‘Henwoodie stood quietly in the snow.  Evening was falling.  The front porch light had been turned on and gave the silent house a warm welcoming glow to anyone who might pass by.  The house held its breath, waiting for the snowstorm to begin.’

Many, many years ago I was involved in an intense email correspondence (the emails are being turned into a book about a desperate romance between two people).   Each email that I sent began with a description of the weather outside my window at the time I was writing the email.  Just a few lines to establish the mood and tone of the email.

I went back and reread quite a few of the emails and the technique really works well.  My thought is to do the same thing with each chapter in “Wythe’s End”.  In that the house itself (Wythe’s End) is a much a character in the story as the people I thought it would be a great way to keep the house in a prominent role throughout the narrative.

These opening lines won’t detract from the main focus of the content and will provide a logical thread between chapters.  If it doesn’t work I can always take it out.