Ronie Kendig {Writer Wednesday}

Okay, dear readers - today's interview is really special to me. We're all book lovers here (at least I'm assuming so?) and I'm sure you can relate to me when I say that I have a bit of an author crush. Come on...you know you have one (or more) too!

I have long since adored Ronie Kendig's writing. I mean, we're talking flat out in awe of the first book I read by her (Talon: Combat Tracking Team) and then everything since. I found myself thinking...where has this author been all of my life?

Fast forward and....yes, that's MEEEE standing next to Ronie (in her house beautiful house too but I digress). Having her on my blog for a {Writer Wednesday} slot is pretty overwhelming to me (in the best way) and I can say that I have been so impressed with her as an author and as a friend. She is seriously the most humble person and I love that I get to share her with you all today! All right, on to the interview and enough of my fangirling ;)

A little bit about Ronie...

Ronie Kendig is an award-winning, bestselling author who grew up an Army brat. She married her own hunky hero, an Army veteran. After twenty-plus years of marriage, she and her husband live a full life in Northern Virginia with four children and a Maltese Menace named Helo.

How to connect with Ronie...

Website: www.roniekendig.com  
Blog: www.roniekendig.com/blog
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/RonieK  
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rapidfirefiction  
Twitter: @roniekendig  
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/roniek/
Purchase: Falcon (The Quiet Professionals Book 3)

 
Author Interview | Ronie Kendig

You and Writing

Tell us a little bit about yourself: How did you start writing?  What has kept you writing?
...I suppose I’ve always been telling stories, starting with my dolls at a very young age, but it wasn’t until my husband bought me a word processor back in 1991 that I really started working at it. I then took a course through the Institute for Children’s Literature, which I found fascinating but frustrating. Out of that, I learned I didn’t want to write for children, but for adults. My love of writing, the therapeutic and thrilling effects of it have kept me writing. On days when I’m down or discouraged and whining and saying I’m going to quit writing, my husband in his very stoic voice, says, “You might not try to get published anymore, but you’ll never stop writing.” And he’s so right. I can’t not write.

Do you have a favorite book or work that you’ve written? If so, why?
...Not really. I love different things about each of my stories. I do confess that I adored writing the Operation Zulu series and hope to someday finish what I started with that amazing team of characters.

Your Writing

Tell us a little bit about your book. Why did you write it? 
...Falcon is the final book in the Quiet Professionals series and has quite an explosive conclusion. Readers will find themselves guessing—as I, the author, did—who Raptor can trust. 

Here is the official blurb for Falcon:

Special Forces operator Salvatore “Falcon” Russo vowed to never again speak to or trust Lieutenant Cassandra Walker after a tragedy four years ago. But as Raptor closes in on the cyber terrorists responsible for killing two of their own, Sal must put his life—and the lives of his teammates—in her hands. Despite his anger, Cassie is ill-prepared for his resistance and the fallout when she must protect the one asset who can end the attacks. As allies become enemies and hostiles become unlikely partners, Raptor fights for its very existence.

Do you have a favorite character in this work? If so, why? 
...One character that I find alluring and intriguing is a secondary character named Sajjan Takkar. He has now shown up in roughly four of my novels, and I never tire of writing him. He’s just a very unique character in that his loyalty cannot be bought and is singularly dedicated to his country and its restoration. Throughout the story, others are questioning if they’ll turn on him, and I just love that.

What is one take-away from your book that you hope readers identify with? 
...That without forgiveness, we are letting destructive seeds of bitterness rot and tear at the fabric of our relationships and lives. Bitterness rots the soul.

Writing

When you write, what is your overall intention with your stories?
...I’ve always seen the primary mission as “opening dialogue” about our military heroes, what they deal with, and how it affects not just their lives, but the lives of their families. I want readers to walk away, thinking about the sacrifices our military heroes make every day.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors for writing and/or publishing? 
...It’s imperative to know the rules of writing and storycrafting—master those rules; know them backward and forward…but don’t get strangled by the rules.

