New York Times Bestselling Author Kimberla Lawson Roby Discusses Her Latest Book

New York Times Bestselling Author

KIMBERLA LAWSON ROBY

Bestselling Author & Speaker, Kimberla Lawson Roby, has published 28 books which include her faith-based, nonfiction title, THE WOMAN GOD CREATED YOU TO BE: Finding Success Through Faith—Spiritually, Personally, and Professionally, as well as her novels, such as BETTER LATE THAN NEVER, SIN OF A WOMAN, A SINFUL CALLING, BEST FRIENDS FOREVER, THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL, A CHRISTMAS PRAYER, THE PRODIGAL SON and so many more. She has sold nearly 3 million copies of her books.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Mrs. Roby about her latest book, THE WOMAN GOD CREATED YOU TO BE

Tell us about your journey as a writer from writing your first book to now.

Although I have always loved writing (since I was a child), the idea of writing a book was never a lifelong dream of mine. So, it wasn’t until I was thirty years old that I sat down to write my first book. Then, once I completed it, I submitted it to literary agents and eventually to editors at major publishing companies with no success. I was rejected by all of them, but thankfully, my mom and husband encouraged me to not give up, and my husband also suggested I self-publish my first book, which I did. From there, I went on to sign with three different New York publishing houses.

How and when did you know writing was God’s call and purpose for your life?

It was when I sat down to write my first book, and I discovered how completely natural it felt to me. It was enjoyable, and I looked forward to writing every single day. I also knew writing was my purpose when I began hearing from readers who shared how much they could relate to my characters and storylines or how they’d been helped by my books in one way or another.

Most of your books have been fictional, why did you decide to write the non-fiction book, The Woman God Created You to Be.

Writing nonfiction was not something I wanted to do or even thought I could do, so when God placed this particular calling on my heart, I tried to ignore it. To be honest, I was terrified but when it wouldn’t go away, I made the decision to write the final book in my Reverend Curtis Black series, and then write The Woman God Created You to Be.

What is the motivation behind the three parts of your book, The Spiritual You, The Personal You, and the Professional You?

I truly believe that in order to become our best selves—to become the real women God created us to be—we must become the best we can be, not just in one or two areas, but in all areas of our lives

What are 3 reasons why women should never give up?

Women should never give up because:

1) If God has called you to do something, He will give you everything you need to accomplish it.

2) Nothing worth having will come easy, and sometimes you simply just have to work a little harder or more consistently to meet certain goals.

3) Giving up means you’ll never see your dreams come to pass.

In the book, you mention how women are often in competition. Why should women NOT compare themselves to each other?

Because God has gifted each and every one of us with very unique gifts, talents, and abilities, and no one else can do what He has specifically assigned to us individually. So while we should definitely be inspired by and be happy for other women, we should never compare ourselves to them.

In the “Spiritual” section in your book, you said “For every bad, something good comes out of it” can you explain that?

My mom used to tell me this all the time, and I’ve never seen her proven wrong. Even when she became ill and passed away and I believed not one good thing could come from it, it still did, as I became closer to God than I had ever been in my life.

Also, in this book, you said that every woman has a soul mate even if she hasn’t met him yet, explain that?

Sometimes women will meet a man and marry him without ever having prayed for God to bring their true soulmate into their lives and then end up very unhappy. At other times, some women will pass on being with a man who actually might be their soulmate because maybe he doesn’t have a certain educational background or career or earn the kind of salary they’d like him to earn. But no matter what, I do believe everyone has a soulmate—even if they choose to be with someone else or decide to remain single.

What do you want people to gain from reading this book?

My hope is that women will discover how important it is for us to become the best we can be in all areas of our lives, how important it is for us to fully embrace and walk in our purpose, as well as how important it is for us to help serve others in every way we can.

“Believe in God, believe in yourself, believe in whatever it is you are trying to accomplish…believe in that order.