The Friday Fifteen - Openings

"Successful writers are not the ones who write the best sentences. They are the ones who keep writing. They are the ones who discover what is most important and strangest and most pleasurable in themselves, and keep believing in the value of their work, despite the difficulties." - Bonnie Friedman

THE FRIDAY FIFTEEN

Fifteen Opening Lines From My Writing
(Both Chapter and Story openings):

1. Her obsession started innocently enough.

2. Jed had heard it said it wasn't the fall that got you, but the sudden stop at the end.

3. Trisha wore red to the funeral.

4. With a last look at the receipts on her massive oak desk at the Pamper Me Salon and Day Spa, Olivia Leslie Leigh tugged the faded Boston College sweatshirt over her head, careful not to dislodge the wig that covered her platinum blond hair. (NOTE TO SELF: That's a mouthful... might need some editing!)

5. Petunia swiveled the huge Easter bunny head that balanced precariously upon her slim shoulders until she could see through the slit in the mouth.

6. Julia Mae Ryan mumbled a protest as the morning sun pried its warm fingers under her leaden eyelids, closed only a few hours before.

7. No one deserved to be beaten to death.

8. It wasn't going to happen, not by tomorrow morning anyway.

9. Tish yanked off her hockey jersey, slipped the black dress over her head, and with a little help from Minerva managed to tug it into place.

10. Derek was seething when he got outside.

11. I leaned down and gave the half-grown, shivering dog at my feet a scratch behind the ears.

12. Corinne Weathers squinted at the tiny lines on the measuring cup.

13. Jemima folded her legs underneath her on the overstuffed love seat and leaned back, spooning double chocolate fudge ice cream into her mouth.

14. Nothing good ever happened at Christmas.

15. “Disgusting.” Cass Edwards wrinkled her nose against the stink. (Yes, I know, that's two lines...)

Next week: closing lines!

Mary listed some books off her "keeper" shelf the other day that sounded interesting to me, but they're old and I'm having a terrible time finding them. My library doesn't have them, so I headed for a nearby used book store (UBS) I'd never been to -- I've bought most of my stuff online over the last several years. They have a TON of books, especially the kind I read, and they're neatly organized. But they didn't have the ones I wanted. DD, OTOH, found the Mattimeo (she's a Redwall freak!) and was more than happy to part with $3 for it. I'd like to go back there when I have more time to browse and don't have a DD who is easily bored.

What about you? Where do you buy most of your books? Do you patronize your local UBS? Barnes and Noble/Borders? An indy?

Happy Friday!