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Rhonda McKnight is the author of several bestselling novels.
Rhonda McKnight is the winner of the 2015 Emma Award for Inspirational Romance of the Year. She loves reading and writing books that touch the heart of women through complex plots and interesting characters in crisis. Themes of faith, forgiveness, and hope are central to her stories. Originally from a small coastal town in New Jersey, Rhonda writes from the comfort of her South Carolina home.
Rhonda’s latest novel Bitter and Sweet will take readers on a journey of redemption and faith, reminding us that love and forgiveness aren’t always easy, but they’re always worth fighting for.
Let’s get to know Rhonda as she talks favorite novels, story inspirations, her writing process and much more!
What are some of your favorite novels?
There are so many. Brothers and Sisters and Your Blue Ain’t Like Mine by BeBe Moore Campbell, Boaz Brown by Michelle Stimpson, Island Queen by Vanessa Riley, The Revisioners by Margaret Wilkerson-Sexton, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines.
When did you know you wanted to become an author?
I wrote my first book at age six, but I became serious about wanting to be published in 2003. I was 37 years old. I had just started graduate school, intending to earn a degree that would help me move up in my profession, but I had this question swirling around in my head – What was my purpose? I remembered that I used to write. After spending some time searching my heart, I realized writing was my true love.
Where do you draw your story ideas from?
I get my ideas from everywhere. Stories my parents have shared, spending time on social media, local news. I homeschooled my son for eight years. History was our favorite subject. When we moved to South Carolina, we started to study South Carolina history, which sparked my desire to set my stories in this state.
What is your writing process like?
It varies, even 27 books into this writer-life, but I usually make a skeleton of an outline. Then I do a deep dive into my characters, write a few chapters, and then refine my outline. I may deviate from the outline, but I need a road map to get where I’m going with a book, otherwise it takes me too long to finish a first draft. Drafting is my least favorite part of writing, so I need to plow through it.
What inspired you to write Bitter and Sweet?
I was inspired by so many things, but mostly my love for the Lowcountry. I enjoy writing books that include comfort food, so I set it in a restaurant. I feature Gullah food because there aren’t enough stories that highlight this unique group of people and their culture.
On a more personal level, the high Black Maternal mortality rate has received media attention over the last couple of years; not nearly enough, but more than in the past. This medical crisis is a part of my family history. I felt like it was time for me to write a story that addressed this issue and the heartbreak it leaves families to grapple with.
Why was it important to include a dual timeline for the story?
The creative choice to include all three women’s voices in this story was challenging one, but I thought readers needed to meet Tabitha as a living, breathing character on the page. I imagine there were many Tabitha’s trying to carve out a living in Charleston during that time. Her story, the stories of ordinary people, need to be captured in history because they have left us with the legacy of resilience, hard work, and faith.
What are you currently reading and what’s on your TBR (to be read) list?
I’m always reading at least two books at a time. I’m currently reading One Summer in Savannah by Terah Shelton Harris and What We Hide by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker. Next up is The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, because someone told me my novel, The Thing About Home, reminded them of this highly acclaimed book. I blushed and purchased a copy.
