Monday, January 26, 2015

First lines...

When I was in the middle of writing my first book, Operation: Endgame, I attended a reader/writer conference and in one of the roundtable discussions, they got to talking about what hooks you to read a book. There was a person there who said she chooses her books on the first line.

WHAT?!?

OMG, I swear I was hyperventilating from then on out at that forum. Talk about pressure to get it right, immediately.

Well, that came to mind this morning as I sat here in front of my computer (ahem...procrastinating) with my WIP, Snowcroft Safehouse, open on the first page.


My first line...(right now...because this book is nowhere close to done yet) and it occurred to me that this may not be the first best line.
“Four more hours and we’ll be out of fucking Jersey.” 

Because let's face it...if you are a fan of New Jersey (and I am...I lived there for 4 years and loved it), that's kind of offensive. BUT it has nothing to do with the state and so much to do with the circumstances that the characters are dealing with.

So, I kind of thought it might be fun to have a discussion about first lines in books.

First, do you put a lot of emphasis on a good first line? And if so, share the first line out from one of your favorite books with us.

And just for fun, here are all the other first lines from my other books...
Jake could feel the bark of the limb cutting into his palm, but he refused to give away his position by changing the way he clung there.

Ten year old Colton stumbled down the hall of the chapel and worked to keep a tight rein over his emotions. 

Lights flashed through the darkened night as another rugged, sexy fireman rushed across Julie's yard in front of her townhouse.

Julie panicked as the rough hand ripped the thin fabric of her bikini top.

"Detective, are you okay?"

Mudflap Davidson gazed at the wall of fire in front of him, focusing the spray of the water at the base of the curls of orange, yellow, and blue flames.

"I think it's time to move away from Snowcroft."

"Ms. Renshaw, there's a Detective Rob Morris from the ESIA here to see you."

"Molly, what am I doing here?"

How the hell could she be in the suburbs of Seattle without a single coffee shop in sight?

So, sound off...what do you think about first lines? I'll be honest, I thought I was pretty good at having decent hooks, but looking at these, I'm not so sure. Hmm, maybe I need to do a post with the other first lines from my WIP's and let you all see what you think.... 

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Release day for Justin...

Justin releases today!!

Cover Design by JSB Designs
Cover Model: Justin James Cadwell


Justin is my 10th book release and I'm so thrilled that this is the 10th. 

Because...simply put...this book just makes me happy. 
I love this story. 
This is the first book I've written which is simply straight, stand-alone, contemporary romance. And I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. I hope you all like it, too. So far, the reviews have been great so I'm happy that the story is resonating with others, too.

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Here are the buy links:






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And now a little bit about the book. 

Justin…
Tara Malone is having one of those lives. Born to Oscar award-winning actor, Anthony Malone, and model-famous beauty, Veronica Scott, she should have it made. But her curvy figure and out-of-control frizzy red hair are just the start of her many, many issues. Now to make matters worse, she’s started out her week by running over model, Justin James, with her car. She had a lot of fantasies about the cover model, but never did any of them include vehicular assault.

Justin James doesn’t have time for two broken wrists, but neither does his over-achieving family. He can’t open up his fridge or unzip his fly without excruciating pain and no one else has the time to help him. Tara already shot him down at the accident scene, but maybe he can work this so that the curvy bombshell has a reason to hang around for a bit. He’s not above using guilt if it means he gets to know her better.

The first in a new series of novellas inspired by Shauna Kruse’s photography and her beautiful male models.

The Male Model Chronicles.

Disclaimer: The Male Model Chronicles, a new fictional series, is built around the real-life world of Kruse Images & Photography and the gorgeous male models that Shauna Kruse gets to immortalize in her photos. The heroes are real people who also happen to be male models, but every single other thing about the series is fiction.


This is the first in the Male Models Chronicles series. This series is tied together by theme, but none of the stories are tied together, although Shauna, of Kruse Images & Photography, is a re-occurring character throughout the series (and yes, she'll eventually get her own book, too, even though she's not a male model).

The series:
1. Justin
2. Lance (releasing May/June)
3. Joshua (releasing Oct)
4. Brendon (2016)

Also, if you go sign up for the Christi Snow newsletter, I will send you a set of 4 of these gorgeous Male Model Chronicles bookmarks.


(newsletter sign-up is in the right column).
Note: I only send out emails every couple of months announcing new releases, so I promise not to flood your inbox.



Monday, January 19, 2015

Bookmarks and Newsletters...And JUSTIN is coming!!

Does anyone still read print books and use bookmarks??
I know I do and I adore giving away bookmarks as swag.
So, who wants me to send you a set of four of the Male Model Chronicles bookmarks?
(no charge...this is my gift to you!)
All you have to do is sign up for my newsletter. 
You can do that right over on the sidebar column of my website.
It will ask you for your mailing address and email. 
I have to have those so that I can send you the bookmarks.

(also, it will send you an email to make sure you aren't a spammer. If you don't do the email back, it drops you off the list.)

If you don't want to receive bookmarks and cards from me, just ignore the mailing address part and sign up for the email notifications for when I have news or new releases. 

I promise I will not overload either your email inbox or personal mailbox with stuff.
I'm not that organized...LOL.
My mailings of any sort only go out about once every 3-4 months. 

Also, note: if you signed up for a newsletter on my old website, I lost that entire mailing list when I set up my new website. 
Please, please, please sign up again. 

And did you all know??
JUSTIN releases in TWO DAYS!!!
Here are the pre-order links: