BOOK PROPOSAL
Title
**Reborn Youth**
Genre
Contemporary Romance / Literary Commercial Fiction / Women’s Fiction / Inspirational Love Story
## Manuscript Status
Completed Novel
## Author
Chen Qing-Yang (陳清揚)
Taiwanese novelist, poet, literary critic, and screenwriter
---
# 1. Overview
**Reborn Youth** is a contemporary romantic novel exploring love, personal transformation, and the courage to redefine one’s life path.
Set against the contrast between Taiwan’s modern urban landscape and its coastal communities, the novel follows several characters who stand at critical turning points in their lives. They struggle between social expectations and personal dreams, between security and freedom, and between the love they desire and the love they are willing to sacrifice.
At its heart, **Reborn Youth** asks a universal question:
**Can people find a second chance at youth—not by returning to the past, but by having the courage to choose a different future?**
The novel combines emotional romance, workplace ambition, family expectations, entrepreneurship, and the inner journeys of mature adults searching for authentic happiness.
---
# 2. Logline
A successful fashion designer, a former corporate professional seeking freedom, and a devoted teacher carrying a secret emotional burden become connected through love, sacrifice, and unexpected choices—forcing each of them to discover what true happiness really means.
---
# 3. Synopsis
## The Story
Shi Mei-Lin is a talented and ambitious fashion designer working as a design director at Focus Fashion Company in Taipei.
Beautiful, intelligent, and independent, she represents the modern woman who has built her own success. Yet beneath her confident exterior lies a longing for a relationship based not on social status or material conditions, but on genuine understanding.
Her life changes when she meets Tsai Shih-Nan, a man whose personality seems completely different from hers.
Shih-Nan is not a typical corporate executive. He chooses a simpler lifestyle, values independence, and dreams of building his own business rather than returning to the stressful world of office competition.
Their relationship begins under unusual circumstances, but gradually develops into something deeper. However, their different backgrounds and opposing visions of life create constant challenges.
While Mei-Lin hopes Shih-Nan will move to Taipei and build a new future with her, Shih-Nan struggles with a difficult question:
Should he sacrifice his own dreams for the woman he loves?
---
# 4. Part III Story Development
The third part of **Reborn Youth** intensifies the emotional conflict among the major characters.
In Taipei’s East District, Mei-Lin continues her professional rise as a respected fashion designer. Her elegance and confidence attract attention, including from successful businessman Lin Wen-Bin, who sees not only her beauty but also her intelligence and leadership ability.
Lin Wen-Bin represents a different possibility for Mei-Lin: a partner who shares her social background, professional ambition, and international experience.
However, Mei-Lin refuses to measure love through external conditions.
She remains committed to Shih-Nan because she believes love is not a comparison between choices, but a decision of the heart.
Meanwhile, Shih-Nan’s relationship with another woman, Zhang Ya-Hui, reveals a quieter and more painful form of love.
Ya-Hui is a sincere and compassionate teacher who understands Shih-Nan deeply. She knows his personality, respects his dreams, and offers emotional support without demanding anything in return.
Yet she realizes that the person in Shih-Nan’s heart is Mei-Lin.
Her journey becomes a story of loving someone while learning the meaning of letting go.
The novel also explores Ya-Hui’s personal crisis, forcing her to confront unexpected challenges and reconsider her own future.
Through these parallel emotional journeys, **Reborn Youth** examines the complicated relationship between love, sacrifice, dignity, and personal identity.
---
# 5. Main Characters
## Shi Mei-Lin
A gifted fashion designer and successful career woman.
She is beautiful, independent, confident, and professionally accomplished. However, her greatest emotional challenge is learning that love cannot be controlled through planning or achievement.
Her journey represents modern women who seek both personal fulfillment and emotional connection.
---
## Tsai Shih-Nan
A free-spirited entrepreneur who refuses to follow a conventional path.
He values independence, creativity, and personal freedom.
Although he loves Mei-Lin, he struggles between supporting her dreams and preserving his own identity.
His journey represents the universal conflict between love and self-realization.
---
## Zhang Ya-Hui
A gentle and thoughtful teacher.
She represents unconditional love and emotional maturity.
Her affection for Shih-Nan is sincere and selfless, but her greatest challenge is accepting that loving someone does not always mean possessing them.
---
## Lin Wen-Bin
A successful young businessman.
Educated overseas and admired in the business world, he represents stability, opportunity, and a different vision of partnership.
However, his attraction toward Mei-Lin reveals that even successful people must confront the unpredictability of love.
---
# 6. Key Themes
## 1. The Meaning of Second Youth
The novel challenges the traditional idea that youth belongs only to age.
