Monday 21 November 2011

Welcome to my Guest Author: Kate Walker with Giveaways!

Today I welcome Harlequin Mills & Boon Author Kate Walker to DownUnder! And she's got a signed book for one lucky commenter! So over to Kate....

First I'd like to thank Serena for inviting me here to talk to her friends DownUnder.

For my post today,  I want to take a look at Prologues and Epilogues.

Recently I had a writer email me and ask me whether she should start her book in a certain place, and then jump forward a couple of years to tell the main story, or whether she should start at that point a couple of years later - or should she put the past into a Prologue and then move into the main story.  The problem here is basically, should she write a Prologue – or  start the story in what is the present and refer to the past in flashback. I’m not a great fan of flashbacks – particularly not long ones-  but Prologues- and Epilogues  - need to be used with care.


Some authors love Prologues, some- and I'm usually one of them, will avoid them like the plague. But in a 2007  book of mine (Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride) my editor really wanted a Prologue showing the hero and heroine happy together so that the events of a year later (the ones I had as the starting point of the book as it was ) hit home with more impact.

I'll admit I wasn't keen. I argued, almost dug my heels in, but she persisted with her argument and  then I rethought. And I saw just  what she was trying to get me to achieve with this particular prologue and I realised she was right. I said that I would only write it if I could start both the prologue, and the first chapter, with almost the same words. My editor agreed So I conceded, and wrote the Prologue.    And I'm really glad I did because every time I open that book, I'm very happy with the impact it has and many readers have written to me to tell me how much they love it. But, as a general rule, I
don't really like Prologues. Let me explain why.

The first thing to be sure of with a Prologue is that it's really necessary. Because one of the real problems with a Prologue is that by its very nature it usually involves writing something that delays the start of the 'real' book - the reason why the reader has picked it up in the first place - and that is the development of the romance between your hero and heroine. A romance is a short book and the reader expectation is that it will concentrate - guess what - on the romance story.

Prologues usually set up something that one or other of them is unaware of and so you need to be careful that it doesn't have the reader hanging on, wondering just when the other central character will come in, when this problem will be made clear.

The other problem that I have with prologues is the same as the one I have with too much back story. Obviously if the past has a major effect on the actions and feelings of the characters in the present time, then that needs to be shown - but it doesn't necessarily need to be acted out. It can be explained by one of your characters - bringing in much needed dialogue or you can use (carefully) flashbacks. But again the reason why the reader is reading your book is to see the relationship developing in the present - and how they move on from that past.

I'll be honest and say that when I see the word Prologue - which inevitably means something before the real action of the book starts, then I'm always wondering just why this couldn't be woven into the main story. It can look like the author 'writing themselves in' to the main story which doesn’t take off until the next section. This slows the beginning, delaying the real story -  that story in the present. The past may have affected it, but the true story is what happens now. If you need to ask when you should
start your story then the answer is that yo need to look at where your hero and heroine  are at a point of crisis and a point of change – how they start to move one from there is what matters. How they came to be there  is only part of the past – the mental scenery, the backdrop, not the action of the plot.

Epilogues are slightly different. I completely agree that where. there has been a lot of emotional damage, there is a need to show that the healing has worked. But again I do think it's very important to show a lot of that healing in the actual main body of the book. It's part of the Black Moment/satisfying Happy Ending combination that needs to be there not just to bring you characters together but to show that they have grown and moved on emotionally so that they are ready to overcome the fear, the guilt, the doubts. If there is so much of that that the HEA has to be 'proved' later by showing how they are still together you need to be careful that there hasn't been enough healing in the book itself.
Sometimes I have used an epilogue - for example, when the plot hinged around the death of a baby as a result of Cot Death/SIDS - the reader needs the reassurance that in the future this tragedy did not happen again.

But the epilogues I really dislike are the ones that look like padding - the detailed description of the elaborate wedding/christening/whatever when this feels like padding - bringing the word count up to requirements when that could have been used so much more valuably by adding to the conflict or the resolution of that conflict - something that showed character development rather than embroidered the already happy ending.
Sometimes there is a place in your novel for a prologue, or an epilogue – but all too often then can be an excuse for lazy, careless writing.  

In a romance it is important to ending. Written well, this can all be  done in the main force of the story, without any need for an added opening or ending to explain, flashback, or embroider onto that happy ending. I think that for both an epilogue or a prologue, the question should always be, can I tell this in the main part of the novel without lengthy explanations? And if the answer is yes you can, then your story will be so much  tighter and with more pace if you do. And a tighter, pacier read will please your readers so much more!

