THEME – NO, NOT THAT KIND OF THEME

In school I hated trying to figure out the theme of a short story or poem. In my own stories, I don’t see the theme until I reach the end and sometimes not even then. One reason romance novels are popular is that they address primal, universal truths (love heals, search for truth, courage to overcome the past, etc.). Certainly I do that in my books but recently I began to see that all my books tend to have another underlying theme as well. Either the hero or heroine or both are outsiders looking in on life. I tend to write about characters whose life experiences have put a wall between them and what they truly want in life.
In my most recent book, Deadly Memories, Jack is obsessed with vengeance. He believes he can’t ever again have a family–a full life, in other words–because his dangerous job has cost the lives of his wife and son. He’s on the outside of life until his relationship with the heroine makes him want more. I’m working on two projects at the moment. In one, Kate feels she must control everything around her, follow rules, and marry a stable man, all in order to feel safe and secure. This wall prevents her from living the full life that deep down she really wants. Naturally, hiring security expert Max to guide her through the Central American jungle shows her the way. In my other project, Lani uses her burn scars as a means to separate herself from others and prevent being hurt. And Ross won’t let himself get close to people because he fears he’ll fail them. See? All characters who are on the outside, who want happiness in life but fear the change that’s necessary to find what they really want.
Maybe that’s not some big revelation to anyone else, but it hit me hard. Apparently my stories are about those outsiders who don’t quite fit in. In real life, some of us are observers and misfits because of our innate makeup and personalities. Fiction requires more motivation than simply one’s internal makeup. Now that’s got me thinking about a new character. Hmm…