True youth comes from the courage to change, love again, dream again, and create a new life.
---
## 2. Love Versus Self-Identity
The characters must answer difficult questions:
How much should someone sacrifice for love?
Can two people love each other while following different dreams?
Is compromise an expression of love or a loss of oneself?
---
## 3. Women’s Independence and Emotional Choice
The female characters in the novel are not passive figures waiting for romance.
They are professionals, creators, and individuals with their own ambitions.
The novel portrays women who seek relationships based on respect and equality.
---
## 4. The Search for Authentic Happiness
The characters discover that success, wealth, and social status cannot automatically create happiness.
A meaningful life requires honesty with oneself.
---
# 7. Market Positioning
**Reborn Youth** belongs to the growing international market of emotionally driven contemporary fiction featuring:
- mature romance
- personal transformation
- women’s empowerment
- second chances in life
- cross-cultural Asian perspectives
The novel will appeal to readers who enjoy:
- emotional relationship dramas
- character-driven literary fiction
- inspirational romance
- stories about rebuilding one’s life
---
# 8. Target Readers
Primary Audience:
- Women readers aged 30–65
- Readers interested in romance and emotional transformation
- Fans of Asian contemporary fiction
Secondary Audience:
- Readers of literary commercial fiction
- International readers interested in Taiwanese culture and modern Asian society
- Viewers who enjoy relationship-centered television dramas
---
# 9. Competitive Titles
Comparable works include:
**The Bridges of Madison County**
by Robert James Waller
A story about love, sacrifice, and the choices people make between responsibility and personal desire.
**Me Before You**
by Jojo Moyes
A character-driven romance exploring emotional connection and life-changing choices.
**The Japanese Lover**
by Isabel Allende
A multigenerational exploration of love, memory, and human resilience.
**Normal People**
by Sally Rooney
A contemporary relationship novel examining emotional connection and personal growth.
---
# 10. Unique Selling Points
## 1. Taiwanese Contemporary Setting
The novel provides international readers with a vivid portrait of modern Taiwan:
- Taipei’s urban culture
- coastal communities
- entrepreneurship
- changing social values
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## 2. Strong Female Characters
Unlike conventional romance narratives, women in **Reborn Youth** possess ambition, intelligence, and personal goals beyond relationships.
---
## 3. Emotional Complexity
The novel avoids simple romantic formulas.
Every character has understandable motivations, creating emotional tension rather than traditional good-versus-bad conflicts.
---
## 4. Adaptable for Screen
The novel contains strong visual and dramatic elements:
- fashion industry settings
- romantic conflicts
- business negotiations
- coastal landscapes
- emotional turning points
It has potential for adaptation into:
- television drama series
- streaming platform production
- feature film
---
# 11. Author Biography
Chen Qing-Yang (陳清揚) is a Taiwanese novelist, poet, literary critic, and screenwriter.
His creative work combines literary aesthetics, storytelling techniques, and philosophical reflection.
He has written novels, poetry collections, literary criticism, and studies of Chinese modern poetry.
His writing focuses on:
- love and destiny
- human relationships
- cultural identity
- emotional transformation
- the intersection between literature and life
Through **Reborn Youth**, Chen Qing-Yang presents a contemporary Asian romance that explores universal human experiences.
---
# 12. Author’s Statement
**Reborn Youth** was written from my belief that every person deserves the possibility of renewal.
Youth is not only a period of life.
Youth is a state of mind—the courage to love, the courage to change, and the courage to pursue the life we truly desire.
Through the journeys of Mei-Lin, Shih-Nan, Ya-Hui, and the other characters, I hope readers can discover their own questions about love, dreams, and happiness.
This is not only a romance novel.
It is a story about becoming the person we were always meant to be.
---
# 13. Why This Novel Matters Internationally
Although **Reborn Youth** is rooted in Taiwan, its themes transcend geography.
People everywhere face similar struggles:
- choosing between career and love
- balancing personal dreams with relationships
- searching for meaning after major life changes
- finding courage to begin again
The emotional questions explored in this novel belong not only to Taiwan, but to readers around the world.
**Reborn Youth** offers an Asian perspective on universal human emotions—and invites international readers to experience a story of love, growth, and renewal.
