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Interview with Ronie Kendig

Ronie Kendig is the author of rapid-fire fiction with over a dozen novels in print. She and her husband are second-degree black belts in Tae Kwon Do and have been known to act out fighting scenes from her stories. Today she shares some of the struggles she’s had to overcome in her writing journey and ways God continues to speak to her as she seeks to honor Him.


Welcome, Ronie! How long have you been writing?
I've been making stories since I was a little girl, but I actually took up the baton to hone my craft much later. My first rejection letter is dated October 2002. I signed with my agent in 2007 and my first novel was published in 2010.

What was the biggest struggle you've had to overcome in writing?
To believe in myself. I'll never forget my agent leaning across the table and pointing at finger at me (in love, of course) saying, "Ronie, you know when a story works. You know when it's good. Trust that instinct.” It was like he'd set a caged bird free.

In what ways has God surprised you, on your writing journey?

I've been amazed and blessed by friendships that never would've happened otherwise, ones that have deeply impacted me as a person. That's a tremendous gift!

What is the most inspiring or encouraging reader letter you've received?
Two immediately spring to mind: One woman told me her son was in prison and refused to read any Christian novels—but he was asking for my books! Another was from a woman whose husband was in the military. She said after reading The Discarded Heroes, she now understood a side of him that she hadn't before.

My mission is always to open dialogue, so these were beautiful responses! All glory to the Lord because, left to my own devices, I'd just get in the way.

On your blog, you share how your husband helped you visualize a scene by acting it out with a Tae Kwon instructor. Does he normally help you with your stories?
YES!! When I set out to get published, I vowed I'd never write a book that would embarrass my husband (think the wife in Lethal Weapon writing erotica novels, haha), but he's a military/military-history/history buff and helps me with so much. We often go over fight scenes, and since we're both 2nd degree black belts in Tae Kwon Do, we also have the benefit of our senior instructors (6th and 7th degree black belts) to help (as shown in the video on my blog).

What has God been showing you lately, regarding your writing or perhaps your service to Him in general?
Hand-in-hand with that "believe in yourself" moment is what I'm now sensing and realizing—God will fight for me (as my life verse, Exodus 14:14 reminds me), but it is also my responsibility to fight for that dream and its success.

Thanks for sharing with us, Ronie!


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Novelist and speaker Jennifer Slattery, also writing as Jen Pheobus, uses humor, grace, and truth to inspire God’s children to live abundant, Christ-centered lives. She does content editing for Firefly, a southern fiction imprint with Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, and is a frequent contributor to Crosswalk.com.





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