
Rhonda McKnight
5/1/2025 | 27m 7sVideo has Closed Captions
Holly Jackson sits with Bitter and Sweet author Rhonda McKnight.
Holly Jackson sits with author Rhonda McKnight to discuss Bitter and Sweet. McKnight's novel is a compelling romance that explores the complexities of love, forgiveness, and personal growth. The story weave's themes of healing, second chances and the power of vulnerability into a heartfelt, page-turning story.
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Books by the River is presented by your local public television station.
Distributed nationally by American Public Television

Rhonda McKnight
5/1/2025 | 27m 7sVideo has Closed Captions
Holly Jackson sits with author Rhonda McKnight to discuss Bitter and Sweet. McKnight's novel is a compelling romance that explores the complexities of love, forgiveness, and personal growth. The story weave's themes of healing, second chances and the power of vulnerability into a heartfelt, page-turning story.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipOne of the greatest beauties of a book, in my opinion, is that there's no passport needed to take you places you want to go or never even knew existed.
Hi, I'm Holly Jackson, the host of Books by the River.
I'm here to navigate the conversation of those who draw the maps for some of the most interesting journeys that are bound in a book.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Major funding for Books by the River is brought to you by the ETV Endowment of South Carolina.
For more than 40 years, the ETV Endowment of South Carolina has been a partner of South Carolina ETV and South Carolina Public Radio.
This program is supported by South Carolina Humanities, a not for profit organization inspiring, engaging, and enriching South Carolinians with programs on literature, history, culture, and heritage.
SC Humanities receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Democracy demands wisdom.
Additional funding for Books by the River is provided by Visit Beaufort, Port Royal and Sea Islands and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at USC Beaufort.
Holly> We have the pleasure of talking to Rhonda McKnight today Rhonda, thanks so much for joining us here in beautiful Beaufort for Books by the River.
Rhonda> Thanks so much for having me.
I'm excited to talk to you today.
Holly> And traveled from just down the road in Manning, South Carolina.
I have to give the small towns a little shout out.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and kind of what brought you to writing books and how many you have and all that stuff.
Rhonda> Well, I am a mom first.
I have two sons, 32 and 18.
I've been writing, I think, since I was a little girl, probably age six.
I remember my I think the writing began as drawings.
My father was, in technical college, and he used to have the he was taking a drafting class, and he had these big sheets of paper.
And so I used to take the ones that were scraps and draw pictures on the back.
And I began to make picture books.
And so my first story was a story about a family of mice that lived under the boardwalk in Asbury Park, where I grew up in New Jersey.
So it began there and continued until through high school.
I wrote for the school paper and just kind of stopped in college, got busy with you know, writing for school and got away from it until my late 20s, when I sort of remembered I was reading a great book and thinking, "You know, I used to write books," and I had gotten away from it and decided that I wanted to, you know, try my hand at writing a novel again.
Holly> You know, I hear so many stories of that, whether it's musicians or writers who started, they took this little break, but it's always kind of tugging at them.
Let's go back to those original days.
Is there a moment, although you started maybe like 5 or 6, was there a time whenever someone said, hey, I think you have a gift or you kind of knew within yourself I might be onto something here?
Rhonda> You know, I really didn't and I think I believed that everyone had stories and charachters and like these voices in their head.
And it wasn't until I was in college that I had a professor I'd written a paper, rushed to get it done.
It was one of those all night things.
And he said to me, he asked me what my major was, and he said, "You know, have you ever thought about writing?"
And I thought, "Well, no, not really."
And he said, "Well, you know, I think you have some talent there.
Like if you did a little more work on this, you could get this published."
And that was the first time I thought, like, "Everyone doesn't write well?"
<laughs> Holly> Yeah, you thought this was just the norm!
Rhonda> -that it was the norm.
And so I consider that and again, just sort of tucked it away, like I said, until I was in my late 20s.
So it was that I think that my 10th grade, English teacher, honors English teacher, - Mrs. Mitchell, I'll never forget her.
I dedicated my first novel to her - always told me that I had a gift with words, and she made me the editor of the high school paper.
And so I knew that I kind of had these little clues that people thought that I could write, but I never really embraced it in any way until I was reading a Terry McMillan novel.