Blurb:

Standing high on the windswept moors, the lone figure of Heath Montanha vows vengeance on the woman who destroyed the last fragments of his heart...Lady Katherine Charlton has never forgotten the stablehand with dangerous fists and a troubled heart from her childhood. Now the rebel is back, his powerful anger concealed under a polished and commanding veneer. When ten years of scandal and secrets are unleashed, with a passionate, furious kiss, Heath's deepest, darkest wish crystallises...Revenge - and Kat - will be his!

The Return of the Stranger is available from
http://www.kate-walker.com/
Amazon & Amazon UK





12 Point Guide to Writing Romance is available from

Amazon & Amazon UK

Where can readers find you?

One lucky commenter will get a signed copy from Kate Walker’s backlist, winner’s choice and all the commenters’ names will go in the grand draw. For more stops on Kate Walker’s celebration tour, please check out the:

Author Page created by Romance Book Paradise Promotions.

Backlist Books:
The Greek Tycoon’s Unwilling Wife
Bedded By The Greek Billionaire
Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride
The Sicilian’s Red-Hot Revenge
The Good Greek Wife?
Kept for Her Baby
The Konstantos Marriage Demand
Cordero’s Forced Bride
Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife
The Proud Wife

63 comments:

  1. Hi Kate and Serena,
    That was a great blog. I personally have never been in favour of a prologue, for me it delays the start of the story. Epilogues can be good, but sometimes I feel authors use them as a tool to garnish interest for a sequel.

    Regards

    Margaret

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  2. Great article, Kate. I have used prologues in the past, and this article now has me rethinking that.

    Thanks for pointing out the pros and cons.

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  3. The Silician Brothers series was such a great series. I love your books. As an aspiring author, one of my WIP's has a prologue. In my critique group, some like it and some don't. I've kept it in for now but when it gets submitted, I might lose it.

    Congratulations on your new release. One question for you, why are the M&B covers prettier than the HQN's for Presents? Just my opinion.

    maw1725@gmail.com

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  4. Hi Kate

    I enjoyed reading your insights into prologues and epilogues. I must admit, I'm not particularly partial to either, both as a reader and a writer. Funnily enough, your article has given credence to what, up till now, has been purely gut instinct.

    Thank you.

    Michelle Somers

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  5. Hi Kate,

    Thanks for this great article (and to Serena for bringing it to us). I don't mind a prologue in a longer book but agree that with 50,000 words to play with a category book really needs to get straight into it. All well worth thinking about. Thanks!

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  6. Hi Kate! Great post! And I recognise the magnificent Charlie there, Kate! I've had a lovely time this morning scheduling his visit to the LoveCats DownUnder in March!

    But I digress (as I tend to!) I'm not a huge fan of prologues but for my second book I wrote one because it helped me get over a stumbling block I was having with the hero. After I'd written it, I went on to finish the story and then went back and took it out, weaving the few important things that I'd learned by writing it. So I suppose what it did was allow me to explore some of the hero's backstory and clear my head! Head clearing - very necessary these days! LOL

    Thanks for having Kate to visit, Serena!

    :)
    Sharon

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  7. I guess with prologues, we're asking the reader to 'wait, wait for it, hang on a bit more, nearly there - bang! off you go'.

    Maybe subconsciously, the author is clearing her throat and warming up?

    When I read a book, I'm ready right from the first page, and I am paying attention, so I'm with you Kate, keep the prologue out unless it's absolutely vital and the rest of the story won't make sense without it,

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  8. Hi Kate,

    Thank you for sharing your insight into prologues and epilogues.

    I don't mind so much epilogues if the story calls for it but I'm not a fan of prologues and I've noticed there is not many in the Mills & Boon Sexy line and I prefer it. Flashbacks are also something you don't see often and I wonder if the fast pace of our lives make us as readers impatient to get to the now of the story.

    I'm a huge fan of yours and have nearly every book you've written published in Australia. You do the alpha hero so well!

    Cheers,
    Margaret Midwood

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  9. Hi Serena! Hi Kate!
    So far I've written three books for Mills and Boon medical romance, and each time my editor requested an epilogue to fully explore the happily every after. In my fourth book I've started with a prologue. I fought it at first, but the story really needed it. I'm very happy with it and my editor loves it. But now I feel pressured to not have an epilogue. Oy! It's always something!

