History of the Trap: Prologue Practice

History of the Trap by T. M. Strait.  Available as paperback and/or ebook on Amazon, at the Okefenokee Heritage Center, or directly from the author.

Well, as some of you may have heard, I entered a Writer's Digest Contest for Self-Published novels, and did not win a place.  An email received later, that was personally done by one of the judges, was very high on the book, except for the prologue, which they thought was slower than the rest of te book, and I needed to hook the readers faster.  I see the point, and I must say the prologue part of the book was written some twenty or more years from the rest of it.

I plan on keeping the three page or so Year 8, but I will change the rest of the prologue substantially for the next edition.  This rewrite will probably mostly happen after tax season is concluded.  But I did have an idea that I wanted to write down before I forgot it, so I might be able to use it later when I have more time.

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Once, she ruled them all,  She was the Queen Bee, and everyone buzzed around her orbit.  She was the Princess of Loren High, and there was no one she could not charm or entice.  She was the Siren, and no boy could resist her call.  She was the Fashion Maven, always impeccably groomed and coiffed, and hundred of girls tried to emulate her style.  Every word she said, every breath she took, every gesture and nod, could change the very fabric of reality for everyone else around her.  She determined who was in or out, who was to be detested or tolerated.  No one questioned the ultimate superiority of  Morgan LaDona Tigh.

But that was then.  Before the Trap.  Now, everything was different. Now, she waited in a jailhouse hallway, plainly dressed and stripped of makeup, pacing like a jungle cat, waiting to meet with a prisoner, waiting for someone the old Morgan would have considered a nothing, but now was her whole world.  She was going to meet Lance Martin, and she was determined to do whatever she could to help him, no matter what the cost.

In her hands, she clutched a carefully wrapped package.  

That's all I've got right now, and I'm sure that will change a lot as I fit it in.  

Rest assured to old and current reader, that what ever changes I make will not change the plot or characters.  It will merely consolidate parts of the prologue into something that is quicker and more entertaining, without losing the essential information that it conveys.

Thanks for your understanding and support.

T. M. Strait