Here are the sources of the last lines I shared last week:
“Maybe loving dogs… “A Big Little Life, Dean Koontz’s book about his Golden retriever, Trixie. Actually, the ending “The sign now includes…:” comes from the afterword of that same book. Yeah, I cheated. But I thought they both were perfect, in their own ways.
“But the good part is …” Shiloh, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. This amazing novel won the Newberry Award.
“And you ask…” From First Paragraphs: Inspired Openings for Writers and Readers a lovely little writing resource from Donald Newlove. I included this both because I love it and because it made me grin to including the ending of a book about openings.
“He would be there all night…” To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
“Tomorrow we will go…” Dancing on the Head of a Pen: The Practice of a Writing Life by Robert Benson
“However, a few days after …” Redeeming Love, Francine Rivers
So, of course, now that we’ve shared last lines that we’ve loved, it’s time to share our own! Yes, grab your manuscripts and/or published books and pull out those last lines.
However, we’ll allow TWO lines because sometimes, as Inigo Montoya learned, to sum up well takes more than one line. (“No, there iss too much. Let me sum up.”) Come on! You gotta know what book/movie that’s from! And yes, I intended to put in two esses, so don’t write me a note correcting it.)
But I digress.
This week, let’s see how you bring your books to a satisfying end. Give us the title of the book, a quick one-line summary, and the last one or two lines.
This is the last line from my novel, A Test of Faith, about a mother & daughter who must endure the turbulent waters of their relationship:
And with that truth cradling her, holding her tight, she drifted into a deep, peaceful sleep.
Okay, your turn!