Are these snowshoes real?

As writers, we hear all the time that we’ve got to hook readers in just the first few pages or else. We’ve got to hook agents in the first few pages or else.

Whether you’re looking to get published or just hoping to hook your reader, first impressions are vital. Compelling opening scenes are the key to catching an agent or editor’s attention, and are crucial for keeping your reader engaged.
JEFF GERKE, THE FIRST FIFTY PAGES

This month I snagged from the New Release shelf:

Breathe In, Bleed Out by Brian McAuley

It’s not often I see fake-outs in a book, but be damned if McAuley doesn’t pull it off MULTIPLE TIMES in just half a dozen pages.

The first line packs a punch: “Dragging a body through six inches of snow is even harder than I expected.” A reader can make plenty of assumptions based on the first line, let alone the first page. We first meet the narrator the dead body of someone named Ben through the snow. At first, I thought she was dragging him to bury him in the wilderness, but then on the second page we learn she wants to get his body back to his family because he deserves a proper funeral…though what happened to him, we don’t know, only that his chest is full of puncture wounds. But by the fourth page, Ben’s body disappears to be replaced by a ghost addressing Hannah. And then Hannah wakes with Ben alive by her side. And then cold starts setting in with Ben interrogating her about his death. And then he vanishes, and Hannah is alone.

McAuley deftly balances the immediate action and underlying mystery on each page. Whether it’s hauling a carcass in the snow or a loving embrace with one’s partner, the focus is on the moment, and because of that, readers are immediately digging for clues about what happened with Ben on the mountain and why the couple was there to begin with. Of course, one needn’t give away the mystery so quickly, but it’s fascinating for a ghost/dream version of the dead to ask the narrator what happened and she doesn’t answer. Is she hiding it from ghost, or merely her own conscience? She’s certainly doing a damn good job hiding it from the readers! So I guess I’d better keep reading to find out what happened. 🙂

Let’s see what next month’s find will teach us, shall we?

Coming up, we’ll talk about the power of a strong book cover and explore building monsters from other worlds. I’ve also got a neato blogging announcement as well as an author interview. This author has a free “stuff your Kindle” event on October 4th, so be sure to stop by her Instagram or Amazon page that day for details!

Read on, share on, and write on, my friends!