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  10. Hi Kate,
    Lovely to have you here this week. I've noticed that over the last few years, flashbacks have disappeared from category romance. It seems that romance writing has evolved and where an author used to *tell* by writing the scene that happened in the past, the information needed is now threaded through the story in other ways.

    Great blog entry, Kate and thanks for being here. (Apologies for arriving late. Just one of those days!)

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  11. Hi Margaret T,
    I agree that often a book doesn't need a prologue - though I have read some brilliant ones! But sometimes I like an epilogue when the story has some loose ends. I remember once reading a story where the heroine was pregnant and though the H/h ended up together, we never did find out if it was a boy or a girl and the name - yes, it's silly but I wanted to know!!

    Thanks for dropping in for Kate's party!

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  12. Hi Cheryl,
    I agree - it's great to get some pros and cons. Kate is a great teacher - I have her 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance here on my desk and I often look at it, especially when editing. Great resource!

    And I'm looking forward to reading her new Sexy/Presents: "The Return of the Stranger".

    Thanks for coming in, Cheryl.

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  13. Hi Harlie,
    Nice to see you here. Hope you found Kate's article useful.
    Thanks for coming in and commenting.

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  14. Hi Michelle,
    Sometimes you just have to go with the gut feeling.

    Thanks for visiting.

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  15. Hi Louise,
    That's so true. In category romance, you only have so many words to create the perfect romance, so prologues and epilogues use up some of that space :)

    Thanks for coming in and saying hi.

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  16. Hi Sharon,
    Sometimes we have to write a lot of extra bits (including prologues) to learn about our characters and their conflicts. And then we have to change where we start, cut and alter it all until we get it write. And you obviously have perfected the art (as we can read in your wonderful books!)

    Lovely to see you here again.

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  17. Hi Ebs,
    That's a good way to look at it. And we're told to commence our stories in a place of change - sometimes that might be in the past to an extent, but more likely it's in the present when something is happening that relied on the past. The latter can be threaded through.

    Thanks for your input.

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  18. Hi Margaret M,
    Another good point! Our lives are fast paced and we've become more impatient - which has led to tighter writing, I think.

    Thanks for dropping by.

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  19. Hi Wendy,
    Oh the pressure of being a published author! I'm sure you'll make the right call.

    Thanks for coming back to visit.

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  20. Hey Kate and Serena!! Love your post. It's a subject I contemplate often. I've only written one prologue, and that wasn't for a category and it was linked to a subplot that propelled the main thread. But *adore* epies for short books! Agree totally though. Something new has to be revealed. Something that will linger in the readers' minds and have them running out for the next book (we hope!!)

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  21. I do NOT like flashbacks at all. I like the time line to move from go to woe.

    I have read some prologues that served no purpose except to annoy me.

    I have not read many books with epilogues, but I would much prefer a satisfactory ending to the actual story.

    Kate I have not read "(Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride", but I will now.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  22. Hi Robbie,
    Very true. Epilogues can be used to great effect in the hope that the reader will want to read the sequel. And that's what authors want - return readers :)

    Thanks for coming in and saying hi.

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  23. So - as always, the time zones make things a little complicated! I haven't been ignoring everyone - It was night time here, So you've all been so busy chatting while I ws snoozing- I need to catch up and chat with you. But first I need a mug of tea

    Charlie - my Maine Coon "kitten" - have you seen the size of him above! - hopes you'll all keep on chatting so that there will be lots of names for him to have to choose a winner from - I put a cat treat on each name and the first he eats is the winner - then he eats all the rest

    Back soon

    Kate

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  24. So not only is Charlie gorgeous, he's a clever cat at picking a name *wink*.

    Great article, Kate. I've always wondered about how to tell if you need a prologue or epiloge and you've ceratinly given me things to consider that I hadn't before - thanks!

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  25. Hi Kate,thanks for another great post. I must admit I don't generally like prologues when I read a book, and have never written one. I've read lots of queries about them from aspiring writers though, but this is the first time I've seen a good explanation of why they can be a problem and often unnecessary. Maybe the trick if you feel you need one is to write it, then later delete it if you find everything important can be woven into the story. And if it can't be deleted then maybe it's necessary! As far as epilogues go, personally I think I tend to skim over them because by then I've got the HEA and they often feel like a footnote. As a reader I like the 'meaty' bits and do speed-read past any padding - as a writer I'm still at the waffle stage though! My cat is now extremely jealous of Charlie and would love a job of 'winner picking' if it involves treats!

