Zach Thayer | Bound To The Heart Character Profile

One of my intentions for 2023 is to break my habit of keeping my projects a little too close to the chest and become more comfortable sharing glimpses of the stories I'm working on.

This marks the first of what I expect will be quarterly posts introducing the cast of Bound to the Heart, my Regency Era bookshop romance. Set in London, it's filled with all sorts of wintertime coziness, an emphasis on platonic relationships, exploration of grief, and finding your own definition of love.

And who better to center this inaugural post around than the character who inspired the entire story?

By the way, this character rendering was created using The Sims 4. Any CC used will be noted at the bottom of this post.

Zachariah "Zach" Thayer

When talking about Bound to the Heart online, you will see me describe it as featuring a bookseller-turned-sibling-chaperone.

That would be Zach.

Zach co-owns Reliure with Fenton, his best friend since their days at Eton. While Fenton typically mans the front of the bookshop, Zach spends much of his time operating their printing press and working on various bookbinding repairs and restorations.

Originally from Derbyshire, Zach has resided in London for nearly six years. Now established within the ton, he has been entrusted with chaperoning his sister, Sophia, for the Season. The addition of their youngest brother, Henry, comes as a welcome surprise—if not another plate to spin.

Sibling chaperone and businessman are not Zach's only roles. With Fenton's wedding quickly approaching, Zach also has the duties of a groomsman to carry out.

With the Season looming and all the preparations preceding it, the countless social calls and events one is expected to attend, the pressure of forging the necessary connections, and the eyes of society seeming to be always upon you—coupled with chaperoning two siblings and managing a business—it's a wonder Zach keeps his wits about him.

His levelheadedness, however, finds itself increasingly at risk upon meeting Eve. Balancing his family's expectations of him as a chaperone and managing the bookshop would be doable if that were all which occupied his mind. But his growing affection for Eve and the new stirrings tugging at his heart have Zach's attention pulled every which way—and it's not long until the consequences of forwent responsibilities catch up to him.

Fun Facts About Zach

• When he's not bringing his work home with him, Zach can occasionally be found at White's. His games of choice are piquet and vingt-et-un.

• Zach is the third of six siblings and has always been the most reserved and taciturn of the lot.

• Zach can be a little antisocial, but once you get him talking about bookbinding and printing (or if you have an interest in reading), he warms up pretty quick.

• In early drafts, Zach was quite the scone connosouir. There was half a now-scrapped chapter dedicated to his purchasing scones and other baked goods. Scones do pop up a fair bit in Bound to the Heart, though!

• Zach is fluent in Latin and knows a fair bit of French.

• Zach owns multiple copies of Gulliver's Travels.

• Physically speaking, inspiration for Zach's appearance was in part drawn from one of my favorite artists, Alvaro Soler. A fun coincidence about this is Alvaro having a song titled "Sofia" and Zach's sister also being named Sophia.

That's a wrap on Zach's bio!

Expect to see more character profiles from Bound to the Heart throughout the year. After holding off for so long, it was nice to finally put Zach in the spotlight for a post—even if it's something he would not necessarily enjoy.

Another character will be featured next quarter, so stay tuned!

As promised, here is the Sims 4 CC used in the creation of Zach's Sim:

• Outfit

• Hair

• Stubble