with Rhonda McKnight
Urban Reviews: Can you tell
us what your debut novel Secrets and Lies?
Rhonda McKnight: Secrets and Lies
is about a couple struggling to keep their troubled marriage
together after the husband's coworker accuses him of the
unthinkable.
Urban Reviews: How did you
come up with the concept for this novel?
Rhonda McKnight: I was going through a
tough patch in my own marriage and the story just came to me.
It's not my story, but the I think my own angst added to the
emotional intensity. Then as I plotted, I did the "what if she
that" and "what if he this" so fiction met with real life.
Urban Reviews: What things
have you done and plan to do to help spread the word about
your debut novel?
Rhonda McKnight: I've sought out reviews,
contacted book clubs and taken out a few ads. Most of what
I've been doing lately is writing articles for blogs, going
giveaways and engaging my friends on social media. I think,
hope it's working.
Urban Reviews: What has been
the biggest lesson you've learned so far about the book
industry?
Rhonda McKnight: So, far, I think that
it's important to develop relationships. This is a tough
business, but none of us are alone if we know how to seek out
friends and more importantly be a friend. Give of yourself and
your time; be willing to share and you'll build a network of
support.
Urban Reviews: What was the
best advice that you've ever received from another fellow
author?
Rhonda McKnight: Write the story of your
heart...from my mentor, Victoria Christopher Murray.
Urban Reviews: What do you
hope to accomplish in the literary world? Do you think
you could sustain a long writing career?
Rhonda McKnight: I'd love to be a
breakout bestseller. (LOL) Not so much because I want to be a
star, but because what I'm inspired to write about is
important. All be it subtle, my books have a message, the
first three have a theme of forgiveness. We can never see
enough examples of how to be forgiving and we all struggle
with it from time to time. So, I'd like to reach the masses.
There's still room at the top. I have so many stories I want
to write. I think I could write for many years to come.
Urban Reviews: What upcoming
projects can we look forward to?
Rhonda McKnight: My second novel, An
Inconvenient Friend, will be released on August 1, 2010.
I'm currently working on an anthology project with authors,
Sherri Lewis and Tiffany L. Warren that will release in the
spring of next year. I'm excited about them both.
Urban Reviews: Do you find
promoting Christian fiction to the masses to be a difficult
task? (Explain why or why not)
Rhonda McKnight: Promoting Christian
fiction is not difficult. I find that people are very open to
wanting Christian fiction. The sales in the genre have been up
for years and in this economic climate, people want
inspirational messages.
Urban Reviews: What author
do you admire in the book industry the most and why?
Rhonda McKnight: Wow, that's a tough
question, because I admire so many, but I'd have to Tiffany L.
Warren. Tiffany took her love of Christian Fiction on the road
and created the Annual Faith and Fiction Retreat for faith
fiction readers. I've attended for the last two years and look
forward to the event being in Atlanta (where I live) in June
2010. I think it takes a lot of guts to invest so heavily in
what you believe in. She loves the readers and she's really
put herself out there to bring the authors they love to them.
Urban Reviews: Is there
anything else you would like to share with us about you or
your books?
Rhonda McKnight: Just that Secrets and
Lies is an amazing story. Not your typical miserable
couple, oh woe is us how's it going to work out, type story.
It has some different twists and turns that make it a
standout. Most of it is also written in the husband's point of
view, so I think that's a little different as well. |
Read our review of Secrets and Lies in the
AA Fiction section.
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