Epilogues – those summaries at the end of the book – are intended to provide closure to the story or offer a glimpse into what happens after the main narrative ends.
Readers of the On the Dakota Frontier series are familiar with some sort of “chapter ender” element in all the books.
Proving Her Claim used letters home and letters from home to tell more of Anna’s story. My historical research showed that letters home were a common way to stay in touch with family “back East.” It also allowed me to include Anna’s inner thoughts and struggles.
Lone Tree Claim took that element further with Katie Rose’s journal entries. The journal entries at the end of each chapter allowed my character to explore what was happening in her life and determine how to deal with these challenges.
Medicine Creek Claim took a different direction with After Action Reports. These were battle summaries filed by officers during the Civil War. I found this intriguing and researched it further. Since Medicine Creek Claim takes place during the war, these After Action Reports provided contemporaneous accounts of military actions. The War impacted every aspect of life for combatants as well as civilians.
The latest book in the series, Iron Horse Claim, utilizes newspaper articles to further tell the story. The newspaper articles, found in Library of Congress archives, give readers a sense of what is happening in the country during the post-war years: the rise of railroads, the adoption of inventions, and, of course, the weather. Each of those topics is closely tied to Iron Horse Claim’s storyline.
The chapter epilogues receive mixed reviews from readers. As an author, I feel the chapter epilogues provide a broader perspective of the plot and of history.
How will the next book in the On the Dakota Frontier series treat chapter epilogues? That’s artistic license. (In other words, who knows?)