Fiction is never just fiction. It’s a reflection.

The Themes I Can’t Seem to Escape—And What They Say About Me

You know how sometimes you keep bumping into the same thing over and over, and you just can’t figure out why? Like, you see the same numbers everywhere, or a song keeps playing on the radio? Well, that’s how it feels when I look back at my writing.

I’d love to say I consciously picked the themes that keep cropping up in my books, but if I’m honest, I think they picked me. They slipped in through the back door while I wasn’t paying attention, and now here they are, woven into every story I write, like an old habit I can’t quite shake.

So, what do they say about me? I’ve been wondering that myself. And if you’re a writer—whether you’re just starting out or deep into your career—it’s worth asking the same question. What are the patterns in your stories? What keeps showing up, no matter what genre, what plot, or what characters you create?

Sometimes, it’s easy to get caught up in the mechanics of writing—structure, pacing, word counts, marketing strategies. But underneath all of that, there’s something more personal, something that pulls you back time and time again. Maybe it’s a longing for home, the ache of second chances, the way love can heal even the deepest wounds. Or maybe it’s something you haven’t quite put into words yet.

Whatever it is, it’s worth paying attention to. Because the themes that won’t leave you alone? They’re telling you something about the stories you need to write. And the more you understand them, the stronger and more authentic your voice becomes.

Finding Home—Even If It’s Not Where You Started

Home. It’s a word that keeps finding its way into my stories, whether it’s someone returning to their roots or a character stumbling into a town that slowly wraps itself around them. Home isn’t about a place; it’s about belonging. It’s about finding people who make you feel safe, even when everything else is falling apart.

Maybe I keep writing about it because it took me a long time to find it. Maybe it’s about craving that sense of finally arriving somewhere, planting roots that won’t be torn up by the next big storm.

Sometimes, home isn’t where you were born or where you end up—it’s a person. The one who makes you feel safe, even when everything else is unraveling. The one who knows your scars and stays anyway. The one who makes the world feel a little less heavy just by being in it.

Love That Doesn’t Come Easy (But Is Always Worth It)

Most romance writers don’t just hand their characters a love story tied up with a neat little bow—we make them fight for it. Love isn’t always a fairytale, and in a good romance, it shouldn’t be. It’s part of the rhythm of the story, the push and pull, the doubts and struggles that make the ending so much more satisfying. My characters wrestle with love, push it away, deny it until it’s undeniable. And when they finally accept it, it’s not with fireworks but with a quiet, steady conviction.

But sometimes, the hardest part isn’t falling in love—it’s believing you’re worthy of it. Some of my characters carry wounds so deep they can’t imagine someone choosing them, let alone staying. They question it, test it, try to outrun it, because love—real love—requires a kind of trust that can feel impossible when you’ve been hurt before.

I guess I’ve always believed that real love is a choice. You choose to stay, to fight, to forgive. It’s not something that just happens to you; it’s something you build, one small moment at a time. And sometimes, the bravest thing you can do isn’t loving someone—it’s letting yourself be loved in return.

It’s a theme I keep coming back to, both in my fiction and in my own reflections on love. In this month’s issue of Sasee Magazine, my piece Those Who Fight for Love explores that very idea—the quiet strength it takes to hold on, and the courage it takes to open your heart again. Because love isn’t just about grand gestures. Sometimes, it’s simply about choosing each other, over and over again.

Strength That Looks Different Than Expected

The characters I write about aren’t always the ones you’d expect to be strong. Sometimes they’re the ones who seem too soft, too quiet, too easily overlooked. But when life demands it, they find a way to stand up, not because they’re fearless, but because they’re scared and still keep going.

Maybe I keep circling back to this because I see strength in places where others don’t. I’ve learned that it’s not always about standing tall but knowing when to lean on someone else without shame.

The Past Always Finds Its Way Into the Present

No matter how far you run, the past has a way of catching up. That’s something my characters know all too well. Old secrets, unresolved hurts, the ghosts of what could have been—they all have a way of creeping back in.

Maybe I write about it because I’ve seen it in my own life. You can’t truly move forward until you face what’s behind you. But I believe you can make peace with it. You can learn to carry it differently. Not as something that holds you back, but as proof of how far you’ve come. The past may shape us, but it doesn’t have to define us—not unless we let it.

The Unspoken Bonds Between People

I’m drawn to the kind of connections that don’t need to be spoken aloud—the ones that exist in the space between words, where understanding happens without explanation. A glance that lingers a second too long. A hand reaching for yours in the dark. The unshakable presence of someone who just knows when to stay close. Sometimes it’s just there, steady and unwavering.

I think I write about it because I see it all around me. In the way people care without needing recognition, in the small acts that say, I see you.

What It All Means

I didn’t set out to make these themes my own. They just kept showing up, like a compass pointing me in a direction I didn’t know I needed to follow.

Maybe it’s because I’m still searching for answers myself. What makes a home more than four walls and a roof? Is love really about destiny, or do we carve it out ourselves? What does it mean to be truly strong? Can you ever really leave the past behind, or do you learn to live alongside it? And how do you recognize the ones who’ll stick by you no matter what?

I guess I write to find out. And maybe, just maybe, the readers who pick up my books are looking for the same things.