What Are Some Recurring Themes in my Books?
I’ve always loved reading, but I was never a fan of the literary analysis we had to do in high school. To me, a book was meant to be enjoyed and not analyzed to death, but unfortunately, it was part of the curriculum. I remember doing a deep dive on Shakespeare’s Macbeth and going insane with all the references we had to pick up on, all the subtle themes and whatnot that were in there.
So I don’t want to dive too deep into literary analysis here, but one thing I do love to look for is themes. If you love an author and read a lot of their works, you often discover recurring themes.
Nora Roberts, for example (one of my favorite romance authors), often has themes of family and community in her books. She has written a lot of series featuring brothers, sisters, cousins, and/or found family.
Sandra Brown, another favorite of mine, has justice as a running theme through her romantic suspense books, especially justice for crimes committed a long time ago. Betrayal is also something that pops up often in her books.
In gay romance, Onley James has a penchant of writing stories about justice as well, though in her case, more of the vigilante kind. Another aspect you’ll find in many of her books are morally gray, fucked up characters…that still deserve love. It takes a special kind of author to make us love killers, but she pulls it off.
Lucy Lennox is also known for her family theme. Take her Made Marian series, which features the crazy extended Marian family. We’re all too happy to suspend our disbelief that all those (adopted) brothers could be gay because she makes us believe it…and makes us fall in love with the family she created.
Which brings us to the question: what recurring themes have you discovered in my books? I’ll tell you one, and then I’m curious to see what else you have come across. Found family is definitely a big theme for me, and my first series, the No Shame series, is a prime example. But we also see it in Perfect Hands, where Rhys is the brother/Daddy Raf never had, and in the White House Men series, where the guys all become like family to each other.
What else have you discovered in my books? What are themes and topics that keep popping up? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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