Ronie Kendig and Free Books!

Faced with an unfathomable choice—save his team or a woman and three children—Hawk is in the fight of his life!

Today we're revisiting with novelist Ronie Kendig, author of Hawk (Barbour/Shiloh Run Press, November 2014).

Ronie Kendig is an award-winning, bestselling author who grew up an Army brat. She married a veteran, and together their lives are never dull with four children and two dogs--a Maltese Menace named Helo and a retired military working dog, Vvolt N629. Ronie's degree in psychology has helped her pen novels of intense, raw characters.

Since launching onto the publishing scene in 2010, Ronie and her books have hit the CBA Best Seller lists and garnered awards and critical acclaim, including the prestigious Christy Award, the Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award, the HOLT Medallion Award and others.

Please tell us three random things we might not know about you.

-- I love lattes but do not like plain coffee.

-- With my family, I am learning Taekwondo; we’re halfway through to our plain black belt.

-- I love lavender (not the color, the plant).

Please tell us a bit more about the plot of Hawk.

Raptor’s communications expert, Staff Sergeant Brian “Hawk” Bledsoe is struggling with his inner demons, leaving him on the verge of an “other than honorable” discharge. Plagued with corrupted intel, Raptor team continues to track down the terrorist playing chess with their lives.

Afghan pilot Fekiria Haidary is devastated when a systems glitch on her aircraft forces a weapons launch on a safe target.

And when the deadly bombing separates Brian from the team, he must make an impossible choice: save his brothers-in-arms, or save the woman and children depending on him to survive a brutal snowstorm.

What is it about Hawk that will make your readers care about him?

To me, the most relatable thing about Brian “Hawk” Bledsoe is his fierce determination to be loyal and keep his word. For Hawk, if he says he’s going to do something, he does it. No matter what. That gets him into trouble in the story, but he won’t break his word. . .and admittedly, he believes that character trait makes him someone that others should respect. That and his position on Raptor’s elite black ops team.

If you were the casting director for the film version of your novel, who would play your lead roles?

I think this is one of the first time I’ve never had an actor’s picture for Hawk. Perhaps someone who looks like Ryan McPartlin




or Eric Winter might be good fits for Brian “Hawk” Bledsoe, but McPartlin does seem to be a little too “pretty boy” for Hawk.



How much prep work do you usually do before you actually start writing your books?

Over the years, this changes and it also changes depending on the book I’m writing. Sometimes, I’ll get a flash of a scene or several scenes, and I’ll get them written before going back and filling in the backstory and character information. The interesting thing for Hawk is that these characters weren’t technically supposed to have their own series, so there wasn’t a lot of background on them until I decided to take three of them and give them their own books. That’s how this series fleshed out.

On my newest proposal, I did full backstories on every character, no matter how minor, in the series. That’s the first time I’ve done that, so we’ll see how that works out. Typically, I prefer the beauty of discovery—allowing the character to introduce themselves to me because there have been times I thought a character would be one way, but when they enter the story and step into that scene, I realize I had it all wrong.

What is the last novel you read that you would recommend?

Tosca Lee’s The Legend of Sheba was a really amazing read and made me think through my perceptions of the characters the Bible mentions but doesn’t completely spell out. Fascinating and wonderful read!

I haven't read that one yet, but Tosca is such a poetic writer.  I love her style. 

What are you working on now?

I’m currently working on the proposal I mentioned earlier for a new series, but I’m also working on the first fantasy novel of mine that will see publication. Embers is the first book in the Abiassa’s Fire trilogy and will release next September through Enclave Publishing.

How exciting to enter a different genre! All the best with that, Ronie!

Where else can readers find you online?

I can be found at www.roniekendig.com, on Facebook, Twitter (@roniekendig), Goodreads, and Pinterest!

The book can be purchased in fine book stores and online via the following buttons:




CBD.com


Finally, what question would you like to ask my readers?

In Hawk, Brian gets trapped on a mountain in a fierce snowstorm and must put some survival skills to use. This reminds me of survivalists and those preparing for a “Zombie Apocalypse.” Are you a survivalist? Or have you had to use survival skills to survive an extreme situation?

Ha! I'm eager to see if my readers are as wimpy as I am. I'm a big Amazing Race fan, and I often watch the show thinking about how horribly I would deal with the various frightening or challenging requirements. 

Thanks, Ronnie, for visiting with us and telling us about your novel. Readers, Ronnie has offered to give a signed copy of her book to the winner of our drawing on Thursday, November 13. To enter, leave a comment below in answer to Ronnie's question, above. "Please enter me" won't get you entered. Leave your email address, in case you win, like so: trish[at]trishperry[dot]com.

Be sure to check out my interviews with Kimberly Rose Johnson and Sherry Kyle, below. Leave an appropriate comment at the bottom of each post to enter the drawing for a free copy of the book.

Also, I'd love it if you'd connect with me on Facebook. Just click on my name at the right of today's post.

Annoying legal disclaimer: drawings void where prohibited; open only to U.S. residents; the odds of winning depend upon the number of participants. See full disclaimer HERE.