As part of the build up to my publication of Reunion of the Heart this Friday, I thought I’d share with you a little bit about one of the themes in the book.
Obviously as it’s a romance, love is the central theme. But there are others too and the one I wanted to mention is one of the lesser themes, though still important: self-worth.
It’s an issue that my MC Anna struggles with. During her school years she was dumpy and unattractive – or at least she thought she was. She was painfully shy and suffered from very low self-esteem.
I think a lot of us can relate to that. I had a terrible time at school and my self-esteem was basically zero. So when I was writing Reunion of the Heart, I definitely drew a little on my own experiences and channelled it into my portrayal of Anna.
The adult Anna, who we first meet when she’s just broken up with her boyfriend, is a lot more confident – at least superficially. She’s still insecure about herself though and her self-worth is quite low.
At different points in the story her best friend Melissa tells Anna that she doesn’t realise how beautiful she is, and that men can’t make her out because she’s very attractive and yet so shy.
I think as regards the theme of self-worth in Reunion of the Heart, Anna’s self-worth – or lack of it – is one of the key aspects of the story. It affects her writing (yes, in case you didn’t know she’s a successful published author!), her friendships and her relationships with men.
Anna doesn’t give herself enough credit for all that she’s achieved in her life – she’s not keen for people to know that she’s a published author for example and would rather hide behind her pseudonym. She’s very close to Melissa and is constantly asking her for advice – she’s afraid to make decisions herself.
Again, that is a little like me! I’m not great at making decisions (as my husband will tell you!) and so it was interesting for me to turn that aspect of my own personality into a character trait of my MC.
As for Anna’s progression in the story… well I’m not giving anything away! But I will say that the story arc and Anna’s place within it are very much tied up with her feelings of self-worth.
I guess that’s true of a lot of us – the way we live our lives is closely linked to our sense of self-worth. Seems to me that the greater your self-worth, the happier you’ll be.
So I hope you’ll pop over here for a chat on Friday as I publish Reunion of the Heart. And maybe if you like the sound of the novel, check it out on Amazon…
Oh and one last thing: what are the lesser, but still important themes in your stories? And do you find yourself growing in confidence as the years progress?
Until next time!
Elaine Jeremiah 