Wednesday, November 23, 2005

To Epilogue Or Not To Epilogue, That Is The Question...

How do you guys feel about epilogues in books? Me personally, I love ‘em, especially the ones that are done well. I like being left with the warm cosy feeling, that only a truly happy ending can give you.

Linda Howard writes some cracking epilogues. She’s the queen of the world anyway when it comes to writing, but I just love the way she lets you peek into the future of her heroes and heroines.

I have noticed though, that when she writes for MIRA, and those other formulaic-prone publishers, her endings aren’t as tight, and sometimes they actually feel rushed.

I'm always left with the feeling that the author has over-run on her word count, and has to come up with something snappy to finish off with, which, more often than not, leaves me, the reader, feeling cheated.

So, do you guys like ‘em, or loathe ‘em?

BTW, does Linda Howard have a website or what? If she does, I haven’t been able to find it yet, Godammit!