CANR
WORK TITLE: I Think I Was Murdered
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.colleencoble.com/
CITY: Wabash
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: CANR 305
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born January 19, 1952, in Wabash, IN; daughter of George (a guard) and Peggy (a homemaker) Rhoads; married David Coble (a buyer), October 30, 1971; children: David, Jr., Kara.
EDUCATION:Attended Indiana Wesleyan University.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. American Christian Fiction Writers, chief executive officer.
AVOCATIONS:Reading, travel.
MEMBER:Romance Writers of America.
AWARDS:More Than Magic award for Best Inspirational Romance, 2004, for Without a Trace; American Christian Fiction Writers Mentor of the Year Award, 2004, 2005; National Readers’ Choice Award—Inspirational, American Christian Fiction Writers Suspense Book of the Year, and American Christian Fiction Writers Overall Book of the Year, all 2006, for Distant Echoes; American Christian Fiction Writers Short Contemporary Book of the Year, 2006, for Shadow Bones; American Christian Fiction Writers Suspense Book of the Year, 2007, for Dangerous Depths; Booksellers Best Award, 2009, for Lonestar Sanctuary; Best Books of Indiana—Fiction, 2009, for Anathema; Carol Award in Romantic Suspense, 2012, for Lonestar Angel.
POLITICS: Republican. RELIGION: Baptist.WRITINGS
Work represented in anthologies, including Spring’s Memory, Barbour (Uhrichsville, OH), 1999; Forever Friends, Barbour (Uhrichsville, OH), 2000; Reunions, Barbour (Uhrichsville, OH), 2000; Home for Christmas: Love Reunites Four Orphaned Siblings in Interwoven Novellas, illustrated by Mari Goering, Barbour (Uhrichsville, OH), 2001; Heirloom Brides, Barbour (Uhrichsville, OH), 2001; Aloha: Four Romances at a Hawaiian Hideaway, Barbour (Uhrichsville, OH), 2002; Blind Dates, Barbour (Uhrichsville, OH), 2002; Wyoming 4-in-1 Collection, 2002; and Gold Rush Christmas: Gold Fever Runs through Four Romantic Novellas, Barbour (Uhrichsville, OH), 2003.
SIDELIGHTS
Colleen Coble is a romance author whose works often blend suspense and an evangelical Christian message. Coble has written almost thirty novels since her 1998 debut, Where Leads the Heart.
“Why did I decide to be a writer? I remember the night I finished a book and told the Lord how tired I was of reading books that assumed He didn’t exist. I told God I’d do my best to write for him, but He would have to open the doors. I waited and nothing happened. I couldn’t think of a thing worth saying.
“Then one night in August 1990, everything changed. My brother Randy, the oldest of my three younger brothers, was killed by lightning. That tragedy showed me I didn’t have time to wait to do what God was calling me to do. During a visit to Wyoming to see where Randy had lived for a time, the first idea for a book came to me, fully conceived. I was working full-time, so it took a year to write it, then seven years to sell it.
“What is my primary motivation for writing? I want to write great stories from a Christian worldview. Stories that are truly entertaining without an agenda like so many books have today.
“My work is influenced by Stephen King. I’m a huge fan of his work and have been since Carrie came out. No one can write characters like King. I want to get inside the character’s head in the same way King does.
“What inspires me to write on the subjects I have chosen? I love to write suspense because it’s all about justice. In my fiction, I can show how God walks with us even through the bad times and everything will be okay in the end.”
Indicative of Coble’s novels that blend romance and action is Dangerous Depths, published in 2006. In the novel Leia Kahale has left behind a medical career and boyfriend Bane Oanu to take up residence on a secluded island in Hawaii. Now Bane has come to the island to discover why Leia left him and also to search for sunken treasure, with dangerous and romantic results that neither he nor Leia could have imagined. A California Bookwatch reviewer termed this a “passionate novel of adventure and love.”
Coble features smoke jumper Tess Masterson in her novel Fire Dancer. Tess lost her parents in a barn fire a decade earlier, and now she is jumping from planes in an attempt to put out fires an arsonist is setting in the Arizona wilderness. It soon becomes clear to her that there is a connection between these fires and the one that claimed her parents’ lives. A contributor to Children’s Bookwatch termed this an “intriguing novel of psychological cat-and-mouse games.”
The far north is the setting for Coble’s Alaska Twilight, which features Haley Mitchell, a photographer who has come to the fiftieth state to document the work of wildlife biologist and environmentalist Tank Lassiter and his work with bears. When a member of the documentary team is killed, apparently by a bear, Haley and Tank team up to find out who is really the killer.
Booklist contributor John Mort called this a “light but pleasant tale” with “some suspense.” Similarly, a Publishers Weekly reviewer observed: “Readers who crave a light, though formulaic, Christian novel will not be disappointed.”
Coble takes readers to Texas in her Lonestar Secrets, a “Texan-style serving of ranch, rodeo and rambunctious interpersonal conflicts,” according to a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Shannon Astor, a single mother, returns to her small Texas town to take over as veterinarian. However, peace and quiet are not on the agenda for her, as in quick succession she discovers a dead body, finds out revealing information about a man who once ruined her reputation, is caught off guard by the return of her daughter’s father, and has her life threatened.
Another single mother, Gracie Lister, is on the run from her Border Patrol boyfriend who has gone over to the side of the drug traffickers in Lonestar Homecoming. Finding refuge as the nanny for the two children of a widowed Iraq War veteran in Texas, Gracie soon realizes that she has only gone from bad to worse, for this vet, Michael Wayne, has a bounty on his head. “Coble’s suspenseful contemporary Christian romance vividly contrasts nonstop, fast-paced action with tenderer moments,” noted Lynne Welch in a Booklist review of the work.
The action moves to California for The Lightkeeper’s Bride. The historical romance features telephone operator Katie Russell, who overhears a phone conversation between a woman named Eliza and a man. When Eliza goes missing, Katie becomes involved, and this leads her to the lightkeeper, Will Jesperson. Soon the two are investigating crimes together as well as romance. A reviewer for the online LifeWay called this a “great suspense novel.”
The Lightkeeper’s Ball is another historical romance and suspense novel from Coble. It is 1910, and Olivia Stewart, a socialite from New York, escapes an unwanted marriage to travel to California to investigate the death of her sister. Attacked en route, Olivia is rescued by a man who turns out to be Harrison Bennett, the intended of her dead sister. Hiding her identity in order to get to the bottom of things, Olivia nonetheless becomes attracted to Bennett and he to her, never realizing her true identity. “Coble’s fans won’t mind that the plotting is a little loosely woven,” commented a Publishers Weekly reviewer of this 2011 novel.
Set on Hope Beach, Tidewater Inn portrays Libby as she discovers that she has been lied to all her life. Libby was led to believe that her father abandoned her and died years ago, but she discovers that he has only just passed away. In fact, he has named her in his will, leaving the deed to an inn on Hope Beach. Libby loves renovating old buildings, so she heads to the inn and begins to refurbish it. While she is there, Libby meets her half-siblings, as well as the handsome Coast Guard lieutenant Alec Bourne. A romance begins to grow between them, but then Libby’s business partner, Nicole, goes missing, and Libby is accused of having a hand in her disappearance. The story, according to RT Book Reviews Web site contributor Melissa Parcel, “moves briskly forward, providing an action-packed story along with wonderful development of the characters.” Lynda Lee Schab, writing on Bookreporter.com, was also impressed, and she stated that “ Tidewater Inn features compelling characters, a beautiful setting and rich historical detail. As for the suspense, author Colleen Coble does her usual thing. She mixes action, fast-paced dialogue and an exciting plotline, with a few surprises along the way. In this case, she most relies on hurricane season, murder and greed to do it. The conflict between Libby and her siblings is also well-done and provides for a more multifaceted story.”
Rosemary Cottage is also set on Hope Beach, and it follows Amy Lang as she arrives at her family home. Amy’s brother, Ben, has just drowned, and Amy receives a mysterious e-mail indicating that Ben’s death was not an accident. While she is looking into the anonymous claim, she meets Curtis Ireland. Amy learns that Curtis’s sister, Gina, has recently passed away as well. She was hit by a boat, and now Curtis has custody of her daughter, Raine. When Gina and Curtis learn that Ben is Raine’s biological father, they realize that her parents’ coincidental deaths are too connected to ignore. Schab stated in her Bookreporter.com review: “ Rosemary Cottage is a wonderful beach read or anytime read. Those who enjoyed Tidewater Inn will likely find just as much to love in this second installment of the ‘Hope Beach’ series. Each book is a stand-alone, although reading them in order is recommended for full character development and story experience. It’s an engaging read, with the suspense and romance bestselling author Colleen Coble is known for.” As Parcel observed on the RT Book Reviews Web site, the “mystery, coupled with developing romance, creates a lively, page-turning novel.” Another positive assessment was proffered by a Publishers Weekly critic, who advised that there is “plenty of excitement for readers who enjoy [Coble’s] unique combination of cozy setting and action-packed mystery.”
In Seagrass Pier, Elin Summerall recovers from her heart transplant while living on Hope Beach. She begins to have flashbacks of her organ donor’s murder, and the killer is stalking Elin to keep her from talking. She turns to FBI agent Marc Everton, and even though he does not believe her, he is drawn into the case. While RT Book Reviews correspondent Parcel admitted that the story is not without flaws, she felt that “overall, this book is entertaining and enjoyable with large amounts of action and intrigue.”
Discussing Seagrass Pier in a Publishers Weekly interview, Coble told Ann Byle: “I love exploring family dynamics, and I go deeper and deeper in the series. There is no perfect family, but we grow together and family dictates who you are. I love secrets, and when secrets come out it’s fun to see how the characters react.”
[OPEN NEW]
The “Sunset Cove” series begins with The Inn at Ocean’s Edge. The protagonist, Claire Dellamare, went mysteriously missing for a year when she was four years old, a fact that she does not realize or remember. As an adult, however, she returns to the Maine hotel where she went missing, and she starts having disturbing flashbacks. There, she meets Luke, whose mother also went missing in the same place around the same time, and the two band together to unravel the mysteries.
In Mermaid Moon, the second book in the series, the protagonist shifts to Mallory, who believes that her mother died fifteen years ago. That is, until her father’s last words before he dies are “Find mother.” Mallory decides to reconnect with Kevin, a reliable man she dated back when her mother was still alive, and he comes to her assistance when she starts receiving death threats. A writer in Internet Bookwatch called the book “impressively well written” and a “terrifically entertaining novel.” A reviewer in Publishers Weekly described it as an “intriguing mystery” that “[leaves] a lot open for the next installment.”
As Coble continued writing in her seventies, she sometimes cowrote her novels with Rick Acker. One of those was I Think I Was Murdered. In this thriller, a young woman loses her husband in a car crash and her job when her company’s CEO is indicted. She decides to return to her hometown in northern California, where she continues to work on the AI chatbot she was developing. Then she reconnects with Seb, a restaurant owner, who helps her uncover the truth about her husband’s death. “Romantic suspense comfort food” is how a writer in Kirkus Reviews described this outing. They called it a “high-octane thriller” that also contains a “very sweet romance.”
[CLOSE NEW]
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, April 15, 2006, John Mort, review of Alaska Twilight, p. 28; April 1, 2010, Lynne Welch, review of Lonestar Homecoming, p. 28; October 15, 2011, Carolyn Richard, review of Lonestar Angel, p. 24; November 15, 2013, Courtney Jones, review of The Blessings Jar: A Story about Being Thankful, p. 44.
California Bookwatch, December, 2006, review of Dangerous Depths.
Children’s Bookwatch, August, 2007, review of Fire Dancer.
Internet Bookwatch, March, 2016, review of Mermaid Moon.
Kirkus Reviews, November 1, 2024, review of I Think I Was Murdered.
Library Journal, April 1, 2004, Tamara Butler, review of Beyond a Doubt, p. 78; November, 2023, review of Fragile Designs, p. 58.
