Ooo. truepenny tells me it's time for the first lines meme!

baaaaa....

LONG!

1) Vethulf and Skjaldwulf did not get along. (A Reckoning of Men, with truepenny)

2) Tin laced her fingers together across her gravid belly and frowned along her nose at the feeble human child. (An Apprentice to Elves, with truepenny)

3) The first hint of returning consciousness was the icy tickle of fluid dropping across his lids, lashes, nostrils. (Chill)

4) It's harder to get good roles when you're dead. (Smile)

5) Nothing made Matthew hate himself more than waiting for the elevator. (Patience & Fortitude)

6) Ragged vultures spiraled up a cherry sky. (The Steles of the Sky)

7) I loved you not. (Posthumous Jonson)

8) On the first sunny day of Spring, Vladimir Karl Wilhelm Alexander, Prince of Freimarc, came to his father's father's fortress for the only time in his short sixteen years. He did not come willing. (A Treachery of Princes)

9) No first line, but an epigraph:

And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.

And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. (Grail)

10) Mrs. Cornelius stalked into the mahogany-paneled reception room, a jacket matching her chocolate trousers slung over her shoulder like the mantle of a queen, tiny emerald studs glinting in her ears like the eyes of a snake. (Unsuitable Metal)

11) A lone einherjar stood alone on the narrow band of black sand under the curve of the volcano's flank and raised his head to the impossibly bright spill of stars filling the sky. (Between the Bones)

12) No first line (Untitled virtual reality novel)

13) No first line (Untitled Heroic Hookers of the Old West novel)


SHORT!

1) The dream is smoke.

Smoke. Not fire. Not yet.

But you know the fire is coming. ("Smoke & Mirrors," Shadow Unit)

2) One gray-blue eye emerged from under the zippered edge of the jacket, blearily squinched. "From Hell's heart I stab at thee," Todd grated. "Is it the end of the world?" ("The Unicorn Evils," Shadow Unit, with coffeeem)

3) Someone had left flowers again. ("Spell 81A," Shadow Unit, with stillsostrange)

4) The first word was meant to be spoken quietly, if it should ever be spoken at all. ("The Death of Terrestrial Radio")

5) "We wouldn’t be having this conversation if you'd flunked Algebra." ("On Safari in R'lyeh and Carcosa with Gun and Camera")


Good dog, I really am totally out of short stories. 0.0

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Oh, and La Datlow took a cute photo of me losing a Locus award to Paolo Baciagalupi. With the much-requested Purple Hair.