In some cases, a great first line (or lines) can completely change my mind about a project. For example, take Mario Acevedo's debut novel, THE NYMPHOS OF ROCKY FLATS.
Mario's agent had pitched the book to me, but I was literally (and honestly) rolling my eyes. A Latino vampire detective novel with a title all about nymphomaniacs didn't seem like my kind of book at all.
But you never know, and that eternal optimism is what keeps editors coming back to the piles of paper that cover our desks, our floors and coffee tables (and sadly sometimes the bed). Plus, I was amused that the story had actually been declassified by the federal government. So I started reading:
"I don't like what Operation Iraqi Freedom has done to me. I went to the war a soldier: I came back a vampire."
Talk about a hook! I kept reading, and reading, and was completely pulled in.
Great first lines and fun title notwithstanding, I wouldn't have bought it if Mario hadn't been able to pull off the entire book. If I thought there was promise, but he wasn't able to juggle the seemingly-preposterous storylines and keep it both fun and somewhat believable, I would have written an encouraging note and talked to the agent about resubmitting after substantial revisions, etc. If it had completely fallen apart, great first line or no, I would have stopped, then politely turned it down.
But the story worked. And thus the adventures of Felix Gomez, vampire detective.
-- Diana
Mario's books really are unique in the genre -- just another example of authors bringing something fresh and original to what seems like a crowded sub-genre that might be reaching saturation...
Posted by: M_eHart | January 28, 2008 at 03:11 PM
Yup! He's got a completely original take, that's for certain... =)
Posted by: Diana | January 30, 2008 at 08:47 AM