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Inspirational Author Rhonda McKnight

Interview by Vanessa Richardson

VR: Rhonda thank you for chatting with me! When did you know that you were chosen not to just write but to become an author?

RM: Thanks for having me. I’ve always written and always thought I’d have a book one day, but it really hit me when I was in graduate school in 2002. I was pursuing a degree because I wanted to be promoted. While I knew I was good at my job, I didn’t feel like it was my purpose, so I began to pray about what that was and God reminded me that I had a gift to write and I had abandoned it. Taking the steps to get published was a natural progression for me. I never do anything unless I’m going to go all the way with it.

VR: What has your literary journey been like for you?

RM: It’s been great. I finished my first book in May 2007 and sold it to Urban Books the same year. It came out in December 2009. That was slow going, but once the first book came out the second followed in August 2010 and I’ve been writing and releasing projects ever since. My readers are amazing. My peers are amazing. Bookstores and shrinking shelf space have made it difficult for new authors like me to sell, but my publisher has pretty good distribution, so I was able to build a readership before things got really bad. The only thing I’d do differently is I would have written more from 2008 to 2009. I only wrote one book, An Inconvenient Friend. That project took me less than 3 months to complete, so what was I doing with all that time? I should have been writing.

VR: What is your writing process like?

RM: I’m a bit of a mix between a plotter and a panster, more plotter because I prefer to know where I’m going in a story. I write faster that way. I write a horrendous first draft and rewrite until I’m happy with the story. Then I give it to my personal team of readers for feedback. I rewrite to incorporate changes based on the feedback and then I edit, edit, edit until I reach my deadline.

VR: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in any of your books?

RM: I’d make changes to all my books. Don’t all authors feel that way?

VR: What were the challenges you faced in bringing forth any of your books?

RM: I struggled with writing What Kind of Fool. It’s the sequel to An Inconvenient Friend. The story I was prepared to write was not the story my readers wanted. The emails and book club meetings made it very clear that they wanted more of my bad girl, Samaria Jacobs and she had a very small cameo appearance in the sequel. That never would have satisfied the readers, so I had to dig deep to be more creative and restructure that project.

VR: What advice would you give aspiring authors?

RM: Attend writers conferences – everything you need to take it to the next level can be found at a conference. Write, often, every day if you can. Read all the time. Read well written books in the genre you want to write in and read a few books a year that aren’t things you’d typically read by authors you wouldn’t typically choose. You can learn something from any book and the best writers stretch their literary muscles.

VR: Are you working on any new projects?

RM: I am working on the second book in the Second Chances Series, the title is Un-Break My Heart. The first book was Breaking All The Rules. My readers love Breaking and they are impatiently waiting for Un-Break, so I’m writing as fast as I can.

VR: What is something that your readers would find interesting about you?

RM: This is such a hard question, because I don’t think I’m that interesting. I do have people ask me questions about my likeness to my female characters, so I’ll say this: I’m not like any of the characters in my books. I write about women who dress up and wear heels. That is so not me. I attended the Fashion Institute of Technology right out of high school and worked in the fashion industry for some years, but I’m not into fashion like I used to be. If you really want to see me at a party or at your church, tell me the dress is casual and I’m your girl.

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About the author

Rhonda McKnight is the author of the Black Expressions Top 20 bestseller, A Woman’s Revenge (Mar 2013), What Kind of Fool (Feb 2012), An Inconvenient Friend (Aug 2010), Secrets and Lies (Dec 2009) and Breaking All the Rules (Oct 2013). She was a 2010 nominee for the African-American Literary Award in the categories of Best Christian Fiction Novel and Best Anthology. She was the winner of the 2010 Emma Award for Favorite Debut Author and the 2009 Shades of Romance Award for Best Christian Fiction Novel. Originally from a small, coastal town in New Jersey, she’s called Atlanta, Georgia home for fifteen years. Visit her at www.rhondamcknight.net and www.facebook.com/booksbyrhonda and follow her on Twitter @rhondamcknight

  1. Rhonda’s a great writer and I enjoy her books.

    Thanks, Rhonda, for your creativity and thoughtfulness toward others. May God’s continued blessings fall on you, and keep me in your prayers as well.

  2. Rhonda’s a great writer and I enjoy her books.

    Thanks, Rhonda, for your creativity and thoughtfulness toward others. May God’s continued blessings fall on you, and keep me in your prayers as well .

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