Copyright 2007 by MaryLu Tyndall.
All rights reserved.
Surrender the Heart
An in depth look at the main characters
Marianne Denton
Brief Description: Marianne Denton is plain.
At least that's how people describe her. At five
and twenty with mousy brown hair, lackluster
brown eyes, and a figure on the plump side, she
rarely turns heads in her hometown of Baltimore.
Possessing no particular skills and with nothing
remarkable about her appearance, she has
resigned herself to a life caring for her ailing
mother and younger sister. After all, she can
hardly compete for a husband when there are
dozens of other young ladies much more
beautiful and talented than her. She has no time for courting anyway. After
her father died, leaving the family destitute, she spends her time trying to
support her family and purchase her mother's essential medicines. But the
money is running out. The inheritance her father left her can only be touched
upon her marriage. And there are not exactly suitors lining at her door, vying
for her hand. Despite her waning faith in God, Marianne is a caring, loving
person who is extremely loyal to those she loves.
Strengths: Kind, Patriotic, Charitable, Loyal, Intelligent, Persevering
Weaknesses: Untrusting, Stubborn, Insecure, Pessimist
Quirks: Marianne wears a ruby ring that her father gave her once. A distant, unloving
father, he rarely had a kind word for Marianne, nor did he often give her gifts. Therefore,
this ring means a great deal to Marianne. It represents the father she wishes she
had-one who made her feel valued and loved. When she's nervous or agitated, she
twists the ring around her finger.
Inspiration: To me, Marianne represents the average woman. There is nothing
remarkable about her appearance or her abilities that would make anyone stop and
take a second look. She's the woman in the crowd that nobody sees, the girl that
never gets asked out, the student whose grades are always average, the face
everyone forgets, and the girl who knows her place in the food chain of popularity. I've
been wanting to write a story about such a woman for a long time because I believe
there are many women out there who can relate to her. Let's face it, not many of us
are top models or intellectual giants. Most of us just meander through life, doing
ordinary things and really not expecting great adventures to come our way. But that's
not true. God loves the underdog, and He has great adventures and romance for
everyone who turns to Him and surrenders to His will.
Noah Brenin
Brief Description: Noah is a driven man. At age
six and twenty, with brown hair streaked by the sun,
tan skin, deep blue eyes, and the muscular physique
of a seaman, he presents quite a dashing figure
around Baltimore. But marriage is the last thing on
his mind. He has more important matters to attend
to, such as keeping the Brenin merchant business
afloat. Recent embargos and his own failures have
cost the business dearly and caused his overbearing
father to demand more and more from him. Bearing
the guilt of an accident in his youth,
Noah pushes himself to the limit, hoping to make up for the incident to his
father and mother. He has no time for God, nor does he believe in destiny.
Nothing matters except making enough wealth to pay for the past-not the
upcoming war, not his country, and certainly not marrying Marianne Denton.
Strengths: Natural leader, brave, confident, hard working, honorable
Weaknesses: Selfish, unpatriotic, shallow, loyal only to self and family
Quirks: When Noah gets nervous or angry, he rubs the back of his neck.
Inspiration: I took my inspiration for Noah from people I've met who have
been burdened down with guilt. Guilt can do horrible things to people. It can
cause them to do things they would normally never do. The guilty person is
like someone carrying a huge burden. He's always trying to unload it, by either
shifting it to someone else, or pursuing a course he thinks will somehow pay
the fee to have it removed. A guilty person is obsessed with self because guilt
feeds on selfishness. In Noah's case, his desire to appease his guilt has
overtaken his life and caused him to not care for anyone, not even God or his
country.
Background for the story
On the brink of the War of 1812, Marianne Denton must marry to unlock her
inheritance. Without the money, her mother can't receive medical care and
her sister will be destitute. But Noah Brenin needs to sail his cargo to England
before the war commences in order to prove his worth to his father and make
enough money so he won't have to marry at all.
Defying his father's wishes, Noah loathes the idea of marrying a woman he
finds plain and pompous. Marianne wants nothing to do with the rogue who
taunted her as a child, yet she must convince him otherwise or her mother will
die.
But when Noah walks out on their engagement party, Marianne chases him
down and ends up on his merchantman out at sea. The situation worsens
when Noah's ship encounters a British man-of-war and the couple are
impressed into the British navy. While a young lad's prophecy of destiny looms
over them both, Marianne and Noah are forced to face their darkest fears as
they desperately try to find a way to escape and fulfill their destinies-destinies
that could change the course of the war and history forever.