I think it was Terry McMillan.
And I thought, "Wow," waiting to exhale.
And I thought, this is a wonderful story about these beautiful black women, and I could do this, you know?
I think seeing her books kind of gave me a sense that, this was something I could do.
You know, I always say representation really does matter.
Holly> Tell me about your writing style and when that might have taken a shift into writing something different.
Rhonda> You know, I always wanted to write novels.
Even when I was a kid.
What I was writing was books.
Like, I never wrote poetry.
My dad was a poet.
My brother is a poet.
I never wrote short stories.
I actually still struggled to write short.
I always wanted to write books.
And so I started taking some writing workshops after I sort of got that buzz, you know, like, "Oh, maybe I should try."
I took a couple of writing workshops, joined a writer's group, and then joined a critique group and just really studied for years.
But I kept sort of getting to seven chapters and never moving past that.
I had a lot of ideas.
I would pick up and try a new one.
I wasn't finishing anything, and it wasn't until 2003 that I decided, you know, I really need to pick one project, commit to it and finish it.
And so it took me four years, but I finally did.
And that ended up being my first novel, and I sold it that same year.
Holly> Wow.
Okay.
So you get that first one down and then I mean, that was it.
There you go.
Right?
You just keep writing and writing.
Tell me how many you're at now, and kind of your writing process in terms of like a schedule.
Rhonda> So I write full time now which is a beautiful thing to be able to do.
I have, I think I have 27 books I should have counted.
<laughs> Holly> I love that you say, "I think."
You're at that point where you're like <laughs> Rhonda> 27 or 28.
And so, which is really exciting.
I started off writing relationship fiction - my first three novels - and then the imprint that I was published with dissolved.
And so I didn't have a book deal anymore, and I decided to self-publish, and I self-published my first romance.
I wrote 22 of those.
And then during the pandemic, I started thinking about kind of thinking about my legacy as a writer.
And I wanted to write something that I thought was, even though I love romance, and I know romance is the number one selling genre of all books, I wanted to write something that felt like a little more important, something that included my favorite genre, which is history.
But with respect to my schedule, I am not an everyday writer.
I know people say, "Write every day!
You'll be a better writer."
And I believe that that's true.
But my schedule just doesn't permit for me to write every day.
I sort of am one of those people who write when I have a deadline.
I write when it's time to write a book and so I write pretty quickly.
Not as fast today as I was maybe ten years ago, but I sit down, I do a complete outline, and, you know, you've probably heard of "pansters," I am the opposite of a "pantster."
I must have an outline to know where I'm going.
I typically write the first chapter first, the last chapter second, and then figure out what's happening in the middle.
And so I always have to know exactly how my book is going to end, or I'm very miserable in the writing process.
So I'm very much an outliner who gets to know my characters really well, or as well as I can before I start writing.
And then, I write pretty much 10-11 hour days until I finish that project.
Holly> Wow, that is a lot.
But I love connecting dots within the interviews, and I've already done that here, because remember you talked about that college paper and how it was one of those rush things.
You were up all night going so hard at it.
And then that's when the professor really noticed something.
And so then here you are the same way when you write your books, you have to be on that kind of rushed schedule.
I'm kind of like that myself, so I know how this goes.
It's like you love it and hate it all at the same time.
Rhonda> Love and hate it for sure.
Holly> Like, "Why am I like this?"
But no, this is how I have to be.
All right, so tell me about the pandemic and how that shifted all of us in some form or fashion.
I think we all have the story of like, who we were before pandemic and who we are now.
Tell me about your change as a writer and why you kind of went to that realization of, I want to do something that means something more than just, not just, but I mean, it was romance, entertainment.
Why did you decide that you needed to make that shift?
Rhonda> You know, I was gardening, and I was not a pandemic gardener.
I'd been gardening before.
I was sitting in the garden and behind the garden, there are cornfields.
Across the street there's wheat and there's cows, and both of my grandfathers were farmers on both sides.
And I started thinking about the legacy of farmers in South Carolina and specifically the legacy of Black farmers, and how much that was lost during Jim Crow.
And I thought, gosh, I want to write about this, but I didn't know how.
I mean, I was at that time, I had stopped writing in 2018.
I was a full time writer.