Publishers Weekly, December 19, 2005, review of Alaska Twilight, p. 37; May 18, 2009, review of Lonestar Secrets, p. 37; February 28, 2011, review of The Lightkeeper’s Ball, p. 36; October 24, 2011, review of Smitten: Love Is on the Way, p. 32; March 18, 2013, review of Rock Harbor Search & Rescue, p. 87; May 6, 2013, review of Rosemary Cottage, p. 45; June 17, 2013, review of The Blessings Jar, p. 67; July 16, 2014, Ann Byle, author interview; February 9, 2015, review of The Inn at Ocean’s Edge, p. 51; February 9, 2015, review of The Inn at Ocean’s Edge, p. 51; November 23, 2015, review of Mermaid Moon, p. 57; July 25, 2016, review of Twilight at Blueberry Barrens, p. 55; November 7, 2016, review of Because You’re Mine, pp. 42+; May 8, 2017, review of Beneath Copper Falls, p. 45; November 13, 2017, review of The View from Rainshadow Bay, pp. 45+; May 28, 2018, review of The House at Saltwater Point, p. 76; July 9, 2018, review of Freedom’s Light, pp. 76+; November 26, 2018, review of Secrets at Cedar Cabin, pp. 39+; July 8, 2019, review of Strands of Truth, p. 70; January 13, 2020, review of One Little Lie, pp. 45+; February 8, 2021, review of Three Missing Days, p. 42; May 23, 2022, review of Edge of Dusk, p. 45; October 24, 2022, review of Dark of Night, p. 63; April 10, 2023, review of Break of Day, pp. 47+; May 6, 2024, review of What We Hide, p. 38.
School Library Journal, February, 2014, Elizabeth Nicolai, review of Lost & Found, p. 82.
ONLINE
BookPage, https://www.bookpage.com/ (July 11, 2017), Savanna Walker, author interview.
Bookreporter.com, http://www.bookreporter.com/ (October 18, 2012), Lynda Lee Schab, review of Tidewater Inn; (August 15, 2013), Lynda Lee Schab, review of Rosemary Cottage.
Colleen Coble website, http://www.colleencoble.com (February 16, 2025).
Destination Amish, https://destinationamish.com/ (February 26, 2016), Michelle Dawn, author interview.
Engrafted Word, https://theengraftedword.net/ (November 24, 2015), Savanna Kaiser, author interview.
Family Fiction, https://familyfiction.com/ (April 27, 2021), author interview; January 27, 2023, author interview; July 28, 2023, author interview.
Life Is Story, https://www.lifeisstory.com/ (September 11, 2020, Josh Olds, author podcast interview.
LifeWay, http://blogs.lifeway.com/ (November 17, 2010), Rachel McRae, review of The Lightkeeper’s Bride.
Mocha with Linda, https://mochawithlinda.blogspot.com/ (July 26, 2012), author interview.
New Release Tuesday, http://www.newreleasetuesday.com/ (March 23, 2011), “Colleen Coble.”
Reading Is My Superpower, https://readingismysuperpower.org/ (February 1, 2018), author interview.
RT Book Reviews, http://www.rtbookreviews.com/ (October 1, 2003), Jill Nelson, review of Without a Trace; (April 1, 2004), Jill Nelson, review of Beyond a Doubt; (October 1, 2004), Jill Nelson, review of Into the Deep; (December 17, 2015), Melissa Parcel, reviews of Tidewater Inn, Rosemary Cottage, and Seagrass Pier.
She Writes, https://shewrites.com/ (December, 2024), Colleen Coble, “Secrets to a Long Writing Career.”
Strand, https://strandmag.com/ (August 24, 2020), author interview.
Suzanne Woods Fisher, https://suzannewoodsfisher.com/ (May 21, 2012), author interview.
Thomas Nelson Web site, http://www.thomasnelson.com/ (March 23, 2011), “Colleen Coble.”
Working Writers Blog, http://workingwritersandbloggers.com/ (June 8, 2010), interview with Colleen Coble.*
Writer’s Digest, https://www.writersdigest.com/ (January 4, 2022), Robert Lee Brewer, author interview.
Best-selling romantic suspense author Colleen Coble’s novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, the ACFW Carol Award, the Romance Writers of America RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers’ Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has over 5 million books in print and her books have been on the USAToday bestseller list, the ECPA, CBA, Publishers Weekly, and Amazon bestseller lists. She writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail. Colleen is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers. She lives with her husband Dave in Indiana. Visit her website at www.colleencoble.com.
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Colleen Coble
Born January 19, 1952 (age 73)
Wabash, Indiana, U.S.
Occupation Novelist
Nationality American
Genre Romance, historical fiction
Website
www.colleencoble.com
Colleen Coble (born January 19, 1952) is an American Christian author of romance, romantic suspense and historical fiction. Her 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]
She was born January 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]
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,[3] Plains of Promise,[4] The Heart Answers,[5] and To Love a Stranger.[6] 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]
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]
Bibliography
Rock Harbor Series[7]
Without a Trace (2003)
Beyond a Doubt (2004)
Into the Deep (2004)
Abomination (2007)
Cry in the Night (2009)
Silent Night (novella) (2012)
Beneath Copper Falls (2017)
YA/Middle Grade Rock Harbor
Rock Harbor Search and Rescue
Rock Harbor Lost and Found (2013)
Children's Rock Harbor
The Blessings Jar
Mercy Falls Series[8]
The Lightkeeper's Daughter (2010)
The Lightkeeper's Bride (2010)
The Lightkeeper's Ball (2011)
Standalones
Alaska Twilight (2006)
Fire Dancer (2006)
Where Shadows Meet (formerly Anathema) (2008)
Butterfly Palace (2014)
The Heart Answers (2016)
To Love a Stranger (2016)
Because You’re Mine (2017)
Freedom’s Light (2018)
Strands of Truth (2019)
The Lonestar Series[9]
Lonestar Sanctuary (2008)
Lonestar Secrets (2009)
Lonestar Homecoming (2010)
Lonestar Angel (2011)
All is Calm (novella) (2014)
Aloha Reef Series[10]
Distant Echoes (2005)
Black Sands (2005)
Dangerous Depths (2005)
Midnight Sea (2007)
Holy Night (novella) (2013)
Love Inspired, Steeple Hill
Windigo Twilight (2005)
Shadow Bones (2005)
Stormcatcher (2006)
Under Texas Stars Series[11]
Blue Moon Promise
Safe in His Arms (2013)
Bluebonnet Bride (novella) (2014)
The Hope Beach Series[12]
Tidewater Inn (2012)
Rosemary Cottage (2013)
Seagrass Pier (2014)
All Is Bright (2015)
Sunset Cove[13]
The Inn at Ocean’s Edge (2015)
Mermaid Moon (2016)
Twilight at Blueberry Barrens (2016)
Lavender Tides[14]
The View from Rainshadow Bay (2018)
Leaving Lavender Tides (2018)
The House at Saltwater Point (2018)
Secrets at Cedar Cabin (2019)
Journey of the Heart series[15]
A Heart's Disguise (2015)
A Heart's Obsession (2015)
A Heart's Danger (2015)
A Heart's Betrayal (2015)
A Heart's Promise (2015)
A Heart's Home (2015)
Pelican Harbor[16]
One Little Lie (2020)
Two Reasons to Run (2020)
Three Missing Days (2021)
Author Spotlight: Colleen Coble
by Suzanne | May 21, 2012 | Author Spotlight | 56 comments
Welcome to Author Spotlight! Each week will feature a different author. We’ll get the scoop behind their writing life and dish a little. The authors will also be giving away a copy of their latest book. FUN.
This week Colleen Coble is in the Spotlight! To win a copy of her book, Blue Moon Promise leave a comment on this post!
Share a little bit about yourself. Married with kids? Empty nester? Do you work full-time and write when you can squeeze it in?
I’ve been married to the same terrific guy for forty years. We have two great kids. Our son lives about forty-five minutes from us and our daughter lives in the Phoenix area. Our son and daughter-in-law gave us the Perfect One (also known as Punky, real name Alexa) and we are nuts about her!
And share something about your writing. What’s your genre(s), your areas of interest…
I love writing a blend of mystery and romance. I love being on the edge of my seat when I read (and write) a story.
How did you get started writing? Did you have a dream of being a published author?
I wrote my first story in first grade. The teacher praised it and the seed of being a writer was born then. I put my own dreams aside for a while when I was raising my children, but when a younger brother was killed in a freak lightning accident, it was a wake-up call that I should get started on my dream.
After you started writing seriously–how long was it before you were published?
At first I didn’t know what to write, but as part of the grieving process when Randy died, we went to Wyoming to see where my brother had lived for a time. Standing on the parade ground at Fort Laramie, the first idea dropped into my head. I went home and wrote that story. It took a year. I was sure publishers were going to get into a bidding war over it! ☺ Not so much. It took six more years to sell it!
Aside from a cup of good, strong coffee, what helps you get all of your “brain cylinders” firing so you can write well? Do you have any favorite places and routines when you write? How many hours a day do you spend writing?
Coffee? Did someone mention coffee? ☺ Coffee is my mainstay and gets me writing every morning. First I answer pressing emails, then plunge into the writing process by nine. I sit in my recliner with my faithful MacBook Air and write until I get my word count in for the day. Some days it takes until two. Some days I’m not done until nine at night.
What has been the biggest help to you in the journey to publication? Writers’ conferences? Writing groups? Your mom as your first draft reader?
My husband has been my biggest supporter! When I would have quit in those early years, he encouraged me to keep on sending out that proposal. ☺
Is the “writer’s life” what you thought it would be? (Explain your answer)
It’s better and yet different. I spend way more time writing than I thought I would, plus there is all the promotional work to be done. But I love it all!
What are your biggest distractions?
My granddaughter! And well, email. ☺ I am a people person so the hardest thing about writing is the solitude.
What was one of the best moments in your career and what was one of the worst?
The worst moment was when I thought Thomas Nelson was going to buy my first book. The best moment was five years later when they actually did. ☺
What do you least like about being a writer? Most like?
I love the creative process. I’m a seat of the pants writer so I adore learning what my characters are going to do and where they are going to take me. The only bad thing about being a writer is that there is never any real vacation. I’m about to leave for Hawaii for three weeks, but I know I’ll have some work to do there. I always do.
What is the role and importance of an agent?
My agent’s impact on my career has been huge. I’d written eighteen romances when I got my agent, Karen Solem. I wanted to make the jump into romantic suspense and found Karen. She kicked the first Rock Harbor proposal to the curb for a solid year before she started sending it out. It landed on Ami McConnell’s desk which was a dream come true for me! Karen is so wise about publishing and about people. She has always guided me and much of my success can be laid at her feet.
What advice would you give to new writers?
Don’t make the mistake I made. Write that first book, polish it to the best of your ability and send it out. Then move on to the next book! You learn to write by writing. Don’t keep working that first book over and over.
Pretend I’m a customer at a bookstore looking for a good book. Give me a one or two sentence promo to convince me to buy your book.
Lucy Marsh’s worldly resources are running out, but she’s fiercely determined to care for her younger brother and sister. When she discovers that their father’s recent death was no accident, Lucy is eager to leave town. She accepts a proxy marriage she believes will provide safe refuge. But trouble follows her to Texas where her new husband is surprised to suddenly have a wife and children to care for.
What’s on the book horizon for you?
Tidewater Inn, the first book in my new Hope Beach series ships in the summer. It’s set in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. My editor says it’s her favorite book yet so I’m eager to hear what my readers think.
Last question, how can readers find you and your books?
They’re available at any book store and online everywhere. My website is www.colleencoble.com.
Thank you for sharing your writing life with my bleaders! (blog + readers = bleaders)
Thanks so much for having me, Suzanne! Great questions!
Interview with Colleen Coble & GIVEAWAY
Posted by Savanna Kaiser | Nov 24, 2015 | Author Interviews, Giveaways | 48
Interview with Colleen Coble & GIVEAWAY | The Engrafted Word
Best-selling author Colleen Coble’s novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, the ACFW Carol Award, the Romance Writers of America RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers’ Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has over 2 million books in print and writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail. Colleen is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers. She lives with her husband Dave in Indiana. Visit her website at www.colleencoble.com.
———————————————————————————————————————
Savanna: Welcome to the blog, Colleen. I’m so honored to have you join us today. Congratulations on your newest release, All is Calm, All is Bright. What a beautiful cover!
Interview with Colleen Coble & GIVEAWAY | The Engrafted WordWhich character from your newest release are you most excited for readers to meet and why?
Colleen: Oh gosh, it’s so hard to say. There are two novellas in there, and I love both the heroines. I think it would be Delilah in All is Bright. I really loved her in the first Hope Beach book, Tidewater Inn, and I had fun exploring her backstory. I especially love the ending. 🙂
Savanna: Who was one of your earliest supporters who encouraged your writing dream?