《再版的青春》出版企畫書
書名
《再版的青春》
（Reborn Youth）
類型
當代愛情小說／文學商業小說／女性小說／啟發性愛情故事
稿件狀態
長篇小說完稿
作者
陳清揚（Chen Qing-Yang）
台灣小說家、詩人、文學評論家、編劇
1. 作品概述（Overview）
**《再版的青春》**是一部探討愛情、人生轉變，以及重新定義生命道路勇氣的當代浪漫小說。
故事背景建立在台灣現代都市景觀與海岸生活場域的對比之中，描寫數位在人生關鍵轉折點上的人物。他們在社會期待與個人夢想之間掙扎，在安定與自由之間抉擇，也在渴望得到的愛與願意犧牲的愛之間尋找答案。
本書核心提出一個普世性的問題：
人是否能重新找回第二次青春——不是回到過去，而是勇敢選擇一個不同的未來？
《再版的青春》融合了情感愛情、職場追求、家庭期待、創業理想，以及成熟成年人尋找真實幸福的人生內在旅程。
2. 一句話故事簡介（Logline）
一位成功的服裝設計師、一位尋求自由人生的前企業專業人士，以及一位背負秘密情感傷痛的深情教師，因愛情、犧牲與意外的選擇而產生交集——迫使每個人重新理解真正幸福的意義。
3. 故事概要（Synopsis）
故事內容
施美琳（Shi Mei-Lin）是一位才華洋溢、企圖心強烈的服裝設計師，目前擔任台北「焦點時尚公司」（Focus Fashion Company）的設計總監。
她美麗、聰慧且獨立，代表現代女性靠自身努力建立成功人生的典型。然而，在她自信堅強的外表之下，隱藏著一份渴望——她希望擁有一段不建立於社會地位或物質條件，而是建立在真正理解之上的感情。
她的人生，在遇見蔡世男（Tsai Shih-Nan）之後開始改變。
蔡世男是一個與她性格截然不同的男人。
他不是典型的企業主管。他選擇較為簡單的生活方式，重視個人獨立，並希望創立自己的事業，而不是回到充滿壓力的企業競爭環境。
他們的關係從一場特殊的相遇開始，逐漸發展成更深層的情感。
然而，兩人不同的成長背景，以及對人生方向截然不同的想像，使這段感情面臨持續的考驗。
美琳希望世男能搬到台北，與她共同建立新的未來；但世男卻必須面對一個艱難的問題：
他是否應該為了所愛的人，犧牲自己的夢想？
4. 第三部故事發展（Part III Story Development）
《再版的青春》第三部加深了主要角色之間的情感衝突。
在台北東區，美琳持續以優秀服裝設計師的身分，在事業上攀升。她優雅、自信的形象吸引許多人的注意，其中包括成功企業家林文彬。
林文彬不僅看見美琳的外貌，更欣賞她的智慧、領導能力與專業價值。
林文彬代表美琳另一種可能的人生選擇：
一位與她擁有相近社會背景、職業企圖，以及國際經驗的伴侶。
然而，美琳拒絕以外在條件衡量愛情。
她依然選擇堅持世男，因為她相信：
愛情不是比較不同選項後的結果，而是內心真正做出的選擇。
另一方面，世男與另一位女性張雅惠（Zhang Ya-Hui）的關係，呈現出另一種安靜而痛苦的愛。
雅惠是一位真誠、溫柔且富有同理心的教師。
她深深理解世男。
她了解他的性格，尊重他的夢想，並在不要求任何回報的情況下給予情感支持。
然而，她也清楚知道：
世男心中真正愛的人是美琳。
她的人生旅程，成為一段「愛一個人，同時學習放手」的故事。
小說同時探索雅惠個人的生命危機，迫使她面對意料之外的挑戰，重新思考自己的未來。
透過這些平行交錯的情感旅程，《再版的青春》探討愛情、犧牲、尊嚴與個人身分之間複雜而深刻的關係。
5. 主要角色（Main Characters）
施美琳（Shi Mei-Lin）
一位具有天賦的服裝設計師，也是成功的職業女性。
她美麗、獨立、自信，在事業上取得卓越成就。
然而，她最大的情感課題，是學習明白：
愛情無法透過計畫或成就來控制。
她的人生旅程代表現代女性如何同時追求自我實現與情感連結。
蔡世男（Tsai Shih-Nan）
一位不願遵循傳統人生道路的自由型創業者。
他重視獨立、創造力，以及個人自由。
雖然深愛美琳，但他必須在支持愛人的夢想與維護自己的生命價值之間掙扎。
他的旅程象徵人類普遍存在的矛盾：
愛情與自我實現之間的衝突。
張雅惠（Zhang Ya-Hui）
一位溫柔而善解人意的教師。
她代表無條件的愛與成熟的情感。
她對世男的感情真誠而無私，但她最大的挑戰，是接受：
愛一個人，不一定代表必須擁有他。
