Residents of an old railroad hotel have to protect dangerous secrets about the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot. But someone knows the most dangerous secret of them all about one of the residents. Who will outwit whom -- and how -- in this explosive encounter?
Thanks to everyone for your feedback on two versions of Chapter One! I am starting to revise the final chapters of the novel beginning today. If you enjoy comparing chapters and commenting, be on the lookout for new material showing up around Chapter 24 :)
Caren, Congrats on completing your novel. I enjoyed reading both versions of Chapter 1 but prefer your original version. The beginning sentences of a book are so important to “hook” the reader and I was drawn much more quickly into the story by the characters interacting than by the descriptive sentences of the office and its machinery. Your book is character-driven and the beginning of your original chapter 1 is true to that style. You could certainly include the information from the opening of your alternative chapter 1 in your original Chapter 1 at an appropriate moment as it’s good historical background info.
Just finished the first two chapters, and I sense a heroin in the making. I am hooked. Can’t wait to read more. Even though I have read it hundreds of times, I still cringe when I hear how my people were treated in those days.
Caren, I have enjoyed reading the drafts of your chapters for Henderson House. Your "period" descriptions and phrases draw me into Bartlesville, OK and make me feel like a friend of the book’s characters. Although both the First Chapter and your Alternative First Chapter are each written well,
I prefer your original First Chapter which introduces Bessie in a way more fitting to her character. The details about her work should remain, but be woven elsewhere in the chapter. I can’t wait to read your book when it is published..
