Meet Kimberla Lawson Roby | New York Times Bestselling Author & Speaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kimberla Lawson Roby and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kimberla, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I was born and raised in Rockford, Illinois, and still reside in the area. I was also raised in a Christian home where I was taught to love and honor God and to treat others the way I wanted to be treated. Additionally, I was raised by parents, who not only worked very hard in the auto/factory industry so that my brothers and me would have everything we needed, but they also taught us why it was important to work hard and be able to take care of ourselves. So, all of the above certainly had a wonderful impact as it relates to who I am today.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As an author of 29 published books, I must say, that in the beginning, it was pretty difficult. Because while, in 1995, I sat down and wrote my first book, Behind Closed Doors, and began submitting it to literary agents and ultimately to publishing houses in New York, I was rejected by every single one of them. And, of course, this was when I became completely discouraged, and I even made the decision to give up. But then, my mom insisted that I should keep trying and that I shouldn’t give up, and my husband suggested that I start my own company so I could publish the book myself. At the time, though, I wasn’t sure this was a very good idea, what with my not believing in myself or my book in the same wonderful way that my husband and mom did. However, after reading books on the subject and doing some additional research on starting a business and on promoting books, I decided to move forward with starting my company, Lenox Press. My husband borrowed money from his 401K account, and long story short, I ended up selling just over 10,000 copies within the first six months it was on sale, and within the first three months, I signed with a literary agent, she sold my second book that I hadn’t started writing yet to a New York publisher, and she also sold my first book to Black Classic Press in Baltimore, MD. From there I went on to sign with two other publishing houses, and today I have sold more than 3 million copies of my books. Additionally, in January 2020, I decided to self-publish my first nonfiction book, which is entitled The Woman God Created You to Be: Finding Success Through Faith—Spiritually, Personally, and Professionally, and I created a companion podcast for it of the same name. Then, late last year (in 2021), I founded my company, Successful Women of Faith, LLC, which focuses on my purpose of helping women become all whom God has created them to be.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Rockford, Illinois is more of a smaller, homey, laidback sort of town—which is what my husband and I love most about it—but some of the restaurants I would absolutely take my best friend to for an evening out are Greenfire, Francesco’s, and Josef’s Steakhouse & Oyster Bar and then to Rick’s Ribs, Chuc-A-Luc’s Fishmarket & Grill, Wammy’s Kitchen, Smokehouse Barbeque, Lino’s, Capri, and Maciano’s for lunch or early dinner or for carryout.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate this shoutout to my dear husband, Will M. Roby, Jr., for telling me to start my own business and for borrowing money from his 401K account so I could self-publish my first book (which was right after I was rejected by every literary agent and publishing company that I submitted my manuscript to) and to my dear mom, Arletha Tennin Stapleton, who told me, matter-of-factly, that I shouldn’t give up on trying to get my work published.

Website: https://www.kimroby.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimberlalawsonroby

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlalawsonroby/

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/KimberlalRoby

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimberlalawsonroby

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuarASxMe7Yqlic9mZlGpag

Image Credits
Brian Adams, Trenod Vines, Antwon George, and Sidney Malone