Thursday 7 October 2010

The Indian Summer of Sid the Spider

Bloggie friends it's official!! We have an Indian Summer just round the corner for the next THREE DAYS! We are talking... oooh 23 degrees Centigrade, 73 degrees Fahrenheit by Saturday.

Joy to the world!! Well here in south east England. :-)

My painted toes will be free for longer! My sandals won't be bagged, tagged and hidden. Not yet.

Why am I being so trivial?!!?

Because bloggie friends, I think I cracked my first sentence of paragraph 1, chapter 1, page 1 of my novel after a gazillion and a half rewrites. Dare I share it with you?!?!?!?! Please feel free to skip this bit! LOL!! Charlie is just below!!!
On the night he died, the old man’s last supper consisted of soup, half a crusty loaf and tea that he took sweet and milky.

Charlie says: I need to seriously get down from this sink


Sorry bloggie friends when Charlie jumped in the sink and stayed there to watch Sid the Spider on the ceiling I took a million and three pics of him. They're all so cute that I had to share a few more with you! Sadly I didn't get any of Sid! :-)

Have a calm and loving Thursday everyone!



39 comments:

Unknown said...

I love the first line! Just love it. It's just what I would love to read when I pick up a novel from the shelf.

CD

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Great beginning!
And that's okay - keep posting photos of Charlie in the sink.

Marilia said...

Have a calm and sweet Thursday too!!!!

Ann Best said...

I'm back from my 3-day break from care giving, and trying to catch up now with my blogging friends.

I've missed you!

First, Charlie's picture. It is WON-derful. I always love your pictures. Okay: what we don't see may be the most crucial thing...

Second, I just recently read examples of great opening lines; lines that keep editors and readers reading.

YOURS grabs the reader! This is really a great opening. Who is the old man? How old is he? Where does he live? When, where, and even more important WHY did he die? And HALF of a crusty loaf?

This is truly a teaser of a beginning. Congratulations!!!

Jen sends a holler too.

Ann

Theresa Milstein said...

Yay for cracking your first sentence! I want to hear your first sentence now. I'm so curious about your project. Hints?

Enjoy Indian Summer. We've had constant rain for three days. No Indian Summer for us!

Does Charlie spend much time in the sink? It's too cute.

Jacqueline said...

That is a great opening sentence=it makes you want to learn more about the man's life, what led him to that last meal...Love the "Charlie in the sink" photo...We've missed you guys and hope all is well...We are having a special post on Oct. 7 about Mommy's first baby, Nikki; hope you can visit...Kisses and hugs, sweet friends...J, Calle, Halle, Sukki

iasa said...

that's a fabulous first line, i want to read more already.

Maybe Charlie is looking for a shampoo and set whilst he's in the sink.

Jemi Fraser said...

Woohoo! Good for you - that's a great sentence :)

23 C would be fantastic! We're up to about 17 C and I thought that was fantastic!

Unknown said...

I like it! I'd keep going :D

73 degrees sounds absolutely perfect to me.

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

It is still rather warm here in NYC too, Jenn! I'm enjoying it but I don't feel in the mood to decorate for Halloween or start baking fall favorites. I'll keep the nice tempos as long as possible, however, as the winter always seems so long!

Nice beginning on Chapter one, line one! :)

HubbleSpacePaws said...

Charlie, I can't imagine that Sid is any handsomer than you! Glad your mom is getting in those last free toed moments!

I Wonder Wye said...

Congrats on the progress on the writing -- I NEED to drag my manuscript out of the drawer. I have finished editing for a client, my ghostwriting gig is over, and I have no more excuses not to do so. Had to come check out your kitties...

I Wonder Wye said...

Congrats on the progress on the writing -- I NEED to drag my manuscript out of the drawer. I have finished editing for a client, my ghostwriting gig is over, and I have no more excuses not to do so. Had to come check out your kitties...

dArtagnan Rumblepurr/Diego Hamlet Moonfur said...

We'd happily look at a million and three photos of Charlie!!

fairyhedgehog said...

Yay to an Indian summer and yay to a first line! Nice work, Kitty!

Anonymous said...

So THAT is where the heat has gone and we are having patches of Winter in Spring.
I hated today's 9c! But at least you are getting to sport your pretty little toes!

Jenny Woolf said...

