Dr. Velma Bagby

Dr. Velma Bagby Award-Winning Author / Certified Dating/Relationship Coach /Ordained Minister (ThD) / CEO, Adoni Publishing, LLC "I write, coach, and speak to help women date4marriage. Love made possible. John 3:16" Dr. Velma is a bestselling/award-winning author with fifteen books published. She wrote her first book, inspired by her adult daughters, who wanted to help other Christian single women. Her first book was a Christian nonfiction relationship-focused book based on Dr. Velma and her daughters’ conversations about men. It became a call to action for single Christian women to date with an intent entitled, Your Adam Is Asleep Until God Opens His Eyes. A Certified Christian Dating-Relationship Coach and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC), Dr. Velma coached/counseled singles for 30+ years and joined her husband for pre-marriage and marriage counseling. Watching a pattern led Dr. Velma to discover her love for the Christian Contemporary Fiction genre, and speaking events focused on dating4marriage. Inspired by her blessed marriage of 49 years, in her recent book, Dr. Velma took the approach of Jesus, who is a master storyteller with over 50 parables/fiction stories. She loves the way Jesus’ stories allowed the listener to see themselves in it, can see the way out, and it was their choice to change in the end. His stories were non-threatening and never preachy. Dr. Velma found Christian Contemporary Fiction a genre perfect for sharing Christian principles without being preachy and can appeal to those who aren’t familiar with scripture—whether in the church or outside of it. She used this model in her first Christian Contemporary Fiction, The CATCH No One Wants, where she used fish analogies to show the dating mistakes of the character: the catfish who loves garbage, the sturgeon who likes to nibble, the salmon who refuses to get caught and pufferfish who is handsome until agitated. This 1st book of the CATCH Series garnered a Firebird Book Award and two eLit Book Awards for the genre and the book cover. Dr. Velma’s book garnered rave responses from book promoters, podcasters, and readers who saw themselves in the stories and asked for more fish analogies. As a result, her novel is now a 4-book CATCH Series, and book #3, The WRONG CATCH, her 15th published book, was released in April 2023. Besides books, she occasionally writes as a guest blogger for fellow authors. She is especially grateful for the opportunity to be a contributing writer for Victorious By Design Magazine’s Love Zone Corner. The online magazine has also featured her recent releases. To subscribe go to: https://www.victoriousbydesign.com/-vbd-magazine-subscribe She self-published her books as CEO of Adoni Publishing LLC and considers one of her greatest achievements to be when she helped her granddaughter publish her first book at age 6. Dr. Velma’s granddaughter is now a 3X Award-Winning Author for her book, The Little Letter K, and the Boring Alphabet Line. Her granddaughter is now nine years old and has three books published. Dr. Velma says the books exist because of her granddaughter’s imagination, and she was simply her co-pilot. In addition to her writing, Dr. Velma is an ordained Minister with a Th.D. in Theology who preaches and is a respected teacher and servant Leader. She credits her family, past ministry True Foundation church family, and friends for supporting her writing career. She appreciates the associations that provided guidance and support: Advanced Writers & Speakers Association (AWSA), American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), Independent Book Publishing Association (IBPA), the Bay Area Independent Publishing Association (BAIPA), Christian Authors Network (CAN), Christian Indie Publishers Association (CIPA). She retired from the State government after a 38-year career as a California state Deputy Administrator. Dr. Velma lives in California with her husband, Pastor, Dr. Bruce, and they are parents of two adult daughters. In addition, she and her husband have a son-in-love, three beautiful grandchildren, and her writing buddy Gracie, her German Shepherd. To remain connected with Dr. Velma or to learn more about her, go to: https://linktr.ee/drvelma