Kimberla Lawson Roby | |
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Born | Kimberla Marie Lawson May 3, 1965 Rockford, Illinois, U.S. |
Occupation |
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Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Auburn Senior High School Rock Valley College Cardinal Stritch University |
Notable awards | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction (2013) |
Spouse |
Will M. Roby Jr. (m. 1990) |
Parents | Lucius "L.B." Lawson Arletha Tennin Stapleton |
Kimberla Lawson Roby (born May 3, 1965, in Rockford, Illinois) is an American author and speaker. She is best known for her "Reverend Curtis Black" series,[1] and for her depiction of real-life social issues in a fictional format. It was only after the urging of readers that her sixth novel and second title in the series was written.[citation needed] This title, Too Much of a Good Thing, became her first New York Times bestselling novel.[2][3][4]
She was born Kimberla Marie Lawson to Lucius "L.B." Lawson and Arletha Tennin Stapleton. In 1982, Roby graduated a year early as a junior from Auburn Senior High School's Academy Program in Rockford, Illinois. In 1987, she received an Associate Degree in Business from Rock Valley College in Rockford, Illinois. In 1993, she received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, WI.
Roby held various jobs in Rockford, both in the corporate world and in city and state government, including as a financial analyst for the City of Rockford.[5] At the age of 30, she decided to write her first novel, Behind Closed Doors, which took her seven months to complete. She then attempted to find a literary agent and publisher.
In June 1996, with money her husband borrowed from his 401K account and a small loan from their credit union, she founded her company, Lenox Press and published Behind Closed Doors.[6] It was sold first at independent African-American Bookstores nationwide and ultimately at major chain bookstores. Within her first two months of official sales, a literary agent agreed to represent her, and her second book was sold to Kensington Publishing in New York. Her first was then picked up by Black Classic Press in Baltimore, MD.[7]
In 1998, Roby signed with a new literary agent, Elaine Koster of the Elaine Koster Literary Agency,[8] who represented Roby until Elaine's death in August 2010. Roby has also published books with HarperCollins Publishers (William Morrow and Avon Imprints), and she is currently published with Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group.[citation needed][9]
Roby's last book in her "Reverend Curtis Black" series, entitled Better Late Than Never, was published in July 2018.[10]
Roby resides in Illinois with her husband, Will M. Roby Jr., whom she married in September 1990.