I was writing romance that was paying the bills.
But I kept thinking, I want to write something different.
I was editing a lot that year because I do some freelance editing, so I wasn't really writing very much for myself or for my readers.
And so I started thinking about what kind of character would the readers who currently read me, where would they follow me?
And so that was sort of swirling around in my head and in my spirit.
And one day, I was sitting out in the yard and I saw this woman, being left at the altar by her husband at a vow renewal.
And I thought, "That's the kind of character that my current readers would follow me to."
And then I could, set this story on a farm.
I felt like I wanted readers, I wanted to introduce my readers and anyone else that I could to the beauty that I had discovered in South Carolina.
I traveled to South Carolina my whole life during the summers for a week or two as a child, and so that was a very important part of my childhood.
But it was kind of, you come, you're on vacation, you leave.
And so I did not have a real appreciation for the beauty and the history, the culture.
So many things that I've learned about South Carolina as a child until I moved here.
And so I wanted to write about that.
And I think that the pandemic really helped me to feel like it was okay to shift, and it was time to do something that felt more important to me.
Holly> That was still quite a risk.
I mean, you already had this established group.
Were you nervous that they might not follow, but still you were willing to go there?
Rhonda> Absolutely.
I was very nervous.
You know, books that are independently published sometimes can be less expensive.
You know, people are downloading from their Kindles and things like that.
And so, traditionally published books are more expensive.
And so I was very concerned that people would not follow me, but I decided I had to trust the story.
I had to, I knew it would find readers, and hopefully it would be some of the readers who currently read me, and then there would be new readers and that would be okay.
And I just needed to trust that where I wanted to go was okay, and I couldn't allow myself to feel trapped in writing something that I didn't want to write anymore.
Holly> Now you had these roots in South Carolina, so you had family you would visit, but you weren't from here.
Tell me about that research process and the discovery process.
What was that like for you?
Rhonda> It was enjoyable.
It was a lot of fun.
I did a lot of driving around.
I drove to Georgetown, where the novel is actually set, spent time there, just kind of riding the streets, looking at things, getting a sense of things, feeling like sort of the energy of the area.
And I did a lot of research at the Avery Research Center, which is a part of the University of College of Charleston, which is an amazing repository of information.
The staff is so helpful.
There was just so much there.
I really, really enjoyed, I love research, I think I love research more than I like writing, like I don't write every day, but I would research every day.
And so I had to sort of <laughs> turn the research off because I get so, caught up in it that I fall in love with learning about history and about other people's stories.
Holly> I'm glad to hear that you, you went places because I know it's so easy now with, you know, all the technology we have, where you could just sit in your living room and do all this research.
Tell me what it's like to actually go to these places, touch, feel, see, and the difference that makes and how it translates into your writing.
Rhonda> I think that for me, it because I do do a lot of research online, but I notice the difference between when I've researched some place online and then I go visit, I just get a different sense.
I am one of those writers who has to immerse herself in the characters and the stories.
I always say I'm always writing.
I don't care if I'm eating, washing dishes, like, they're marinating around in my spirit.
And so when I go to those locations, it's the same thing.
I feel like, okay, I'm a part of this, and sometimes things look different than they do on the internet also.
And then the beautiful thing is, I meet people and I ask questions because I've never met a stranger.
I'm just like my mother.
And so, one example is I visited the Gullah Museum just to, kind of take pictures, look at some of the history there, and ended up spending four hours there talking to the man who owns the museum, and another man who gave me quite a bit of history, of South Carolina's educational system in Georgetown, which I needed for my book.
And so I think that boots on the ground gets you a lot more.
And I know that sometimes people can't because of depending on where they're writing.
But for me, I'm right here in South Carolina, it's a 90 minute drive.
I spend a lot of time driving the streets and just sort of feeling, trying to feel what my characters would feel if they were here.
Holly> I keep saying in my head, "marinating in the spirit," because I thought that was beautiful.
So I really like how you said that.
All right.
So we talked a little bit earlier about the the risk taking of those few of those, readers.
Do they follow you and how did they accept it?
Rhonda> You know, quite a many of them did.
You know, I check out my, my analytics and my newsletter Holly> Isn't that fun?
Rhonda> And so I think that quite a many of them did.
