INTERVIEW WITH RONIE KENDIG

An Army brat, Ronie Kendig grew up in the classic military family, with her father often TDY and her mother holding down the proverbial fort. Their family moved often, which left Ronie attending six schools by the time she’d entered fourth grade. Her only respite and “friends” during this time were the characters she created.

It was no surprise when she married a military veteran—her real-life hero—in June 1990. Married more than twenty years, Ronie and her husband, Brian, homeschool their children, the first of whom graduated in 2011. Despite the craziness of life, Ronie finds balance and peace with her faith, family and their Maltese Menace in Northern Virginia.

Ronie has a deep love and passion for people, especially hurting people, which is why she pursued and obtained a B.S. in Psychology from Liberty University. Ronie speaks nationally, volunteers with writer’s organizations, including American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and My Book Therapy, and mentors other writers. You can find out more about Ronie from her website.

INTERVIEW

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m the daughter of an Canadian-American (my dad’s father was born in Vermont, his mother in Canada, and he as well) and an Irish immigrant (my mother immigrated to America at 19 from Dublin, Ireland). I’ve been married for nearly 25 years to the most amazing man I’ve ever known, and we have four children, a Maltese Menace and a retired military working dog. All my life, I wanted to be a secretary (check!), teacher (check!), and a pastry chef (my waistline would say I accomplished that!). Becoming a writer was one of the most beautiful, unexpected, and “riskiest” careers I’ve ever pursued and held. 

What do you do when you are not writing?
When I’m not writing (or homeschooling), I will normally do something like gardening, home decorating (love DIY stuff), or working out at our Tae Kwon Do school. 

How did you choose the genre you write in?

It was a progression of interests, I think. Believe it or not, three of the first ten books I wrote (which shall remain lost to the annals of history, thankyouverymuch) were all historical. I loved the propreity of older times and customs. And while all my books have a thread of romance (I’m a hopeless romantic and proud of it!), I realized that every one of my stories had a military character. But it wasn’t until my life intersected (marginally) the family of a Navy SEAL, so riddled with anger and post-traumatic stress, that it shattered them. Watching that tragic, real-life story unfold set in me a deep conviction to never again pen a military story unless I showed the toll these heroic men and women in uniform deal with everyday. Through that, my entire course for writing was set with military/paramilitary fiction. 

What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?

At the time, the toughest cut me deeply, but I can now recognize that as something said in ignorance. Over the last few years, I had author friends inform me that my writing was “too violent,” that I needed to scale it back. Those words crushed me at the time. But it did not deter me from writing the kind of stories I felt God has called me to write. I now recognnize that those “friends,” though they thought they were doing me a favor, did it in ignroance. Their mission in writing was not the same as mine. One is writing romantic comedies. We should learn, as authors, how brutal this industry is without scolding one author. We should be each other’s champions to reach a lost, hurting, dying world.

If you could go back in time and do something differently in your writing career, what would it be?

Years ago, a situation came up in a small writing group that I was a part of. I was taken back by it, and wasn’t sure what to do or how to respond, so I asked some close friends how I should handle it. I followed their advice—but in the end, it caused a deep wound in another writer, and if I could, I would go back and change that. 

What do you see happening in your career ten years from now?

I hope that ten years from now will see me firmly established in my genres (suspense and speculative). Since I started, I held the dream to write one suspense novel and one speculative novel a year, and God has made a way for that to happen. It is my prayer that I could continue to write to the wounded out there, help them see the hope of Christ. Also, I would hope that I am able to continue to give back to the writing community as a teacher and mentor. 

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.

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