Rays of Sarah
by Hadiya Hayes
Released: Feb 26, 2024
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Why this book and why now?
I went years without writing anything substantial, but soon my wife’s encouragement and support push me back into the right headspace and I banged out Royally Sarah, a story idea I already had started, and once I finished it Rays of Sarah came to me easily. It took me a little over a year to come up with the idea and write it, and that’s never happened before.
Do your character names have special significance or meaning?
I used my usual method for coming up with the names for all the characters in the Royal Pack series, which is to pick the first letter I want to use and then run with it. Helps narrow it down a bit. For Ray specifically my wife and I brainstormed ideas for male Hispanic names and came up with Raymundo. All of Riak’s family members I made sure were named traditional African names, except for Riak herself, Pati and Lana.
What TV show would your main character(s) most likely binge watch and why?
I think Ray would probably binge watch some reality show like Love Island because he’d enjoy living vicariously through the contestants and fantasize about finding love in that way.
Sarah would, and probably has, binged every lesbian series in existence but especially the YouTube ones because she loves the instant gratification of a mini series, and lesbians.
If Riak watched TV like that I’d imagine she’d enjoy a good cartoon, like SpongeBob. Something that is so far away from the world she lives in she gets complete lost in it.
What 3 things would your main character want with them if they got stranded away from civilization, and why?
Knowing Riak she would want to bring her three favorite people, Sarah, Ray, and her mom Lana because she would never want to be alone.
Ray would bring T-shots (enough to last until he’s rescued), his handheld console (I never specify in the books but it is a Nintendo Switch), and maybe a hammock because he’s always wanted one but never had the right space for it.
Sarah would probably bring a long ass book even though she doesn’t read because she’d panic and think that’s what normal people would bring, her PS4 and question the entire time if there would even be electricity, and a vibrator for all the lonely nights.
Publishing a book is a huge accomplishment and it’s time to party! Choose a celebratory beverage for one of your main characters to toast the release of your new book.
Ray would throw together a michelada, going all out with those tamarindo candy sticks and cucumber. He’d offer to make everyone one, insisting they have to try it because it is delicious. And he’s not wrong.
What song does your character put on to start your book launch party?
Superbloom by Misterwives because it is a song about being awesome and not allowing anyone to stop you from being awesome. The feeling it invokes in me is exactly how I’d imagine I’d feel during an actual launch party for Rays of Sarah.