And so some of the reviews that they have written for me are beautiful.
And it's so funny because so many times they say, oh, you know, "I wasn't sure what you were doing.
I'm not I really don't like reading, you know, history, I like romance or I like a contemporary story."
And they were always so pleased, like, oh my gosh, I think we even had a reader say to me, she said, "I think that we pigeonholed you.
We limited you, and Now you're writing these beautiful, much richer stories."
And like, she owned it <laughs> Holly> I know!
Whenever you said, the reader said, "We pidgeonholed you."
I loved that they thought they were like part of your process and that they were holding you back, and then they let you, you know, taking ownership of it.
That's really cool.
Rhonda> And I think that they were they felt that way because I spent a lot of time on social media talking to my readers.
I do a lot of lives and chats and things and share a lot.
And so they kind of knew, "Oh, I'm thinking about doing this different thing, I don't know, I hope you guys will like it."
And so they knew that I had that anxiety.
And so they were able to, you know, then respond.
Holly> Yeah, that's really neat that you make them part of the process.
So I'm sure that's part of what you do with them.
And that's another thing with the pandemic, the shift and seeing so many authors go on and, go online and just kind of bring the readers in.
I love the change that that had on books and authors and readers.
Tell me about that process for you and what's it like to have that connection?
Rhonda> I love it because I am very much sort of an extrovert.
I think that a lot of my writing peers are not.
They're introverts.
And so I sort of feed off people.
So I enjoy talking to people.
I enjoy, building those relationships with my readers and really hearing what they think and what they what they like and what they don't like.
And I'm really open to hearing what they like and what they don't like.
And I don't take it personally.
I think that when an author puts a book in the world, it becomes the world's book.
It becomes the readers experience.
So no matter what, it's always the story.
The story belongs to them now.
Once I finish, once it's published, it belongs to them.
So I've had people say to me, "Well, did this happen?"
Or, "Did this really happen, because I thought it was this way?"
And "Is that what your intention was?"
I said my intention was whatever it was that you experienced, you know, whatever you believe to be true about this relationship in the book is what's true.
Holly> Right!
Okay.
So I've been so captivated by you as an author, a writer.
I've failed to ask you about your book.
Rhonda> <laughs> Holly> So here we are, Bitter and Sweet, We don't want to leave that part out.
Tell us about Bitter and Sweet, and kind of set the stage for it.
Rhonda> Bitter and Sweet - I'm so excited about this book.
I think it's probably the best book that I've written.
Maybe, I don't know, maybe all others feel like that.
About your current book, but it's the story of estranged sisters who are at a crossroad, who find the solutions to the problems they have in their lives and 100 year old letters from their great-great-grandmother.
The novel is written in dual timelines.
So there's a contemporary story with the sisters, and then there's a historical story.
About 50% of the book is written in the past, during the years of 1915 and 1938, in Charleston, South Carolina, where their great great grandmother is trying to build her own life, when she's left home wrong and has to figure out how to survive when the only thing she knows how to do is cook.
And so there are letters that she has written during this time that the sisters begin to read, and they find that a lot of the issues and problems they have in the present mirror the problems that their great-great- grandmother had in the past.
Holly> All right.
And family dynamics can be complicated and joyful and sad.
And so tell us, what kinds of emotions will this book evoke?
Rhonda> Bitter and Sweet is, one... it will evoke the bitter and the sweet.
<laughs> There are lots of moments where there's a lot of grandma wisdom that I think bring warmth to the story.
There are some romantic elements because I continue to bring romance into my books a little, and so there are sweet moments with some of the male characters.
There's some humor, there's lots of food.
So there are a lot of places where there's comfort, but there's also some difficult places.
The relationship between these two sisters is pretty bad, like they are, they have none at all.
And in particular, one - they're both struggling with pain.
It's largely a novel about grief, people having to overcome grief in different ways.
Not just the sisters, but even their great-great-grandmother.
And so there is a mental health rep in the book.
There's actual therapy on the page, which I'm really proud of, how those scenes came out.
I think sometimes in the black community, people can be skittish about therapy.
And then sometimes in Christian communities, people can be like, "Oh, well, we want Jesus to work it out, not a therapist."
And so it was risky in that respect, but it has been loved by readers.