Colleen: Oh definitely my husband! There were many times I would have given up in the long seven years to publication, but he keep encouraging me to keep on working and facing those rejections. It’s hard in the early years when believing in yourself is so difficult. You really need someone to lift you up when you’re in the ditch.
Interview with Colleen Coble & GIVEAWAY | The Engrafted WordSavanna: That’s awesome! And so true. Husbands are the best! 😉
As the CEO of ACFW, do you still recall your very first conference? Can you share with us something special you remember about that early experience?
Colleen: ACFW conferences are the highlight of my year, but my first conference (on scholarship) was a small regional one in Muncie, Indiana at Ball State. Until that time, I’d never even met another writer, and I thought I was all alone with these characters in my head. At the Midwest Writers Conference I found out I wasn’t weird. 🙂 It’s one of the reasons I’m so passionate about ACFW. Community is so vital to a writer. We spend a lot of time alone, and we need to find that writing soulmate. Would you believe author Denise Hunter and I have been brainstorming and editing each other’s work for 17 years? And I’ve made many more great friends at conference every year. This year at ACFW I told everyone not to take what we have for granted. The people God brings into our lives through our writing change us forever. Diann Hunt was one of those for me. We lost her to ovarian cancer in Nov 2013 but she changed me.
Interview with Colleen Coble & GIVEAWAY | The Engrafted WordSavanna: I’ve heard so many wonderful things about Diann. Wish I’d had the chance to meet her. Thanks for sharing that, Colleen.
Can you tell us what is one of your favorite book covers? You have so many pretty ones!
Colleen: Aren’t they awesome?! I have a great team. I love The Inn at Ocean’s Edge and also The Lightkeeper’s Ball. I would like to own that red dress on the cover!
Savanna: I know! It’s gorgeous! 🙂 If you had to pick one place from your travels to revisit, where would it be and why?
Interview with Colleen Coble & GIVEAWAY | The Engrafted WordColleen: Maine! I adore the rugged coastline and the scent of the sea. And all the lighthouses. 🙂
Savanna: Ah, that sounds beautiful! I would love to see that someday. 😉
Is there anything else you’d like to share? What project(s) are you currently working on?
Colleen: I’m working on Twilight at Blueberry Barrens, book 3 of the Sunset Cove series.
Savanna: That sounds great, Colleen! Thanks so much for being with us today. Happy Thanksgiving!
Secrets to a Long Writing Career
By She Writes Editors|December 2024|Categories: Columns, Wise Words|Tags: December 2024 Issue
Column by Colleen Coble
Bestselling author Colleen Coble’s novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, the ACFW Carol Award, the Romance Writers of America RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers’ Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has over 5 million books in print and writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail. Colleen is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers. She lives with her husband Dave in Indiana.
I’ve been asked a few times for the secret to a long career as a novelist. The question always shocks me because it feels like I’ve just gotten a good start, but my first book was bought in 1997. That’s like twenty-seven years—over a quarter of a century! I can’t be that old. I’ve written 85 novels and novellas and have over 5 million books in print. Those stats are meaningless when you love what you’re blessed to do for a living. I don’t ever plan to retire—not when I have so many ideas left to write! I’ve been with my beloved team at HarperCollins for twenty-three years now and hope to have many more years with them.
I gave the questions some thought, and I can point to a few key things that helped along the way. Remember, this is my journey and your mileage may vary.
1. Assemble a trusted team.
I found my critique partner early on, and twenty-five years later, Denise Hunter and I are still reading every word that exits on the other’s laptop. That core expanded to include others as a support group—friends I could help even as they helped me. I’m a big fan of reaching down to lift those who come behind us as well as continuing to learn from the writers who are willing to share their wisdom. Denise always knows what’s missing before I do and helps me brainstorm how to fix a story before it ever gets to my editors. I often host brainstorming retreats and sessions to talk about group marketing ideas. Everything is more fun if you do it together!
2. Be grateful.
Being part of a team is very important to me. My family at HarperCollins Christian Publishing always has my back, and I’m thankful for every single one of them. So many work behind the scenes to launch a new book into the world, and they often get little thanks in return. Thank the person who sells your book into Doubleday or some other special place. Send your core team members some small birthday and Christmas gifts. Email them occasionally and let them know you see them and appreciate their efforts. Get to know them as people and pray for them. I like to visit my publishing house once a year to thank everyone with treats and a hug. I come away energized and excited to tackle the next project together.
3. Embrace the editorial process.
I learn something new with every book. That’s one of the wonderful things about being a writer—you never arrive. It’s a growing process. Editors have an innate gift to be able to see the story so much more clearly than the author can—good ones are born not taught. I literally stalk my inbox when my substantive edits are due, and I can’t wait to read them and dive in. It’s my favorite part of the writing process. I often read my editorial letter and am astonished at how well they see things I missed. My editors and I are on the same page—we want the best possible story—so there’s no place for defensiveness.
4. Pick one social media and be consistent in connecting with readers there.
My special place is Facebook, but others like Instagram or Tiktok. I’m a word girl so thinking about pictures and video is out of my element (though I still try.) Heavily invest in the place where you feel your readers inhabit. Don’t just talk about books either—be a friend and someone they can know behind the pages. If you have a special interest outside of writing, talk about that. Mine is natural health. I love to talk about nutrition and healing. Maybe you like crafts or knitting. Or cats. Be authentic.
5. Publishing is a small world. Don’t burn any bridges.
The person you blow up at in one publishing house might be your editor at the next one. It’s easy to let our egos take over our common sense and it’s never worth it. Also circle back to #2 and be grateful. Even if you feel overlooked, look for ways to build up your team because they need that. A grateful heart fosters good relationships.
6. I quickly learned to write for my readers not myself.
I examine reviews and emails as well as comments on social media and try to deliver what my readers want from me. My team helped me figure out my brand. We took a white board and wrote down the things readers said over and over about my novels. When I start a new story, I try to deliver what they expect. Would I like to write a fantasy? Sure! But I’d disappoint my readers, and I hope never to do that. I have a core of five things readers love about my work, and if I want to veer a bit to feed my creativity, I take a tiny step in another direction by changing one of those five things. Not all writers want to be constricted by having a brand, but I’ve always considered it part of loving my readers. When you love someone, you want to please them, not yourself.
7. Try new things to stay fresh but stay in your core brand.
Wait a minute, am I contradicting what I said in #6? Nope. I recently did a thing that was one step away, and it ended up being a wonderful move. I’d always wanted to write a legal suspense but knew I didn’t have the knowledge to do it well. I asked my attorney friend, Rick Acker, if he’d consider co-writing and he said yes! And it’s been a very fun adventure, and we’re keeping my core brand firmly in mind while we explore new directions. Before you ever consider something like this though, make sure you know your styles mesh and neither of you have an ego. Rick and I both want the best story, and we don’t care who came up with what idea or who wrote which scene.
If you’re getting the impression I believe success is all about relationships and hard work, you’re right. Be a team player and reach out to include and build up others. Doesn’t real success in any endeavor involve those things?
Ambush by Colleen Coble
Paradise Alden returns to her hometown after fifteen years, seeking refuge and healing at a wildlife sanctuary while piecing together the truth about her parents’ murder. But her fresh start is shattered when a series of deadly incidents—including arson and sabotage—plague the sanctuary, and suspicion falls on Blake Lawson, the man who once broke her heart. Determined to uncover the real culprit, Paradise must confront her past and a lurking danger before it claims more lives.
An interview with Colleen Coble, Author of Mermaid Moon
Posted February 26, 2016 Michelle Dawn
colleen cobleShame can cause people to make drastic, sometimes life-altering decisions. When they experience the consequences of failure, whether at their own hands or at the hands of others, their instinct can be to retreat to avoid experiencing hurt again. That knee-jerk reaction can strain relationships and lead to isolation. This is one of the themes award-winning author Colleen Coble chose to examine in the second book in her Sunset Cove series, Mermaid Moon (Thomas Nelson/January 12, 2016/ISBN: 978-1401690281/$15.99).
Q: Mermaid Moon is the second book in the Sunset Cove series. How is the series tied together? Is there a specific theme that runs throughout?
I wanted these books to examine the various ways we all come to family. Some are born into the family, some are adopted, and some create their own family with friends. Claire’s story (The Inn at Ocean’s Edge) is continued as a subplot through the story as well, so I think readers will like that!
Q: Did something personal inspire the storyline of Mermaid Moon?
I’ve always wanted to explore the turmoil adopted children feel as they try to decide if they will search for their birth family.
Q: What do you love so much about Down East Maine, where Mermaid Moon is based? Why is going there a little bit like stepping back in time?
I love the wildness of it and the way you won’t find big superstores in all the little towns dotting the coast. The communities exist by being close-knit and supportive of one another. Many still earn their living from the sea the way their ancestors did. It’s a wonderful place to be!
Q: Despite its sleepy setting, Mermaid Mood’s plot is packed with action and intrigue. Why did you choose to juxtapose those two characteristics?
I do that in every book. I love creating a setting that’s homey and somewhat remote so my characters have to learn to be strong and overcome the obstacles in their way. It’s also what I know. I’ve never lived in a big city (and don’t want to!), and I love the way a small town operates.
Q: What are some of the challenges involved with writing a mystery?
You have to keep the reader guessing and engaged. I want the reader to stay up until two in the morning because she couldn’t put the book down. It’s also challenging to keep each book fresh. After writing as many books as I have, I have to think hard about plot and character before starting a new book.
Q: Your main character, Mallory, left behind her small hometown and a string of strained relationships after her mother died. Why does our struggle with personal shame have such a strong impact on our relationships?
When we are hurt and fail, it makes us want to retreat and not take the risk of getting hurt again. Personal shame strikes at our core because we feel we can never make up for that failure. We fear the relationship can never be mended. When the shame and guilt run deep, it takes God to bring the necessary healing too.
mermaid moonQ: Family relationships can be the trickiest relationships of all. Why do you think that is?
Our family relationships have the deepest thread of love running through them. When you are hurt by someone you love that much, a sense of deep betrayal can make us put up our guard. It strikes at the core of who we are because the family relationship helped form us into who we are.
Q: Why do you think women, particularly single mothers, will find a kinship with Mallory?
Mallory had a lot to overcome in Mermaid Moon, but she didn’t let her circumstances keep her from doing what had to be done. Single moms have so much on their shoulders, and I have a lot of empathy for them (though I’ve never had to go through that myself). I want them to know God is there for them, and they can find the strength to do what needs to be done every day.
Q: What is so bad about being a perfectionist? Isn’t striving for your best a good thing?
Too often a perfectionist bases her worth on doing things right. Any failure to perform perfectly leaves her feeling she isn’t good enough. Of course we want to give anything we do our best, but our character isn’t damaged when we fail or when we mess up. People can love us even if we aren’t perfect.
Q: When Mallory finds herself in distress more than a decade after leaving home, her first instinct is to reach out to her first love. Why does our first love often have such a lasting impact on our hearts?
I think we never forget our first love. Everything is new and wonderful, and it seems perfect to our young and impressionable selves. Sometimes first love is the only time we throw ourselves fully into a relationship. It shouldn’t be that way, but if the first love ends badly, it can affect how much of ourselves we are willing to give to a future relationship.
Q: When is it appropriate to give others who have hurt us a second chance, and when should we leave them in the past?
I think you have to look at their character. Did they hurt you because they simply messed up? We all mess up. Or did they hurt you because they didn’t care enough to be faithful and devoted? Is the offense likely to happen again? Did they habitually hurt you? If that’s the case, it’s not really wise to put yourself in that position again. You have to forgive them and not hold onto bitterness, but it’s foolish to think they will change if you just love them enough.
Q: The death of a loved one often leaves us thinking about how to live without regrets. In what ways can we take that sentiment too far?
Some people can take that in a wrong direction and live for themselves only. They give no thought to other people and the future. It’s much wiser to take that loss as a chance to make sure you care for your loved ones as best as you can. The worst regrets are when a loved one dies and you know you could have done better in showing them your love and care.
Q: Without giving away too much, at one point in Mermaid Moon, Mallory cuts her hair off, even though she’d been growing it out for 20 years. What was the symbolism in that act? Have you ever done anything similar to mark a big decision?
I wanted the reader to see Mallory was not being weighed down with the past any longer. Much of her decision to grow it out was rooted in the past, and she was ready to let go of that. I used to have hair as long as Mallory’s, but mine was only cut off to shorten time spent on it so I could use that time with my new son.
Q: What is the main impression you want to make on readers of Mermaid Moon?
