Don’t forget to check out the giveaway at the bottom of the post…

Stories have a point when they come alive.

Some think this moment must occur on the first line, that first paragraphs, or in the first scene.

I think the book’s opening, if done well, simply acts as a hook that will lure a reader in to pick up the book and test drive it. The moment a story comes to life, when it takes its first big breath, now that’s when a reader will most likely commit to a long-term, reading relationship.

In a romance, this intriguing moment often occurs when a couple interact in a way that invests the two characters more firmly in this story. When they leave their normal lives behind and pay attention to what’s happening right now, between the two of them.

It’s that breathtaking second when a reader’s blood starts to flow a little faster in anticipation of the next word, the next paragraph, the next page. When she forgets where she is or what she is supposed to do that day, because she has stepped into the realm of her imagination.

This is when a reader takes that unconscious gasp of breath, holds it for a split second as she flips to the next page, unaware that the room had grown quieter, her cup of coffee is cooling fast and her cat has fallen asleep curled up beside her.

Giveaway!

For a chance to win a free Kindle copy of One Winter’s Night: A Regency Yuletide Collection, 4 Christmas stories written by 4 great Regency authors, answer this question: Have you ever lost yourself in a book and discovered that time has slipped away?

In A Season for Giving, a Christmas Regency paranormal novella in the holiday historical anthology, One Winter’s Night, the story’s first breath occurs in the excerpt below.

EXCERPT

A Season for Giving in the Christmas anthology, One Winter’s Night

First breath scene:

About to shut the door, he spotted his golden-haired dancer hurrying around the corner from the ballroom. She was unmistakable in her bosom-laced, pink gown. Ever since their short dance, he had been plagued with the desire to unlace that silver cord to release its tight hold on her velvet bodice.

Then she spotted him and her lips stretched into a satisfied smile.

Unable to walk away from Miss Gilbert’s challenging look, Christopher offered an excuse to his father and stepped back into the corridor, shutting the door behind him. “Searching for a dance partner?”

She came closer but stopped a respectable five feet away””close enough to show interest but far enough back to impress his father that she was more of a lady than Mrs. Beaumont. “My dancing partners do not normally race away, sir, leaving me alone.”

“Hardly alone.” He kept his focus on her apple green gaze that would tempt a wary Adam to shed his reservations about biting into forbidden fruit. Harder still was avoiding that tantalizing, crisscrossed silver cord at her bosom. Her father should flog whichever dressmaker designed that blatantly enticing artifice to draw a man’s attention toward his innocent daughter’s greatest assets. Then the young lady’s mother should reward the dressmaker for crafting such a successful ploy.

He narrowed the gap between them to four feet. “If any more men vied for your attention,” he said in a teasing tone, “there would be none left to partner every other lady.”

They stood assessing each other, leaving little enough room for anyone to traverse this corridor either behind or between them. As if to test that supposition, a servant girl rushed down the corridor with a tray of sliced oranges. She came to a startled halt, hesitant to brush against either of them in her desire to go past. The standoff continued for five heartbeats, with neither giving way.

Then Miss Gilbert took a bold step forward, bringing her scent within reach. She smelled of succulent apples. He took a deep breath and held it, savoring her aroma as the maid slipped past them.

“Anne,” Miss Gilbert said.

The maid stopped short and her tray tilted to the side. Oranges slithered across the flat surface toward her. She shifted her grip to restore order. “Yes, miss?” she said breathlessly.

Keeping steady eye contact with him, Miss Gilbert said, “After you deliver that tray, please inform William of my whereabouts and that I have found what I sought.”