First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros -- The Alchemist's Secret by Scott Mariani

It has been a while since I blogged. Honestly, I am at a loss on how to jumpstart the writing part. I feel so ancient! 😁 Since I am re-acquainting myself with the process of making sense with words using the keys on my laptop, I thought of participating in First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. Basically, you just share the first paragraph, or two, of the book you are currently reading or the one you are about to read.

 At the moment, I am reading a mystery/thriller book, The Alchemist's Secret written by Scott Mariani. For my initial participation, I prefer to share the first two paragraphs (it says I can use two) to depict an interesting scene.

Chapter One


France, October 2001

Father Pascal Cambriel pulled his hat down tight and his coat collar up around his neck to protect against the lashing rain. The storm had ripped open the door to his hen-house and the birds were running amok in a panic. The sixty-four year old priest herded them back in with this stick, counting them as they went. What a night!

A flash of lightning illuminated the yard about him and the whole of the ancient stone village. Behind the wall of his cottage garden lay the tenth-century church of Saint-Jean with its simple cemetery, the crumbling headstones and ivy. The roofs of the houses and the rugged landscape beyond were brightly lit by the lightning flash that split the sky, then plunged back into darkness as the crash of the thunder followed a second later. Streaming with rainwater, Father Pascal pushed home the bolt of the hen-house door, locking the squawking birds safely in.

Will this intro excites you to read this book?