The Journey it Takes

Lightning strikes with such ferocious intensity that it short-circuits the brain.

Sins of the Father, my second novel and the sequel to my first smash hit, Pandemic-19, hit the proverbial streets on November 27, 2025. It has been two months and to my vibrating glee, Sins of the Father has been doing quite well. It has also helped generate more sales for Pandemic-19.

I cannot complain.

On this two month anniversary as I look back at my books, it brought forth a very interesting concept that is the core to my writing style. A punch that I believe adds to my work and in differentiating me among a vast ocean of others seeking to make their mark.

The first sentence.

Huh, you ask? See above.

This weekend I attended a birthday party and was fortunate to meet a variety of new people who, when someone mentioned I was a published author, sparked some very wonderful questions from them and conversations about my books and the writing journey. As I talked and shared, it brought me back full circle why I do what I do. I love writing and offering an escape and entertainment to readers. It enriches my soul and mind.

Which led to today’s pen on the page, so to speak.

The first sentence of my stories is purposefully constructed to reach out and grab a reader and never let go. As authors, we must put a shiny object front and center right away, or we risk not capturing attention and lose the opportunity to keep a reader wanting to continue. It is the nature of the beast. It might not be all sparkly and bright, some tarnish around the edges, but that introductory sentence has to be compelling enough to draw a reader into the plot from the get-go.

Or, they may decide that it is not the road they want to follow.

For me, all of my chapters begin with a first sentence that conveys the essence of what is about to transpire. Sometimes it is a string of words that immediately slaps your face and gets right to it. On occasion it might be subtle, but reaches out and takes hold of an ear and leads the way. For every instance, it sets the tone for what is about to throw down. It has to, otherwise is the age of transient attention and bombardment of so many outside sensory influences, a reader may lose focus and then they simply set a book aside to never return.

It may be the greatest novel ever written, but never read.

Why pray tell, do you have to do it that way?

For me, it can be answered in a multitude of ways. So many words to explain. Yet, it really comes down to a simple reason.

My voice.

When I started this writing journey many, many years ago and I created my first novel, the one that has yet to see daylight, I didn’t have my writing voice. Not totally, that is. The story and plot were and are fantastic, but the ability to capture my “voice” still in its infancy that didn’t capture the real me. Not quite. Thriller fiction to me has to get you right away. Especially if it is fast-paced as part of the timeline with which the story takes place. Action speaks, and much like the way I wrote then and today, I see my novels and words as a movie in my head. I have to capture the essence of that movie, which is visual, and use the right words and structure to bring it all together on a page.

The first sentence is my way to grab the bull by the horns.

Some writers create chapters that tell a story or part of it that leads you by the hand from chapter to chapter. Ten or more pages that weave along and may or may not crescendo with some fireworks before moving on. Me? My chapters are mini-stories. Short, action-packed from the start that paints the picture right away. They end then with a sentence that keeps the suspense moving forward and a want for more.

At least, that is what I am trying to do for all of you.

As a writer, I must lock you as a reader into my world. Place the key around my neck and feed you characters and scenes that enthrall your senses and brain with such force, or subtlety, that page after page, you keep the illusion up until the last word. At that point, the dots connected, the nuances fed through character conversations, and the poking the bear out in the open has delivered. Then and only then, can the key find its way to unlock the cylinder and let you go. Happy, vibrant, feeling satisfied, and not questioning at all.

Why did I read that damn book?

For the past two months since Sins of the Father released, I have re-read my first two published works. First, Sins of the Father front to back like twice. Yes I know, crazy author man losing his mind a piece at a time. Then, Pandemic-19.

Why?

Well, for lack of a better explanation, to ensure I am creating books that have compelling plots and characters and snatch you up in my arms. Right away from the beginning to the end. That each chapter begins on a note that sets a tone and keeps you glued to the pages. Call it auditing, whatever you want, but I believe my work never ceases to end. Even out the gate and in the public eye, my novels still warrant from me some critique to keep this boat afloat.

The author cruise ship that delivers stories at each port of call.

OK, I think I understand writer man. Well, maybe.

Think of the first sentence as the introduction. The words that make or break whether you want to keep engaging or not. As writers, we do not have the budget for special effects like they do in the movies. No way of putting a car chase or bridge jumps visually for the wow effect. Or, explosions. Lots and lots of stuff just blowing up for no rhyme or reason. If I had the funds to blow stuff up or jump a car over a ravine? Well, then it wouldn’t be a book.

I just have the alphabet to work with and string them into words you want to read.

With that concept in mind, I must create my worlds with concentration. Not to brag or anything, but I am well-read. My time in school saw me reading George Orwell in elementary school. The Odyssey and Iliad in junior high and again in high school. Orwell was not assigned, I just picked up his books and took the ride. Same with the classics before they were assigned as part of my English program. Throw in a host of other books that ran the gamut of literary fiction and non-fiction, and popular fiction by authors who shall remain nameless, but their works got turned into movies and shows.

