SOULMATES OF WINTER'S END

Warning: Contains Spoilers

As I was writing my new novel, A Jar of Dreams, a tale of how an assassin falls in love with a blind girl, I realized I was completely absorbed in the story, and writing it almost akin to a reader's eagerness to finish it so I too could know how it would end. Although, I do love this story as much as I do all my other books, I can undeniably admit Winter's End will always be my favorite of all my romances. I suppose the fact that it was my first romance stands for a sentimental reason. But as a true romantic at heart, I love the idea of a soul-mate romance.

Each person might probably have their own definition for a soulmate. But the one that does intrigue me is the old, cheesy romantic definition- a soulmate is someone who is the perfect match for you, pre-destined by fate, one who completes you. Perhaps, this is too idealistic to the point of almost mythical. But it does make me think, do soulmates exist?

You might read the entire book of Winter's End, but never once have I used the word. But there are references, inclinations to the idea that Emma Winston and Chris Cameron were destined by fate to be together.

It is evident from the beginning of the book that there is a superstition underlying the basis of the story. But it is not until the end the reader discovers that Ethel Kinnaird, Chris' grandmother, sets her sights on Emma because of a prediction her close friend and clairvoyant, Rosanna once revealed to her. Rosanna foretells that her young troubled grandson would find his peace in the arms of a red-head. Is Ethel superstitious? Probably so, because she does begin to keep an eye on any flaming haired maiden in her vicinity. She finally settles for young widow Emma because she knows the young woman's temperament would suit her grandson very well.


Her drive to see her grandson marry Emma was in part because of superstition as well as the idea that she, being older and wiser, was more capable of finding a suitable partner for Chris. And therefore, she could have acted as match-maker in this arranged marriage. But that's for another post.






Emma is an abandoned child, left to fend on her own while her mother romps with every other man in town. Her difficulties lead her to set up high principles for herself as a means of protecting herself from getting hurt again. Regardless, her principles fail her and she is hurt time and time again by the men who enter her life. She compromises her fate with her cheating husband, Robert, believing he is the best she would ever get. He treats her right, he pays for the bills, provides for the family and when time calls, he tries to be a good father. She realizes much later, thanks to Ethel Kinnaird, the man she truly loved, Richard, never really revealed his feelings for her because he never really prioritized her. Her trauma of abandonment and neglect from her childhood revisits her and she lets Richard go in order to marry Chris. She begins to believe that if there is one thing she could get right is to at least give her children the grandmother they love. She sacrifices her chances of love for her children and her friend, Ethel.

Chris, who is orphaned as a baby and brought up by Ethel, loves his grandmother dearly. Having been grown up in a close-knit family and rural town, he highly respects, cherishes and values his grandmother. However, his love life is at a loss because of the deep hurt his once close friend and girl-friend cause him because of their affair. He silently vows to never fall in love again, indulging in a string of affairs. When Chris meets Emma, he believes her to be opportunistic, after all Ethel's insistence on him marrying her is absurd by all standards. He thinks Emma may have convinced Ethel into such an idea until he discovers that Emma is just as averse to the idea as he is. Her reluctance to form a relationship even if a pretenseful one, intrigues him. She is not the typical gold-digger. As his curiosity leads him to grow closer to her, he forms a unique and loving relationship with her children. In due time, he comes to realize that Emma does complete him.

Image Source: http://www.selfhelpexplained.com/how-attract-your-soul-mate-subliminal-messages-work

So had it not been for Ethel Kinnaird, would Emma and Chris still have met? Were they indeed soulmates?

Dr Carmen Harra in http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-carmen-harra/elements-of-a-soulmate_b_3595992.html discusses ten elements of a soulmate. One element she raises is the idea that they get each other. When Emma weeps for her lost love, Richard, Chris draws her into his arms feeling for her. Despite his earlier rage on discovering that she had gone to visit Richard behind him, he melts the moment he sees her weep. Emma is also drawn to Chris in spite of her efforts in putting up a wall between them. She immediately jumps to his defence when Ethel's relative, Deanna Boyd tries to incite sparks of jealousy against Chris.

The allusion that Chris and Emma were meant to be together is there, but there is also the idea that sometimes you just need that third person to bring them together when all else fails.

Winter's End is free at Amazon