YA Romance Author Cindy Ray Hale
Takes Over Forever Sweet Romance!
Author Name: Cindy Ray Hale
Describe your writing style in three words: This is tough! Let me see, honest, heartfelt, and funny.
Three interesting things about your books in general: I write clean romance. My books don’t have any swearing or on page sex scenes. Religion is important to me. It was a huge part of my life growing up. So I decided to tell a story about what it was like being bullied for being different because of my religion. I was a Mormon girl in a Baptist school and was targeted for it all the time. Although focusing on religion is definitely different in the world of YA lit, I feel like it’s still a story that deals with issues like bullying and forbidden love that a lot of teens can identify with.
I like to tell stories about characters who have been through similar things that I have been through. I wrote a story called It Was You about a young actress pursuing dreams that felt unreachable. Because I’ve been on big time film sets (Like Ant Man, Vampire Diaries, and Allegiance) I know what that world feels like. I want the readers to feel like they’re there with me, exploring a world they may know nothing about. It’s why I like to sell books to people who have no idea what a typical day for a Mormon girl would be like. I want to take them to a new place, somewhere unique and unusual that I’ve been and help them feel what it’s really like while experiencing emotions that they can closely identify with.
What is the very first thing that you remember writing? I was in third or fourth grade. I wrote a book about a little girl named Sally. I don’t remember much more than that.
What inspires you to write? Powerful experiences that change lives.
What is your favorite part about being an author and why? Struggling with a big plot hole or a scene that just won’t come together for me, leaving it, and coming back to have it all come together after seeing it with a fresh eye.
What is your least favorite part about being an author and why? Writer’s block. It’s the worst! It makes me feel like I’m wasting time, and the guilt is horrible.
What is your favorite book that you have written, and why? Destiny. Because it was so scary for me to write. But I did it, and so many people loved it because it spoke to them. It's the book that made me an author. It will always be near and dear to my heart.
What are you working on now? Right now I’m working on a rewrite of the Destiny trilogy. I’m stretching it into a nine books series with new titles and new covers. I’ve gotten through book one, which I’m calling A Braver Version of Me, and I’m finishing up the last scene of book two, A Better Version of Me.
What is it about? A Braver Version of Me is the first third of Destiny. It’s about her growth from being terrified of the bullies on the bus at the beginning to finding the strength within herself to learn to stand up to them and to stop caring so much about what they say.
A Better Version of Me is the middle portion of Destiny. It’s the story of when Destiny and Isaac first get together and deals with overcoming personal biases and judgments.
Give us a one paragraph excerpt:
Gasp! This is scary! I’ve never shared an excerpt publicly like this from my rewrites. This is from A Braver Version of Me.
As I stepped onto the final platform of the ropes course, I looked over the forest canopy, taking in the beauty of Tennessee. A bird of prey soared across a bright blue sky, scattered with white, puffy clouds, and dove into the blanket of green leaves beneath. Beyond the woods the lake sparkled in the afternoon sun. Tree-covered mountains rose up in the distance.Isaac joined me on the platform, a smelling woodsy with a hint of sweat, a heady combination that set my pulse racing. “Wow, this is breathtaking,” he said. I stole a glance at him. His eyes took in the scene before us like a thirsty man seeing an oasis in the desert.“Yeah,” I breathed. He looked down at me, his brown eyes crinkling at the corners. Between Isaac’s enticing smell and the way his eyes pulled me in, I was very much in danger of getting my heart broken.I looked away. Don’t fall into his trap. It was one thing to watch him from afar, but a very different thing to be standing alone with him, sharing a moment in nature.
Where can we purchase it? Right now the only Destiny books I have available for purchase are the first two of the original trilogy, Destiny and Synchrony. You can view all my books here:
Where can we follow you on social media?
