Honest Answers Only

If you don't mind, read the following two prologues and let me know what you think. Do you like one better than the other? Or do you like neither? I'm hoping to enter a writing contest that only requires the first page of your novel as entry. To continue on, people have to read that first page and think it's interesting enough to want to read more.


You can leave anonymous comments or simply vote for #1 or #2. Any feedback you can give would be very, very appreciated.  The person who leaves the best feedback will receive an autographed copy of the book, when it comes out :)Thank you in advance for your support.

Prologue #1:

The car rolled twice before coming to stop at the edge of the water. Sylvia had been resting her eyes, thinking about the romantic weekend she and Thomas had just spent in the Great Smokey Mountains. Thomas had glanced at her, just long enough to see the smile playing at her lips. He had just been reaching for her hand when the tractor trailer, driven by a tired and over-worked Alex Andrews, came barreling around the corner at seventeen miles over the speed limit and crossing the center line. Sylvia never even saw the truck that caused her husband to jerk the wheel to the left to avoid being hit head-on.

When people talked about the accident, they would say that it was lucky the Laughton’s were already down the mountain or they both would’ve been killed. If it had happened a few miles back, the car would have tumbled down the mountain, instead of just into a ditch at the bottom. It was bad luck, of course, they would say, shaking their heads and thanking God it wasn’t their family, but at least the children still had one parent.

Alex Andrews, who never even heard the crash, wouldn’t find out until the next day that a small, beige car had been run off I-24, killing the driver and leaving the passenger in a coma.


Prologue #2:
Some friends would say, when discussing the accident later, that the Laughton’s were lucky that it happened on the way home instead of the way there. At least Thomas and Sylvia were able to spend one last romantic weekend together, their first in over five years. Thomas was driving at a respectable 40 miles an hour down the windy mountain road. Sylvia was resting her eyes and humming along to the oldies station that was going in and out as they rounded the big curves. Thomas glanced over and saw the tiny smile that played on her lips as she thought hazily about their lovely weekend at the bed and breakfast in the hills outside of Nashville, Tennessee. He was just about to lay his hand on Sylvia's leg when an overworked and underpaid semi-truck driver rounded the corner, going much too fast. Alex Andrews was in a hurry to get home, having been on the road for almost a week. He had a beautiful silk night gown in the cab seat for his wife, whose birthday was that day. Alex was hoping to get home in enough time to play with his young daughter and maybe see his wife Ellen in the nightgown before they both fell asleep from exhaustion.
Thomas had no choice but to yank the car to the right to avoid hitting the speeding truck. Sylvia, who had almost been asleep, screamed when the car hit the guard rail on her side. Thomas jammed both feet on the brakes and jerked the wheel to the left as the car began to skid sideways on the narrow mountain road. The car flipped around backwards and Thomas and Sylvia were both able to see the semi slam into the mountain on the passenger side but keep on driving. By the time Alex had gotten the truck under control enough to look in his rear-view mirror, the Laughton's car was around the curve of the mountain and he couldn't see them anymore. Not hearing any crashing sounds, he assumed they were fine and kept driving. He wouldn't learn until the next morning that the driver of a small, beige Taurus had been killed on I-24 when his car was run off the road by an unknown driver. His wife, who had also been in the car, was listed in critical condition. Alex Andrews ran to the bathroom and threw up. Ellen Andrews, still glowing from the thoughtfulness of her husband's birthday gift, jokingly asked if he was pregnant.