It’s usually harder to forgive ourselves than to forgive others. God doesn’t want us to carry around that burden of guilt and shame. We can be free of it if we realize He forgave it long ago. We’re the one still lugging it around.
Q: What do you have planned next for the Sunset Cove series?
I’m working on Twilight at Blueberry Barrens. This is Kate’s story, and she witnesses two bodies going off a cliff in the first scene. The authorities rule it a murder/suicide, but the brother of one of the victims believes it was murder. Kate gets drawn into the danger when she takes charge of the two girls orphaned by the deaths.
July 11, 2017
Icebreaker: Colleen Coble
Danger beneath the surface
Interview by Savanna Walker
Colleen Coble returns to her beloved Rock Harbor series with Beneath Copper Falls. Sponsored by Thomas Nelson.
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BookPage IcebreakerThis BookPage Icebreaker is sponsored by Thomas Nelson.
Indiana-based author Colleen Coble is the author of several bestselling Christian romantic suspense series, all set in unforgettable locations. But the Rock Harbor books, which began with her breakout novel, Without a Trace, might be her most beloved work.
In Beneath Copper Falls, Coble's long-awaited return to the small town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Dana Newell tries to start over after fleeing an abusive relationship. Here, she reunites with series heroine Bree Matthews as Dana tentatively explores a relationship with a new friend, Boone. But there's a murderer on the loose who preys on vulnerable women—romancing them, proposing marriage and then murdering them. When Dana's ex-boyfriend follows her to Rock Harbor and begins threatening to destroy her new life, she and Bree will have to sort through Dana's past and the dangers of the present to unmask the killer.
Bree has been the heroine in several of the Rock Harbor books—when did you make the decision to split the focus between her and Dana?
I made that flip before in a previous book, Abomination, that’s been re-released as Haven of Swans, and readers loved that. Because I write romantic mysteries, not that you can’t have romance with married characters, but you have to have a problem usually! So I decided to have Dana return to Rock Harbor, looking for help from Bree, and that worked out pretty well, I think. I think readers are going to enjoy Dana’s story, but they’re also going to get to see what’s going on with Bree, Kade and the kids.
Did you find yourself approaching chapters from Dana and Bree’s perspective differently? Was it useful to have two viewpoints?
One of the things I typically do when I’m writing is decide who has the most to lose, because that ups your stakes. I brought Bree in for the scenes where she’s really afraid for Dana, and I felt that really helped the reader realize just how much danger Dana is in. Sometimes it helps to have another perspective, and as Bree’s had some experience with dangerous people, she was able to carry that. And I was able to show their friendship and bring in the search dog angle that my readers love so well.
When did you first visit the Upper Peninsula and what was it that captured your attention and made you set a series there?
My husband and I love to vacation up there, so we knew about it before I wrote the series. When I read a magazine article about search and rescue in Yellowstone, I thought I wanted a wilderness area, but I wanted somewhere that isn’t as well known. Then all of a sudden I thought, “Oh, the UP!” I could have put it anywhere in the UP, but as I was researching I stumbled across the fact that the Keweenaw region was settled by Finns. My best friend in high school was a Finnish foreign exchange student, I’ve been to Finland, we hosted her daughter as a Finnish foreign exchange student—it was like it was meant to be. I was led to a perfect spot!
I always try to make sure that I go wherever I’m setting a series, because you never really know exactly what that culture is like and what it’s like in that area unless you are actually visiting there. So I hit small local cafes and coffee shops and just sit around, listen to people talk and try to immerse myself in that. And the UP is almost like stepping back in time. It’s a very low population and the people are lovely!
“I look around and there’s no justice in the world, but by golly, I can make sure it happens in my books!”
Have you done any of the ice-climbing and other outdoor activities the characters do in the series?
I have done some of that! Not the ice-climbing [laughs]. When I was writing the second book in the Rock Harbor series, Beyond a Doubt, I wanted to experience what a winter was like up there, so we went up in February. It was the coldest winter they had had in 10 or 15 years. It was unbelievably cold! My husband looked at me and said, “Maybe you ought to think about writing a series someplace warm next time” [laughs]. But it is really something up there. It is just an amazing wonderland during the winter.
Did you have to decompress after spending so much time writing from the perspective of a serial killer and a domestic abuser in Beneath Copper Falls? Does it get to you at all?
It doesn’t really get to me because I know they’re going to get their just desserts! People sometimes ask me, “Why do you write this stuff?” and I think it’s because I have a really strong sense of justice. I look around and there’s no justice in the world, but by golly, I can make sure it happens in my books!
Was the Groom Reaper, the serial murderer in Beneath Copper Falls, inspired by any real-life killers?
It really wasn’t. I got to thinking how to tie the hero to the heroine, by having his sister being previously killed. So then I got to thinking, “How would that play out?” I thought it was an intriguing premise, that these women never measure up [for the killer], and so he has to dispose of them and move on the next one. In fact, my critique partner, the romance writer Denise Hunter, came up with the name, which was just perfect!
You’re already balancing mystery and romance in your books. As a Christian writer, how do you mix in your faith while making sure all three elements are balanced?
You know, I have always said that it doesn’t matter who the writer is, you will always pick up their worldview. I could no more write a story that didn’t have a faith element than I could breathe, because that’s who I am. And so it comes out in the story in a very natural way. The thing is, it’s usually not planned. And early on in my career I would think, “OK, I’m going to have this spiritual element.” Well, my characters never obeyed or followed through with what I had planned! They always had their own issues that they were dealing with.
In my books, it’s not a salvation message usually. It’s more people like me, dealing with things I deal with. If I’m dealing with an issue with forgiveness, for example. Maybe there’s somebody I’ve had to come to grips with who doesn’t like me, and I’ve got to go through that. Or loss, or figuring out how I fit in the world. I never want to write a character who comes across as having it all together, because I sure don’t have it all together! In the first book, Without a Trace, Bree is searching for a plane that went down while carrying her husband and her little boy. She’s dealing with a lot of guilt about what she could have done better, and whether it was her fault because [she and her husband had] had an argument. I deal with guilt sometimes, too, that I didn’t do enough or I don’t do enough. I think we as women deal with that in particular—we feel like we should be able to do it all, and the reality is, no one can.
And yes the romance has to balance in there too, along with the mystery. We did a survey about one or two years ago to see why readers pick up my books. It came out that they really loved the mystery and they loved the emotional relationship stuff going on. So I try to keep that balance. A lot of people who write romance have the hero and heroine hating one another. I’m not that way. My romance is more where they’re having to work together and they have some conflicts because of personalities and who they are, but they’re attracted to one another. I don’t write your traditional romance where you have a black moment and they’re going to break up. That’s just not my thing. I write more of a women’s fiction—relationships and how they can be broken and how they can be fixed.
Are there any books in the Rock Harbor series that you look back on now and see something that was going on your life that made it into the book without you realizing it?
Oh, yes. And that’s another thing that a lot of people have asked, whether I plot my books. And I don’t. I start off with an interesting premise, and I usually do not know who the villain is. I lay down rabbit trails and see where it and the characters take me. The character decides, and I know that sounds crazy [laughs]! “You’re the writer, don’t you know what your characters are going to do?” and by golly, I don’t! I’ll be writing along and those characters will go off in a direction I didn’t even know they knew how to do.
And so those themes that come out in the novel, I usually don’t know what direction they are going in. I start off with an interesting premise, and I see how it plays out in the character’s life. And they tell me the theme and the theme develops. When I reach the end of the novel, I see it, and then I can go back and strengthen that in the editing process.
So how does that work, not knowing who the villain is in the first draft? You must have to go back and fix or omit a lot of things in the subsequent drafts!
Exactly. And I’ve written a couple of books where I plotted it out. I tell you what, it was so not fun! Because I knew what was going to happen. If I knew what was going to happen, then why write the book? I might as well just forget it, because I want to be on a journey too!
There are so many plot elements to put together while writing a mystery. Does not knowing who the killer is in your first draft make the process easier for you? By not having that pressure to make it all fit together?
It does for me. But what I always tell aspiring writers, is that there’s no one right way to write. Everybody comes at a story differently. There are some people who must have it plotted out. They’re paralyzed and they can’t write it otherwise. My process is not like that. Anyone who says, “You must write this way,” turn around and walk away, because they don’t understand writing! We are not all wired the same, we just aren’t.
I found the character of Lori, who is younger and less settled in her life than the other characters, very interesting and sympathetic. You nailed how some people develop in fits and starts. Will we see her take center stage in a Rock Harbor novel eventually?
I do want to have her center stage. I’ve waited a while, because she’s still pretty young and my characters tend to be more in their late 20s. I almost did [write a book about] her this time, but I thought, “No, I’m going to wait one more book.” She’s always been a very interesting character to me. I’ve always loved her even when she was really a brat at the beginning of the series! But she’s progressed further than I even thought she was going to. She’s getting there! I think we all see ourselves in her a lot, because we all mess up.
Do you know what the premise of Lori’s story is going to be yet, or are you going to let it surprise you?
I don’t know yet, but it will definitely involve murder [laughs].
HomeFeatures
Romantic Suspense Author Q&A: Colleen Coble (Three Missing Days)
Colleen Coble
April 27, 2021
1 Comment
Best-selling Christian fiction romantic suspense author Colleen Coble‘s novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, ACFW Book of the Year, RWA’s RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers’ Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has nearly 2 million books in print and writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail. She lives with her husband Dave in Indiana.
In this interview, Colleen talks about the recently released book number three in her Pelican Harbor Series, Three Missing Days.
FF: Readers love the fast pace of the previous novels in the series. How do you get the pacing just right to keep readers on the edge of their seats, but still developing the story and characters?
You have to make sure to give the reader a chance to breathe—but not too big of a gap. I try to make sure the reader is worried about multiple layers so even as they are relaxing from the cessation of danger for a few minutes, they’re intrigued by another problem the characters are dealing with. I also like to zero in on character as my protagonist deals with the blows that come her way. How she handles things are part of the world building and show who she really is inside.
FF: How do you create the right balance of romance and suspense in your novels? What does a romance thread add to a suspenseful story?
As a reader, I pick up a book to immerse myself in another world—to understand the world and people a little better than I did before I read the last page. We are made for relationship. A romance adds that layer of relationship we all crave. I try to add more than just romance though—I try to show how real love is more than physical attraction. It’s about finding another person who really “gets” us, who fills a hole in our lives that we didn’t know was missing. In a suspenseful story, the romance gives the reader space to breathe even as they worry about the outcome of the relationship. Relationship transcends danger for more readers. As a suspense reader, I love the action and danger, but the relationship adds to the urgency of the escape from death.
FF: How did you research/create the setting for the Pelican Harbor Series, Alabama?
I always have to visit the location because you discover things while there you never would notice by reading travel books. For example, I knew nothing about Bamahenge before my first visit. I didn’t know about the dinosaur statues nearby either. You have to taste shrimp gumbo to really appreciate it, and there is nothing like watching the pelicans swoop over the water and snatch up fish. I wouldn’t have realized oil and gas platforms dot the landscape offshore without seeing them from the beach. It was during our first visit that a young friend working on a shrimp boat told me about the things they haul up in the nets. That was the catalyst for the entire series. I always start with setting when crafting a new book. I know that sounds backwards, but what is important to people living in the area helps so much with character and plot!
Book Summary:
A chilling murder.
Chief of Police Jane Hardy plunges into the investigation of a house fire that claimed the life of a local woman as well as one of the firefighters. It’s clear the woman was murdered. But why? The unraveling of Jane’s personal life only makes the answers in the case more difficult to find.
Her son’s arrest.
Then Jane’s fifteen-year-old son is accused of a horrific crime, and she has to decide whether or not she can trust her ex, Reid, in the attempt to prove Will’s innocence—and whether she can trust Reid with her heart.
Her stolen memories.
Three days of Jane’s past are missing from her memory, and that’s not all that has been stolen from her. As she works to find the woman’s murdered and clear her son’s name, finding out what happened in those three days could change everything.
It all started with one little lie. But the gripping truth is finally coming out.
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Romantic Suspense Author Q&A: Colleen Coble (Dark of Night)
Colleen Coble
January 27, 2023
Colleen Coble is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her coastal Romantic Suspense novels, including The Inn at Ocean’s Edge, Twilight at Blueberry Barrens, and the Lavender Tides, Sunset Cove, Hope Beach, and Rock Harbor Series.
In this interview, Colleen talks about her latest release—the second novel in her Annie Pederson Novel Series, titled Dark of Night.
