Personally, I’m a fan of prologues and epilogues. But there are those who feel they are a waste of time.
Read on for author Viviana MacKade’s take on the subject.
By Viviana MacKade
Here’s why I love prologues and epilogues (hence you’ll find either/both in my books).
Once, I read in a manual not to write prologues because readers will just skip them and start from Chapter 1.
Now.
Unless you are a first-time reader, meaning you spent your entire life without picking up a book, I find it hard to believe anything other than the acknowledgments and the Table of Content will be skipped. Even from a first-time reader. Also, I found it a bit offensive, like readers are so stupid they need to be helped to know where a book starts. Shall we all switch to call a prologue Chapter 0.5 because the reader can’t figure it out by him or her silly self?
Come on. The readers know where to start reading.
I love prologues. Maybe it’s because I write suspense, so I like that my perfectly-able-to-know-where-to-start readers know something is brewing (usually something bad). Something will happen, enjoy the quiet while it lasts. S#@t will definitely hit the fan.
Epilogues, well, that’s candy. Everything is good now, the S#@t has gone, and we can relax and be happy with the characters. It’s the last drop of a story before The End, where nothing can go wrong anymore. It’s also a way to let the characters down easy, a long goodbye full of joy because they won.
And this is why, as an author, I’ll always write them. And as a reader, thank you to all the authors who write them!
Prologue from Viviana MacKade’s new release, His Midnight Sun:
Fire.
Fire would eat all.
The simple, brown casket entered the cremation chamber accompanied by the soft crying of the mourners.
A sister. So-called friends. No mother or father in the crowd–a small blessing, as no parent should live to see a son’s death. Even more so when he’d committed suicide. Grabbed a gun, let the black hole of desperation drench his mind and pulled the trigger. The maid said he’d cursed one name right before he ended all: Summer.
Pain and anger rattled through Lilith Chapman. Along with Stephen’s brain, her heart had shattered that day.
Lilith had known she could save him, had always known. With time, she’d have made him forget he’d ever loved anybody but her.
He didn’t give her time.
His sister had pressed him to visit doctors. Depression, she’d called it.
Bullshit.
Love killed Stephen.
Sweet Stephen. A gentle, caring soul who only wanted affection and care. No harsh word ever left his mouth; his hands knew no fists.
With him, Lilith never had to face fear. She knew all about it thanks to her father first, and her deceased husband later. Not with Stephen. Never with him. For the first time in her life, she’d been the strong one, the one leading. Day after day she’d listened to him, to the winnings and the losses of a man who possessed everything. Money, power, a place in society. Not someone to share it with, though. Until, silly man, he’d believed he’d found The One: Doctor Summer Williams. A woman who had left him with a few words and no remorse.
Lilith had heard his heart shatter with a singing soul. With patience, had watched Stephen spiraling down and downer in a place always darker and more desperate. She only had to wait. Once he hit the bottom, he’d realize Summer was not worth it. Stephen would finally open his eyes and see her, Lilith.
At the bottom though, he’d found a gun.
And now she had nothing.
Sure, he’d left money to her, a lot of it, enough she didn’t have to worry about working or anything else anymore. Too bad she didn’t care for it.
She wanted Stephen, but Summer Williams had taken him away forever.
And for that, Lilith would bring tears and blood.
Summer’s tears and blood.
She, Lilith, was going to own his final words of hate, carry on his vengeance and make sure Summer Williams witnessed the crumbling of her world. Everyone she held dear would perish in front of her eyes. And then Lilith could go to him where they would be together. Forever.
“I promise you,” she whispered to the burning casket. “I promise you, love will kill again.”
Blurb:
Tormented, fierce, and broken, sculptor Aidan Murphy has judged himself guilty. He yearns for love but pushes everyone away. He longs for acceptance but has lost the key to open his heart. Until he meets Summer Williams. Beautiful and smart, Dr. Williams promises haven for a man who believes he deserves none. All he has to do is let her in and risk his heart and soul.
Summer’s managed to keep her inner light alive, even through tragedy. She’s created a new life for herself and her daughter in Crescent Creek with loving, caring and fun friends–well, except brooding, breathtaking Aidan. She’s used to keeping away from his type, though. All she has to do is ignore the pull of a man who’s turning up to be much more than snarls and storms. Will her compassion and medical instincts let her?
Love can heal a broken soul and shake up a timid heart. Or it can unleash devastation and revenge.
Will Aidan and Summer survive the hurricane?
About Viviana MacKade
Beach bum and country music addicted, Viviana lives in a small Floridian town with her husband and her son, her die-hard fans and personal cheer squad. She spends her days between typing on her beloved keyboard, playing in the pool with her boy, and eating whatever her husband puts on her plate (the guy is that good, and she really loves eating). Besides beaching, she enjoys long walks, horse-riding, hiking, and pretty much whatever she can do outside with her family.
His Midnight Sun is available $ 0.99 or FREE with KU
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GDP26VB?
Find me:
On my website http://www.viviana-mackade.blog/
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