A literary journalist and publicist since 2003, Dee Stewart's writings have appeared in Precious Times, Romantic Times, Spirit Led Woman Magazines and on The Master's Artist Blog. She is also the owner of DeeGospel PR (www.deegospelpr.com,) Christian entertainment PR boutique located in Atlanta, GA. Visit her Christian Fiction Blog, which turned 6 years old in July at http://christianfiction.blogspot.com. Her debut novel "A Good Excuse to Be Bad (Kensington/Dafina) releases Summer 2011. Talk to her in real-time on Twitter at @deegospel.

Love is on the bookshelves in our favorite Christian bookstores; however, there is one author you may miss in LifeWay, Parable, or your local Family bookstore: best-selling Christian fiction author Rhonda McKnight. She writes for Urban Christian, an imprint of Urban Books, one of a growing number of Christian imprints owned by secular publishers.

Rhonda stopped by Christian Fiction Online Magazine to talk about her upcoming women’s fiction/romance hybrid What Kind of Fool and why love is sometimes hard to bloom.

Rhonda McKnight owns Legacy Editing, a freelance editing service for fiction writers, and Urban Christian Fiction Today (www.urbanchristianfictiontoday.com ), a popular Internet site that highlights African-American Christian fiction. She’s also the vice president of the Faith Based Fiction Writers of Atlanta. Originally from a small coastal town in New Jersey, her home has been Atlanta, Georgia, for almost twelve years.

Describe What Kind of Fool in less than fourteen words.

Love, betrayal, heartache, and tough decisions complicate the intricately tied relationships of two couples.

Why did you decide to write a sequel to An Inconvenient Friend?

An Inconvenient Friend ended with a Christian couple’s marriage torn asunder by what I describe as a human tornado. I didn’t want it to end that way for the characters and I also felt God’s call to tell a story about a couple dealing with the aftermath of infidelity. In today’s culture, infidelity is often considered a deal breaker for the marriage, even between Christian couples. I don’t believe there should be any deal breakers in God. I’m not saying every couple can survive it, but if it happens, the couple should try.

Why is What Kind of Fool a great novel to read around Valentine’s Day?

It has lots of romance. The book cover is telling.

What is the spiritual takeaway from the novel?

Love covers a multitude of faults.

Why is Greg and Angelina’s story so compelling?

Angelina and Greg have endured the worse kind of heartache, the loss of their child. They have some serious problems, but we want them to work it out. Readers love Angelina. They want the marriage restored because Angelina deserves her happy ending. We’ll see if she gets it.

Now that you’ve published your third novel, what do you know now that you wished you knew when you wrote your first novel?

Most writers have an answer for this question, but I really don’t. I’ve been apart of a very large circle of published authors for years. I also have an amazing mentor who told me it all: the good, the bad and the ugly, so I was prepared. I’ve had no surprises.

Why do you think your fans care about Samaria Jacobs? Why should we care?

Fans love to hate Samaria. Readers recognize that she had a tough childhood, so they make allowances for that. They want to see her overcome her past and become a good person. I think people should care about her, because don’t we all want the lost sheep and coin to be found? Samaria is finding herself, one chapter at a time.

Why do readers relate to Angelina?

She’s a good Christian. One of her gifts is that she’s able to love people, even her enemies, the way Christ wants us to love. I admire that. I think we all do because, although we know God instructs us to love those who spitefully use us, it’s not easy. Angelina sets a good example.

Is this the last we will see of Greg, Angelina, and Samaria?

Angelina and Greg are done, but I’m not sure about Samaria, so I’ve been pecking away at a sequel. I don’t think it’ll be my next book, but if the character continues to talk to me, she’ll get her story told.

What’s next for you?

I’m working on an exciting new project that highlights a woman’s issue that is near and dear to my heart. It’s too early to talk about. I haven’t even submitted the proposal to my editor for approval, so I’ll keep it under wraps for now