FF: What inspired the story in your book?
I get a lot of requests for more Rock Harbor novels, but I wanted to do something slightly different that would still bring in the characters readers have grown to love so much. I stumbled across an article about law enforcement rangers—LEOs—and I wanted a strong female character to take that role. I had an idea from some years back about a woman dealing with the abduction of her younger sister when her sister was five. Annie was born from those elements.
FF: What can you tell us about the main characters in your book?
Annie and Jon had a relationship when they were younger and broke up with Jon went away to medical school. He’s now an orthopedic surgeon (I know quite a bit about orthopedics after two broken ankles and a knee replacement in the past three years!) and Annie works with Ranger Kade Matthews from the original Rock Harbor Series. She handles law enforcement on a national forest, and I found it to be a very interesting profession I thought readers would enjoy. She’s a widow with a small daughter and also manages a marina on Lake Superior that she inherited from her parents. The marina is struggling, and Annie has a lot to juggle.
FF: Which character surprised you the most?
I love exploring how people justify poor choices, and while delving into one of those choices, I brought in Siela Chen who is part of the FBI’s CARD unit which deals with abducted children. I was interested in learning more about her job.
FF: Why do you think storytelling is such a powerful way to share truth?
We can see how choices translate to life in general. And we get to experience things we’ve never dealt with. Story shares emotion which carries a big wallop when learning about life.
FF: What can you tell us about your next book?
Break of Day wraps up the Annie Pederson trilogy, and I’m excited for readers to see all the threads tied up, including several ones that have spanned all three books.
FF: How do you get into the right frame of mind to write for your genre/audience?
I always have my reader in mind. This series is an example of that! Readers asked for more Rock Harbor novels so I dug deep for all the layers they enjoyed so much in the original series. I hope I delivered!
FF: What do you want readers to take away after reading your book?
Choices matter, but forgiveness matters even more.
FF: What are the biggest challenges for you as an author writing Romantic Suspense novels?
It can be challenging to make sure the suspense is layered with the romance and neither one is shortchanged for my readers.
FF: What authors or books have inspired you as an author?
One book that really helped me as a writer is one by James Scott Bell titled Write Your Novel From the Middle.
FF: How has your faith or world view impacted the way you tell stories?
The underpinning for my faith and world view is the role forgiveness plays in our lives. It starts with God’s forgiveness for us, but we’re told to exercise it on our relationships with others. I’ve seen families and friendships impacted badly when it’s not practices and have seen relationships transformed when we follow God in the area of forgiveness. It’s often not easy, but it’s always worth it in the end!
Dark of Night
Annie Pederson Novel Series #2
Colleen Coble
Thomas Nelson
Genres: Suspense/Mystery, Romantic Suspense
Release Date: January 10, 2023
ISBN-10: 0785253742
ISBN-13: 978-0785253747
Book Summary:
The law is about justice—not grace. But perhaps ranger Annie Pederson can find a way to have both.
As if the last few months haven’t been hard enough—complete with threats on her life and the return of her first love, Jon—Annie has to figure out whether or not to believe a woman who claims to be her sister, Sarah, who was abducted twenty-four years ago at age five. Annie’s eight-year-old daughter, Kylie, has plenty of questions about what’s going on in her mother’s life—but there are some stories Annie doesn’t want uncovered.
As Annie grapples with how to heal the gulf between her and her would-be sister and make room in her daughter’s life for Jon, she’s professionally distracted by the case of yet another missing hiker in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. A woman named Michelle Fraser has now been abducted, and though the woman’s estranged husband is at the top of their suspect list, Annie and her colleagues will need to dig deeper to determine whether these recent mysteries are truly as unrelated as they seem.
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Romantic Suspense Author Q&A: Colleen Coble (Break of Day)
Colleen Coble
July 28, 2023
Best-selling Christian Romantic Suspense author Colleen Coble‘s novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, the ACFW Carol Award, the Romance Writers of America RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers’ Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has over 5 million books in print and writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail. Colleen is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers.
In this interview, Colleen talks with us about her latest book, Break of Day.
FF: What inspired the story in your book?
Readers have loved my Rock Harbor Series so much, and I wanted to catch up with the gang there. I decided a spin-off series made more sense, and I love 2nd chance romance stories. There are always unresolved conflicts in those kinds of novels that make for a fun story to write. There’s a surprise twist early on in the series that took 3 books to work out, and I hope readers enjoy it!
FF: What can you tell us about the main characters in your book?
Annie Pederson is a law enforcement park ranger. She’s a widow with a daughter and she’s driven to find out what happened to her little sister who was kidnapped when she was five. That’s an important thread that weaves through the series. Jon Dunstan is an orthopedic surgeon (I know way more about orthopedic surgery than anyone should know from firsthand experience! He and Annie broke up when he went off to college. It takes a lot to resolve all their issues!
FF: Which character surprised you the most?
Annie knew a lot more about survival in the woods then I realized going into the series.
FF: Why do you think storytelling is such a powerful way to share truth?
There is emotion attached to story, and it penetrates to the heart in a personal way. As readers, we experience those same emotions and understand what our characters understand. I’m a voracious reader and always have a book in my hand. Story helps me see so many perspectives other than my own.
FF: What can you tell us about your next book?
I’m super excited to share my next standalone with readers! Fragile Designs is a story I’ve thought about for twenty years. A widow with an infant, Carly Harris finds a mysterious egg in her great-grandmother’s belongings, and it plunges her headfirst into mounting danger as she unravels the secrets of a missing Faberge egg.
FF: How do you get into the right frame of mind to write for your genre/audience?
I love romantic suspense. It’s what I read myself. I always travel to the location as well, and this time, I spent some time reading nonfiction about the great woods up north. I needed that sense of isolation and foreboding.
FF: What do you want readers to take away after reading your book?
There are several layers of 2nd chances, and I hope readers remember it’s never too late to make amends.
FF: What are the biggest challenges for you as an author writing in your specific genre?
Since I write suspense, it’s important to me to make sure readers still end up with hope at the end. I try hard not to dwell on the power of evil because God always wins. Yes, bad things can happen to us, but it’s not the end. There’s a popular song right now I love titled “Fear is Not My Future.” Nothing that happens in this life is our future—God is. Heaven is our future. Nothing can overcome us in this life because it’s not the end.
FF: What authors or books have inspired you as an author?
My dear friend and fellow author, Diann Hunt, went home to be with the Lord 10 years ago this year, and I’ve been thinking a lot about her impact on my life. She faced ovarian cancer with such courage and faith. She taught me to face adversity with humor and a deep love for Jesus, no matter what. I was by her side when she stepped into heaven, and I caught a glimpse of it that night. If you’ve never read a Diann Hunt novel, find one! You’re in for a treat of laughter, love, and faith.
FF: How has your faith or world view impacted the way you tell stories?
My faith is the lens through which I see the world. As I write this, I’ve been through a 2-week ordeal of not being able to see after cataract surgery. Yesterday the blurry lens that wasn’t working for me was replaced with a different kind and everything is suddenly vivid and true again. That’s how my faith impacts my life—it lets me see things clearly so I’m not consumed by fear.
Break of Day
An Annie Pederson Novel Series #3
Colleen Coble
Thomas Nelson
Genres: Mystery/Suspense Romantic Suspense
Release Date: July 4, 2023
ISBN-10: 0785253785
ISBN-13: 978-0785253785
Book Summary:
Annie Pederson’s happily ever after is finally within sight—If she can stay alive long enough to grasp it.
Law enforcement officer Annie Pederson’s life has been rocked by tragedy, but things finally seem to be heading in the right direction. Her relationship with the love of her life—who’s also the biological father of her precious daughter—has never been better, and it looks like an engagement ring is in Annie’s future. She’s also slowly building back trust with her sister, Sarah, after a separation that lasted for decades.
When a man escapes law enforcement custody and Sarah’s safety is suddenly in question, Annie’s personal and professional lives once again merge. Meanwhile, her investigation of hikers who have gone missing in the remote woods of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula puts her in the crosshairs of a deadly game.
Now, Annie is the one being hunted. When she discovers the terrible truth about the men who are stalking her, she realizes that she’s in for the fight of her life if she’s going to redeem the sister she once lost, build the family she dreams of, and keep all those she loves safe.
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Two Reasons to Run: A Conversation with Colleen Coble
September 11, 2020 Josh Olds Podcast Comments Offon Two Reasons to Run: A Conversation with Colleen Coble
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I’ve been diving into a lot of non-fiction recently, with the terrible side effect of not having as much time for fiction. It’d been a while since my last Christian fiction novel when I picked up Two Reasons to Run (and then One Little Lie…I did it in reverse), and it was exactly what I needed at time. I wanted to talk to Colleen about the series, and ask her about the writing life—I figured being CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers, she might have some valuable insights.
The Interview | Two Reasons to Run by Colleen Coble
This excerpt has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity. You can listen to the full interview by clicking the play button above or subscribing at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Josh Olds: there’s a lot of relational drama in this book, and most of it stems from untangling and weaving all of the mess of book one in the background to that. So when you’re writing a novel like this, how do you make sure that everything does seem believable?
Colleen Coble: That’s always a challenge in fiction because there’re some things that are so fantastical that happened in real life, but if you put them in fiction people wouldn’t believe you. So it has to be set up properly to where you’re always thinking about how your reader suspends disbelief. They have to suspend disbelief to enter into the story…When you’re in the character’s head, that helps a lot because you can get their perspective about how things play out. I really liked what you were talking about on what fiction does for us. And one of the things that it does also is gives us empathy. I’ve never been in a cult. I’m a Christian, I go to a really good church, but I’ve never been in a cult. It’s interesting for the writer to enter into something like that, something different, to explore identity, but it also helps the reader get to where they understand what people go through and gives us a different perspective on battles that people face that we’ve never faced. It gives us a little more sympathy and empathy for what other people go through.
Josh Olds: I think that’s what great fiction is intended to do, it helps us explore these ideas in the safe zone of fiction so that we can take them out into our lives…one of the themes that I really got from this book was working through forgiveness and working through guilt.
Colleen Coble: Yeah, and it’s sort of funny because I’ll start out with a whole different idea as far as what I think the book is about. But always—always—the theme of forgiveness pops up in my books. And I think it’s because it’s something that I believe changes people: when they can truly understand forgiving yourself and forgiving other people. Forgiving ourselves can be something really tough to do, so that particular aspect of forgiveness really worked its way into this series because of Jane’s past. She really feels like she has to forgive herself. She swallowed all of the cult teachings herself even though she was taken in there as a child, and that was the way she was trained up, but she still had to forgive herself and work through…The theme of forgiveness often comes up in my books, but this one is more forgiving yourself for the past and in ways that you failed. And we all have those. We all have those things in our lives that we wish we’d done differently. And we wish we could go back and change and some It can stop us up from growing because we’re still stuck there.
The Book | Two Reasons to Run (Pelican Harbor #2)
A lie changed her world.
Police Chief Jane Hardy is still reeling from the scandal that rocked her small-town department just as she took over for her retired father—the man who wrecked her life with one little lie. Now she’s finally been reunited with her presumed-dead fifteen-year-old son, Will, and his father, documentarian Reid Bechtol.
A crisis looms.
When a murder aboard the oil platform Zeus exposes an environmental terrorist’s plot to flood Mobile Bay with crude oil, Jane and Reid must put their feelings for each other behind them and work together to prevent the rig from being sabotaged.
A killer targets her son.
Then the terrorist puts her son Will’s life on the line. Protecting him could be the common ground they need . . . but then ghosts from the past threaten to ruin Jane and Reid for good.
She’s got plenty of reasons to run. But what if she stays?
The Author | Colleen Coble
Best-selling romantic suspense author Colleen Coble’s novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, the ACFW Carol Award, the Romance Writers of America RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers’ Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has nearly 4 million books in print and writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail. Colleen is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers. She lives with her husband Dave in Indiana. Visit her website at www.colleencoble.com.
An Exclusive with Colleen Coble
Posted on August 24, 2020 by The Strand Magazine
Strand Magazine Interview – Colleen Coble
Best-selling romantic suspense author Colleen Coble’s novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, the ACFW Carol Award, the Romance Writers of America RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers’ Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has nearly 4 million books in print and writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail. Colleen is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers. She lives with her husband Dave in Indiana. Visit her website at www.colleencoble.com.
