In my opinion, one of the most wonderful reasons to read (and write!) inspirational romances is the promise that no matter how deep the conflicts, how black the plot may become, there will be happiness and joy at the end. Because who doesn’t love a happy ending? (Well, other than my grandson and maybe Shakespeare, who tend to kill off everyone in their tragedies.)
As a writer, I usually consider how I’m going to end each story when I’m plotting out the story, before a single word is written. I look at my characters and what they’ll have to fight through in order to conquer all and be together. And then I have a big choice to make. Will the story end with the hero down on one knee, a ring in his hand as he asks the heroine to be his wife? (And yes, for the record, a few of my heroines have done the asking!) Or does this story really need to end at the altar, with the hero and heroine, and often children, exchanging vows?
When I end with a proposal, it grabs my heart. Everything I’ve put my poor couple through has led to this moment, when finally they can admit their love for each other and look forward to a life together. Then again, a wedding epilogue gives readers a leap into the future to see what things are like for our couple down the road.
I also occasionally throw in an epilogue even later than the wedding, when my hero and heroine discover they are expecting for the first time. Gender reveal parties are another fun way to end a book.
So what about you? Do you have a preference for how your romance novels end? Any recommendations?
~~Love Courageously~~ Publisher's Weekly Bestselling, award-winning author of 30 novels, Deb Kastner enjoys writing contemporary inspirational western stories set in small communities. She feels especially blessed to be able to include faith as a natural and genuine part of her characters' lives. Deb lives in beautiful Colorado with her husband and a pack of miscreant mutts. She is blessed with three adult daughters and two grandchildren. Her favorite hobby is spoiling her grandchildren, but she also enjoys reading, watching movies, listening to music (The Texas Tenors are her fav), singing in the church choir, and exploring the Rocky Mountains on horseback.
I love when it end with an epilogue after the wedding or years later!
I don’t mind either way, but I do love how you described the epilogues. Happy New Year
I don’t need a wedding, either in the book or the epilogue. I’m happy just knowing they’re going to be together. I do like to find out in the epilogue that they are married (or planning their wedding), and if they are married, that they are expecting the first (or maybe second). The epilogue can take place a year or more after the ending of the book and I’m happy! Of course, if they end the way you mentioned, I’m happy then, too!!
I love HEA’s for sure and yes, I love epilogues . Alot of times Im hoping that their story continues. May you and your family have a Blessed New Year.
I don’t mind how the book ends but I do love an epilogue, or if it’s a series of books and we see the couple in other stories that’s even better, I love seeing how their life together turns out.
I enjoy reading the epilogues at the end of the books. It is always great to see how the characters continue after the end of the book. I do enjoy happy endings. Thank you for sharing. God bless you. Happy New Year.
I like an epilogue especially if they have just gotten engaged. It doesn’t have to be a wedding it can be 5 years down the track as long as some do with the update. I haven’t read a gender reveal that I can think off but sounds good. I also like the epilogue that does the nostalgic look back look at a few important events to where they are now. Toni Shiloh did something similar in the To Win A Prince where we jump around 5 years and it ties up the series with a glimpse of life for both heroines and with one now expecting number I forget which. But it was a very nostalgic feel of where they had come from to where they were heading.
Sometimes my books end with a wedding, sometimes with an epilogue several years after. One was even 20 years afterwards, because it made sense.
A family saga (tetralogy) ended with the main characters already grandparents, and with the return of the prodigal sons and the grandchildren they had abroad. (It made sense, the surviving revolutionaries returned home after the 1848 revolution failed, and there were 2-3 more pages after their return, how the grandchildren integrated in their new environment and how the deceased ones were built a monument next to the church).