The truth is out. My first name is not R. It’s Regina. But more scandal arises in that I have lived in the South for over a decade with no middle name. You wouldn’t believe the customer service reps that ask twice and seem slightly appalled.

But, nope, there’s not a single Lee or Lula-Mae to be found.

I’m a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from the heart of the inner-city. My husband, Ben, walked past my house, often wondering who lived there. We both knew all the same people, but never actually met until I was fifteen.

God’s timing is everything. 

I’ve always wanted to write. Dreamed of it. Craved it. But it was Ben who shoved me onto the path, driving me to a writer’s conference in Colorado where Francine Rivers was speaking. I was grateful, hopeful, and happy to be there until I got a free edit of my first chapter of ‘Potipherah’s Daughter’. Lots of pretty red marks on that first chapter.
My tender heart was dashed. I was miserable in a room full of ‘know-what-they’re-doing’ writers and on the verge of bursting into tears when who but Francine Rivers came and sat right next to me at a table.

Flip me over and call me done because that’s exactly what I was.

The group of writers around her got a fifteen-minute talk on how to write Biblical fiction with respect for the Bible. I almost burst into tears of joy, having just met my most favorite author in the entire world. What perfect timing that was for someone about to give up. I probably levitated all the way back home in the car.

This is just a small part of my story. I offer it, hoping you will never give up. Dreams are supposed to be scary, and sometimes you are supposed to fail, because that, too, is part of becoming. Embrace it and keep the faith, because you will have what you say (Mark 11: 23). And if things don’t happen on your schedule, remember that God’s timing is everything.