Surely he did not get (gulp) wet? He looks a bit wet in the picture, but I imagine he would not have stayed in the sink for more than half a second if he really had been.

Anonymous said...

Great opening sentence.
Great photo of Charlie. Why the TCP?
Great Scott, an Indian summer!
Grateful Boonie, for a fun post.

Have a nice day, Boonie

Ellie Garratt said...

Yay! You've written a cracker of a first line.

Indian summer? I'm all for that!

Brian's Home Blog said...

Hello Charlie, you look so cool watching Sid! Hey, that is a great opener...who is this guy and how did he did? Purrfect!

Kea said...

23C would be heaven. Tomorrow's supposed to be 19C (I live in hope), and that's Indian Summer for us!

I read from other authors that the first sentence is crucial. Or at least first paragraph. As a reader, I wouldn't toss the book out on the first sentence or paragraph alone, but if it didn't hold my attention after several chapters, I probably would put it down and not pick it up again, no matter how well written.

Thank you for NOT getting pics of Sid the Spider!

Big smooches to Charlie, as always.

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Gotta love an Indian summer in England! I weep, sometimes, missing the UK, and here you go and announce an Indian summer with 23 degrees. I shall pitch myself off a cliff now...

Or perhaps arrange for a visit as soon as humanly possible.

Charlie's looking as cute as ever watching Old Sid. I wonder if they're communicating?

Hannah and Lucy said...

Charlie were you in the wash bowl to be nearer the spider or off the floor if he fell down from off the ceiling?
Like the first sentence of your book - it makes you want to read more.

Simon Kewin said...

Yay for the Indian Summer. And I love that opening line. "On the night he died" is a fantastic start to a novel!

Ann said...

Not partial to spiders, so I am not missing Sid's photo. Charlie looks wonderful though!

Loving your first line! Have a wonderful Thursday.

SASS....Sammy Andy Shelly Sierra said...

What a grand beginning!!!!!!!!!

We're still dreaming of having days that are 23C/73F. but hopefully later this month or early next month. We are just thankful to have day in the 80's.

We love ALWAYS having our toes free, and we're sure our dear friend Charlie does also!!!!!!!

Did you get that spider, Charlie, or did it stay out of reach????? What a wonderful pix of you.

xxxxxxxx

Plain Jane said...

Indian Summer is what I miss about living in Southern California. Sure, it is always warm and sunny, but there are no suprises or blessing of warmth when all you have felt is cold.
Aren't cats the best exterminators? I have stopped being scared of bugs thanks to my two kitties that are forever watchful.

Jayne said...

Sounds good to me, Kitty! I would read on... so now do you have to do the gadzillion and a half rewrites on the next sentence?! Oh its like polishing a pebble into a diamond, isn't it? But when you see it all nice and sparkly, oooo!

Amy & the house of cats said...

That is a great opening sentence - it seems like it could go so many ways - I am intrigued for sure!

And Charlie, sitting in the sink is one of the joys of being a cat - add a spider and wow, it is a very good thing!

Talli Roland said...

Great first line, Old Kitty! I would definitely read on, even if there was a spider on the ceiling.

Thank God for Indian Summer. My skin was beginning to shrivel from all the rain!

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

I've been a bit absent from blogland...I like your new look. :) I'm glad you're having some nice weather. That means my Grandparents are too. :-)

Loved the beginning of your novel...

Marg said...

No pictures of Sid. Darn. We need to see what Charlie is so intent on. Charley you do look cute sitting in the sink.
We like your first sentence or two. Now just get to work on the second sentence.
Take care and have a great day.

Carolyn Abiad said...

Great first line! Love the pic of Charlie too...

Angel Ginger Jasper said...

We dont mind at al how many pictures when they are as cute as this.. Hope the novel flows..

Hugs GJ x

Travis Erwin said...

Poor Sid he never gets any of the love.

Private said...

I love the first line! I think it really sets the mood - I'd love to read more:)

Charlie isn't afraid of spiders, is he?

ANGEL ABBYGRACE said...

Oh such lovely weather, Dear Charlie we know you are loving it too. And Sid, did you have a nice conversation with him?

purrin
xoxoxo
Abby

Esme said...

Lucky you-Indian Summer-we have 42 degrees here a week ago. It was heavenly at the beach.

Manzanita said...

Great line. Tells so much. The reader knows he's dead but you want to read on to know how/why he died.