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  26. Hi Marybelle,
    Everyone has different tastes and aren't we lucky that we have so many types of books to choose from.

    Thanks for coming in.

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  27. Hi Kate,
    I'm delighted to have you here and what a fantastic blog entry. Thank you!

    I'm in Melbourne, Australia and at the moment we are on Daylight Saving Time, so GMT+11 hours.

    Charlie looks like a well loved sweetie of a puddy gatto (well, I am of Italian heritage so it has to slip in somewhere :) ). And I know he'll enjoy his treats.

    Thanks again. I LOVE your blog posts.

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  28. Hi Anita,
    I love getting different perspectives in the whys and wherefores, and Kate's blog is a keeper!

    Thanks for calling in.

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  29. Hi Susie,
    I agree that Kate has given us some good food for thought about prologues and epilogues.

    I also think there will be a lot of envious cats out there. :)

    Thanks for your input.

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  30. Hi Serena - I was SO glad to realise that some of these posts are from you! I took a look at the total number of posts and panicked - HOW many?! Then I realised that you were here too and that reduced the number of replies needed just a bit. Big sigh of relief!

    Good morning to you - or whatever time of day it is!

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  31. Hello Margaret - I think we share similar ideas on the use of prologues and epilogues. And you touched on a point about epilogues that so often infuriates me - the ending is tied up in the final chapter - then suddenly there is an epilogue which adds no more to the story but introduces us to the hero's sister, the heroine's twin brother. . . and surprise surprise their story will be in the next book - it's blatant marketing and I stick to my opinion - if the prologue or the epilogue don't really add to the main part of the book then why are they there?

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  32. Hello Cheryl - thanks for commenting. I'm not saying there is any 'rule' that you shouldn't use prologues or epilogues - some authors use them all the time. This is a personal opinion but I do think they should be used with caution. But maybe your prolgues really worked - they can do! The prologue my editor made me write for Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride is one case where I had to eat my words. I fought against it but now when I see the opening to the book I know it's right. (and my editor said it almost made her cry because it worked so well - so that's a real compliment and an indication of something that does work.)

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  33. Hi 'Harlie'! Thank you for the great compliment on the Sicilian Brothers - I have readers who still write to me saying that the prefer Vito - or Guido . .. I hope that with your WIP some of my comments have helped you take a look at that prologue and see whether you really need it - whether it's the best way of giving the information, whether it adds anything - or not. Then whether you decide to keep it in or not, you will at least know WHY - and you'll be able to explain to your writing group - one question I always ask myself is - does this slow down the reader's getting to the heart of the story?

    As to the covers - those are the choice of the Art Department and we lowly authors don't get a say in the matter! ;o) The recent revamping of the M&B covers was a real new look and some of them have worked really well - like the hunk on the front of The Return of The Stranger. Some not so well. And then the same artwork form goes to USA - and th Presents overs appear! Some people think they are special and iconic and love the USA versions - thers prefer the UK ones. When I get a cover like this I LOVE the UK ones!

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  34. Thanks for the comments on prologues. As a reader I never understood why I didn't like reading a prologue. It felt like I was wasting my time. I thought myself silly for picking up a book but not wanting to read. Once I got to the first chapter that internal fight I had going on ceased. Now I just know to avoid books with prologues.

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  35. Hello Michelle - I think that I originally felt like you - not sure why i didn't particularly like prologues or mepilogues- a gut instinct like you said. Then I had a think about it to understand why. And began to realise all the things I said in my post. So now at least I know why!

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  36. (Just read back my last post and realised I have created a new word - mepilogues!)

    Hi Louise - There is more scope for a prologue in a longer book but I'd still need to feel that it could justify its reason for being there - and yes, in a shorter category romance book, it really does steal attention - and words - away from the main telling of the story

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  37. Hello Sharon! Charlie loves being described as magnificant! But I think you were closer with your comment that he was 'cheeky' - he is looking forward to seeing his Catwalk appear. I think I'm so 'unkeen' (is there such a word?) on prolgues because I know that I used to 'write myself in' - but using the first couple of chapters instead of a prolgue. Now I realise I used to do that so I think through those chapters in my head instead of actually writing them - and launch into the bok where it should START. Things like this have changed a lot in the 25+ years I've been writing - I think readers want to get into the story much more quickly

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  38. The writer clearing her throat - warming up - I like that image Ebony. As I said, I used to do that. I don't think that readers have as much time - does anyone? - these days and we read a book for the story, not the lead up to it - and if we're writing romance then the story is the emoitonal journey of the hero and heroine as it's happening now. (Note to self - there is an E at the end of herooin(e) I am not writing a story about a man and his drug habit!)