 

You

 

What is one thing you like to do to relax when you aren’t writing? 
...Believe it or not, I find taekwondo relaxing—exhausting, but definitely relaxing. Also, I love doing things with my hands—painting my living room, sewing, or crocheting. Anything artsy. It fuels my creativity and gives me a physical outlet.

What is one thing you are looking forward to for the Summer?
...This summer will be strange for our family—we’ve married off a daughter and another is working in DisneyWorld, so my plans are to have fun doing some home interior decorating and rearranging. Pray for me as I begin this adventure as the only female in a house of five guys (hubby, twin sons, and two male dogs).

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Thanks again Ronie for coming by the blog today! And I had to share one image I took from the anniversary session I had with Ronie and Brian on Sunday. 25 Years of marriage as of this Monday - so awesome! And yes - I put in a vote (or maybe 50?) for you continuing Operation Zulu (check out the first installment for FREE). And while we're on the subject of your books - readers, you MUST check out Falcon (I rave about it HERE)! And Ronie, are you sure it's the last book for the Quiet Professionals....I mean...I'm just saying there could be more there ;) Anyway, thanks again and I look forward to what you've got coming up next! (Readers: Check out her FB page for a little hint - she just did a cover reveal yesterday!).

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::WINNER::

We've got a winner from Carol Moncado's interview last week...

Abby Breuklander

Congrats girl! I'll be in touch :)


In the mean time, if you didn't win check out More Than A Princess HERE.

Carol Moncado {Writer Wednesday}

Get to know Carol...

When not writing about her imaginary friends, Carol Moncado hangs out with her family and a dog who weighs less than most hardback books. Her favorite activity is watching NCIS, unless Castle is on - or Girl Meets World (with her four kids, of course!). She believes peanut butter M&Ms are the perfect food and Dr. Pepper should come in an IV. If her kids, and dog, aren’t racing around her big backyard in Southwest Missouri, she’s teaching American Government at a community college. She's President of MozArks ACFW and can be found on Facebook, her website, and the InspyRomance blog.

How to connect with Carol...

Website: www.carolmoncado.com
I blog weekly at: www.inspyromance.com/blog
Facebook: www.facebook.com/carolgm 
Twitter: www.twitter.com/carolmoncado
Purchase:  More than A Princess

Author Interview | Carol Moncado

You and Writing

Tell us a little bit about yourself: How did you start writing? What has kept you writing? ...I’ve written off and on my whole life. I co-wrote some stories with friends in elementary school and junior high. I didn’t write as much in high school or college but started writing for fun not long after I got my Master’s degree in 2001. I didn’t get serious until about 2009, though. What keeps me writing? The voices in my head would drive me crazy if I didn’t let them out to play ;).

Do you have a favorite book or work that you’ve written? If so, why?
...My absolute favorite I’ve written has the working title Grace to Save and most likely will release next summer. If you’ve read any of my current releases, you may remember Travis Harders (or his mom, Julie Harders). It’s his story. A story of prodigals and redemption and, above all, grace. I love all of my stories, but (shhh! Don’t tell!) I do have favorites ;).

If published, what was the hardest thing about publishing? The easiest?
...Last year, after spending five years, and a dozen manuscripts, pursuing traditional publishing, I decided to start my own indie publishing company. It’s not easy. In fact, the writing may be the easiest part. I love the drafting phase (except when I hate it). The creating. The story unfolding as I go. I love having edited. The being done part, the finished product. But I don’t love the process at all. And there’s so much to learn about being your own publisher! Fortunately, I’ve had great friends and great resources (like the Christian Indie Authors group on Facebook) to help me out.

