Over the past several months I have showcased several main characters in my latest novel, Behind the Lies. In this post, I’m taking a longer view with a wider lens on all three of my books to consider the common threads that weave through them all. Not long ago, a reader asked me about how I came up with such different stories.

I came to writing after leaving a very hectic business career, and my life experiences were varied and vivid to me as I had time to reflect and contemplate what came next.  Writing is the fourth or fifth chapter in my own life’s book, and is an adventure I didn’t anticipate.  

And yes, the books are quite different, but there are a few common themes.

One of the themes of my first book, A Better Next, is divorce. I didn’t set out to write a novel about divorce, but rather, about a dual career couple dealing with the conflicts arise as their respective careers find them on opposite sides of a contentious health care merger and how that strains their relationship. Jess Lawson, the protagonist, goes through this doozy of a marital crisis in the middle of this career challenge while trying to deal with her impending empty nest. As I developed the characters, the end of the marriage seemed inevitable.

In my second book, Finding Grace, a poorly matched couple marry and when Caroline, a gifted ornithologist who wants a life of travel and adventure, gets pregnant against her wishes, her husband, Charlie, assumes she will change her mind. She doesn’t—and as their daughter, Grace, grows up, she falls through the devastating schism that grows between them. Grace eventually suffers a emotional collapse and runs away from home. Caroline has flown off by then and the marriage is over, but not declared until later, after Charlie and Grace have managed to mend their relationship and start fresh with the embrace of their community.

In Behind the Lies, my protagonist Will, full of himself and ready to take his place as the CEO of a multinational biotech company, is surprised by the sudden change of heart by his boss and father figure, Chet, who threatens his succession before suffering a life-threatening stroke which ends any chance for communication. Will’s world begins to collapse in front of him as his fling appears to be threatening his marriage. Frantic to chart a course through the choppy waters of a cyberattack he is hit by the expectation of support for Chet’s family. Will finds himself mediating a reconciliation between Chet’s wife Andrea and Chet’s daughter from his first marriage, Amy, while attempting to hang onto his own marriage with Charlotte, the real brains in the family. Is divorce in the cards for them?

My writing always starts with characters and conflict. My stories develop based on how I see my characters respond to conflict, and how they interact. In Behind the Lies, Jess relies on her friends to help her through her marital challenges and keep her on an even keel as every facet of her life is changing. Divorce is an element of conflict.

In Finding Grace, it is clear that Charlie and Caroline are not a happy couple, but Charlie, perhaps motivated by guilt, raises Grace in the supportive embrace of a small town and good friends to provide balance. Marital discord, family dysfunction are the elements of conflict. Divorce is the result of conflict, a woman’s right to choose is the underlying betrayal.

In Behind the Lies, Will behaves badly and his marriage is badly damaged. Will he be able to save his marriage as he faces his moral failings and takes accountability? 

While divorce is a common threat or conflict in all three of my novels, there are other similarities as well. Friendships that provide support, mental illness that wrecks havoc on families, strong women characters, the blessing of found families and the challenge of living a life of integrity. Stay tuned. Thanks for reading!