I’m a big lover of Prologues (to grab a reader’s attention right off the bat) and Epilogues (to set up the next book in the series, or to tie up any loose ends.) Because I enjoy reading them, I enjoy writing them, too, even though I know neither is as popular today as they once were.
With that thought in mind, as I try to get back into Writer Mode, I thought I might share the Prologue I wrote nearly a year ago for my 4th Riverbend book, tentatively entitled Riverbend Burning. For those who’ve read the first three books, you might be interested in knowing that the whole gang is back again: Maggie & Gunn, the Painter Brothers (Jackson, Forrest, and Hunter, with spouses), Lester Purvis and his reptile collection, and more.
Crossing my fingers that some of you will be intrigued by this little preview, and your appetites for more of this story will be whetted. Thanks for reading!
Just After Midnight Friday, May 8, 2015
~~~
Under a Dark, Starless Sky,
Along a Crooked Country Road,
In Pretty Much Nowhere, Florida
HE STOOD BENEATH a heavy canopy of trees, across the road from an empty, dilapidated barn, watching as a flickering orange light grew and flourished in the dark. Within minutes, flames crept up the weathered wood on each side of the sagging doors, growing larger and brighter every second. Sooner than he’d dreamed possible, they were eating away at the overhanging eaves and pouring through the open door of the loft.
His heart beat faster and faster and joy surged through his soul, as bright and beautiful as the flames in front of him. Riveted, he gazed at the conflagration as it rapidly consumed the entire structure. Within minutes, the barn caved in upon itself. Starved of fuel, the flames shrank lower and lower, then died away, leaving behind nothing but a few charred and broken boards protruding from the mound of ashes. A scattering of glowing embers here and there was all that remained of the inferno he’d created, and then, one by one, even they winked out.
He shivered with pleasure. Oh, yes! It was every bit as exciting as he’d always believed it would be, and though this was the first time he’d dared to see for himself how it would make him feel, he knew it would not be the last.
As he crept back through the woods to the dirt road where he’d left his car, plans for his next glorious blaze were already taking shape. No way would he stop now.
The Write Stuff 