Children of Refuge Blog Tour (excerpt and giveaway)

Welcome to Day #3 of the 
Children of Refuge Blog Tour!

To celebrate the release of Children of Refuge (Children of Exile #2) (9/12/17), blogs across the web are featuring exclusive content from Margaret Peterson Haddix and 10 chances to win a both books so far in the series!

Prologue

Prologue: A long, boring stretch of pointless words that comes before chapter one in a book. Something that can be easily skipped, especially if you don’t like to read.

No, no—of course that’s not the official definition of the word “prologue.” But sadly, I’ve found that that’s what a lot of kids think the word means.

I was stunned the first time a kid told me, “Oh, I never read prologues.” The words were spoken in the same way someone might say, “Oh, I never drink poison.” Or, “I never drive hot metal rods under my fingernails.” As in, “Why would anyone want to read a prologue? That would be insane!”

Naturally, this happened right after I’d written a book with a prologue. FOUND, the first book in the Missing series, has a prologue that’s labeled “prologue” because it takes place thirteen years before the rest of the action of the book, and concerns a character who doesn’t show up again until halfway through the book.

It would never work to call that section “Chapter One.” But what happens in the prologue in FOUND is very, very important, and readers who skip it are really missing out.

And seeing the word, “prologue” in print in one of my own books made me feel proud, as if I’d reached a new level of sophistication as a writer.

But after that first experience of having a kid tell me, “I don’t read prologues,” it happened again and again and again.

And… I began paying more attention to my own reading habits. I’ll admit, I have read some pretty dull prologues in my life, even when the rest of the book was great. And while I’ve never skipped a prologue entirely, there have been times when I’m just skimmed quickly, or given the prologue nothing but a cursory glance until I’ve read the first chapter or two and decided I really do need that background.

As a reader, sometimes even I view prologues as necessary evils.

So as a writer, I’ve set a few rules for myself. First, I don’t use prologues very often. The new CHILDREN OF REFUGE is my fortieth book, and it contains only my fifth prologue.

It’s no accident that four of those five prologues are in sequels (including CHILDREN OF REFUGE). In all of those books, I thought a prologue was the best way to remind readers what happened in the previous book.

But—and this is my second rule—I try not to view the prologues I write as necessary evils. I want them to be both necessary and exciting.

So this is how the prologue begins in CHILDREN OF REFUGE:

The man lunged out of the darkness to grab me as I ran by.

“Let go!” I screamed, struggling to break away. “Let! Me! Go!”

I was already being chased by a pack of angry men. It didn’t seem fair that someone I hadn’t even seen was after me, too.

Of course my friend Rosi had told me once that I had a talent for making people mad.

Rosi…

She’d been running from the angry men too. Had she at least managed to keep safe?

That’s a question that will drive the action far, far into the rest of the book. And I think that kind of impact is important for a prologue—whether I’m reading it or writing it.

CHILDREN OF EXILE, book one of the Children of Exile series, is newly out in paperback this month. Book two, CHILDREN OF REFUGE, just came out in hardback. CHILDREN OF JUBILEE, which will be the third and final book in the series, comes out in September 2018.   

*****

Blog Tour Schedule:

September 11th — Living Simply September 12th — Crossroad Reviews

September 13th— Word Spelunking September 14th — YA Books Central

September 15th — Book Briefs September 18th— Positively Book Crazy

September 19th — A Dream Within A Dream September 20th — BookhoundsYA September 21st — Parajunkee September 22nd — The Book Cellar

Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound

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After Edwy is smuggled off to Refuge City to stay with his brother and sister, Rosi, Bobo, and Cana are stuck alone—and in danger—in Cursed Town in the thrilling follow-up to Children of Exile from New York Times bestselling author, Margaret Peterson Haddix. It’s been barely a day since Edwy left Fredtown to be with his parents and, already, he is being sent away. He’s smuggled off to boarding school in Refuge City, where he will be with his brother and sister, who don’t even like him very much. The boarding school is nothing like the school that he knew, there’s no one around looking up to him now, and he’s still not allowed to ask questions! Alone and confused, Edwy seeks out other children brought back from Fredtown and soon discovers that Rosi and the others—still stuck in the Cursed Town—might be in danger. Can Edwy find his way back to his friends before it’s too late?

Margaret Peterson Haddix grew up on a farm near Washington Court House, Ohio. She graduated from Miami University (of Ohio) with degrees in English/journalism, English/creative writing and history. Before her first book was published, she worked as a newspaper copy editor in Fort Wayne, Indiana; a newspaper reporter in Indianapolis; and a community college instructor and freelance writer in Danville, Illinois. 

She has since written more than 40 books for kids and teens, including Running Out of Time; Double Identity; Uprising; The Always War; the Shadow Children series; the Missing series; the Children of Exile series; the Under Their Skin duology; and The Palace Chronicles. She also wrote Into the Gauntlet, the tenth book in the 39 Clues series.  Her books have been honored with New York Times bestseller status, the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award; American Library Association Best Book and Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers notations; and numerous state reader’s choice awards. They have also been translated into more than twenty different languages. Haddix and her husband, Doug, now live in Columbus, Ohio. They are the parents of two grown kids.

Follow Margaret: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Win a set of both Children of Exile books so far (Children of Exile and Children of Refuge)!

One winner will get copies of both books.

-US only

-ends 9/20/17 at 11:59 pm ET

-winner will be emailed and must claim prize within 48 hours

-Word Spelunking is not responsible for lost, damaged, stolen prizes in the mail

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