Your Writing

Tell us a little bit about what you’re working on currently?
...Right now, I’m working on Hand-Me-Down Princess. It’s the story of Prince Malachi of Mevendia. He’s the spare and his father has insisted he follow the laws still on the books regarding arranged marriages for the royal family. Jessabelle is this mousy, super awkward/shy girl happiest in the background. She’s never met Prince Malachi but she knows the Crown Prince refused to marry her. Twice. There’s a whole bunch of twists and turns sort-of-kind-of planned out but I can’t wait to see what happens!

Why are you writing it?
...Why? I started Crown Prince William’s story about five years ago. It’ll probably be a while before I get back around to it, but I’d written these two other royalty stories and finally decided I couldn’t just keep making new pretend worlds with fictional countries in them, so I gave them a common history and that gave me lots of royal relationships to play with ;). The first book was Good Enough for a Princess. The second one is the (still untitled) sequel to Hand-Me-Down Princess. I needed a way to tie it all together. That’s when book 3 in this series, Prince from her Past, popped into place, followed quickly by the foundations of this book 1.

Do you have a favorite character in this work? If so, why?
...Oh! Prince Malachi! Right now, he’s still totally Prince Charming! I’m sure he’ll have his moments, but /big waffy sigh/ I hope everyone else loves him as much as I do.

What is one take-away from your book that you hope readers identify with?
...Our identity isn’t found in who we marry or what we do or even what our heritage is. Our identity should be found in the King who has adopted all of us into His family. We’re each a “child of the one true King.” (Yes, that’s a Matthew West song ;)) That’s where our identity should be.  
 


Writing

Where do you find inspiration for your story/characters? Are they based on real life or pure imagination or both?
...A little of both. There’s a bit of me in every character. Some characters are based loosely on people I know but usually it’s more of “ooo! I love this quirk!” from person 1 and “Ee! That’s a great idiosyncrasy!” and smash them all together to make someone completely new.

...One character – Travis Harders, mentioned earlier – was named for my favorite shift manager at my favorite Panera. He insisted I name a character after him. I did and finished the first draft about six weeks later. A couple weeks after that… The real Travis was killed in a car accident. Physically, Travis Harders is a lot like the real one. His personality probably matches some, but it’s more a figment of my imagination.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors for writing and/or publishing? 
...Write. Write. Write some more. And read. A lot. And then some more. And not just books about writing, but good books in all genres you enjoy whether you write them or not. Polish. Put it out there in a crit group or on submissions. Then learn from your experience and do it all again.

From Flickr by xiaopobao

You

What is a favorite memory you have of your mother?
...My mom died when I was ten. She was diagnosed with cancer in August. My birthday was in November. She wasn’t working and we were broke. Instead of some big thing, she gave me ten envelopes tied together with pink curling ribbon. Each one said something like “10 chocolate chips” or “10 pennies.” The last one said “1 shopping trip with Mom.” I’m not sure if we ever got to go on that trip. A week later, she was in the hospital with pneumonia and never fully regained her strength. She died in March, three days after her 40th birthday.  
...I’ll be 40 this year…

If you had to choose one type of food, what kind would it be?
...Does chocolate count? If so…that! If no, Italian! Hey – I married one!

April showers bring May flowers – or so they say. Do you have a favorite flower? If so, why is it your favorite? ...Carnations are actually one of my favorites. When it comes to having them around the house, I prefer them because of the smell. For purely aesthetic reasons, probably not, but there ya go ;).

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Thank you so much for being on the blog today Carol! I'm totally with you on the peanut butter and chocolate combo! And I think that's awesome that you started your own publishing company. Isn't it funny that the things we love often have a lot of things we dislike along with them? Love your take-away there too, I think it's easy to get wrapped up in what we're doing and who we are or are with, but ultimate we are the Lord's and that's first in importance! And wow, what a powerful story about the man your character was named after. Amazing that his "legacy" (in a sense) is carried on in your books! And thank you so much for sharing such a sweet memory about your mother. I love having the chance to have different authors on the blog and to hear their stories! Thank you for sharing so willingly :)