I love opening lines. And about a year ago, fiction writer Marc Laidlaw posted a tweet about opening lines that went viral: “The first line of almost any story,” he tweeted, “can be improved by making sure the second line is, ‘And then the murders began.’”
People tweeted their favorite opening line followed by And then the murders began.
I didn’t read about his tweet until recently, and then I went crazy with the concept. Here are a few of mine:
One of my favorites is from Nancy Mehl's latest, Blind Betrayal: As Martin Avery waited to be murdered, he was surprised to find that more than anything else, he felt offended. And then the murders began.
How about: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And then the murders began.
And from Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell. It was raining in Richmond on Friday, June 6. And then the murders began.
Or from George Orwell, 1984: It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. And then the murders began.
And from my own Justice Betrayed which will be released June 5: Shirley traced her finger over her mother’s image in the photo, then shoved the picture into the backpack with her other possessions. And then the murders began.
Okay, now it's your turn. Tell me what your favorite first line is and then add And the murders began.