interesting hooks, I'm intrigued as to what happened to Michael.

Mina Burrows said...

They're all good and have me curious to know more.

kjmckendry said...

Sounds like a fun blogfest! You've some great ones, but my favorite is the second one.

Amanda Olivieri said...

Love the second one!!

Suzi said...

Staring owlishly - that is a great word.

#1 made me laugh.

Gossip_Grl said...

Great posting and nice hookers. Definitely #2 leaves me intrigued. Can't wait for the hangers. Enjoyed reading.

Jennie Bennett said...

#2 made me raise my eyebrows, I wanna know what's going on! Great job :)

A.L. Sonnichsen said...

Don't worry - mine weren't ready either, which is why I only posted three. :D Great job with this. They're great!

Elizabeth Seckman said...

Totally hate it when #1 happens. When bad things happen there should be foreboding like in books, well until your book when the bad thing happened on a good day. Left me thinking...and that means I'm hooked!

Cherie Reich said...

Ooo, I wonder what happened from chapter 1. I also like "Julie was stuck."

Tara Tyler said...

curious relationship! great hooks!

Nick Wilford said...

Susan - Thanks very much! :)

VikLit - Thanks! Glad you liked them.

Kelley - I tend to just think in scenes. You're welcome! It was fun and can't wait for tomorrow!

Nari - Thanks for the perceptive comment! :)

Jay - Glad to hear it. ;)

Jade - Thanks! I wasn't sure as it is a dreaded adverb.

DL, Kim - Thanks! I do think it's a good word too!

TF - Thanks! Glad you were hooked. :)

Clare - Thanks. There were definitely loads of intriguing hookers in the fest!

Nick Wilford said...

Mina - Thanks! That is nice to read. :D

Kathy, Amanda - Thank you!

Suzi - Thanks. Owlishly seems to have a few fans!

Gossip_Grl - Thanks! I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone makes of the hangers.

J.A. - Thanks! Eyebrows raised is a good sign!

Amy - Thanks! :)

Elizabeth - Thanks! I like your reaction. :)

Cherie - Thanks!

Tara - Thanks! Well, I can say it's an unusual relationship.

1000th.monkey said...

Lines like #9 always make my curious... literal or figurative?

C.B. Wentworth said...

What an interesting process. Your sentences are very interesting and I love how they seem to tell a little story in and of themselves.

Lynn(e) Schmidt said...

The second one is definitely a hooker. Excellent choice of words, sentence structure. Good job.

Nick Wilford said...

1000th Monkey - Thanks! I hadn't thought of it that way. (It was figurative.)

C.B. - Thanks. That's very nice of you to say so!

Lynn(e) - Thanks! Your comment made me smile! :)

Ink in the Book said...

I want to know more, so these must be great hookers!

Trisha said...

My fave is #2 - like woah! how did that happen? What'll happen next? Yeah, nice hanger!

Can't believe you have a character called Julie Hanbury - I know a woman with that name :D

Anonymous said...

Oh wow! I am intrigued.

cleemckenzie said...

Made me wonder who these people were. Good job.

Deana said...

Twisted on the ground? How sad...and intriguing!

Robin said...

Ch. 2 is my favorite definitely.

Nick Wilford said...

Ink in the Book - Thanks! :)

Trisha - Thanks! That's pretty bizarre. I'd never even heard that name before. I just made it up! :/

Madeleine - Thanks! I'm glad. :)

Clee - Thanks. Nice to hear that. :)

Deana, Robin - Thanks. Two CPs have said that should be Chapter 1!

Elise Fallson said...

My favs are 1, 2, 8, and 9 but really they are all good. I can't wait to read your book!

Nick Wilford said...

Thanks! I wish you could've taken part because I can't wait to read yours, too!! :D