Susan Welcomes back Guest Blogger Christie Ridgway

I'm a huge fan of Christie's books. So much so that when I saw her new book on the shelf at my local Fred Meyers the other night, I snatched it up, danced my way up to the cash register, then snickered all the way home with my prize. I would have rubbed my hands together in glee if I hadn't needed them on the wheel.

I walked into my house (still chortling) ripped open my bag...and saw that I'd bought Unravel Me--the second in her Malibu & Ewe trilogy. "Noooooo," I moaned, but unfortunately, yes, indeed, the whole time I was busy giving the two remaining copies a better placement on the shelves and carrying my treasure to the front of the store, I'd seen what I'd expected to see rather than what was right in front of my eyes. So it's back to the store for me--and my schedule prohibits that trip until Thursday.

So, yeah. I'm cranky. BUT! I am happy to tell those of you who don't have my unfortunate attention deficit that Gabe and Cassandra's story, Dirty, Sexy Knitting (love that title!) is finally here. So lets blow through the intros and just say....Welcome, welcome, Christie, and take it away!
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To Epilogue or Not to Epilogue?

Writers are told nearly as long a list of rules during their career as a teenager heading out on a first date. No one repeats these rules to stifle creativity, I think it’s just a normal part of the human condition to want to pass along tips/techniques/conventional wisdom in the hopes that someone’s writing process will go more smoothly or their book will be better.

Sometime during my writing life that encompasses over thirty romances for Silhouette, Harlequin, Avon, and Berkley Books, a person (or two) told me not to write epilogues. Though I have not always heeded that advice—and don’t make me go back to look how many times—I am increasingly wary of including them. I keep hearing that voice in my head telling me that if the story is over, it’s over, and no wedding scenes or bedroom scenes or birthing scenes should be necessary to cement the happy-ever-after. Not if I’ve done my job well, anyway.

So, I turned the third book of my Malibu & Ewe trilogy in without an epilogue. Didn’t even consider writing one at the time. Then the edited book came back to me and as I read through the last written page, I just knew. I knew I had to show the characters a number of years down the road because I wanted to see what happened to them. I didn’t do it for “the readers,” I did it for myself. (Here’s my advice to aspiring authors: Write the book you want to read.)

For those of you unfamiliar with my latest romances, they’re centered around a beachside knitting shop where “strangers become friends and friends become family over good yarn and better gossip.” In the series, three strangers and sort-of sisters come together and knit (hah!) a family. HOW TO KNIT A WILD BIKINI, UNRAVEL ME, and the latest, DIRTY SEXY KNITTING (out last week!), are sexy contemporaries that require no expertise with needles or yarn to enjoy.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself with these books, and as I came to the end of them, I couldn’t bear to walk away without telling myself a little about the future of Nikki and Jay, Juliet and Noah, Cassandra and Gabe. I’m so glad I did, because my email makes clear the epilogue struck a chord with readers as well.

What about you? Do you feel strongly for or against epilogues? Do you sometimes want to know just a little more about the characters’ future, even though the promise of happy-ever-after is right there on the page? Please share!

For more information about my books or to read excerpts, be sure to visit www.christieridgway.com.