Cyn Taylor writes Southern Contemporary Romantic Suspense based in the Smoky Mountains and Appalachian area. Her books include strong characters that must come to grips with a twist of fate and faith that takes their lives in an entirely different direction than they had charted out for their future.

Smoky Mountain Mist is Taylor's first series. Blue Mountain Sky, Red Morning Glory and Dawn's Gray Light are the three books completing that series. In 2019, Taylor published A Cove Creek Christmas, the first novella in the Smoky Mountain Christmas Magic series as well as Truffles & Kisses, book one in the Smoky Mountain Magic series. All books are works of fiction, although the reader may recognize many of the locations named in the books. Taylor’s romantic fiction books are charming, clean reads written with humor and happy conclusions.

Taylor released her first children’s book, Theodore the Dancing Christmas Horse, in 2019 written under the pen name of LeNai LaRue. The author currently has a Young Adult Fantasy trilogy in the works along with a Familial Comedy and a mystery series.

Taylor began her career as a published author in 2016 when she signed a contract with a small publishing company for her Smoky Mountain Mist series. In 2018, after being granted the rights back to her first books, Taylor went the route of Hybrid publishing by redesigning her covers and re-releasing those first three books.

That same year, Taylor started her own publishing company, Thunder Ridge Publishing (TRP), with the hope of assisting unpublished authors in getting their books to press. TRP designed, edited and published the works of two authors between January and April of 2019 and released three books in the spring of 2020.

A freelance photojournalist, Taylor writes faith, community and feature articles for local newspapers. She says her experiences in writing about life as it is lived by salt of the earth local folks is inspiring, and has helped create the background, as well as some of the unique individuals, featured in her books.

Taylor lives in Knoxville Tennessee in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. She and husband Brent have carved out their dream home on his family farm at the peak of Copper Ridge, along with a feral cat and other woodland creatures who come round to visit. The couple has two married adult children and nine grandchildren.

The author says she also gets some of the best inspiration and ideas for storylines and characters when she accompanies Brent, an accomplished angler, on fly-fishing excursions to the Smokies and local tailwaters. He fishes, she writes, life is good.

Taylor and LaRue’s books are available exclusively on Amazon or from the author.

Email Taylor at cyntaylor2016@gmail.com with questions or for more information.

In Cyn's own words to put it simply, I have always loved to read and later, to write.

I grew up in a family that had extreme difficulty making ends meet, yet there was always enough money to keep me supplied with the written word. I always had a stack of books waiting for me to lose myself in them, either belonging to me, a local public library or the school library. My first identification card was from my local library.

My stack always went far too quickly from ‘waiting to be read’ to ‘read’ so my favorite Christmas and birthday presents were always books. My summer vacations were spent reading books. One of the earliest photographs that was taken of me, I was reading a book. When my friends wanted to…….well, you get the picture.

My mother didn’t just teach me a love for reading, she taught me to value and want to own books. I loved them for their beautiful covers but mostly for what could be discovered once those covers were breached. One of my earliest reads was Alice in Wonderland and my first book collection was The Hardy Boys. No simpering Nancy Drew for me. I wanted to read about real adventure!

Every month my mother would take me to the old Miller’s Store in downtown Knoxville where she went to have her hair done. She usually did her own hair and this once a month visit was her only extravagance for herself. I was just a child but she would always offer to let me get my hair done as well. Being the bookworm that I had already become, I would gracefully decline and request the money be spent on a new book instead. Well, maybe not so gracefully. She would smile and let me have my way. So I thought. Little did I know I was already being taught where to place my values.

I always waited for her in the section of the store where the mysteries were on display. This was before the days you had to fear for your child if she/he was left alone. Also before the days of common shoplifting. I was allowed to peruse the latest books under the watchful eye of the clerk while my mother would get her hair done. My mother never had to worry that I would wonder off. Where else would I go that could possibly be more exciting?! I would sit on the floor, going through book after book until I found the next jewel for my bookly crown. I often wished my mother would get a slower hairdresser. I rarely left without the newest Hardy Boys mystery clutched in my hands, thinking excitedly of the time I would have at home to read it through, uninterrupted in one sitting. Franklin Dixon (Leslie McFarlane) couldn’t write fast enough to suit me.

From an early age the majority of my time had been spent in helping care for an invalid father and grandmother. When I started reading a new book was one of the few times in my young life that I would be allowed to pull away to myself. In that brief time spent alone I could imagine that I was living in a completely different world. I was the one uncovering The Secret of the Old Mill, or The Disappearing Floor. Frank always liked working with me better than anyone else and Joe thought I was the smartest girl he knew! If you don’t know Frank and Joe, I am so sorry! Go on a quest to relive your youth and find them!

One of my earliest grade school memories is of the Friday each month when our Scholastic Books order would come. The books would arrive in the morning and my mouth would practically water while waiting for the teacher to say, “All right class, take the rest of the afternoon until the bell rings to quietly read your new books.” Since I hadn’t been able to focus for wondering about the new treasures I was about to open, my excitement was so great upon hearing those words you would have thought the teacher was offering me a pot of gold.

Whether you are someone who is new to the excitement of losing yourself in a good book or you’ve always been the type who could open to page one and not come up for air until after the last page has been turned, my hope is that you will enjoy this website. I have excerpts from some of my own writings of Suspense, Christian Romance, and Poetry, as well as a few suggested reads. I may not be an expert or well known like Oprah, but I know what I like. If you take the time to read any excerpts and have a moment afterwards, let me know how you like, or dislike my work.

Suffice it to say that I believe it’s okay to let life pass you by on occasion while you indulge in a good book. So why are you still reading this? Go read, or write, the next great novel!

Here’s to a great read!

Cyn Taylor