Bailey Herrington's Blog
October 1, 2025
First Lines I'm Glad I Didn't Think Of
First lines I’m glad I didn’t think of.
“Joanie seemed a bit full of herself and didn’t know the parts of speech.”
“Arabella awoke to hear the sound of her alarm ringing, and the phone in unison.”
“Although I was thoroughly shaken by the note, all sticky-taped to my bedroom window, in red ink and all, my wonder is how someone could’ve gotten it there when our house is halfway off a cliff?”
“The Civilization appeared very briefly in the avatar of an Late Archaic Human female, clad in a severely cut gray dress with black button-up shoes, gray hair tightly done up in a bun, and a pair of lenses attached to wire precariously perched on her nose.”
“Dolby was bored stiff, the kurakkan flour coursing through his veins, and he was excited.”
“They tried to pin a murder one me, little old me who couldn’t swat a fly. Not sober anyway. Actually, I couldn’t swat a fly drunk either.”
“It was a cold November Saturday, and the Butchers were sitting around, having nothing to do. The Butcher household was like every other household on Veasey Street, boring and bland, but they thought they were the center of civilization, at least in its blander times.”
“I like cows because of their color pattern… and other reasons!”
“Gee whiz,” thought Terence, as he watched the pack of vegetarian lions circle the stalled Land Rover, “time to renew my subscription to Illustrated Physics magazine.”
I do wish I had thought of this first line:
“Cheryl’s mind turned like the vanes of a wind-powered turbine, chopping her sparrow-like thoughts into bloody pieces that fell onto a growing pile of forgotten memories.”
Sue Fondrie, winner of the 2013 Bulwer-Lytton Prize.
“Joanie seemed a bit full of herself and didn’t know the parts of speech.”
“Arabella awoke to hear the sound of her alarm ringing, and the phone in unison.”
“Although I was thoroughly shaken by the note, all sticky-taped to my bedroom window, in red ink and all, my wonder is how someone could’ve gotten it there when our house is halfway off a cliff?”
“The Civilization appeared very briefly in the avatar of an Late Archaic Human female, clad in a severely cut gray dress with black button-up shoes, gray hair tightly done up in a bun, and a pair of lenses attached to wire precariously perched on her nose.”
“Dolby was bored stiff, the kurakkan flour coursing through his veins, and he was excited.”
“They tried to pin a murder one me, little old me who couldn’t swat a fly. Not sober anyway. Actually, I couldn’t swat a fly drunk either.”
“It was a cold November Saturday, and the Butchers were sitting around, having nothing to do. The Butcher household was like every other household on Veasey Street, boring and bland, but they thought they were the center of civilization, at least in its blander times.”
“I like cows because of their color pattern… and other reasons!”
“Gee whiz,” thought Terence, as he watched the pack of vegetarian lions circle the stalled Land Rover, “time to renew my subscription to Illustrated Physics magazine.”
I do wish I had thought of this first line:
“Cheryl’s mind turned like the vanes of a wind-powered turbine, chopping her sparrow-like thoughts into bloody pieces that fell onto a growing pile of forgotten memories.”
Sue Fondrie, winner of the 2013 Bulwer-Lytton Prize.
October 5, 2021
Literary Trivia
Let’s play literary trivia this week. I’ve gathered some questions from American, British, Classic, and Children’s literature to try to stump you. The answers will be posted next week. There are no prizes for correct answers, so answer as many as you can on your own. Have fun!
1. What author became famous for his six-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln?
2. The crime novel The Godfather, also a hit movie, was written by whom?
3.Who wrote the children’s book Where the Wild Things Are?
4. The hero Beowulf faces a monster known by what name?
5. What color was Anna Karenina’s bag in Tolstoy’s novel?
6. In which state do Mark Twain’s characters Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn live?
7. What novel written by Oscar Wilde has to do with immortality?
8. Which character in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick was the voice of reason?
9. What novel centers around marriage during the Victorian era, describing the fascination that a group of sisters have over one man?
10.What pen name did Norman Bean write under?
11. In what fictional town is Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird set?
12. What other novels did Margaret Mitchell have published before Gone with the Wind?
13. What is the name of the heroine of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter?
14. Mary Ann Evans was the real name for which author?
15. In 1984, who serves as the leader of The Party?
16. Who wrote “Under Milk Wood” a 1954 radio drama commissioned by the BBC and later adapted for the stage?
17. What pen name did Eric Arthur Blair write under?
1. What author became famous for his six-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln?
2. The crime novel The Godfather, also a hit movie, was written by whom?
3.Who wrote the children’s book Where the Wild Things Are?
4. The hero Beowulf faces a monster known by what name?
5. What color was Anna Karenina’s bag in Tolstoy’s novel?
6. In which state do Mark Twain’s characters Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn live?
7. What novel written by Oscar Wilde has to do with immortality?
8. Which character in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick was the voice of reason?
9. What novel centers around marriage during the Victorian era, describing the fascination that a group of sisters have over one man?
10.What pen name did Norman Bean write under?
11. In what fictional town is Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird set?
12. What other novels did Margaret Mitchell have published before Gone with the Wind?
13. What is the name of the heroine of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter?
14. Mary Ann Evans was the real name for which author?
15. In 1984, who serves as the leader of The Party?
16. Who wrote “Under Milk Wood” a 1954 radio drama commissioned by the BBC and later adapted for the stage?
17. What pen name did Eric Arthur Blair write under?
July 14, 2021
The Girl in the Orange Maillot
The Girl in the Orange Maillot, #4 of my David Elliott series, will be published February 28, 2022 by Koehler Books. Here's a brief summary:
It’s September 1963. Pastor David Elliott finds himself investigating an execution-style slaying.
Eight years ago the victim falsely accused David’s close friend of sexual abuse of a young girl. Now his friend’s son is charged with the murder.
David’s efforts to prove his friend innocent provokes friction with police investigators, an influential church member, and David’s own life-decisions.
Two whip-smart women join David in the quest for the truth. The trio’s search propels them along a treacherous path that leads to the hidden life of a ruthless man twisted by greed and an obsession to exploit the vulnerable. They have little to rely on but their sharp wits. They must find the crafty killer in time to save their friend. The girl in the orange maillot is the key.
The twisted root of the murder will shock you.
Stay tuned.
Bailey Herrington
It’s September 1963. Pastor David Elliott finds himself investigating an execution-style slaying.
Eight years ago the victim falsely accused David’s close friend of sexual abuse of a young girl. Now his friend’s son is charged with the murder.
David’s efforts to prove his friend innocent provokes friction with police investigators, an influential church member, and David’s own life-decisions.
Two whip-smart women join David in the quest for the truth. The trio’s search propels them along a treacherous path that leads to the hidden life of a ruthless man twisted by greed and an obsession to exploit the vulnerable. They have little to rely on but their sharp wits. They must find the crafty killer in time to save their friend. The girl in the orange maillot is the key.
The twisted root of the murder will shock you.
Stay tuned.
Bailey Herrington
