- Colleen Coble
-
Colleen Coble 
Born 1952
United StatesOccupation Novelist Nationality American Genres Romance, Historical fiction
colleencoble.comColleen Coble is an American Christian author of romance, romantic suspense and historical fiction. Her thirty-five novels and novellas have sold a total of about 2 million copies, and have received numerous awards, including the Romance Writers of America prestigious RITA, the Holt Medallion, the ACFW Book of the Year, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers’ Choice, the Booksellers Best, and the 2009 Best Books of Indiana-Fiction award.[1]
Contents
Biography
Early years
She was born Jan. 19, 1952, in Wabash, Indiana. She was raised on a farm in Wabash County, Indiana, the eldest of four children. Her father, George Rhoads, was a farmer who also worked as a guard at General Motors. Her mother, Peggy Rhoads, was a housewife. She has three brothers: Randy (who died in 1990), Rick, and David. She graduated from Southwood High School, in Wabash County.[2]
Career
Coble’s early books were short historical romances published by Barbour Publishing under its Heartsong Presents imprint. The first four novels were set in Wyoming. Coble says she was inspired to write them when her brother Randy was killed by lightning on August 28, 1990. After a visit to Wyoming, where he had lived, she was inspired to do what she’d longed to do for several years: actually write a book. Wyoming became the setting for her first four romance novels, set in the wild West of the 1860s: Where Leads the Heart, Plains of Promise, The Heart Answers and To Love a Stranger . It took her a year to write the first one because she continued to work at her full-time job as a receptionist at Wabash Electric Supply, where she answered about 1000 phone calls a day.[2]
The majority of Coble’s books have been published by Thomas Nelson Publishers, the largest Christian publisher in the U.S. She’s also been published by Barbour and Steeple Hill, publishers of romantic fiction.
Her Aloha Reef series of four books was set in Hawaii, and her Rock Harbor series of four books was set in the real life town of Rock Harbor, Michigan. Her most recent Mercy Falls series is set in the fictional town of Mercy Falls, CA, just after the turn of the century.
A prolific writer (she released five books in 2005 alone), Coble credits personal focus and her “brainstorming partners,” authors Diann Hunt and Denise Hunter with helping her develop each book before writing. She has nonetheless faced challenges. Beyond the untimely death of her brother, she also battled migraines for many years.
Coble says, “Born and raised in the Midwest (Indiana), I grew up on a farm with horses, pigs and chickens. I had plenty of adventure–from being dragged by my pony to running my brother Randy’s motorcycle through a fence. Maybe that’s why all my stories have action and adventure in them.” [2]
Personal life
Coble currently resides in Indiana with her husband Dave. She has two grown children, Dave and Kara, and three grandchildren.
Bibliography
Rock Harbor Series
- Without a Trace (2003)
- Beyond a Doubt (2004)
- Into the Deep (2004)
- Abomination (2007)
- Cry in the Night (2009)
Mercy Falls Series
- The Lightkeeper’s Daughter (2010)
- The Lightkeeper’s Bride (2010)
- The Lightkeeper’s Ball (2011)
Other Books
- Alaska Twilight (2006)
- Fire Dancer (2006)
- Anathema (2008) (Amish romantic suspense)
The Lonestar Series
- Lonestar Sanctuary (2008)
- Lonestar Secrets (2009)
- Lonestar Homecoming (2010)
Aloha Reef Series
- Distant Echoes (2005)
- Black Sands (2005)
- Dangerous Depths (2005)
- Midnight Sea (2007)
Love Inspired, Steeple Hill
- Windigo Twilight (2005)
- Shadow Bones (2005)
- Stormcatcher (2006)
References
External links
Categories:- 1952 births
- Living people
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