Double Prologue?

[Never]

I've just finished an action prologue for a project I'm working on.

The story is one in which a young, modern woman is yanked into a fantasy world after escaping a monster sent to kill her and her family. By necessity, I need to show the 'normal' part of her life before horrid beast pops up and the beginning was dragging.

In my prologue, I show the creation of the beast and it being commanded to slay the lead's family. It's a nice kick in the pants and I think it helps the lead's setup, as the reader now knows that something bad is hanging over her head.

I've already written Chapter 1 from the lead's perspective, from her plane landing in Portland Airport for winter break to her discovering her mother's corpse in their living room. This plays into reader expectation as you usually head from a prologue and then introduce the main character.

I'm wondering if it might not be a bit more interesting to follow the prologue with a chapter from the mother's POV then start Chapter 2 when the lead comes home and finds her mother dead.

I don't want the reader to feel too jerked around.

Questions/comments/randomness welcome.

 

[Never]

It's occurred to me that this might have been the wrong area to post this.

I don't know.

 

[LadyCibelle]

It's occurred to me that this might have been the wrong area to post this.

I don't know.

No, it's not. I just think it's late at night and lots of people are already in bed.

Or, maybe, just like me, they'll want to think it through before telling you what they think.

 

[Never]

I am patient as the winter snows. I am calm as a breeze on the moon.

I just wanted to be certain I hadn't posted in the wrong area. Thank you.

 

[kbate]

While I would probably have to read the suggested prologue and first chapters to give a full opinion on the mechansim,

a prologue - "the dark swirling mists.. etc. etc.. //... go forth and kill... the evil laughter of the wizard was cut off by the gutteral roar of the beast..."

followed by a nice little preface - "sally danced through the dandilions. did her homework and ate her apple pie before going to bed...."

Could possibly set the story up well enough without going into a lengthy description of her normal life, her family life and the hopefully horrible deaths visited upon her family.