I've often heard arguments against having a prologue in your book. And I must say, most of them are extremely valid. How many times have you started reading a prologue and thought, boy, I hope the first chapter is better written than this.

Another issue with prologues is that they usually don't start the book with the protagonist (the main good character(s) of the story). Jeff Gerke in his Tips for Writers, suggests that the first 40-50 pages be dedicated to the protagonist. Ultimately, as a writer, you want the reader to fall in love with your protagonist, or at the very least know them well enough to care what happens to them. I probably should say that I envoked his "Stop Being Teachable" tip, in which he says, "You sift through all the 'truths' about fiction writing you hear and you hang on to the ones that make sense to you."

Often in the books I read, authors use the prologue as a high intensity, set-the-stakes, mysterious opening to their story. This can have a couple issues. First, the reader gets engaged in fast-paced excitement and then the brakes are hit when the first chapter begins. This can make the necessity of description and backdrop seem boring and slow-paced. Second, many times this suspense building technique gives away mystery content that can lessen the suspense.

The final point about including important information in your prologue is that often readers don't even bother to read the prologue. If the info is important, what happens when the reader just flat out skips it?

So, if you've read my book In The Image of Man, you might be saying, "wait a minute, didn't you start with a prologue?" Or, maybe you're not, because you skipped it. :)

Despite considering the various reasons not to include a prologue, I ultimately chose to use one for one primary reason. Honesty. Image is a supernatural thriller that looks at both the physical and spiritual realms. And I wanted to strongly introduce the reader to my protagonists, Chris and Sarah, starting with Chapter One. This left me feeling that a prologue would best serve the purpose of letting the reader know exactly what they were in for, rather than popping the spiritual realm on them more than a dozen pages into the book.

What do you think, good choice or not? To help you out, especially if you haven't read Image, or skipped the prologue, I've included it below.

'Till next time.

Summer tends to be a slow time for book sales, especially when you're a new author trying to build name recognition. So, I'm excited to give a reasonably consistent update on funds raised for clean water.

You can see from the graphic we are making slow but steady progress toward our goal of raising enough funds to provide a complete well through Living Water International. We are now at 6.2% of our goal. But even more importantly, we've already helped over fifteen families have clean water to drink for a year. The graphic below shows how many people can be provided clean water with the purchase of a copy of In The Image of Man.

This adventure would not be possible without YOU! Whether you have purchased an ebook, a physical copy, or even if you are supporting us by spreading the word about the book, you are helping us make a difference for men, women, and children that would not have clean water to drink without you. If you want to read more about what your assistance means to those in need of clean water, click on the Compassion tab at the top of the page.

Remember, there are many ways to help and I listed them a few blogs ago. Without the vast promotional power of a major publisher or the big name recognition of a well established author, we can't make this happen without your help.

Working together to meet the needs of "the least of these."

Thanks until next time.

Imagine seeing the city of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus, or at least at the time of Paul. This dream comes true for archeologist Rivka Meyers.

In Transgression, subtitled A Time-Travel Suspense novel by Randy Ingermanson, three people, from modern day, travel from the Israel of our time to the Israel of Paul's time. However, one of them has ulterior motives. To assassinate the Apostle Paul, and thereby prevent the establishment of Christianity as we know it. But is it even possible for someone to change their own past? Or is the "trajectory of the universe through phase space single-valued?"

I am a huge fan of the intersection of science and Christianity. As such, this book offered some excellent thinking points. But you don't have to be a science, software, or engineering geek to enjoy this story. There is a solid thread of romance, in addition to well developed characters, and thought provoking material.

My favorite quote from the book is, "People would question anything having to do with God, but they wouldn't question their own questions." So true.

As a huge proponent for understanding the Jewish cultural roots to Christianity, I loved the author's descriptions of the city of Israel at the time of the Apostle Paul. While I can't completely vouch for either the accuracy of the city then or even now, nothing jumped out at me as blatantly inaccurate.

Finally, if you have an e-reader, you can't beat the price, as this book is currently available for free at Amazon. However, this may lead to you wanting to purchase the next two books of the series as this was an intriguing read.

'Till Next Time!