1. When did you first decide to become a writer?
I wrote my first book in 1st or 2nd grade. It was about a horse that had twin colts. The teacher praised it, and I thought, wow, maybe I could have a book in the library someday. The seed was planted way back then. I would take that dream out and blow off the dust every now and then, but I didn’t do anything until my younger brother, Randy, was killed in a freak lightning accident when I was thirty-eight. It was a wakeup call for me that it was time to follow my dream.
2. Do you use outlines, or tend to make up more of the story as you go along?
I am mostly a seat-of-the-pants writer. I start off with an interesting premise, but I usually don’t know who the villain is, and I lay down several rabbit trails to see where they will take me. It makes it more fun for me! I’ve plotted out some books, but knowing what was going to happen took all the fun out of writing for me.
3. Tell us about your most recent book.
Two Reasons to Run continues the story of police chief, Jane Hardy, from One Little Lie. I usually have different protagonists in my series books (with the exception of the Rock Harbor series) but Jane’s character arc and story were too complex for one book. In Two Reasons to Run, Jane stumbles across a plot to sabotage an oil platform in the Gulf, and she has to ask Reid Dixon, the father of her son, for help. But ghosts from the past still threaten to sabotage their budding relationship.
4. Have you always been interested in mysteries featuring police officers as protagonists?
No, I usually have a strong woman who finds herself in extraordinary circumstances and becomes an amateur sleuth. But Jane was born nearly full grown in my head, and she has such a strong streak of justice she had to be a police officer.
5. What does your research process look like?
Setting is super important to me. Most of my plots take an important element from the setting in some way, so I have to visit the place in person. And I read tons of books and online articles about my protagonist’s career choice, background, and family connections.
6. Who are some of your favorite authors, and how do you feel they influence your writing?
Reading Stephen King taught me how to write deep POV. He is the master at putting you right into the character’s shoes. When Carrie came out, not many authors wrote that very deep POV, and I was hooked.
7. What are you currently reading?
I’m in the middle of The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate. Fabulous story! I just finished Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg, and I was so taken with the protagonist I preordered the next one, something I rarely do this far out.
8. What advice do you have for beginning authors?
Read, read, read! Immerse yourself in your favorite genre, and figure out why you care what happens in the book. And attend at least one good writing conference a year to network and meet agents and editors.
9. What do you use for idea and/or story inspiration?
I’m terrible at titles! Luckily, my team is great at them. I usually send them some setting words and phrases that evoke something about the story and let them land on the right one. Story ideas hit out of nowhere. I might be reading an article or watching a documentary, and the idea hits. The Pelican Harbor series came about while eating dinner in Gulf Shores with some friends. Isaac, a sixteen-year-old boy, was telling me about his experiences aboard a shrimp boat. He said, “You wouldn’t believe the things we pull up. Washing machines, refrigerators, all kinds of things.” I immediately saw a female police chief investigating a body dressed in a wedding dress and found in a cooler by a shrimp boat.
10. What part of the writing process is the most rewarding, and which is most difficult?
My very favorite part is that substantive editorial letter. For months I’m like an oxen slogging up a hill toward town. I know there’s a town there because I can just make out a church steeple and a school. But I get those suggestions back from my editors, and I can see so much more clearly! Another oxen drops into the traces beside me, and we’re heading faster and faster toward that town. I can see the flower boxes on the houses, and the kids playing basketball. I can hear the music and smell the flowers. The most difficult part is the first 15,000 words as I’m learning my characters and laying down some red herrings. I hit that point, and the words start to pour out.
Colleen Coble: On Pursuing Your Dreams
Bestselling author Colleen Coble discusses the risk of doing what others expect vs. what you want in her new romantic suspense novel, A Stranger’s Game.
Robert Lee BrewerJan 4, 2022
Bestselling romantic suspense author Colleen Coble’s novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, the ACFW Carol Award, the Romance Writers of America RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers’ Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has over four million books in print and her books have been on the USA Today bestseller list, the ECPA, CBA, Publishers Weekly, and Amazon bestseller lists.
She writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail. Colleen is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers. She lives with her husband Dave in Indiana. Visit her website at colleencoble.com, or find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Colleen Coble: On Pursuing Your Dreams
Colleen Coble
In this post, Colleen discusses the risk of doing what others expect vs. what you want in her new romantic suspense novel, A Stranger’s Game, how this novel differs from her others, and more!
Name: Colleen Coble
Literary agent: Karen Solem, Spencerhill Associates
Book title: A Stranger’s Game
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release date: January 4, 2022
Genre/category: Romantic Suspense
Previous titles: Colleen Coble is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her coastal romantic suspense novels, including The Inn at Ocean's Edge, Twilight at Blueberry Barrens, and the Lavender Tides, Sunset Cove, Hope Beach, and Rock Harbor series.
Elevator pitch for the book: When hotel heiress Torie Bergstrom learns that her childhood friend has drowned, she knows it is more than a tragic accident: Lisbeth was terrified of water and wouldn’t have gone swimming by choice. Desperate to find answers, Torie goes to the hotel under an alias, but as she digs, she realizes someone will risk anything—even more murder—to keep their secrets buried.
Colleen Coble: On Pursuing Your Dreams
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What prompted you to write this book?
After visiting Jekyll Island, I was hooked on its history and wanted to explore some of the intriguing facts surrounding its early use including the clandestine creation of the Federal Reserve. I was intrigued by the idea of a hotel heiress who was only going through the motions of what her family expected instead of pursuing her own dreams.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
It took about a year for me to conceive of the idea and to write it, then another year to publication. My novels always change as I write them. I’m a seat-of-the-pants writer and often don’t fully know the suspense plot.
I’ve tried plotting, but it saps the fun out of writing for me. If I know how it’s going to end, why write it? In A Stranger’s Game, the motive behind the games changed to something more personal. I tend to be drawn to writing about how past secrets emerge to drag my characters into danger.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
My team at Thomas Nelson is superb, and they were so enamored with this title that they went for a different look with the cover. It turned out to be a spectacular cover!
Colleen Coble: On Pursuing Your Dreams
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
This was my first novel set in a real town. I generally pick an area and plop a town in where I want it so I can create it completely in my imagination. But Jekyll Island is such a unique place with a truly unusual history, and I wanted to use it in the novel.
I had to carefully research existing businesses, beaches, and roads. A resident read the novel for accuracy as well. I took a few literary licenses with the setting that I mention in my Dear Reader letter, but I tried to be as accurate as possible.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
Dreams belong to each of us. We can’t be truly happy with pursing someone else’s idea of what our goals should be. I hope readers evaluate their lives and make any adjustments to follow their dreams.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
The best thing about being a writer is that you never arrive. There’s always something new to learn and try. Never stop learning. Read widely in your genre. Read how-to books (Writer’s Digest is the best place to start!) Attend a good writers conference every year. Hone your skills with every single book.
Author Interview (and a Giveaway!): Colleen Coble & The View from Rainshadow Bay
Posted February 1, 2018 by meezcarrie in Author Interview, Christian, Colleen Coble, contemporary, giveaway, mystery/suspense, romance / 80 Comments
I cannot even express how excited I am about today’s guest! She is one of my auto-buy authors, no matter what genre she’s writing, and truly a sweetheart in person.
USAToday bestselling author Colleen Coble’s novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, the ACFW Carol Award, the Romance Writers of America RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers’ Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has nearly 4 million books in print and writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail. Colleen is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers. She lives with her husband Dave in Indiana. Visit her website at www.colleencoble.com and connect at Facebook.
Her most recent release, The View from Rainshadow Bay, starts her new Lavender Tides series!
After her husband, Jack, dies in a climbing incident, Shauna has only her five-year-old son and her helicopter charter business to live for. Every day is a struggle to make ends meet and she lives in constant fear of losing even more than she already has.
When her business partner is murdered, his final words convince Shauna that she’s in danger too. But where can she turn? Zach Bannister was her husband’s best friend and is the person she blames for his death. She’s barely spoken to him since. But right now he seems her only hope for protecting her son.
Zach is only too happy to assuage his guilt over Jack’s death by helping Shauna any way he can. But there are secrets involved dating back to Shauna’s childhood that more than one person would prefer to stay hidden.
In The View from Rainshadow Bay, suspense, danger, and a longing to love again ignite amid the gorgeous lavender fields of Washington State.
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“Prepare to stay up all night with Colleen Coble. Coble’s beautiful, emotional prose coupled with her keen sense of pacing, escalating danger, and very real characters place her firmly at the top of the suspense genre. I could not put this book down.” –Allison Brennan, New York Times bestselling author of Shattered
“…The View From Rainshadow Bay, opens with a heart-pounding, run-for-your-life chase. This book will stay with you for a long time, long after you flip to the last page.” – 4 STARS, RT Book Reviews
Hi dear Colleen! Welcome to the blog! I am so incredibly honored to have you here 🙂
apples or oranges
Colleen: Apples but they have to be Pink Lady. I am obsessed with the sweetness and tartness of that type. LOL
Carrie: Yum! I love Pink Lady apples, though my faves are Honey Crisp.
winter or summer
Colleen: Summer. I hate the cold and snow. 🙁
Carrie: It’s okay. I still love you 🙂
dogs or cats
Colleen: Cats. We had a cat for 18 years and loved him. I like dogs too but cats don’t slobber. LOL
Carrie: haha!! This is very true. My sweet Zuzu would be highly offended at me saying that, but I have yet to meet a cat who slobbers. Zuzu on the other hand? But she’s worth it ♥
coffee or tea
Colleen: Coffee, coffee, coffee! I’m obsessed with coffee, but it has to be GOOD coffee. Organic, fair trade is the best. Captain Davy’s Coffee Roasters is the very best! When roasted on an IR roaster, the full flavor of the bean comes through, and there’s no sour stomach. I used to drink it with flavored creamer, then with cream, then with butter and MCT oil, and now I drink it black. Actually, thanks to Kristin Billerbeck, I started on the entry drug, Iced Mochas. LOL You just learned a lot about me. 🙂
Carrie: LOL! I know… that was really a silly question to ask you lol.
Q: Around here I like to say that reading is my superpower. If YOU had a superpower, what would it be?
Colleen: Reading also! I started reading really young and still read at least 3 books a week, even when writing. I couldn’t live without reading. Reading helps me make sense of the world, and I believe it instilled a great sense of empathy.
Carrie: Oh I love that! It always makes me sad when my author friends say they had to quit reading when they started writing. I’m delighted that you still read so much – makes my heart happy!
Q: Tell me some good books you’ve read lately.
Colleen: I’m obsessed with Lisa Gardner and Lisa Scottoline. I’m making my way through their entire backlist (and they are both large!) I have Gardner’s Look For Me on preorder and it’s due to hit my Kindle in a week. My fave book of hers is always the last one I read. LOL
Carrie: Hmmm yes – that happens to me with your books haha! I have not (yet) read anything by Lisa Scottoline but I do love Lisa Gardner!
Q: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever Googled while researching a book?
Colleen: Right after 9/11, I was writing Without a Trace, and I needed to know how to down a small plane on purpose. Try getting that question answered when everyone was on high alert. I finally found a small plane forum and begged for help. One kind soul went to my website and checked it out, then finally gave me the answer I needed. 🙂
Carrie: haha! oh dear! that would be a tricky time to research that…
Q: You are a master at setting and, particularly, at integrating the setting with the suspense. In your new Lavender Tides series, you’re heading to the opposite side of the country from your Sunset Cove series in Maine. How did Washington state pose different challenges and/or benefits in creating the setting for your characters?
Colleen: I’ve visited the area since I was a child because my aunt and uncle lived in Tacoma. It’s very different from Maine though, and the Sequim area is different from Seattle as well. I always try to make sure you can’t pick up one of my books and plunk it into another setting. In Washington you have that awesome ferry system and so many islands. It’s beautiful in a different way from Maine.
Carrie: I can already imagine many delicious suspense possibilities with a ferry system and islands and Colleen Coble!
Q: Zach and Shauna are both dealing with grief, guilt, secrets and second chances in The View from Rainshadow Bay. And of course trying to stay alive lol. Which of these two characters do you most closely relate to, and why?
Colleen: Probably Zach. I’m one of those people who feel guilty at the drop of a hat. LOL I want to keep everyone happy, and I hate conflict.
Carrie: I can totally relate to that too!
Q: What do you most want readers to take away from The View from Rainshadow Bay?
Colleen: I want them to forgive themselves for any guilt they are carrying around. Forgiving ourselves can be hard!
