Nationality United States Name Kendra Norman-Bellamy Ethnicity African American Role Writer | Period 2002-present Spouse Jonathan Bellamy Children 3 | |
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Born December 17, 1966 (age 57)
West Palm Beach, Florida ( 1966-12-17 ) Alma mater Valdosta Technical College Genre Christian fiction; Christian nonfiction Education Wiregrass Georgia Technical College Books In Greene Pastures (Shelton, A love so strong, More Than Grace, Crossing Jhordan's river, For Love and Grace | ||
Part 3 interview with kendra norman bellamy
Kendra Norman (born December 17, 1966) is an African-American writer of Christian fiction and non-fiction Christian literature. Her novels are known and widely applauded for their positive male lead characters and their combined romantic and suspenseful story lines.
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Biography
Kendra Norman is a native of West Palm Beach, Florida, but spent most of her formative years in southern Georgia. She graduated from Brooks County High School in Quitman, Georgia.
Kendra and her husband, Michael Holmes, share a blended family of two daughters and one son. Her first husband, Jimmy (whose last name was also Holmes - no relation to Michael) died. The couple married at St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church in Valdosta, GA when Kendra was 21 and Jimmy was 20. Shortly after their daughter Crystal was born, Jimmy was diagnosed with AIDS, possibly as the result of a blood transfusion. He died on October 5, 1995, a few days before their 7th wedding anniversary, and in her grief, Kendra began to write.
She crafted her first piece of poetry as an elementary school student, but Kendra did not grow to recognize her gift as a creative writer until 1999 when she began keeping a journal during the lingering heartache of the death of her husband. Shortly thereafter, she wrote her first fictional manuscript, For Love & Grace, published in 2002. She worked days and in the evenings she went to college at Valdosta Technical College (Valdosta, Georgia), where she majored in Information Office Technology and was inducted into the National Vocational Technical Honor Society. She was given a computer as a college graduation gift. Her life took many twists and turns during the years following Jimmy's death. Most of her true life experience is captured in two of her nonfiction published works, I Shall Not Die and The Path From Pain to Purpose, both of which are highly acclaimed books. Kendra eventually found true love again, and she and her current husband, Michael married in 2014.
She has appeared in a number of televised programs, including a featured appearance on BET's Lift Every Voice, where she was interviewed by the show's creator and former host, Gerard Henry.
Kendra is an ordained minister and a member of the Iota Phi Lambda Sorority.
Previously writing under the name of Kendra Norman-Bellamy, she began officially writing under the name of Kendra Norman in 2013.
Career
In addition to her own writing, Kendra is the founder and president of Royalty Publications (formerly KNB Publications), an independent self-publishing house that produces the works of up-and-coming writers of Christian-based fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. She is also the founder and organizer of Cruisin' For Christ, an ongoing Caribbean cruise that celebrates Christian artists and artistries, and the visionary of The I.S.L.A.N.D. Movement, a motivational ministry whose name is an acronym for "I Shall Live And Not Die."
She self-published her debut novel, For Love & Grace 2002. The book was re-released in 2004 through BET Books.
Kendra gained national bestseller status when her third release, Crossing Jhordan's River (Moody Publishers/May 2005), peaked at #1 on Essence magazine's best sellers list for paperback fiction.
The majority of her works have been produced through three large book publishers: Moody Publishers (Lift Every Voice imprint), Kimani Press (New Spirit imprint), and Urban Books (Urban Christian imprint).