    But if a prologue adds or explains something in a way that can't be done any other way then it's a different matter

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  39. Hello Margaret - you've just made my day with telling me that you have nearly every book I've written! I wonder which ones are missing. I do try to give my alpha heroes that hint of vulmerabilty so that the heroine can reach them through the chink in thier armour! Yo're right about flashbacks too - I was never very keen on those either! I used to think that I could work out most of what had happened- i didn't need an explanation of every moment that led up to and after it! Again, that can usually be woven into a story - or told in dialogue etc. I thin this is both the pace of life and the fact that readers - and editors - now want that focus to be strictly onthe emotional journey of the present. That is where the emotional intensity lies - so that's what they want.

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  40. Hello Wendy - I think there are some editors now who are big fans of the epilogue 'to fully explores the happy ending' - but I'm going to have to say that I don't always agree with them. The reader is perfectly capable of imagining how the HEA is going to continue. Sometimes - as I've mentioned - it does add to the story but sometimes I think it's a bit of an undulgence - and really a bit too much like hitting the reader over the head with it. In The Return of the Stranger my editor mentioned an epilogue - I disagreed and I stuck to that one (after all, Emily Bronte didn't have an epilogue explaining how Hareton and young Cathy were happy and this book is inspired by Wuthering Heights.) If there is something - an illness, a worry about having a child - something like that then perhaps it needs colouring in. Same with a prologue - my question is always does this need to be here - does it enhance the book by ebning here? If not, why am I writing it?

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  41. Serena - Thanks for mentioning the 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance, I'm always thrilled when I read how you find that book so helpful - after all, that;s why it was written!

    And I do hope you enjoy The Return of The Stranger when you read it - are you a fan of its inspiration - Wuthering Heights? It was a challenge to rework the original and give it a happy ending

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  42. Hi Marybelle - I'm always interested to read your comments as you come at this from entirely the point of view of a reader when much of the discussion is a debate on writing., Thank you for your comments which go along with what my gut instinct would be - and appreciate you posting them

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  43. PS MArybelle - if you do read SH,BB - I hope the prologue there doens't just annoy you!

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  44. Anita, Charlie sends purrs at the compliment s - he says it is a very difficult job picking winners and it takes a very clever cat to do it - you have to choose just the right cat treate to eat first! I'm glad my post made you think about prologues - then if you do decie to write one - or not - you'll know why you're doing that. It's all about writign the best possible story in the best way

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  45. Hello again Robyn - lovely to see you here. Yo said the important thing - something new has to be revealed - the epilogue has to be more that just 'an they all lived happily ever after in a loovely house by the sea with three beautiful children, a daft dog and a handsome red and white Maine Coon cat' (yes Charlie - that's you!)
    I really do think that readers like a happy ending - but they *really* enjoy the angst and struggle to get there - and the doubt as to whether it's going to happen even more!

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  46. Hi Susie- you're right, sometimes the best way with a prologue is to write it so you have it out om paper/the screen and then as you work throught the book to see if you can weave it into the story or if you need to keep it. I used to do that in am sort of a way to write myself in - work through the first couple of chapters then discard them! Sometimes a prologue can work as as a sort of a hook, to pull the reader in - but then you do risk the 'three years later . . . ' syndrome which can be really irritating!

    Charlie sends purrs to your cat

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  47. Serena - Charlie is very well-loved - but his sister Flora is gettng a bit annoyed at all the attention he's getting! The problem is that if she's set to pick winners she sometimes just turns up her nose at treats - just to be perverse!

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  48. Hi Christy and thank you for your comments as a reader - I always find it so valubale to know what readers think. I think that's an innate problem with a prologue - the reader knows instinctively that this is just a 'taster' - and the=at we're not going to get into the heart of the story until we're through it - so we're itching to get to real story'. And then we can really settle down and enjoy the main event

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  49. Hi Kate,
    Great post!
    I tend to like prologues that seem to prevent flashbacks. I usually like epilogues, especially if they tell more of the story a few years down the line. Not so much the "padding" you were talking about.

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  50. I too have mixed feelings about prologues & epilogues.