林文彬（Lin Wen-Bin）
一位成功的年輕企業家。
他曾留學海外，在商業世界受到肯定。
他象徵穩定、機會，以及另一種伴侶關係的可能。
然而，他對美琳的吸引，也顯示即使成功人士，也必須面對愛情不可預測的力量。
6. 核心主題（Key Themes）
1. 第二次青春的意義
小說挑戰傳統觀念：
青春並不只屬於某個年齡階段。
真正的青春，來自改變的勇氣、再次愛人的勇氣、重新夢想的勇氣，以及創造新人生的勇氣。
2. 愛情與自我認同
角色們必須回答困難的問題：
為愛，一個人應該犧牲多少？
兩個人是否能在追求不同夢想的同時相愛？
妥協究竟是愛的表現，還是失去自己的開始？
3. 女性獨立與情感選擇
小說中的女性角色並非等待愛情降臨的被動人物。
她們是職業工作者、創造者，也是擁有自身目標與理想的個體。
小說描寫女性如何尋求建立於尊重與平等之上的關係。
4. 尋找真正幸福
角色們逐漸發現：
成功、財富與社會地位，並不能自動帶來幸福。
真正有意義的人生，需要誠實面對自己的內心。
7. 市場定位（Market Positioning）
《再版的青春》屬於目前國際市場中逐漸成長的情感型當代小說類型，特色包括：
- 成熟愛情
- 人生成長與轉變
- 女性自主
- 人生第二次機會
- 跨文化亞洲視角
本書適合以下讀者：
- 喜愛情感關係劇情的讀者
- 重視人物塑造的文學小說讀者
- 喜愛啟發式愛情故事的讀者
- 喜愛重新建立人生故事的讀者
8. 目標讀者（Target Readers）
主要讀者：
- 30至65歲女性讀者
- 對愛情與人生轉變感興趣的讀者
- 喜愛亞洲當代小說的讀者
次要讀者：
- 文學商業小說讀者
- 對台灣文化與現代亞洲社會感興趣的國際讀者
- 喜歡以人物關係為核心的電視劇觀眾
9. 市場比較作品（Competitive Titles）
《廊橋遺夢》
（The Bridges of Madison County）
作者：Robert James Waller
描寫愛情、犧牲，以及人在責任與個人渴望之間所做出的選擇。
《我就要你好好的》
（Me Before You）
作者：Jojo Moyes
透過人物關係探索情感連結與改變人生的重要選擇。
《日本情人》
（The Japanese Lover）
作者：Isabel Allende
跨越世代探索愛情、記憶與人類韌性。
《正常人》
（Normal People）
作者：Sally Rooney
描寫當代關係中的情感連結與個人成長。
10. 獨特賣點（Unique Selling Points）
1. 台灣當代背景
小說為國際讀者呈現鮮明的現代台灣：
2. 強大的女性角色
不同於傳統愛情小說，《再版的青春》中的女性角色具有：
3. 複雜深刻的情感描寫
小說避免簡單化的愛情公式。
每個角色都有合理的人生動機，使故事產生情感張力，而非傳統善惡二元衝突。
4. 具備影視改編潛力
小說具有強烈視覺與戲劇元素：
具備改編為：
的潛力。
11. 作者簡介（Author Biography）
陳清揚是一位台灣小說家、詩人、文學評論家與編劇。
他的創作結合文學美學、敘事技巧與哲學思考。
作品涵蓋：
他的創作關注：
透過《再版的青春》，陳清揚呈現一部具有當代亞洲視角、同時探索普世人性的愛情小說。
12. 作者創作理念（Author’s Statement）
《再版的青春》源自我的一個信念：
每個人都值得擁有重新開始的人生可能。
青春不只是生命中的某個階段。
青春是一種心境——
是愛的勇氣、改變的勇氣，以及追求真正想要人生的勇氣。
透過美琳、世男、雅惠，以及其他角色的人生旅程，我希望讀者能重新思考自己對愛情、夢想與幸福的答案。
這不只是一部愛情小說。
它是一個關於「成為自己命中注定成為的人」的故事。
13. 為何本書具有國際價值（Why This Novel Matters Internationally）
雖然《再版的青春》根植於台灣，但其核心主題超越地域限制。
世界各地的人們都面臨相似的人生掙扎：
- 在事業與愛情之間選擇
- 在個人夢想與親密關係間取得平衡
- 在重大人生變化後尋找生命意義
- 找回重新開始的勇氣
小說探討的情感問題，不只屬於台灣，也屬於全世界的讀者。
《再版的青春》以亞洲視角呈現人類共同的情感經驗，邀請國際讀者進入一段關於愛、成長與重生的人生故事。
