Hooking the Reader and Setting the Tone of the Story By Connie Vines #Hooking your reader, #ChapterOne, #Romance novels,

 Chapter One: Hooking the reader and setting the tone of the story

Chapter One, page one, has to hook the reader and set the story's tone. 

In some ways, the opening chapter has to work harder than any of the others. Chapter One is the one most writers agonize over the most. 

Begin at the point the story actually starts – or even after it’s started.

I like to begin with dialogue, followed by action. 

Make sure the opening sets the tone for the rest of the novel. 

Easy-peasy. 

Except when it isn't.

Tanayia--Whisper upon the Water. (historical YA novel). It was my first award-winning novel. I was also honored with a lifetime achievement award for my work on behalf of Native American Children.

While the use of a prologue is usually discouraged, it was a simple way to transport a reader into the past.

1868

The Governor of New Mexico decreed that all Indian children over the age of six be educated in the ways of the while man.

Indian Commissioner, Thomas Morgan, said, "It is cheaper to educate the Indians than to kill them".

1880, Apacheria, Season of Ripened Berries.

  

Isolated bands of colored clay on white limestone remain where the sagebrush is stripped from Mother Earth by sudden storms and surface waters. Desolate. Bleak. A land made of barren rock and twisted paths that reach out into the silence.

A world of hunger and hardship. This is my world. I am Tanayia. I was born thirteen winters ago. We call ourselves N'dee, the People. The white man calls us Apache.

On the lighter side.  "Who doesn't love a cowboy?"

Chapter One

Charlene hadn't told Rachel that she'd fixed her up with a cowboy, much less Lynx Maddox, the "Wild Cat" of the rodeo circuit.  Rachel sighed. She should have known. After all, Charlene only dated men who wore boots and Stetsons.

If you like your romance Cajun style, you'll enjoy this mix of short stories. 🐊

"Marrying off Murphy." Like all Cajun fairy tales, it began harmless enough. A match-maker 

 promises to turn a stuffy professor into a charming prince. So, why does the confirmed bachlorette suddenly wish she was dressed for the ball?

"Love Potion #9"  Watch what happens when you mix a traditional Creole woman with a fun-loving Cajun man and throw in a Voodoo Love Potion--stand back! The Louisiana Bayou ain't never gonna be the same!

"A Slice of Scandal". A producer finds herself embroiled in a mystery as hot as her Bayou Cooking Show. When an undercover cop-turned-chef shows up and dishes up more heat than a bottle of Louisiana hot peppers.  Can she prove her innocence before the real killer finds her? Or, will she become the main course in a murder trial?

"1-800-FORTUNE" Garlic hangs from the rafters, but this sexy Loupe Garou isn't looking for trouble or a cure for what ails him. What's a law-abiding werewolf to do when a gypsy woman shows up with mischief on her mind?  

To purchase or for sample reads of my novels:

BWL (publisher's site)  https://www.bookswelove.com/

AMAZON: Kindle, audio, print. (Canada or USA)

Or at your favorite online bookseller.

Happy Reading,

Connie

 

Valentine's Day --A dash of spice; A splash of humor, or? By Connie Vines #Romantic fiction, #Valentine's Day, #The Big Easy #Perfume

Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day!   😍💘💕💋🍫🍷

A dash of spice? A splash of humor? Or..a full-on die-hard romantic?

I confess, I'm on team "a splash of humor"!

Of course, a romantic dinner, soft bluesy music, and a walk along the beach certainly check all the boxes.

While many may consider breakfast in bed a dream-come-true, I would upend the tray and be sitting in a puddle of coffee. ☕

"Fondue night" might be a bit cheesy, but I think it's an original idea for an at-home Valentine's Day. Start with dipping your favorite veggies, breads, and proteins into melted cheese for a savory dinner, then switch it up with chocolate for dessert — marshmallows, fruit, cookies, and graham crackers.

One of my faves:

"Love is sharing your popcorn!" Stay at home and watch a favorite romantic movie or catch a new release.

💞It's the thought and effort behind your actions that truly count.💖

What is your idea of a "perfect" Valentine's Day?

🐊

Here's a teaser from my anthology, "Gumbo Ya Ya". (4 stories in one book!)

LOVE POTION # 9

The determined barking of his pedigreed champion Catahoula Leopard dogs sent Cooper T. Landrieu darting for the back door. There was another party at the plantation house, not that he cared. He spent a large part of his time in Lafayette or traveling,g so his opportunity to go fishing was limited to a few times each year. But, damn, of all the weekends for the Dubois' to throw one of those parties complete with band and pyrotechnics, that had to pick this one!

Expecting his cousin, he yanked open the door. Just when he opened his mouth to shout at the hounds, he almost fell against the screen door.

Cousin Beau wasn't anywhere to be found.

Instead, he spotted a woman standing on his doorstep.

He knew the woman.

"Persia?"

Even when she remained silent, Cooper T. knew it was she. There was no sane reason for finding Persia Antoinette Richmand Laudrieu, his soon-to-be-ex-wife, on his doorstep in the middle of the night; she was there nonetheless.

Yanking open the screen door, he grabbed her wrists. "What are you doing out here?" he asked, dragging her inside.

Her golden skin glowed in the light of the swaying porch-light, and her almond-shaped blue eyes stayed focused, unblinking on him.

"What happened to you?" he asked. She clung to the edges of some sort of slinky wrap that she'd draped around herself. The stench of stagnant swamp water dripping from its shredded remains. 

Persia brushed back her damp, slightly tangled tawny bangs from her forehead. "There was an unfortunate incident... with my car."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, darlin', but aren't you supposed to wait until after the divorce before you start to celebrate?"

He watched her perfectly arched eyebrows draw together in a slight frown. Why had he'd ever thought the habit endearing, he couldn't recall. He took a closer look at the woman. Maybe she wasn't his wife after all.

Naw.

She sounded like his wife: the liquid tones of her smoky voice were cultured, one-hundred-percent Creole, straight out of the Garden District of New Orleans Parish...

🐊

There is nothing better than a friend, unless it's a" good book" and a box of chocolates!

Happy Reading,

Connie

https://www.amazon.com/Gumbo-Ya-Connie-Vines-ebook/dp/

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gumbo-ya-ya-connie-vines

Or at your favorite online vendor.

https://connievines-author.com/

Watch my book trailer: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OumB8pFI6oc

(Love Potion #9, Marrying off Murphy, A Slice of Scandal, and 1-800-FORTUNE).

Remember: There is nothing better than a friend, unless it's a good book and a box of chocolates!

Connie