Prologues and epilogues: a good idea?

Prologue and Epilogue. Do they have a use? Should they be used? Can you have one without the other?

What an interesting topic and one I hadn’t really thought about since neither is a permanent part of my writer’s toolbox. I have used the prologue twice, in both instances when only a short blurb was necessary to set the rest of the book.

In T’s Trial, I needed to show the hero’s depravity and ego in order for his redemption to be all the more worthy. In Wedding Belle Blues, I needed an intro to the five part book set-up and to give it a fairy tale entry, a ‘once upon a time’ lead-in that, of course, totally falls apart before the first chapter is ended!

I’ve used an epilogue only once in order to tie up all the loose ends of One Year Past Perfect. I needed to skip time, which seems to be a main purpose of epilogues, to show the Happily Ever After for all the parties concerned.

Can you have one without the other? Well, I obviously think so.

The only time I get a bit sideways with prologues is when they give us a terrific hero/heroine in distress moment and then—wham!—take it away from us by going back a day or two. Or a year. Yes, it grabs my attention. Sometimes, it holds it. Not guaranteed. Now this happens a lot in episodic TV also, when you think you must have missed an episode because you don’t remember the characters having been left dangling from a rope over a canyon with a train about to cross the bridge they’re affixed to. Then, it says, ’24 hours earlier.’ I can handle that transgression a bit better. And, of course, being TV, it’s over in an hour, not 300 pages later.

Please check out the other participants in this blog tour, all answering the question of prologues and epilogues.

Participants:

Margaret Fieland
Skye Taylor
Dr. Bob Rich
Marci Baun
A.J. Maguire
Diane Bator
Victoria Chatham
Anne Stenhouse
Helena Fairfax
Beverley Bateman
Connie Vines
Rachael Kosinski Rhobin Courtright

Amazon Giveaway for Ron's Run

It's that time again, mid-month and another Amazon Giveaway, this time for a chance to win a copy of Ron's Run, the fourth of my Bone Cold--Alive novels, but a standalone in hero and heroine.

From the back cover copy:

"Guilt drives him away…

Drummer Ron Gregory isn't responsible for the tragedy which encompasses his family when he's a teen, but they make him feel like he is. He runs away… to New Orleans, to gambling, to a life of irresponsibility. It's a sorry combination, easy living and bad luck. Now he's broke, in danger, and hiding at band manager Levi Fletcher's Texas cabin.

She shouldn't feel guilty…

British fashion photographer Bettina Montgomery is shocked to learn that her biological father is Levi Fletcher. Temptation may drive her to his cabin, but her quick reflexes give her the photo of a lifetime: a nude Ron Gregory! She won't give it up until he straightens out his life, even if that means risking her heart all across Texas.

Which will be surrendered first: the photo, her secret, or the end of Ron's Run?"

This will run until Jan. 5 or all copies are won. As always, no purchase necessary. Give it a try!

The link and official rules:

See this #AmazonGiveaway for a chance to win: Ron's Run: A Bone Cold--Alive Novel (Kindle Edition). https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/3e5fb79ffc22d5ab NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Ends the earlier of Jan 5, 2017 11:59 PM PST, or when all prizes are claimed. See Official Rules http://amzn.to/GArules.