I estimate THE SEAFARER'S SECRET went through approximately twelve complete rewrites before I declared it finished. Rewrites, not edits. They reshaped the entire plot, character relationships, and in a few cases, who died.
The character Catherine Harper, however, always died sometime before the book starts (I'm 98.74% positive). In a few versions, I opened with a Prologue of the night she died. The scene was shifted toward the back in three or four versions, returned to the beginning, and finally, removed. It was the right decision, but it was such an interesting scene to write, I couldn't just toss it away. Instead, I'm sharing it with you, and since it was a prologue, there are no spoilers!!