I only do this if the epilogue doesn’t contain any new or interesting material. It’s my own statement about how much I hate useless epilogues. I have been doing this for years and it started with an Anne Stuart epilogue that totally ruined a book for me.

I wrote an epilogue to Interstitial two weeks after the story was released, and put it out for free – got a letter complaining about it not being in the original. I had to explain it didn't exist when the story came out…

No one should complain about a free story–but having just downloaded and started Interstitial, myself, I think I can understand the impatience for a sequel. It’s a crisp, lively, involving read.

Why, yes. You hated Deathly Hollows too?

;)

And then it turns out to be something cloying like HP & the Deathly Hallows.

*blushing* Am I the only one who kind of liked the Deathly Hallows epilogue? I cry every time I read it! Sure, it was totally saccharine, but I really needed the finality it gave us. Without it, I would have kept hoping for an eighth, ninth, tenth, etc.

Shannon Stacey wrote a funny epilogue to “Taming Eliza Jane”! It's not at all what you would expect.

It took me 3 times reading that, going WTF?!?! before I got it and then I laughed my ass off. That was hilarious.

I say keep ‘em in the book.

So yes. It all depends on the book.

:D

I loved SEP’s Heaven Texas and was happy to read the epilogue on the website but, the book was better for it being left out I think. This was one where the epilogue didn’t really add to the story and the ending of the book as printed was punchier than if it was left in. Having said that, I was very happy to read it on the website.

Julia Quinn’s second epilogues are great. They weren’t written at the same time as the book so there is no issue about missing out. They are extras which are about 30 pages – a little short story about where the characters are at a few years down the track. I believe she started doing these after repeated requests from readers.

Thanks BevQB for the heads up about the epilogue to Fairyville. I’m off to get it now!

I didn’t vote in the poll – I needed an extra option – depends on the book. LOL!

Just and FYI, the book Heaven Texas has the epilogue on the SEP site, she cut it out of the book in editing or something and later decided to share with her fans.

I like the saccharine sweet epilogues. *shrug*

Me too!

I have mixed feelings about the online access — I like the idea of making the epilogue “opt in” rather than “opt out,” because I can’t help reading it if it’s right there, even when I’m pretty sure it will ruin my end-of-a-good-story buzz with excessive sweetness and infants. But I sympathize with those who don’t have internet access or interest, too.

I do have to say, though, that if the epilogue is a separate on-line feature, it should either be free or be VERY reasonably priced. I thought Julia Quinn’s “second epilogues” to the Bridgerton books were over-priced at $2.50 each. (If they are going to be developed short pieces worth paying more than a few cents for, why not collect them into a short story anthology instead?)

… I also like them to do more than show off the almost inevitable baby.

I agree with Kalen, probably because so many contemporary romances I’ve read lately contained what felt like an obligatory baby epilogue. The baby-as-metaphor for HEA is probably an entire other discussion, but if the relationship between the H/H was stormy throughout the book, I, personally, would like to see other examples in an epilogue of how they’re making it work. In real life–and I know the anti-real life is part of what we enjoy about romance–adding a baby to a relationship that has just started to work does not automatically guarantee a successful future. It almost seems as if the baby epilogue is shorthand for, see, they’ve worked out all their problems and are now blissfully happy with their [insert # here] children.

My final vote: put it in the book.

Kalen, your epilogue is one of the few that I think I'd howl if I'd missed it. It wasn't gooey, it wasn't nonsense, it wasn't junk and it did tell us more about the main characters besides how many babies they'd had.

:::Blush::: Thanks.

I *heart* the epilogue of LORD SIN. I don’t think the epilogue of LORD SCANDAL is quite as strong, as I didn’t have anything quite as important to wrap up. SCANDAL kind of shows my gooey side (cause, yeah, I do have one, and I love me an epilogue, so long as it doesn't make me fall into a diabetic coma).

Jayne, have you read Quinn's batch of secondary epilogues? From what I hear, a lot of readers really seem to dig them (I'll admit to being a little disgruntled when told to spend more money to read the “end” of a book I already bought).

I just finished a Laurens novel from the Bastion series and it had the obligatory hearts and flowers wedding epilogue which led into a teaser for the next novel in the series. It was totally useless as part of the story, but I guess that as marketing for the rest of the series, it was effective.