Meet The Author

Desiree Bergman
Oct 2, 2018
4 min read

Meet Haley Rhoades, author of The Surrogate Series (The proposal, The Deed, & The Confession), Third Wheel (formly The Surrogate Series), Boxers or Briefs, Creative Crafts from Clutter, Stay at Home Mom on a Shoe String Budget and her new series The Locals with Tailgates and Truck Dates, the first in the series. I have had the pleasure of reading both Boxers or Briefs and Tailgates and Truck Dates advanced copies and lets just say they were great reads and I did not want to put them down.

A little bit about Haley; Haley Rhoades' inaugural year of writing is another bucket-list item coming to fruition, just like meeting Stephen Tyler and skydiving. As she continues to write romance and young adult books, she plans to complete her remaining bucket-list items, including ghost-hunting, storm-chasing, and bungee jumping. She is a Netflix-binging, Converse-wearing, avidly-reading, traveling geek.A team player, Haley thrived as her spouse's career moved the family of four eight times to three states. One move occurred eleven days after a C-section. Now with two adult sons, Haley copes with her newly emptied nest by writing and spoiling Nala, her Pomsky. A fly on the wall might laugh as she talks aloud to her fur-baby all day long.Haley's under five-foot, fun-size stature houses a full-size attitude. Her uber-competitiveness in all things entertains, frustrates, and challenges family and friends. Not one to shy away from a dare, she faces the consequences of a lost bet no matter the humiliation. Her fierce loyalty extends from family, to friends, to sports teams.Haley's guilty pleasures are Lifetime and Hallmark movies. Her other loves include all things peanut butter, Star Wars, mathematics, and travel. Past day jobs vary tremendously from an elementary special-education para-professional, to a YMCA sports director, to a retail store accounting department, and finally a high school mathematics teacher.Haley resides with her husband and fur-baby in the Kansas City area. This Missouri-born girl enjoys the diversity the Midwest offers.Reach out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or her website...she would love to connect with her readers.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Haley and some questions about her favorite authors/genres, as well as any advice she could pass on to future writers of the world, and here is what she had to say:

What inspired you to become a writer? I always remember writing, even as a child. My high school composition teacher wrote on one of my short stories that I should extend it to a novel. (It will be one of my future young adult books) In 2000, I had a vivid dream and jotted it down. For several years, I made a note from time to time to extend the storyline. Now an empty-nester with my children residing in another state and retired from teaching, I decided to write and self-publish the story. The storyline is The Surrogate Series, which I combined into one book Third Wheel

I really enjoyed your latest book Tailgates & Truck Dates and I know that you are currently working on the second book in this series; do you think this series will be like The Surrogate Series, or possibly more than three? Alternatively, have you considered maybe doing a series involving the other characters of the book? The Locals Series will be a four book series (Tailgates & Truck Dates, Tailgates & Heartaches, Tailgates & First Dates, and Tailgates & Twists of Fate). I keep a 'Future Books' Notebook with me at all times. I currently have twelve books in it. Some ideas include novellas or branches off of The Surrogate Series-Mateo's story, Boxers or Briefs-Clay's story along with stand-alone stories.

How did you come up with the idea behind Tailgates & Truck Dates? I grew up in a rural Missouri town of 6,800 people and I lived on a farm. I drew upon personal experience in the area in which I grew up. My family still resides on the same farm my grandfather first bought.

Out of all of the books you have written, is there any particular one that is your favorite? The Surrogate Series/Third Wheel will always hold a special place in my heart as it was my book/series. However, The Locals Series is my favorite storyline. Book Four in The Locals Series, Tailgates & Twists of Fate will be my favorite book.

Who are some of your favorite authors? In romance, I enjoy: Kristen Ashley, Colleen Hoover, Cambria Hebert, J. Sterling, Kristen Proby, Brei Betzold, Joanna Blake, K. Bromberg, and Olivia Cunning. In other genres: John Green, J.K.Rowling, and Kiera Cass. A new young adult/ romance author I am fond of is Annie Woods and her books The Angelheart Saga.

What are your three favorite books of all time? John Green's Will Grayson, Will Grayson; Colleen Hoover's Slammed & Point of Retreat (Carving pumpkins at Halloween makes me cry now because of these stories.); and Cambria Hebert's #Nerd Along with The entire Hashtag Series (I'm a nerd, a dork, a Star Wars Freak, & majored in Mathematics, so this hit close to home.) FYI: Narrowing it down to three favorites was stressful.

Is there any wisdom or a piece of advice you can share with someone considering becoming a writer? Writers must read and write, then repeat it every day. Write even if you never share it or intend to publish. A writer writes because they can't stop thinking about it until they do. I write to silence the stories and characters that constantly occupy my mind. I chose the self-publishing route. I've met many great writers and readers in Facebook Groups. I now have a close writer-friend from Sweden and a terrific Beta-Reader from Australia. As I live in Kansas City, Missouri, USA I've never met them. We email often and keep in touch on social media platforms.

If you haven't had the chance to read one of her books, you should definitely give them a try I promise you will not be disappointed. You can find her books on www.amazon.com as well as www.goodreads.com. I hope you have enjoyed this interview as much as I did and I look forward to what the future holds for Haley and The Locals

As always I leave you with this "Keep reading you never know where it will take you"