More on Writing- Starting a story

Writing is hard work. Until recently getting your writing published was even harder work, but with the advent of on-line publishing that's changed, much to the distress of the old-style publishing houses, who no longer hold the power of life and death over what gets into print. All hail the liberation!
On a more serious note, some of the old rules that those houses lived by can still apply. While some publishers and agents stress the importance of the opening paragraph, or even just the opening sentence, contrary to some of the more extreme claims made, the opening sentence does not have to, by itself, make a potential reader want to read the whole book. All you really have to do is make them want to read the next sentence. The next sentence should make them want to read the following sentence, and so on. At some point, you may capture their attention enough so that they want to read on, even if not all of the succeeding sentences are as compelling.
As an example, my best selling book starts out: 'Thunder rumbled and echoed behind her.' This is enough for a reader to go on reading, if only to find out who 'her' is, and what is she doing. The second sentence is: 'Kimberley halted on the trail and turned to look back.' Now the reader knows what 'her' name is, and may be wondering what she's doing outdoors, apparently hiking along a trail. You don't necessarily have to tell them that right away, and indeed the next sentences simply describe a small action Kimberley makes and the appearance of the sky as a thunderstorm approaches. But if readers are still sufficiently curious about the character and her circumstances, they will press on.