Carrie: I think forgiving ourselves is sometimes so much harder than forgiving other people.
Thank you so much for taking time to talk with me! 🙂 Before we say goodbye for today, tell us what‘s coming up next for you.
Colleen: It was great to be with you, Carrie! You’re one of my favorite people. 🙂 Next up is The House on Saltwater Point, book 2 in the Lavender Tides series. My protagonist, Ellie, is a house flipper, and I had so much fun with that! But she’s racing against time to save her sister and stop a terrorist attack.
Carrie: Sweet friend, you are one of MY favorite people. And I cannot wait to read my new fave book from you ♥
Colleen Coble is giving away a hardcover copy of The View from Rainshadow Bay to one of my readers!! (US only) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Interview with Colleen Coble
Colleen Coble is a prolific author and an absolute joy to be around! When I picture her, I always see her sunny smile. I had met her before but last week was the first time I've ever sat down with her and interviewed her. She was such fun! She is full of joy and laughter, and as we began the interview and discussed her latest book, I loved seeing her obvious delight at my response as a reader. Unfortunately, I can't share much of that in the interview without giving spoilers for the story, but I have plenty of other fun moments to share! (And I can't believe I forgot to take a picture!) First, a peek at her brand-new release!
Tidewater Inn
Colleen Coble
(Thomas Nelson)
ISBN: 978-1595547811$
July 2012/320 pages/$15.99
Welcome to Hope Beach
Where the sea breeze is fresh, sun sparkles on sand . . . and trouble appears with the force of a hurricane.
Inheriting a beautiful old hotel on the seaward shore of Hope Island could be a dream come true for Libby. The inn cries out for her restorer’s talent and love of history. She’s delighted to learn of family she never knew she had. And the handsome Coast Guard lieutenant she’s met there on the island could definitely be the man of her dreams.
But Libby soon realizes that only way she can afford the upkeep on the inn is to sell it to developers who are stalking the island. The father who willed her the inn has died before she could meet him, and her newfound brothers and sisters are convinced she’s there to steal their birthright. Worst of all, her best friend and business partner has been kidnapped before her eyes, Libby’s under suspicion for the crime, and her handsome lieutenant clearly doubts her innocence.
Libby’s dream-come-true is becoming a nightmare. Can she find her friend and establish her innocence? Must she sell Tidewater Inn and lose her family again? Or can she find a home for her heart on the beautiful shores of Hope Island?
A CHAT WITH COLLEEN COBLE
I am loving your new book, Tidewater Inn. I was reading it on the flights and would have finished it if they hadn't mad us turn off our devices for the take-offs and landings! I'm about 75% done and I haven't figured out who the villain is yet.
(Colleen laughs deviously.) You'll find out! When you figure it out, you'll know where I've dropped the clues. One of my real skills is red herrings.
I'm usually pretty good at picking those up. But now you've got me really curious. Now I don't know what to ask you anymore because I'm going to sit here and think about the book! Talk amongst yourselves and I'll go read!
(Lots of laughter) It was fun to have multiple points of view. Usually I have the hero and the heroine and once in a while I have the villain, in some of the older books. I really went back to the style of the Rock Harbor books; I think there are four or five points of view in Tidewater Inn. It was really fun to do that.
Well, it's a really good book. It's one of those I want to inhale and slow down and savor at the same time. This is another book located in Rock Harbor, which you've written about before, and you have another one coming out with Robin Caroll, right?
My readers are always wanting to know more about Rock Harbor, especially Bree. She is the favorite character that I've ever written. I was writing the new Hope Beach series and I thought, "Hmm, Bree just might be going on vacation." It just really worked out well.
It's all coming back to me now! Bree was the main character with the search and rescue dog in the other books. So how does this play into the book you are writing with Robin Caroll?
Yes, there are five other books with Bree in them; in four of them, she is a main character. Rock Harbor Search and Rescue is actually a middle grade series. We didn't dumb it down; we wrote it the same way as we would have for adults but we didn't use any adult situations. The point of view character is Emily, the little girl who got lost in the woods in the first Rock Hrabor novel, Without a Trace with her brother Timmy. She's 14 now so we've launched off into a new series with that. It was really fun to go back with those kids and see what's happened. The same characters that were in Rock Harbor are in those books.
How hard is that to go back and pick up and maintain continuity and remember things?
It's not as hard for the Rock Harbor books simply because I first wrote three of those and then I wrote Abomination, which has Bree as a main character and she has a point of view but there's another romance in that one, and then Cry in the Night, so they've kinda been spread out. And I get reader letters every day about that series; even now they're asking, "When are you going to write another Rock Harbor book?" It's good to be able to tell them, "There's one coming up! And make sure you pick up Tidewater Inn because Bree's in there, too!"
At the beginning of Tidewater Inn, they have the regular page of author endorsements, but then they have a page of reader comments. I really like that!
That was Ami's [Thomas Nelson editor Ami McConnell] idea; I gathered some reader comments from previous books of mine and they decided which ones to use. That was a good idea.
What else do you have coming down the pipe?
I just finished Rosemary Cottage, which is the sequel to Tidewater Inn, and I just turned it in, so I'm waiting for feedback on that. The main character in that is a midwife. I'm very interested in natural medicine so it was fun learning about that. I talked to Ami a couple of days ago and she said she was in the middle of reading it and was really liking it. It's nice when I'm able to pull in all of the same characters in the town but the story is very different.
The way I got the idea for Tidewater Inn, I was standing in the harbor at St. Croix and there was a harbor cam right there. I called my parents and said, "Here's the url; get on the computer and we'll wave at you from the harbor cam." Of course, with my twisted brain, such as it is, as I was waving "Hi Mother and Dad," I thought, "What if something happened to me right in front of them where they couldn't do anything about it thousands of miles away?" That was the jumping-off place where that story came from.
Also, I'm very interested in historic preservation so it was fun to have Libby interested in that. We have an old Victorian house that we've restored, and I know so much about that kind of stuff.
Tell me about the whole technology aspect when she hacked into the computer and accidentally erased the video. I would have had no idea that was possible!
I am a little bit of a computer geek myself but I did talk to a computer IT person that I know and he said it was pretty easy and told me what I would do.. Now I didn't write it all down and put it in the book because I didn't want anybody to do it to me!
How many books will be in this series?
Three for sure, and then we'll see. You never know. The Lone Star series was supposed to be one book, and now there are four. It just depends if readers say, "I love that series; I want more!" We try to do what readers like.
Is Lone Star series done?
I don't know! I've done four. Lone Star Angel was the last one; it came out in October. [Insertion: Lone Star Angel is a finalist for ACFW's Carol Award. My review is here.]
You know I love books set in Texas! Did you come down to Texas when you were writing those?
Oh yes! And here's a little fun--well, it wasn't fun for me!--tidbit. When we were down there researching those Lone Star books, unfortunately, we were there in September when the TARANTULAS were migrating! We were in the Big Bend area in West Texas and as we drove we kept seeing these black things on the side of the road and on the road. I kept thinking, "Those can't be tarantulas!" and I kept diverting my eyes. I was hoping they were rocks. Then they were moving. Dave stopped the car and said, "I think those are tarantulas; I'm going to check." I was freaking out and telling him "Don't go out there!" I was afraid they were going to get on the hood and then what if they got in the car?! They were tarantulas and he took a picture. I don't even like spiders enough to look at pictures. It was terrifying. There were hundreds of them, hundreds! I'm not kidding!
I have never heard of that! [Note: I reviewed the first book in that series, Lonestar Secrets, here.]
Then I looked it up and found that there's some kind of migration thing that they do in September. Why did I have to go there that week?!
What else is going on in your life? I know you have a granddaughter you adore.
(Her face lights up at the mention of her granddaughter) Yes, we are crazy about our little granddaughter and spend a lot of time with her.
We want to go on a mission trip to Cambodia. I've always wanted to do that and we've talked about taking our pastor and his wife with us. I was researching that on the way here; I got a book about Cambodia. Then I found out that they eat fried tarantulas! NO! I am not eating fried tarantulas! And the tarantulas are as big as dinner plates! I couldn't look at pictures of them. It's just horrible. Fortunately, we'll be in the biggest city so we should be able to avoid it.
How did you pick Cambodia?
When Dave was in the Vietnam War he was in Thailand and we've always wanted to go back to that area. We have a missionary in Cambodia from our church, so we thought it would be cool to go visit and see what we could do to help them out.
Anything else you want to share?
Secretly Smitten comes out in December. We're getting ready to have what we call our "Smitten Summit." All four of us, except for Diann*, who will be in the hospital, are going to Nashville to brainstorm and Katie's [Thomas Nelson publicist Katie Bond] going to come help me fix dinner one night! She is a fabulous cook!
I think you need me to come live blog this experience!
It's going to be wonderful! I'm hoping we can get Daisy to come over one night. Daisy Hutton is our new publisher who took Allen Arnold's place. I just adore her! Allen had some big shoes to fill! We loved him, and we still do! I think Daisy is just who we need. She's terrific.
Well, this has been really great. Thank you so much!
*The Smitten Series is a written by Collen, Kristin Billerbeck, Denise Hunter, and Diann Hunt. Diann was recently diagnosed with a recurrence of ovarian cancer. The four authors, along with Cheryl Hodde (author Hannah Alexander) blog at Girls Write Out.
Folks, don't miss this new book by Colleen! It's a great start to what promises to be a wonderful series!
MY THOUGHTS ON TIDEWATER INN
Colleen Coble has penned another captivating tale in Tidewater Inn. The charm of the Outer Banks and an old seaside inn needing restoration would lend an idyllic touch to Hope Island -- until Libby witnesses her friend and business partner's kidnapping and uncovers a host of secrets in her newly discovered but hostile family. Plenty of twists and turns kept me guessing what the resolution would be as I rapidly consumed this book. An appearance by a much-loved character from Coble's Rock Harbor series will delight fans of those novels. Faith is an integral, yet not overbearing, thread of the novel, and it turns out that Hope is indeed an apt name for the island and this series. I'm already eagerly anticipating book two, Rosemary Cottage!
The Blessings Jar: A Story About Being Thankful
Colleen Coble, illus, by Rebecca Harry. Thomas Nelson, $12.99 (22p) ISSN 978-14003-2273-2
The first picture book from Christian fiction author Coble (Secretly Smitten) weaves a story around the concept of gratitude as a cure for "the grumpies." Seeing Punky Grace sad that her sick friend can't play, her grandmother suggests that they "go on an adventure today and try to fill the jar with things that remind us of God's blessings." Throughout the day, Punky finds items to add to the jar: a ballet slipper, shell, leaf, cookie cutter, and bookmark, all symbolizing moments of happiness, which her grandmother helps her recognize as gifts from God. Harry's (Foxes in the Snow) pastel-hued illustrations vary from close-ups of Punky and Grammy hugging to expansive scenes of a walk on the beach. On some spreads, distinct bubbles depict a series of images, such as Punky jumping in leaves and playing with her dog. At the end of the day, Punky says, "Know what, Grammy? I was so busy looking for blessings today that I lost my grumpies." Predictable but comforting, this story may inspire some readers to emulate Punky's jar-filling adventure. Ages 2-5. (July)
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"The Blessings Jar: A Story About Being Thankful." Publishers Weekly, vol. 260, no. 24, 17 June 2013, p. 67. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A334484810/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=abb47caa. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
COBLE, Colleen. Lost & Found. 248p. ebook available. Thomas Nelson. 2013. pap.
