Meet and Greet Monday: Ronie Kendig

Ronie Kendig grew up an Army brat, married a veteran, and now has four children, a Golden Retriever, and a Maltese Menace. She has a BS in Psychology, speaks to various groups, volunteers with the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and mentors new writers. Her novels include Dead Reckoning, a spy thriller, and Nightshade, Discarded Heroes Book#1, and Digitalis, Discarded Heroes #2, (January 2011, Barbour Publishing). Ronie can be found at www.roniekendig.com or www.discardedheroes.com

BRC: How would you describe your book?


NIGHTSHADE is the story of a former Navy SEAL who is fighting a new battle—the home front. Filled with action and adventure, the book also touches on heart-rending subjects like PTSD in our soldiers/sailors, airmen, etc., divorce, terrorism, and is for the most part, an accurate portrayal of what our heroes go through. Howeer, it’s laced with faith and God’s mercy.

BRC: What message do you hope it conveys?

Hope. The whole mission of NIGHTSHADE is to open dialogue for our heroes, so they know they aren’t alone. But also to make others aware that our heroes need our support.

BRC: What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

Feeling passionate about the story, not only because I absolutely love writing, but because I strongly believe we need to rally behind our troops, support them abroad and at home.

BRC: What did you dislike most about writing this book?

The volatility of the character. I tend to feel what my characters feel as I write, so by the end of many scenes in Max’s POV, I was completely drained emotionally—and physically. Its also very hard doing research about PTSD and our heroes/vets, and reading stories of those who lost hope and committed suicide. It’s absolutely heartbreaking.

BRC: What inspired you to become a writer?

I’ve always loved writing and making up stories, but it wasn’t till my husband nudged me to get published that I braved a world filled with rejections to attempt to get published.

BRC: Tell us about your writing process.

I think my process is rather chaotic for some people. LOL It’s more a process of elimination. Here’s what I mean: Most of my stories start with a “what if” question. If he “what if” hooks me enough, I’ll write it down. From there, if it still grabs my attention a while later, I’ll do light research to see if FACT will support the idea. If it does, then I do a very skimpy story idea (for example: X finds out about something and then that leads to this, which erupts in everyone’s face because of X’s insatiable quest for the truth).

If I get to that point, I know I’m probably onto something. And typically at this point, I have a “first scene” that flickering through my mind. So, I’ll try to write it. If I can feel the characters, if I see the next chapter, then I keep going. After 3-5 chapters, I’ll stop and really flesh out the character using archetypes, personality profiles, etc.

Then, I’ll draft up a one-page synopsis that provides me enough of a skeleton story to proceed, but not too much to end up tying my hands creatively (I’m more a seat-of-the-pants writer than a plotter).

BRC: What are you working on now?

Right now, there are several irons in the fire—I am finishing up Discarded Heroes #3, Wolfsbane, writing two new series proposals to send to my agent, and fiddling around with a supernatural thriller that might—maybe, possibly—find its way to my agent some day. :-D

BRC: What books do you enjoy reading?

Some of my favorite authors include: Jim Rubart, Robert Liparulo, Vince Flynn, Stephen Lawhead, Kathy Tyers, TL Higley, Lisa Bergren, Ted Dekker, Bob Hamer, Wm. Boykin, Chuck Holton, Oliver North, J. Mark Bertrand. . .I know I’m missing people. LOL

BRC: Where can readers buy your book?

Just about anywhere. Christianbook.com, Amazon, B&N, Lifeway, Mardel. . .

BRC: Where can readers find you online?

My main website: http://www.roniekendig.com/

The Discarded Heroes website: www.discardedheroes.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ronie.kendig

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/roniekendig