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Destiny
Clark, a young Mormon girl living in Tennessee, is wildly infatuated with Isaac
Robinson, the headmaster’s son at her Baptist high school. When they’re cast
together in the school’s production of Les Misérables, Destiny is horrified to
find that she has to be publicly humiliated by acting out her true feelings of
rejection onstage.
As
their rehearsals begin, Destiny realizes the unimaginable: Isaac has developed
deep feelings for her despite their religious differences and the fact that he
has a girlfriend. But will they be able to find their place amongst the
backbiters of their ultra-conservative world?
Weaving
around Destiny and Isaac's alternating viewpoints, Destiny is the first book in
a series inspired by the characters of Les Misérables and explores heartbreak,
self-discovery, intolerance, and love.
Excerpt From Destiny:
“This is my favorite
place to come when I need to think,” I said. The remaining light was orange as
it filtered through the autumn foliage onto the hammock below.
“It’s very
peaceful,” Isaac said. “I can see why you like it.” He scrutinized me, his
facial muscles fighting to find the appropriate expression. Confusion,
worry…interest? Each battled for control of his features. “It must be really hard for you and
your family, being the only Mormons at a school full of Baptists.”
I blinked in surprise.
I really wasn’t expecting this kind of sympathy from the headmaster’s son. I
imagined that Dr. Robinson had been filling his mind with lies about Mormons
since he was a small boy—especially after our family converted. There was a lot
of anti-Mormon talk going around during that time, and Dr. Robinson wasn’t the
only person educating the congregation on what he thought we believed. Mormons
weren’t the only ones spoken against either. I’d heard similar words regarding
Catholics, Muslims, Wiccans, Seventh-Day Adventists, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“I’m surprised that
you even care,” I whispered.
“I know it may seem
that way because of how my dad doesn’t agree with your church, but I don’t
necessarily feel the same way. The more he tries to convince me that there’s
something wrong with you, the more I want to learn about what you believe.”
I blinked in
surprise. These were the last words I’d ever expected to hear coming from
Isaac’s lips. “I—I don’t know what to say.”
He smiled, eyes
softening as they traveled across my face. “You know,” he whispered as he
reached a hand up and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, “even covered in
mud, sticks, and dust, you are absolutely breathtaking.” I needed to tell him
to stop, that this wasn’t right, but I stood immobile.
“I haven’t stopped
thinking about you since our practice. When you sang with me, I felt so
connected to you. I’ve hardly been able to sleep.”
We stood
face-to-face. His chocolate eyes so warm, my heart beating so fast it was about
to explode. How many times had I hoped for this moment? I never in a million
years had imagined that such words would come out of Isaac’s mouth. That
perfectly beautiful mouth. This was unreal, beyond my wildest daydreams.
It was so hard to fight the desire to be with him. All my most unreachable
dreams were suddenly, so unbelievably, about to come true.
Cindy Ray
Hale lives in Murfreesboro, Tennessee with her husband and four children. In
addition to being a writer, she’s an avid reader and a social media junkie. She
starts her morning by writing with a freshly-blended berry spinach smoothie
next to her. She’s obsessed with Les Misérables, playing the piano,
and stalking up-and-coming musicians on YouTube. When she’s not writing, she’s
singing. Like the characters in her book, she sang in the elite choir in high
school. She went on to join the choir in college. She’s a member of her church
choir today and belts her favorite songs while she folds laundry and does
dishes. Her kids could tell all about it.
Her
Destiny books are very near to her heart because they were heavily influenced
by her own life. She’s Mormon and attended a Baptist school for seven years
where she faced the same intolerance Destiny faces in the series. Several
scenes from the story were written word-for-word from her own life experiences.
While her life hasn’t been completely miserable, she’s still seen her fair
share of trials. Her motto is: “When times get tough, throw your head back and laugh.”
Destiny is her first novel and is Book One of the Destiny Trilogy.
Destiny
will be available for purchase November 2013 on Amazon, Barnes and Noble,
Smashwords, and Kobo. It will be released as a paperback and an ebook.
The title
of the next book in the Destiny Trilogy is Synchrony and will be available for
purchase next year.
Ways to contact her!
Ways to contact her!
Twitter:
@CindyRayHale
I don't know about you guys but I'm super excited to read this! Congrats Cindy on your debut novel!
Thank you so much for your kind words and excitement over my book! It's a very personal story to me, and I'm so proud to finally share a little bit with the world!
ReplyDeleteOf course! Now I can't wait to read it! Keep me in mind when you have your next cover reveal! :)
DeleteDefinitely! I added this post to my Bloggers supporting Destiny pinterest board. You can check it out here: http://pinterest.com/cindymarie_hale/bloggers-supporting-destiny/
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful thank you so much!
ReplyDelete