First Line Friday!

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”  —Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859)

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” —Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813)

"Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." – J.K. Rolwing, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (1997)

Welcome to

First Line Friday!

Here's how it works:
We'll post the first lines from three books, some written by us, some by author friends.
Then you will all be asked to vote for your favorite, without knowing who wrote it or what book it comes from-- until Saturday!
On Saturday, the lines along with their book cover, blurb and author will be listed so you can check them out! 
ALL voters, no matter who you choose or which line wins, will be entered into a drawing for a $10 Amazon gift certificate.
Easy and fun, for all of us!  We hope you'll play along!

And now, here's First Line Friday!

1.  Bits of gold dust clung to her skin.

2. "Will Work for Sex."

3.  Kelsey looked up from the counter as the bell over the front door chimed.

Okay... make your choice!  List your favorite by number or by quoting the line in the comments!  All votes up until midnight will be counted.  And don't forget to check back tomorrow to see who wrote which line and how to check out the rest of the books!

Who Says You Can't Go Home?

Last year, I went to my high school reunion. (No, I'm not going to tell you which one.) I think it was my favorite of the reunions we've had, simply because it was so relaxed and casual. No expensive dinner-dance, no posturing and working to impress - we just hung out, shared stories, and enjoyed being together.

I know not all reunions are like that. I think we're lucky, in my class, that we genuinely like each other. I worked in the same school district years later, and even then staff would tell me that our class had a reputation for being nice. It's a good reputation to have, isn't it?

So when I sat down to write The Girls Most Likely To series, I had my classmates in mind - people who aren't perfect, but who care for and support each other. That's the tight bond that Kelsey, Bree and Tess share. And when it comes to breaking the "yearbook curse", they know they can depend on each other to be there throughout it all.

(And a note to my high school friends - don't worry, your secrets are safe with me!)

(With Abby and Guy, at the reunion...)

They're The Girls Most Likely To...

Ten years ago, Kelsey, Bree, and Tess were inseparable. Best friends forever, they'd spent their senior year on top of the world. But right after graduation, everything changed.

The yearbook curse hit them, and hit them hard.

Kelsey, voted Most Likely To Succeed, instead found herself trapped by circumstances in the one place she'd always dreamed of escaping—her hometown. Anne, one-half of Silverton High School's Cutest Couple, learned the hard way that young love doesn't always turn out the way you want it to. And Tess, Silverton’s Life of the Party, ends up stuck in the friend zone longer than she’d ever anticipated.

Now it's time for their class reunion. Kelsey knows catching up with classmates who'd found the success she never achieved is going to be torture, but she can't stay away—especially when the news spreads that her former lab partner and secret crush might be there as well. Tess couldn't miss it even if she wanted to—she's chairing the reunion committee, after all.  And Bree hopes that finally she'll learn why her high school sweetheart was able to remove himself from her life so completely, taking her heart with him.

One weekend. One hometown. One chance to break the yearbook curse, and finally prove they really are The Girls Most Likely To...

Book One, Most Likely To Succeed, comes out March 25. You can preorder it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Carina.

Guest Blogger Lynda Aicher - Controlling Characters

This is my first time here and I’d like to thank all of the Nine Naught Novelists for hosting me today. It’s a pleasure to be here. Plus, I get to celebrate the release of the second book in my Wicked Play series, Bonds of Need.

So I’m going to let you in on a little secret, I never planned on writing a BDSM series. Seriously. When I wrote book one, Bonds of Trust, my plan was to write a series around the condo complex where the heroine lives. I have an entire building laid out with people and stories to tell. Each one was going to be about the secrets people hide. But then in came the men and The Den and a big old curve ball in my plans.

When my beta readers and critique partners read the first book, they all said this was a series about the men from The Den. So there I was with a series I hadn’t planned and a publisher who wanted more. What was I to do but go with it? Some frantic brainstorming and copious amounts of research later I had new stories to fit this new series and off I went.

It just goes to prove that as much as I think I know what’s going on in my books, it’s the characters who have the real control. They bop into a story and suddenly one runs away with a scene or another is demanding their own book. I can plot and plan and think I know what’s going to happen, but way too often, I’m proven wrong. Maybe that’s why character driven stories are so fun to write. I just never know where the characters are going to lead me.

This is currently a contracted six book series, but I’m pretty sure there will be at least one or two more (stinking characters that won’t stay quiet). Everybody has a story, figuring them out is what makes writing so much fun.

Contest time! I will give away a digital copy of the winner’s choice in the Wicked Play series to TWO lucky commenters if they answer this question: Do you prefer character or plot driven stories? 

Bonds of Need, book two of Wicked Play

When Kendra Morgan attends a party at an exclusive sex club, she's not driven by mere curiosity. Hoping to prove she's put the past behind her, Kendra must instead face up to needs she's denied for too long. Despite her lingering fears, she can't resist the temptation to play…

Deklan Winters has had his eye on his attractive neighbor for months, but only senses Kendra is no stranger to the BDSM scene when she walks into his club. And he can tell that's not her only secret. What surprises him is his own overwhelming desire to give her what she craves—and to show her a side to the Dom/sub relationship she's never known.

With Deklan's guidance, Kendra begins to accept her forbidden needs and to recognize the fine line between pleasure and pain. But when her former Master returns to reclaim her, it will take all her courage—and all of Deklan's love—to defy her past.

Find Bonds of Need at: Amazon | B&N | Carina Press | Audible

Meet Josh Brewster

Next week JILTED will release and it's time to introduce you to Captain Josh Brewster of the Promise Harbor Fire Department.

Photo from iStock

Josh is thirty years old. He grew up in Promise Harbor and went away to college in Boston. He graduated at the top of his class with a degree in fire science and went to work for the Boston Fire Department. It didn't take him long to work his way up to Special Operations Command -- the department responsible for all the special rescue services for the fire department, things like confined space rescue, structural collapse rescue, hazardous materials and decontamination operations.

But family issues brought him back to Promise Harbor and the PHFD. Looking after his mom and his sister is what he's done since his dad died when he was a teenager. His mom was trying to keep the family business, Brewster Landscaping, running while still working as a teacher. She was also coping with the death of her best friend, Lily Ralston. And although Josh's little sister Greta had also moved away from Promise Harbor, he was always worried about her because as a teenager she'd always been in some kind of hot water.

Leaving his career in Boston was hard -- but not as hard as leaving Devon Grant, the woman he loved, the woman he thought loved him. But Devon apparently had no intention of going back to Promise Harbor with him, preferring to stay in Boston and work her way up in the investment banking business.

Now Josh is a busy guy, recently promoted to Captain, working his days off at the landscaping company, looking after his mom and the Ralston family. He and Allie Ralston have been seeing each other, which seemed natural given their families were so close, and now they're getting married!

Or are they?

Find our more about Josh at the Promise Harbor Wedding website, or see some inspirational photos on my Pinterest board for Jilted.

Say a big "hi" to Josh Brewster!