Where Brokenness Meets Grace: A Conversation with Conchelle Simmons

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We are delighted to welcome Conchelle Simmons as our September Author Spotlight!
 

In her new book, Where Broken Still Belongs, Conchelle offers a heartfelt and honest reflection on healing, hope, faith, and the journey of discovering that brokenness does not diminish our worth or our sense of belonging.
 

In this special Q&A, Conchelle opens up about the inspiration behind her book, the experiences that shaped her message, and the hope she wants readers to carry with them. She also shares what it has meant to step into her journey as an author and bring a deeply personal message of grace and purpose to others.
 

Join us as we get to know Conchelle, the heart behind Where Broken Still Belongs, and the powerful message she hopes to share with every reader.

 

👇Scroll through our conversation below...

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Denola Burton: ​​Welcome, Conchelle! We’re so excited to feature you in our September Author Spotlight.​ To start, can you share with us what inspired you to write Where Broken Still Belongs?

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Conchelle Simmons: Thank you so much, Denola, for having me. I’m honored to be your September Author Spotlight and excited to share the story behind Where Broken Still Belongs.

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What inspired me to write this book was really my own journey through brokenness, grief, healing, and faith. I have experienced seasons where I questioned myself, questioned my purpose, and even questioned what God was doing in my life.

 

But through those seasons, I began to understand that being broken does not mean you are unusable. God can still meet you in those broken places, and His grace can still work through the cracks.

 

I wanted to share that message with someone else who may be trying to find God, hope, or even themselves in the middle of a difficult season.
 

Denola Burton: Why are you the right person to write this book? What qualities or practical experiences demonstrate your credibility? ​

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Conchelle Simmons: I don’t believe I’m the right person because I have everything figured out. I believe I’m the right person because I’ve lived through what I’m writing about. I’ve experienced grief, disappointment, insecurity, questions about my identity and purpose, and times when my faith was tested. I’m not writing from a place of perfection; I’m writing from experience.

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One of my greatest qualities is my willingness to be honest and vulnerable. I don’t want people to think faith means you never struggle. My credibility comes from being willing to say, “I’ve been there. I’ve cried. I’ve questioned. I’ve had to heal. I’ve had to trust God when I didn’t understand—and I’m still growing.”

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Denola Burton: At what point did you realize this message needed to become a book?

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Conchelle Simmons: I think there came a point when I realized that what I was experiencing wasn’t just about me anymore. As I began processing my own life and healing, I realized there were other people asking some of the same questions I was asking: “Can God still use me? Do I still have purpose? Do I still belong even though parts of me are broken? "

 

That's when it became bigger than simply writing down my thoughts. I realized there was a message in my experiences that could potentially help somebody else.​

Denola Burton: What was the biggest challenge you faced while writing this book?

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Conchelle Simmons: The biggest challenge was vulnerability. Writing something privately is one thing, but knowing that other people are eventually going to read it is completely different. There were parts where I had to revisit emotions, grief, pain, and things I was still processing myself.

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I also had to fight the fear of wondering what people would think. Eventually, I had to remind myself that the purpose of the book wasn’t to make everyone understand me—it was to reach the person who needed the message.
 

Denola Burton: What surprised you most about the publishing process?

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Conchelle Simmons: What surprised me most was how much happens after you finish writing! You think writing the book is the hard part until you get into editing, formatting, cover design, proofreading, publishing, pricing, and then marketing.

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It taught me that writing the book and publishing the book are really two different journeys. Finishing the manuscript is a huge accomplishment, but there is still a lot of work between having a manuscript and actually holding your finished book.
 

Denola Burton: Who is the audience for this book, and what do you hope readers take away after reading it?

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Conchelle Simmons: This book is for the person who feels broken, overlooked, discouraged, or like something they’ve experienced has disqualified them. It’s for the person grieving, healing, questioning their purpose, or wondering whether God can still use them.

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I want readers to finish this book understanding that brokenness doesn’t cancel belonging. Your difficult seasons don’t erase your purpose. There can still be grace in the cracks. Most importantly, I want people to walk away with hope and understand that God can meet them right where they are.

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Denola Burton: Why was now the right time to publish this message?

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Conchelle Simmons: Because I believe sometimes you have to release something while you’re still living the message yourself. I didn’t want to wait until my life looked perfect because that would almost contradict what the book represents.

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Where Broken Still Belongs isn’t about arriving at some perfect destination. It’s about discovering God’s grace while you’re still healing, growing, grieving, learning, and becoming. This was the season when I finally had the courage and faith to release it.

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Denola Burton: What advice would you give to aspiring authors, especially first-time authors? 

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Conchelle Simmons: Start writing. Don’t wait until everything is perfect.

You can edit something that exists, but you can’t edit a blank page. Don’t become so focused on publishing that you forget why you started writing in the first place. Protect the heart of your message.​ And don’t allow fear to convince you that your story isn’t important because someone else has written about something similar. Nobody else has lived your exact experiences or can tell the story from your perspective.

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Denola Burton: How has becoming an author impacted you personally or professionally?

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Conchelle Simmons: Personally, becoming an author has shown me another side of myself. It has made me realize that some of the things I’ve gone through weren’t wasted. Something that came from painful and uncertain seasons can now encourage another person.
 

Professionally, it has opened another door for me. I’m not only able to serve and encourage people through what I do every day; now my words can reach people I may never personally meet. That’s powerful to me.

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Denola Burton: What does being an author mean to you?

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Conchelle Simmons: Being an author means more to me than seeing my name on a book cover. It represents courage, vulnerability, obedience, healing, and purpose.

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I never wanted to pretend that I had everything together. Becoming an author allowed me to take some of the places that once hurt and turn them into something that could potentially help someone else.

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For me, being an author means allowing God to use my story—even the parts I might have preferred to leave out.

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Denola Burton: What was the hardest part of the publishing process and why—the writing, the publishing steps, or marketing?

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Conchelle Simmons: For me, the publishing process itself was probably the hardest part. Writing was emotional because it required vulnerability, but publishing required learning an entirely different side of becoming an author.

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There are so many details involved—editing, formatting, making sure everything looks right, proofreading, getting the final files together, and then actually releasing your work to the public.

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Marketing is challenging too because now I have to consistently put myself and my book in front of people. But publishing taught me patience, persistence, and the importance of advocating for the vision I had for my own work.
 

Denola Burton: What's next for you as an author?

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Conchelle Simmons: Right now, I want to allow Where Broken Still Belongs: Grace in the Cracks to reach the people it was written for. I want to continue sharing its message through conversations, interviews, speaking opportunities, and wherever else God allows it to go.

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As far as another book, I’m open to what comes next. I don’t want to force it just to say I’ve written another book. I want whatever I write next to come from a genuine place and have a purpose behind it.

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This book showed me that becoming an author was possible. Now I’m excited to see where this journey leads.​

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Denola Burton: Thank you, Conchelle, for sharing your story and the heart behind Where Broken Still Belongs. Your message of grace, hope, and healing is a powerful reminder that even in our broken places, we still belong. We’re honored to feature you as our September Author Spotlight!