Two Sentence Tuesday: Magic

I'm trying to get back to a regular schedule of writing and blogging, so here's a quick two-sentence Tuesday post.

I'm currently reading A Distant Magic by Mary Jo Putney, one of my favorite writers. She started out with Regency and historical romances, and is now writing fantasy historical novels. Here are the two opening sentences in her latest book:

"The two foreign gentlemen strolling through Valletta's market square looked like they had pockets worth picking. Nikolai quietly shadowed them through the crowds, knowing they would never notice a boy his size in the noisy throng."

Nikolai's encounter with the foreign gents is the first step in a remarkable journey that plunges him into slavery and forges his lifelong quest to free as many slaves as possible. A Distant Magic is a departure from Putney's usual with a more serious theme and the added element of time travel. I like her books a lot.

Now for the first two lines from my most recent release, Ilona's Wolf. I don't often use omniscient viewpoint (at least not purposely), but in this case I couldn't resist the fairy tale opening.

"Once upon a time, in the Kingdom of Velosia, magic was more precious than gold. The few who possessed it were highly prized, for not everyone could learn to wield the magic, only those who were sorcerers born."

The Two Sentence Tuesday post idea comes to us from
http://www.womenofmystery.net.

Linda / Lyndi