To Epilogue or Not?
According to Writer’s Digest there are six common uses for epilogues:
- Wrapping up a story’s events after a violent climax
- Highlighting consequences of the story’s events
- Wrapping up loose ends
- Suggesting the future for the protagonist(s)
- Giving a realistic finale
- Providing data on a large cast of characters
- Creating a set up for a continuation / next in series
In romance, epilogues are most frequently used to give the reader a quick window into the life of the couple after the HEA (happily ever after). And indeed, as a reader, I’m no longer satisfied with “I love you” followed by fade to black with the words “and they lived happily ever after.” I want to sigh over the proof that they did live happily every after, and the epilogue can give me that.
In paranormal romance in particular, but also any romance series that will be a continuation of an overarching plot or characters, epilogues can also be used to foreshadow the next books and leave the readers both satisfied with the book they’ve just finished as well as wanting the next one. Sort of a cliff-hanger, but not really, which I know is totally cheating.
In particular, I use this method with my paranormal romances, hinting at the next villain, the next romantic conflict, the next conflict set up, and so forth, on top of giving that window into my current couples HEA. Check out the example below from TRY AS I SMITE.
So what about you? Are you a fan of epilogues? What do you like or not like about them?
EPILOGUE - TRY AS I SMITE
It took her a moment to realize where she was as she came out of her own vision. But as clarity returned, she breathed in pure contentment. She was home.
A low grumble was all the warning she had before a warm arm banded her waist and pulled her back down into waiting arms, skin against skin. Alasdair tucked his head into the curve of her neck, feathering a kiss across her pulse.
“Another Seeing?” he asked in a sleep-rumpled voice.
She sighed, relaxing into him. “Yeah.”
“Bad?”
“Interesting.”
That caught his attention, and he blinked open, blue eyes suddenly alert. “What?”
She sighed, thinking through the images she’d just dreamed. “I’m pretty sure a cupid is about to accidentally shoot himself in the foot, giving himself amnesia, and falling for a siren at the same time.”
Alasdair grinned. “Isn’t a siren’s job to lure foolish men to their death with her beauty?”
Delilah sighed again. “Yes. This one is going to be complicated.”
That drew a chuckle from him. “My meddling wife. You just can’t help yourself.”
“I make people happy,” she protested.
“And I love that about you.” In a sudden move, Alasdair rolled her beneath him, settling between her legs, already hard and hot against her. “You definitely make me happy.”
She rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide her own blissfully happy smile. “Stupid happy.” That’s what his sister, Hestia, had called them the other day.
“You make me happy, too. Even if you are a control freak.”
With wicked intent and a deliberate wiggle, Delilah whispered a series of words that set both their bodies buzzing with sensation.
Alasdair growled, pretending to be irritated with her upping the pace of their lovemaking, sending them almost frantic with that single spell. But his grin told her he loved it. Mostly because they were about to orgasm, over and over, for the next hour. Together.
Sometimes, it paid to have a little devil in you.
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