What draws you into a book? Is it the cover, the back blurb, or is it something you read at random? If there’s a prologue, I tend to drift that direction, and hope it’s been included to give the book more depth. Teach Me To Forget was written with a prologue, then sent to Lauri at Black Opal with the option to remove said prologue since I’d included the information later in the book. She opted to include it, especially since there’s a brief scene at the end of the book mirroring the prologue, while resolving loose ends.
PROLOGUE
Summer 2000:
It was a storybook wedding. The elite of the world’s beautiful people crowded the groom’s yacht, cruising off the south French coast. The groom’s austere face was only slightly lined, the gray at his temples adding a distinguished air. His still trim body was clothed by the establishment which had enjoyed the patronage of every male in his family since his great-grandfather. Although he conversed urbanely with his guests, his possessive gaze never left his bride.
Framed in the lens of the ever-clicking camera, the bride had the lithe slenderness seen only in the very young and healthy. Delicate curves hinted at the woman she would one day become. Her short dark hair was gamine cut by the stylist who had created the look. Her make-up had been applied by the hands of the genius whose company had taken three generations of women from beautiful to gorgeous. Her lavish bouquet was of rare miniature white orchids, picked deep in the rain forests of South America and flown in for this ceremony. The lace for her veil had been created by devout hands in a convent which had produced lacework of this gossamer perfection for centuries.
The veil was secured by a pearl crown once belonging to a medieval princess. It framed a delicate, serious face dominated by enormous, hazy green eyes and a lush, slightly trembling mouth, and billowed down to hand made, four inch spike heels. By tradition the full length veil attested to the purity of the bride, leaving no doubt in the mind of anyone attending that day that this was, indeed, a virgin bride. The diaphanous covering enhanced her bridal outfit, personally designed by the hand of the dresser of royalty. Brilliant fire opals had been meticulously applied to the hand sewn, French-cut, white bikini.
Hi Mona, Loved the description and scene-setting, The bikini was a surprise.
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Hi Rita, glad it surprised you. That wedding has a lot to do with my heroine’s issues
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I can see where it would. Being much closer to the groom’s age, I would think the outfit would be more of an advertisement of his possession. Don’t see a lot of virgins wanting to wear a bikini on their wedding day, but it’s already evident who has the power in the relationship.
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She has clearly captivated him, and he’s the one with all the wealth, but I wonder if the bikini was her idea, or his. He’s possessive, so I’d think he’d want to keep her charms all to himself, but some men enjoy showing off their “possessions.” She sounds young, not yet a woman even, and he’s older. My feeling is he’s the one with the power at the moment, but power can be easily ensnared if one possesses the proper tools. Great excerpt.
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It would be really tacky of me to say “read the book” but you are raising the exact questions I’d hoped people would have. Why is this young woman marrying this old man? A bikini? Really? And…why the photographer?
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The excerpt was so intriguing and the attention to description exquisite. I really enjoyed this.
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Thank you!
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Yes, this prologue worked well. Because it raised questions and issues.
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