Kimberla Lawson Roby
Interviewed by: Lauretta Pierce
A. When I was preparing to write my third novel I told my husband, Will, that I wanted to write something that readers everywhere would be able to relate to. He thought about it for a few minutes and then said, "What about all the issues that are going on at some of the churches here in our city?" So, I immediately began drafting an outline for CASTING THE FIRST STONE.
A. Curtis is a mixture of many pastors I know as well as many pastors I have heard about from family, friends, and my reading audience.
A. Tanya is a mixture of many pastor wives that I have met personally and those that I have spoken with over the years.
A. To a certain extent, because both Tanya and Nicole are very strong, independent women. But I must say that I certainly wouldn't have tolerated Curtis's infidelity for as long as Tanya did. I would have given him an ultimatum much earlier than Tanya did and then if he refused to change his ways, I would have ended the marriage. I also wouldn't have went along with the way he manipulated his congregation for money.
A. Unfortunately, yes. Pastors like Curtis are everywhere and they exist because members of congregations allow them to.
A. Yes, I have met a few women locally and nationally who have experienced both situations.
A. Actually, my seventh novel, THE BEST-KEPT SECRET will be released in February 2005, and I am currently working on my eighth for 2006.
A. It was suggested by a former publicist of mine and I decided to use it because it conicides with
the scripture in the Bible. Curtis was clearly wrong on every account, but so were many of the other
characters in the story who were committing sin after sin and then judging everyone else. I think we
all do that from time to time, but it's definitely not what God expects from us.
That they should follow and praise God and not the man standing in the pulpit on Sunday morning. That we should listen to our church leaders as long as they are preaching God's Word, but at the same time, we must make sure to have our own personal relationships with God. We need to thank and trust him before we do anything else.
Casting The First Stone
June 14, 2004
Q. How did you come about the idea to write "Casting
The First Stone?"
Q. How did you come about Curtis' character?
Q. How did you come about Tanya's character?
Q. Are there any of your personalities in Tanya or Nicole's character?
Q. Have you ever known anybody like Curtis?
Q. Have you ever known anybody in Tanya and/or Nicole's situation?
Q. Are you currently working on another novel?
Q. How did you come about the title?
Q. What message would you like readers to receive from reading "Casting The First Stone?"