First Line Friday No. 12

It's always fun trying to figure out which book to share with you on Fridays.  My practice has been to go to Amazon and look through the first pages of several books -- old favorites, new finds, recommended reads, etc.  Today the word "pirates" popped into my head so I mentally flipped through all the pirate books I've stuck my nose in (quite a few) and came up with the best alternate history/pirate swaggery book known to literature. 

"One day when she was sixteen, Art remembered her mother.  It happened because Art fell down a flight of steps and hit her head on a wooden bannister carved in the shape of an eagle.  

She sat there, dizzy, staring back up the stairs at a group of very stupid girls, all giggling and pointing, with large books ridiculously balanced on the over-curled hair that crowned their heads.  And Art thought, who are they? And then -- 

And then she thought of a slim, strong woman, not tall but looking taller because her legs were so long and outlined by the trousers and boots she wore.  A woman with strawberry-blond hair tied back in a knot and eyes the impossible green of gooseberries.  And this was Molly Faith.  This was her mother.  Though for six years Art hadn't thought of her, hadn't remembered her -- this unforgettable and wonderful parent, who had been a pirate captain on the High Seas."

--From Piratica, by Tanith Lee

Seriously.  I just love this book.  It's a fascinating alternate world/history, has strong female characters, and have I mentioned PIRATES??

Reasons to keep reading:

1.  Tanith Lee has sprinkled in descriptors without being intrusive -- "carved in the shape of an eagle".  Little details like that really give you a picture of the world without taking you out of the story.  I'm learning about that this week in another writing book.

2.  Art is just a cool name.  So is Molly Faith.

3.  "very stupid girls" -- I like Art already.

4.  I instantly want to know what happened to Molly Faith.

5.  PIRATE CAPTAIN???  Will Art follow in her footsteps???  That's it.  I must read it all in one sitting, immediately.

Do you love pirates?  Treasure maps?  Chases on the High Seas?  Secrets?  You've got to read this book.


Don't forget, run the YAmazing Race for a chance to win a boatload of awesome bookstuffs -- and read something this weekend (then comment on here to let me know what I should read next)!

Next week:

Review of Rachel Dratch's new memoir, A Girl Walks Into a Bar
Write Wednesday review of Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
First Line Friday

Check back on Monday!