Long before the first song, there was a memory that never let go.
Sometimes, in the process of writing, you discover that a story demands something deeper of you than you first imagined.
That realization came to me during the early shaping of The Echo and the Voice. I had outlined Jonas Wilder’s journey—from a boy quietly resisting conformity to a man reigniting the power of authentic human connection—and I believed I understood where the book needed to begin: with a seven-year-old Jonas moving through the world of a Gulf Coast coffeehouse, absorbing a new kind of freedom.
But then, during a conversation with my friend Howard, something surfaced that I couldn’t ignore.
Howard made an observation that struck to the heart of things. He said, “What’s extraordinary about you —and about Jonas—is that you never let go of the Voice. Even as a child, you never allowed the Echo to permanently take hold. That’s rare. That’s the real story.”
He was right.
And it made me realize: The reader needs to know that from the very beginning. They need to understand what Jonas is protecting—not just what he is discovering—if they are going to feel the true weight of the journey.
The Story Behind the Story
There is a deeper origin to this theme, rooted in my own life. Jonas’s grandfather, in the story, takes inspiration from someone I never met—my own grandfather, who tragically took his life eight months after I was born.
In the novel, Jonas’s grandfather appears to him in a vision when Jonas is still an infant. In that sacred moment, he tells Jonas:
“This voice you hear—never let it go. It is the source of truth. You will hear the Echo—louder and louder—but it will only try to take the Voice from you. Never trade the quiet certainty for the loud promises.”
It is a warning born of experience. A gift born of regret. And it becomes the invisible foundation Jonas stands upon for the rest of his life.
Why Open with a Prologue? An Analysis
After realizing this, I worked closely with an expert storytelling partner to explore whether this instinct was truly right for the book. Here’s the conclusion we reached:
Anchoring the Central Metaphor:
- Introducing the Voice and the Echo immediately sets the stage for the entire novel’s emotional and philosophical tension.
Raising the Stakes:
- Jonas’s nonconformity isn’t just about personality. It’s sacred. It’s a mission entrusted to him before he even understood what a mission was.
Inviting the Reader into Their Own Story:
- By framing the Voice as something every human has—but risks losing—the book becomes not just Jonas’s journey, but the reader’s as well.
Overcoming the Risk of Feeling Too Cosmic:
- By immediately following the Prologue with a grounded, sensory opening (the coffeehouse scene in Chapter 1), the story re-roots itself in the real, tangible world, balancing mythic tone with emotional intimacy.
In short: the Prologue elevates the novel from a personal story to a universal one.
The Final Decision
We chose to write the Prologue in a third-person close style—through Jonas’s barely-formed memories—so the reader experiences the vision as Jonas does: without full language, but with full feeling.
We opened with a simple line:
Some memories come before language. Some truths are born before you know how to name them.
And we closed the Prologue with a talisman Jonas would carry forward:
The Voice never shouts. But it always speaks.
It is a quiet promise. One that will echo through every chapter that follows.
Closing Invitation
Sometimes the real magic of a story happens before the first chapter ever begins. I’m honored to finally share the very first heartbeat of Jonas’s journey with you.
Thank you for walking alongside us.
(If you’d like to keep following along as The Echo and the Voice unfolds in real-time, subscribe below. More behind-the-scenes reflections, drafts, and invitations are coming soon.)