About the Author: Cindy R.X. He
What would you like readers to know about you?
I write thrillers, but psychological horror is my first love. I’m originally from Singapore but have been living in France for the past decade. Perfect Little Monsters is my debut book!
What music do you listen to (if any) when you write?
I don’t listen to music when I write because it’s too distracting!
What books or authors inspired you to become a writer?
There are so many, but my favorite works which inspired, and continue to inspire me, are by Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, Catriona Ward, and Kelly Link.
About the Book: Perfect Little Monsters
What is your book about for those who haven’t read it?
Perfect Little Monsters is a young adult mystery thriller, like if Mean Girls were a thriller. When Ella Moore, the head cheerleader and queen bee of a high school is murdered at her own party, all of the dead girl’s friends, who each have their own motives for wanting her dead, become suspects. But the police’s main suspect is the new girl, Dawn Foster, our protagonist who just moved to town in her senior year, because she was apparently the last to hand Ella a drink on the night Ella died. When all of Ella’s friends are more than willing to implicate Dawn, she has to investigate the others to try and clear her name. As she delves deeper into the past, she discovers that Ella and her friends had enemies, and someone is out for revenge. She must uncover the truth before the police arrest the wrong suspect and before the next person dies.
What has been your inspiration for writing it?
In Perfect Little Monsters, certain characters feel hopeless enough to attempt suicide. It’s a difficult topic to write, but I think worth it if my book might help lessen the stigma surrounding it. When I was sixteen, I attempted suicide, after half a year of being bullied in school by a teacher (possibly because I had not yet learned to mask my autism then). Luckily, that attempt was nonfatal; but I remained emotionally vulnerable for many years after. Even though the conversation surrounding mental health and suicide has improved since then, the stigma of suicide persists, even though suicide is the second-leading cause of death today for teens and young adults aged 10–34 (CDC, 2022). More than one in three high school students, and nearly half of female students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2019 (CDC, 2020). I can’t help but think that maybe if we talked about it more—suicide and what might drive young people to attempt it—we could break down the walls of silence and offer a lifeline of empathy.
What was your favorite scene or part of your book to write?
The scene where the big twist is finally revealed, and what ensues after! (Sorry I can’t elaborate because spoilers!)
Where can your book be purchased?
In most major bookstores, and online here: www.cindyrxhe.com
To the Future Writer:
What advice would you give to aspiring authors who want to write a book?
I firmly believe that reading other books is the best way to improve one’s own writing, so read as much as you can, especially in the genres that you wish to write in.
What’s next for you? Any events, upcoming pubs, etc.
My second YA thriller, THIS IS WHERE WE DIE, will be out July 2025 with Sourcebooks Fire. Readers who would like to be notified of all news and upcoming events, please follow me on Instagram, where I am most active!
Where can we find you:
Twitter- @cindyrxhe
Instagram- @cindyrxhe
Website- www.cindyrxhe.com
What’s on your TBR list?
Murder Road by Simone St. James, Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward, I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones, The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton.
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