Interview with inspirational author Rhana A. Gittens

Welcome, Readers. I’m happy to introduce you to today’s guest, Rhana Gittens. She’s here chatting about her new inspirational, Christian book Perfectly Loved: Knowing Love on God’s Terms. Today is the start of a short mini-tour she is doing with Write Now Literary Virtual Blog Tours.

Bio:

Rhana A. Gittens has a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and Masters of Business Administration from the University of Florida. She has a minor certificate in African-American studies and is an accomplished writing tutor. She was born in Queens, NY, raised in Lauderdale Lakes, FL and currently resides in Atlanta, GA. 

Welcome, Rhana. Please tell us about your current release.

Perfectly Loved is one of those books that forces you to not just read it, but to apply it. It forces you to reflect on your own love story with people and with God and determine where you stand in perfect love. At the end of every chapter there is a personal testimony from people across the US sharing how God’s love transformed them. Each chapter also includes personal questions for the reader to reflect on. When reading this book you can’t help but get closer to God and remind yourself of His love for you. It will encourage you to step out of your fears, go after your purpose and bring others with you along the way.

What inspired you to write this book?

This book was birthed from a struggle. I was feeling broken by love and asking, begging, and pleading for God to help me understand what real love is. He did. I have always kept a journal. So as I was learning more about God’s love, seeing the love He has given me, and appreciating the relationships of love that I have, I wrote it all down. After about two journal entries I immediately knew I was going to write a book and I finally understood the purpose of my story and my life.

What exciting project are you working on next?

I am currently writing a guided journal to help people delve further into their thoughts about themselves, their purpose, their story, and love. After Perfectly Loved was released I received lots of messages of people asking about their own lives, purposes, and how they could share their own stories. The guided journal is practical in helping people receive the revelation of God’s love for them and their purpose on their own and with their own life story as the guide.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I started writing after reading “Go Ask Alice” in the 4^th grade. I loved that the anonymous writer of this book had kept a diary and because of her diary she was able to build a story that she could share. I have kept a journal since I was in the 4^TH grade. I didn’t think I was a writer back then. I just considered myself a girl with a diary. It wasn’t until college that God started really leading me into writing as a purpose, career goal for life. My original major in college was Physiology and Kinesiology. After the first semester, I changed my major to journalism and the rest is history. It’s one of the best decisions I ever made.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I currently work in project management. It’s a fulltime career. I enjoy it, but I enjoy writing so much as well. It is as if writing always finds away to be a part of my life. I tutor in writing part-time and now I am an author that wants to author more books. Sometimes I feel like God is stretching time so that I can get it all done. I write on the weekends and dedicate myself to completing 5 hours of writing a week. It’s difficult and takes lots of discipline because sometimes I want to just go to Sunday brunch. But I am grateful that of this current experience of balancing corporate America with writing. I’m not sure how that may change in the future, but I am excited about the current.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Some of my very best ideas come in the car. I live in Atlanta and spend about 2.5 hours in my car a day. I get a lot of good thinking in my car. I promise my car knows more about me than people do.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a teacher. I played “school” up until the 6^th grade. I had imaginary students and lessons. It was my favorite thing to do when I came home. Ms. Gittens came out right after a bowl of ice cream, and right before Full House came on.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Thank you, Rhana!