You can guess who they are.

The point, guy?

Well, reading has been a passion since I was a kid. Anything and everything I could get my hands on. I read encyclopedias for fun. Being exposed to vastly different writing styles and types, academic to fun, used a brush to create for me a sort of vision of what worked for me. Or at least, what I wanted because I saw what lacked to keep me engaged in certain books. For my writing voice, I want the first words, the very first sentence of my books, to be the drug that you cannot turn down. Maybe chocolate, since that is better for the body and mind.

Legal too.

Do I hit the mark 100% of the time? I like to think so, but I am sure I sometimes take a swing and miss. Even as awesome as I like to think I am, my family would obviously disagree and say I’m fallible, I know I screw up. Fail to capture that emotion right away beneath the chapter heading. Writing is not a perfect science. It is an evolution. Hence, the reason why I read my stuff over and over. To make damn sure I do the best I can each time I let a book into the wild for you to read.

I have to, no matter what.

Think to yourself about the books that to this day, you still love to crack open. Or, ruminate and remember the way the plots and characters kept you entertained. What was it? That is the question to answer. Some great works start slow like molasses and build up. Others, never hit the ball out of the park, but for some reason they still present something captivating that keeps readers moving from page to page. Some believe in formulas, or copying from others?

Me?

I do my own thing.

For anyone seeking to write a book, many people say think of your audience. Who are you targeting your work to and why? I write for me first. To entertain myself and relish in a story that resonates within me. The reality is that actually getting yourself published is more of a whim and luck than anything else. The majority of writers never get published. So, if you write for someone other than you, tailor to people you don’t know, your hard work may never see daylight. If you write for you, you know that at least one person in the world likes what you wrote. You are important. Lead the way for others to follow.

What does that have to do with the first sentence of a book or chapter?

Well for me, the guy who loves to read and has so many books in my personal library I need an English manor. A place that has one of the those cool home libraries with floor to ceiling shelves and a fireplace with leather chairs and a small table for my Scotch collection. Reading all of the great works in my possession, and quite a few snoozers that I still wonder how that bloke or lass got published, I learned what made me tick. The thing that captivated my attention. A classic is a classic hands down. The overall plot and story is what grabs you to the end. Commercial fiction meant to sell millions of copies caters to the masses. A lot is carbon copy formula, in my humble opinion. Not that it is bad, but not my English cup of tea.

My little world is suspense thriller fiction with hints of science fiction that may or may not come true. I have to keep the action going because the story, the plot and characters, dictate the pace. Slow moving doesn’t work, much like for me in my reading past, it didn’t jive. I like to be grabbed right away and whisked off on an adventure where I don’t know what is going on, but as I read, the words lead the way. I am my own audience, so if it works for me, why do it any other way?

That’s why my first sentence launches an arrow and pulls down the path. You can’t remove it until the end.

If you write, think about your opening sentence. What can you say to draw a reader in? That one sentence defines the start of the journey. For the next chapter, what can you say that keeps the momentum going? And, so on and so on. Each chapter is an opportunity to lose someone. If you can’t get them to bite, to keep reading, you have lost. As I said, the first important person is you. If you stay engaged each time you read your work, and trust me, that is where the editing process over and over occurs, if each time you read it captivates you, then that should transpose to some audience that is yet to be defined and will read your book.

Trust in you. An audience will come. Maybe not tomorrow or the next, but at some point. Have faith, not necessarily the religious kind, but in your abilities. If you get excited each time you read those first sentences, chances are great that others will too. So, take the time to develop and paint those words into wonderful and vibrant first sentences. Recognizable snippets you can recall in your sleep. Words that forever put a smile on your face.

That’s what happens to me.

If you are strictly a connoisseur of the written prose, then the first sentence should be the one you take to heart. Does it grip you? Does it convey emotion? When you read it, can you imagine the path ahead? Excitement, the tingles from head to toe, what do you as a reader, feel? That is important too, because as a writer I should have loved what I wrote and felt a truckload of emotions that I want you to experience as well. Afterall, we are both on a journey. Me as the one building the path with rocks and dirt, tapping it all down to make as smooth a surface to walk as possible. Then, throwing in some potholes to make you pay attention and not fall. Leaving some areas a bit more wobbly and raised to keep you from just meandering along, but focused on not tripping and paying great attention to which way to follow.

Keep you guessing and focused on the road.

As I work on the next novel and books in my basket, I keep my eye on the prize. The massive smile on my face when I re-read book 3 in The Carmichael Trilogy as I write it and edit the words. If it never sees daylight, as long as it grabs me every chapter, then my work is done. Now, it is coming so my gentle friends, don’t fret. That was just a statement that circles back to the reality of the writer’s life. As I work and edit the book, I focus on the first sentence to hold dear to my heart what has become my voice. Grab you right away and never let go. Chapter after chapter, keep you entwined with the words from the beginning of the page.

If I can do it for me, I hope it does it for you.