    In some cases prologues are necessary to quickly get everyone on the same page and avoid extensive flashbacks that can stall the story & interrupt the flow. Sometimes though, the prologue gives too much information, too fast & ends up having to be repeated later in the story, to get one or more of the primary characters up to speed.

    I find extremely short epilogues annoying, like Kate said, it appears the author was just padding to get to a certain word count. An epilogue should be long enough to give you some actual meat, like maybe to set-up a sequel, but not so long that it seems like there was another story here, but the author just didn't want to take the time to develope it.

    drainbamaged.gyzmo at gmail.com

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  51. Hi Kate,
    It's now 8.30 Wednesday evening. The sky is pink with a few clouds - it's going to be a lovely day tomorrow :)

    I'm not a great fan of historicals, but who doesn't love Wuthering Heights! I think I read every one of the Brontë sisters' books when in high school.

    I love your new word - mepilogues! I make typos all the time. That's when the brain goes faster than my typing fingers.

    Sorry that I filled your inbox. I guess I'm used to welcoming everyone in. I'll try to be more restrained.

    Hi Christy, Chey and Kathryn. It's lovely to see you all here.

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  52. Hi Kate and Serena!

    This is an awesome post regarding the pros and cons of using epilogues and prologues.

    I always like reading the epilogue to reach the 'after' of the HEA! And I like prologues if it contains a hook of something to come later in the story!

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  53. Great post Kate and Serena,
    It got me thinking. :)

    I haven't as yet used a prologue but have had them in drafts.

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  54. Sorry to miss a few people - yestedray was hectic and I was away frm the house mmost of the day. So now I need to catch up . . .

    Hello again Chey - I agree with you. If an epilogue tells us something more about the couple or their lives then it is worth having it in - but not if it's just padding.

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  55. Hello Kathryn - thank you for commenting! You mentioned one of the things I don't like about prologues - when it shows something happening that later one fo the main characters will need to have explained to them - and so repeating it. Far better to just give that information when the character is told it. And those really short epilogues that just say 'they really were very happy ever after'! As if we can't imagine it for ourselves

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  56. Hi Again Serena - no worries about filling my inbox - it's been great to meet and chat with everyone - and talk about mepilogues! I just typed - to Kathryn -'thank you for vommeting'! Perhaps not!

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  57. Hi Nas - thanks for being here. The prologuue does need to hook you in - and give information but then the writer needs to be sure that info doesn't get told again later in the book. I like the way you put if for an epilogue - 'to reach the 'after' of the HEA! '

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  58. Still catching up - sorry to be late Suzanne. I'm pleased to know this post got you thinking - thinking is good!
    I found it interesting thatyou hadn't actually used a prologue - but that you had them in your drafts - it made me wonder if you decided that they didn't work when you came to write the full ms - or did you find another way to bring that information in?

    And talking of finding things - I need to go and find Charlie and get him to pick a winner . . .

    Back soon (if I can find him that is!)

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  59. OK - so Charlie was obvioulsy hungry so he came straight in and was ready to pick winners with enthusiasm. So enthusiastic that he snarfed down two cat treats in the blink of an eye. So I have two winner -

    And the winners are:
    Margaret Midwood

    and

    Harlie (I think Charlie thought this name had a C on it and so was meant for him!)

    So Margaret and Harlie will you please email me kate AT kate - walker dot com and let me know your choices of the prizes - plus your postal addresses so I can get them on their way to you.

    Thank you to everyone for coming by and commenting. And thank you to Serena for inviting me here

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  60. Hi Nas,
    It's always lovely to see you here and thanks for organizing Kate as my guest blogger. It's been wonderful!

    Hi Suzanne,
    Sometimes we have to write the prologues or epilogues just to get things straight in our mind. Then if you can feed in the information elsewhere, they become redundant. Thanks for coming in.

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  61. Hi Kate,
    Please thank Charlie for picking not one but two winners - which means two happy people will receive one of your wonderful books! I will contact Margaret M and Harlie.

    And thanks, Kate for being my first ever guest blogger on my Story Editor blog. It's been lovely having you here and I look forward to reading The Return of the Stranger. I know it will be another of your books for my keeper shelf :)

    Hugs from Down Under

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  62. Oh, Congratulations to the winners!

    A great post on epilogues and prologues, thanks for sharing Serena and Kate!

    Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

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  63. Thanks, Romance Reader! Hope your weekend was a good one, too.

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