First Line Friday — Where The Fire Falls

1 Jun

Happy First Line Friday! With this first Friday in June, I am featuring a great vacation read, Where The Fire Falls by Karen Barnett. Part of the Vintage National Parks Novel series, this book will take you back to the late 1920s and Yosemite National Park. Whether you take this one along on your next road trip or weekend getaway, or read it on your staycation, you won’t be sorry.

Please share your first line in the comments and then head over to Hoarding Books to discover more fabulous first lines!

 

 

Watercolorist Olivia Rutherford has shed her humble beginnings to fashion her image as an avant-garde artist to appeal to the region’s wealthy art-collectors. When she lands a lucrative contract painting illustrations of Yosemite National Park for a travel magazine, including its nightly one-of-a-kind Firefall event, she hopes the money will lift Olivia and her sisters out of poverty.

After false accusations cost him everything, former minister Clark Johnson has found purpose as a backcountry guide in this natural cathedral of granite and trees. Now he’s faced with the opportunity to become a National Parks Ranger, but is it his true calling?

As Clark opens Olivia’s eyes to the wonders of Yosemite, she discovers the people are as vital to the park’s story as its vistas–a revelation that may bring her charade to an end.

 

Karen Barnett is the award-winning author of The Golden Gate Chronicles (Out of the Ruins, Beyond the Ashes, and Through the Shadows) and Mistaken. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, two kids, and three mischievous dachshunds. When she’s not writing, Karen enjoys photography, hiking, public speaking, decorating crazy birthday cakes, and dragging her family through dusty history museums. Oregon Christian Writers (OCW) honored her with the Writer of Promise Award in 2013 and a Cascade Award for her debut novel, Mistaken, in 2014. In 2016, she was named Writer of the Year by the prestigious Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. Karen is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Oregon Christian Writers (OCW) and has been published in Guideposts and other national magazines.

22 Responses to “First Line Friday — Where The Fire Falls”

  1. joyofreadingweb June 1, 2018 at 7:19 am #

    I just finished reading this last night! It was such a great story!!

    Over on my blog I’m featuring the first line from Tara Johnson’s “Engraved on the Heart”. Here I’ll share the first line from chapter 14.
    “Keziah wrapped the cloak around her shoulders and eased her bedroom door open, wincing at the gentle creak that echoed down the dark hallway.”

    Do be sure to drop by my blog page and enter the giveaway!
    Have a wonderful weekend!

    • rbclibrary June 1, 2018 at 8:06 am #

      Thanks for sharing!

  2. carylkane June 1, 2018 at 7:48 am #

    PROLUGE
    May 1, 1815

    BEAWORTHY, DEVONSHIRE, ENGLAND
    We observed the first of May as we always did. – The Dancing Master by Julie Klassen

    • rbclibrary June 1, 2018 at 8:05 am #

      That was a good book! Happy reading!

  3. susandyer1962 June 1, 2018 at 7:53 am #

    Happy Friday!

    My FLF comes from a book I will be reading shortly, Room on the Porch Swing by Amy Clipston……

    Allen Lambert rolled onto his side and yawned. His eyes blinked open , and his large but dark bedroom came into clear focus. The green numerals on his battery-operated digital clock read 2: 12. What had awakened him so early?

    Have a great weekend and happy reading!😊📚

    • rbclibrary June 1, 2018 at 8:04 am #

      Happy Friday to you!

  4. Suzie June 1, 2018 at 7:53 am #

    I’m looking forward to reading this one soon!

    More than Meets the Eye by Karen Witemeyer is on my reading agenda this weekend, so I’ll share the first lines from that: 1879–Fannin County, TX
    “Don’t lose heart, children. We have several strong families lined up in Bonham. I’m sure we’ll find good homes for each of you.”

    Have a wonderful weekend!

    • rbclibrary June 1, 2018 at 7:59 am #

      Love her books! Happy Friday!

  5. Paula Shreckhise June 1, 2018 at 1:03 pm #

    My first line is from A Rebel Heart by Beth White:
    April 20, 1863
    Ithaca Plantation
    Selah could hear the horses thundering closer, oncoming hell and destruction.

    I would love to read Karen’s book, too!

    • rbclibrary June 1, 2018 at 1:30 pm #

      I have White’s book to read later this month.

  6. Beth Erin June 1, 2018 at 1:36 pm #

    Great story! I just finished reading A Defense of Honor by Kristi Ann Hunter… “Graham, the Viscount Wharton, heir to the earldom of Grableton, pride of the Cambridge fencing team, coveted party guest, and generally well-liked member of both Brook’s and White’s, was bored.”

    Happy reading!

    • rbclibrary June 1, 2018 at 2:09 pm #

      Well then! Great line.

  7. lelandandbecky June 1, 2018 at 7:27 pm #

    Happy Friday! My first line is from Mail-Order Bride Switch by Dorothy Clark:

    “Garret Stevenson kicked the snow off his boots, climbed the steps to the roofed platform of the Union Pacific Railroad station and stopped.”

  8. Yvette - Bookworlder June 1, 2018 at 11:58 pm #

    I’m currently reading The Road to Paradise and looking forward to Where the Fire Falls! One of my other current reads is A Proposal to Die For, the first Lady Alkmene Cosy Mystery by Vivian Conroy:

    ‘Marry me.’ The whispered words reached Lady Alkene Callender’s ears just as she was reaching for the gold lighter on the mantelpiece to relight the cigarette in her ivory holder.

    Have a great weekend!

    • rbclibrary June 2, 2018 at 6:51 am #

      And who whispered those words? Intriguing.

      • Yvette - Bookworlder June 2, 2018 at 11:34 am #

        Ah, that’s still a mystery at 50% of the ebook and the questions are growing about the woman he was addressing as well. 🙂

  9. bellesmoma16 June 2, 2018 at 1:06 pm #

    On my blog, I’m sharing the first line from Tessa Afshar’s upcoming novel, Thief of Corinth, due out in July. Here I will post the first line from the novel I’m about to begin, This Wilderness Journey by Misty Beller.

    November, 1852
    Canadian Rocky Mountains

    “I am the luckiest man alive.”

    Makes you want to read to find out why he’s the luckiest man alive, huh?! Lol! 😊

    • rbclibrary June 2, 2018 at 1:10 pm #

      It does! Have a great weekend.

  10. Becky June 3, 2018 at 9:29 am #

    I have an arc somewhere that I really need to read. 😀

    I’m sharing about “No One Ever Asked” by Katie Ganshert on the blog, but I’m currently reading, “The Weaver’s Daughter” by Sarah E. Ladd.

    Alarm’s menacing sting picked Kate Dearborne’s consciousness and hurried her steps.

    Happy reading and have a great weekend!

    • rbclibrary June 3, 2018 at 11:02 am #

      I’m reading Ladd’s book next.

  11. hjsnyder28 June 7, 2018 at 11:16 am #

    Happy reading!

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