My parents claimed I memorized the Mother Goose book by age two. Not that I was reading it, mind you. Mom read to me; Dad did too, but as a teacher/preacher he was a constant reader. I come from a line of educators on Dad’s side, while Mom became a nurse. While researching for my memoir about Mom, orphaned young in Appalachia, I learned my grandparents were educated. My grandmother, Rushia, even helped teach at the local one-room school.

Rushia was a voracious reader who went nowhere without a book. She could stir laundry in a boiling kettle and read, or walk through the woods with a lantern in one hand while reading a book in the other. Now, that’s a dedicated reader! A local library bookmobile started around 1930, but I’m fairly sure her books came from the famous Book Women–and no joke—Rushia lived on Troublesome Creek.

It’s no shock I became a reader. Starting with the Bobbsey Twins, through Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew, mysteries became my thing. At age twelve, my first job as a public library page opened an entire world. We could read ANY new release before it put out on the shelves. It had to be fast though, so I became a one-book-overnight reader.

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I discovered writers/genres such as Georgette Heyer, Grace Livingston Hill (my first “Christian” romance), Phyllis Whitney, and Mary Stewart. To this day, I credit Whitney’s “The Secret of the Samurai Sword” for firing my desire to be an author. During high school, Dickens and Austen became my favorite classic writers. My AP English teacher asked what I wanted to become—and I said either a doctor or an author. Her reply has so far held true: “Go to med school, you’ll never make any money as a writer!”

It didn’t quench my desire, though. After James Herriott published “All Creatures Great and Small,” I realized even doctors could write, too. I sent him a copy to sign (not knowing how much it might mean for a U.S. medical student to tell him she learned more physiology from his fabulous book than her famous physiology professor). While organizing recently, I came across the signed book, having forgotten I’d done that.

It’s now displayed in a prominent location.

My Number One formative book has always the Bible, starting with reading the cover off my kids’ Bible Story book. I admire those like my husband who can tell you nearly exactly where any New Testament verse is. Me?

I know John 3:16, but mostly this newfangled thing called an internet search is my bestie.

Meet Ronda Wells

Physician, award-winning author, lifelong Hoosier, and preacher’s kid, Dr. Ronda Wells is a wife, mom, and grandma who puts faith and family first. She writes “Heartfelt Stories from the Heartland” and is a Guideposts contributor. The Christmas Cherub, her award-winning debut novella, is a WW2 historical romance that focuses on hope, loyalty, and patience. Ronda’s devotionals appear on Arise Daily and Crossmap. 

Her next book, Harvest of Hope, a contemporary Western inspirational romance, is set for release in July, 2026. The second novella in the Christmas Cherub series, Roamin’ Holiday, about a missing princess and her bodyguard set in 1950 Indianapolis, will release in October.

Connect with her @rondawellsbooks on X, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Pinterest, Linked In, or YouTube @novelmalpractice. When she finds the time, her interests include genealogy and family history, scrapbooking, sewing, and traveling cross-country with her husband in their small motorhome. 

Link to The Christmas Cherub: 

https://tinyurl.com/The-Christmas-Cherub