And so I think that people feel - people have communicated to me that they feel a lot of the warm, loving feelings that they usually get from my books, but also they're able to deeply reflect on their own lives and kind of look at places where maybe they're not as forgiving, or maybe they're hard on themselves.
Maybe they feel trapped in shame.
And then I get to cheer on resilience because we all love the story of a strong woman.
Holly> Absolutely.
It's clear that family is very important to you.
I mean, you came back to your roots.
Your father's here in the studio, which is really special to have.
You've mentioned your sons.
Tell me about your first readers.
Who were your first readers and what did they mean to you?
And do you take their advice?
Tell me about that.
My first readers were the women in my critique group who I met in 2003 and continue to be my friends.
Several of them went on to be published too.
One of them is the first person who reads anything that I write.
I have trusted her for I guess, you know, 15 years.
And so she is - so, absolutely.
If she says it's good, I kind of think it's good?
I mean, I really am one of those writers who, no matter what my editor says, no matter what my critique partner says or other people, until the reviews start coming in from readers, it's never good until readers say it's good.
But I have a great support system.
I believe in networking with other authors.
I believe in, like, building those relationships because being an author can be lonely, very solitary, and so there are times when you're down and maybe your author friend is up, they have great news, or they're excited about something, and we sort of, keep each other's feet to the fire.
I always say, our hands on the keyboard.
Holly> I want to go back to one thing you mentioned, and that was the mental health and the connection of, you know, as having the Christian faith, a lot of times that's ignored - and you also mentioned the Black community.
What has been the response from that?
And were you nervous about going there?
And did you get any backlash?
Rhonda> I was nervous.
Once I realized that I was supported at my publishing house, then I was no longer because I was hoping they were going to say, "Oh, we don't want so much of this in here," but they were wonderful.
They wanted me to tell the story I wanted to tell.
And so then I was a little nervous, about readers, I think probably more Christian readers than my own Black community.
But people have said they never thought of that therapy, that that's how it would look.
They thought therapists analyzed you, told you what was wrong with you.
Their impressions of what therapy could be changed based on the story.
And I've had many, many people DM me on social media and say that they're thinking about therapy.
They know that they need to forgive someone.
They know that they are Mariah.
They see themselves in the characters, and I love that.
I've had a lot of that.
Holly> Kind of affirmation that you made the right choice?
Rhonda> It was absolutely the right choice.
And I felt that it was before the book came out.
But then it was just like, well, we'll see, we'll see.
So, now I see.
Holly> Love it.
Alright.
That does it for this show.
It goes by so fast - Rhonda> It does!
Holly> especially when we have such an interesting conversation So I really appreciate it.
It's been a joy to talk to you.
So thank you for coming here for Books by the River.
And thank you all for joining us here.
We know you have a choice of where you land, and so the fact that you're here with us really means a lot.
We'll see you right here next time on Books by the River.
Rhonda> So I'm going to open up and read a little from the prologue of the book.
And this is the voice of Grandma Gail Cooper-Holland the sun had been swallowed by the dark of dust by the time I parked behind the restaurant.
I reached for my purse and stepped from the car.
The keys jangled from my free hand as I walked to the back door.
Lingering citrus from the oil cleanser I'd used on the floor rose to my nostrils at the opening of the door.
I was never here alone.
I never considered I'd have to be here alone.
Three weeks ago, the doctor had let my husband's condition slip from his mouth as easily as raw oysters slipped from the shell.
"Your husband has had a massive stroke.
He will need full time care.
A skilled nursing facility is your best option."
And then Odell's words, "Gail, keep on a promise."
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Major funding for Books by the River is brought to you by the ETV Endowment of South Carolina.
For more than 40 years, the ETV Endowment of South Carolina has been a partner of South Carolina ETV, and South Carolina Public Radio.
This program is supported by South Carolina Humanities, a not for profit organization inspiring, engaging, and enriching South Carolinians with programs on literature, history, culture, and heritage.
SC Humanities receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Democracy demands wisdom.
Additional funding for Books by the River is provided by Visit Beaufort, Port Royal and Sea Islands and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at USC Beaufort.
♪ ♪
Support for PBS provided by:
Books by the River is presented by your local public television station.
Distributed nationally by American Public Television