$9.99. ISBN 9781400321636. Gr 6 Up--This second installment in a series of faith-based mysteries features 14-year-old Emily and her friend Olivia, who discovers that she is adopted. As the girls investigate a potential connection to Olivia's birth parents, someone sets fire to the school, and Emily's stepmother goes missing. The young teens try to solve all of these mysteries at once, but run afoul of their parents. While the plot is fast-paced and the overall mood suspenseful and engaging, the dialogue is clumsy and the narrative can feel pedantic. Set in a small town in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Cobble charmingly captures an interwoven community with festivals, school spirit, and overlapping relationships. Fans returning to the series will enjoy the welcome trip with familiar faces, but new readers might be confused at the lack of backstory for the many characters. The personal growth of Emily and Olivia is told rather than shown through their actions, which causes the characters to feel static. Though not outstanding, this is a solid choice for libraries who own the first title, Search & Rescue (Thomas Nelson, 2013), Cobble's adult series set in the same town, or in communities where Christian fiction is in high demand.--Elizabeth Nicolai, Anchorage Public Library, AK
Nicolai, Elizabeth
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Nicolai, Elizabeth. "Coble, Colleen. Lost & Found." School Library Journal, vol. 60, no. 2, Feb. 2014, p. 82. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A358427193/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=510c45ae. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
The Inn at Ocean's Edge
Colleen Coble. Thomas Nelson, $15.99 trade paperback (336p) ISBN 978-1-4016-9026-7
Coble (Tidewater Inn) doesn't disappoint with her custom blend of suspense and romance. Claire Dellamare checks into Hotel Tourmaline on the Maine island of Folly Shoals to cement a business deal, but suffers a panic attack. To calm herself, she walks to the ocean's edge and there has a chance encounter with Luke and Megan Rocco, siblings who reveal a secret from Claire's past. She begins having flashbacks, remembering her mysterious yearlong disappearance at age four. Claire knows her parents are keeping secrets, and she sets out to discover what happened 25 years earlier. Might her disappearance have anything to do with Luke's mother's disappearance at the same time? There are no dull moments here, thanks to three found bodies, five attempts on Claire's life, a host of horrible secrets, and the handsome Luke. The tale may be a bit over the top, but will surely keep readers turning pages. Agent: Karen Solem, Spencerhill Associates. (Apr.)
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"The Inn at Ocean's Edge." Publishers Weekly, vol. 262, no. 6, 9 Feb. 2015, p. 51. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A401905787/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=58e3ad5f. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
Mermaid Moon
Colleen Coble. Thomas Nelson, $15.99 paper (352p) ISBN 978-1-4016-9028-1
Coble shifts her Sunset Cove series into overdrive with a second installment driven by murder, arson, kidnapping, and deception. Mallory Davis grew up on Folly Shoals Island, Maine, but after a teenage miscarriage and the death of her mother leave her guilt ridden, she moves to Bangor to start a new life. Now widowed and raising a teenage daughter of her own with the help of her friend and neighbor Carol, Mallory receives a distressing phone call from her estranged father. She immediately contacts the trustworthy ex-boyfriend she dumped 15 years ago, Kevin O'Connor, who is an area game warden. Kevin investigates and finds her father dead in the boat he owns--a boat that seems outside his means as a postal worker. On the surface, it looks like a nasty accident, but Mallory soon suspects foul play. Kevin agrees to help her investigate despite their unresolved past. The pair's rekindled romance is the only predictable event in this story. Though Coble sets up an intriguing mystery, the plot lacks integrity with weak motives, confusing details, improbable scenarios, and faith-based references that are random and disjointed. In the end, the convoluted story raises more questions than it answers, leaving a lot open for the next installment. Agent: Karen Solem, Spencerhilll Associates (Jan.)
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"Mermaid Moon." Publishers Weekly, vol. 262, no. 47, 23 Nov. 2015, p. 57. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A436439905/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4002d92c. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
Mermaid Moon
Colleen Coble
Thomas Nelson Publishers
PO Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214
www.thomasnelson.com
9781401690281, $15.99, PB, 352pp, www.amazon.com
Shame and confusion have kept Mallory Davis from her home for the last fifteen years, but when her dad mysteriously dies on his mail boat route, she doesn't have any choice but to go back to Mermaid Point. Mallory believes her father was murdered and childhood sweetheart Kevin O'Connor, game warden in Downeast Maine, confirms her suspicions. But Kevin is wary of helping Mallory in her search. She broke his heart and left (without a word) years ago. When Mallory begins receiving threats on her own life (and her beloved teenage daughter, Haylie) their search intensifies. There's a tangled web within the supposed murder, and it involves much more than what meets the eye. As answers begin to fall into place, Mallory realizes her search is about more than finding her father's killer--it is also about finding herself again, and possibly about healing what was broken so long ago with Kevin. She just has to stay alive long enough to put all the pieces together. Another terrifically entertaining novel by Colleen Coble, "Mermaid Moon" is the second title in her outstanding 'Sunset Cove' series. "Mermaid Moon" is an impressively well written mystery/romance that will prove to be popular addition to community library collections. A 'must' for the growing legion of Colleen Coble fans, it must be noted for personal reading lists that "Mermaid Moon" is also available in a Kindle edition ($8.99), as well as a Large Print edition (Thorndike Press, 9781410485601, HC, $33.99).
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Midwest Book Review
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"Mermaid Moon." Internet Bookwatch, Mar. 2016. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A449662633/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=fa44cd15. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
Twilight at Blueberry Barrens
Colleen Coble. Thomas Nelson, $15.99 trade paper (352p) ISBN 978-1-4016-9030-4
Love and murder pair up effectively in the second Sunset Cove page-turner (following Mermaid Moon). Kate Mason's blueberry barrens have withered, so offering the cottage on her coastal Maine property to the intriguing Drake Newham and his two nieces offers an attractive alternative source of income for the summer. Playing nanny to the girls helps distract Kate from the trauma of having come across the bodies of Drake's brother and sister-in-law, the girls' parents, after an apparent murder-suicide. But Drake's investigation into those suspicious deaths, along with the puzzling break-ins on her property--is it her escaped convict uncle or an unknown stalker?--keep Kate, and the reader, on edge. The mutual attraction between Kate and Drake is frustrated time and again by the dangers that keep cropping up. The tension, both suspenseful and romantic, is gripping, reflecting Coble's prowess with the genre. Adding depth and contour to the drama are subtler subplots, most notably Kate's long struggle with self-worth, complicated by her recent health issues. Her sister, Claire, proves instrumental to Kate's emotional and spiritual healing. Fans of the series will love seeing Claire and her fiance, Luke, play strong supporting roles in this installment. (Sept.)
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"Twilight at Blueberry Barrens." Publishers Weekly, vol. 263, no. 30, 25 July 2016, p. 55. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A460285505/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=cc10a760. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
Because You're Mine
Colleen Coble Thomas Nelson, $12.99 trade
paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-7180-8380-9
Fans of Coble's romantic suspense novels (The Inn at Ocean's Edge, etc.), as well as those who enjoy Irish music, will appreciate this sweet standalone's backstage view of Ceol, a four-woman Celtic band, founded by Alanna Connolly, a beautiful red-haired Irish singer. When Alanna's beloved husband, Liam, dies in a car bombing while on tour in Charleston, S.C., Alanna, who's pregnant, is determined to continue Ceol. To escape her powerful and manipulative father-in-law, who wants to take Liam's child from her, Alanna makes what amounts to a pact with the devil. Despite a slew of clues and warnings, she decides to marry Barry Kavanaugh, the band's obsessive manager, in order to gain U.S. citizenship. Things start to go wrong once Alanna arrives at Barry's creepy old family mansion, with its locked rooms, a portrait of a woman who looks like Alanna, a lake complete with an alligator, and a traumatized dog. No need to worry about Alanna, though; love and Christian faith ensure a happy ending. Agent: Karen Solem, Spencerhilll Associates. (Jan.)
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"Because You're Mine." Publishers Weekly, vol. 263, no. 45, 7 Nov. 2016, pp. 42+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A469757484/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4a2bc52f. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
Beneath Copper Falls
Colleen Coble. Thomas Nelson, $15.99 trade
paper (310p) ISBN 978-1-4016-9032-8
Bestselling author Coble (Sunset Cove series) elevates her already-considerable suspense chops with this second book of the Rock Harbor series. Dana, a 911 dispatcher, decides to start a new life in Rock Harbor, Mich, after her ex-fiance transforms from a charming, stand-up veteran to a raging lunatic who tries to drown her over nothing more than a dinner he didn't like. With her dog, Phantom, she heads home to Michigan's rural Upper Peninsula and straight to her brother's house, where he says she's welcome to stay as long as she wants. There, life begins seamlessly as she starts a new job as a dispatcher. But then the past is back on her doorstep: one of her first calls comes from Garret, her ex, who has managed to track her down. Though she talks tough, she is seriously frightened and begins to rely heavily on her brother and new friend Boone for advice and support. As Garret continues to pursue, a web of conflicts arises that will keep readers guessing until the very end. Agent: Karen Solem, Spencerhill. (July)
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"Beneath Copper Falls." Publishers Weekly, vol. 264, no. 19, 8 May 2017, p. 45. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A491949099/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ad07f7c1. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
The View from Rainshadow Bay
Colleen Coble. Thomas Nelson, $15.99 trade paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-7180-8576-6
Coble (Twilight at Blueberry Barrens) keeps the tension tight and the action moving in this gripping tale, the first in her Lavender Tides series set in the Pacific Northwest. Having blamed her husband's death in a climbing accident on his best friend Zach, Shauna is reluctant to continue her friendship with Zach. But when her business partner is murdered and she feels her life and five-year-old her son's are in jeopardy, Zach steps in as their protector. As they search for clues about the murder and stumble closer to the truth, secrets from Shauna's childhood turn out to be important to their current situation. Zach's guilt motivates him to help Shauna, but his burgeoning feelings for her also propel him into danger's path. In the midst of life-threatening events, Shauna must decide if she's ready to allow God, and potentially another man, into her life again. The characters' high-stakes adventures parallel their emotional stresses, particularly around the subject of second chances--poignantly exposed in Shauna's question to her mother-in-law, "Do you want me to be unhappy forever?" Coble effectively uses the Pacific Northwest setting to further the plot, giving fans another reason to welcome this well-crafted kick-off to a new series. (Jan.)
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"The View from Rainshadow Bay." Publishers Weekly, vol. 264, no. 46, 13 Nov. 2017, pp. 45+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A515326011/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1bb5747e. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
The House at Saltwater Point
Colleen Coble. Thomas Nelson, $15.99 trade paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-7180-8580-3
Coble's so-so second Lavender Tides novel (after The View from Rainshadow Bay) finds Elbe Blackmore busy fixing up old houses in Lavender Tides, Wash., until her sister, Mackenzie, goes missing. Blood found aboard Mackenzie's boat suggests she may be dead. A few days after her disappearance, the town sheriff receives a tip that Mackenzie is alive in North Korea; the anonymous caller claims she was spying for that country and the boat abduction was staged. Meanwhile, Grayson Bradshaw, a civilian working for the Coast Guard Investigative Services, has been engaged in a highly personal search for terrorist Tarek Nasser, who killed his best friend. A cocaine theft that could lead him to Tarek has been linked to Mackenzie, which is news that Ellie, who's sure her sister is innocent of all wrongdoing, doesn't want to hear. Cute Ellie and handsome Grayson uneasily join forces in the hunt for the truth, and despite the discovery of more incriminating evidence about Mackenzie, the attraction between them grows. Fans of romantic suspense will best appreciate this unconvincing mix of thriller and cozy elements. (July)
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"The House at Saltwater Point." Publishers Weekly, vol. 265, no. 22, 28 May 2018, p. 76. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A541638806/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7c9c7ad7. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
Freedom's Light
Colleen Coble. Thomas Nelson, $9.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-78521-938-5
Coble (The Inn at Ocean's Edge) weaves a suspense-filled romance set during the Revolutionary War. Before the war, 18-year-old Hannah Thomas rejected loyalist Lieutenant Galen Wright's offer of marriage--instead marrying an older lighthouse keeper who she viewed as a safe option. When her husband leaves to fight for the revolutionaries, Hannah Thomas is left in charge of the lighthouse on the rocky Massachusetts coast. Lonely, she invites her younger sister, Lydia, a Loyalist who dreams of marrying a British soldier, to come stay with her. En route from New York, Lydia searches for Galen, determined to win him for herself--even if it means compromising her virtue. But after Hannah's husband is killed in battle, Galen uses Lydia's interest to lead him to Hannah. Meanwhile, British Captain Birch Meredith is a spy for Washington's army. He has lost his faith in God and is determined to avenge his brother's death at British hands. After Birch's ship crashes near the lighthouse, Hannah rescues him and nurses him back to health, even though she believes him to be fighting for the British. Coble's fine historical novel introduces a strong heroine--both in faith and character--that will appeal deeply to readers. (Sept.)
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"Freedom's Light." Publishers Weekly, vol. 265, no. 28, 9 July 2018, pp. 76+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A547988567/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e1abd472. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
Secrets at Cedar Cabin
Colleen Coble. Thomas Nelson, $16.99 trade paper (352p) ISBN 978-0-7180-8584-1
In Coble's uneven third Lavender Tides novel (after 2018's The House at Saltwater Point), nurse Bailey Fleming flees her home in Rock Harbor, Mich., shattered by her discovery that her husband is a bigamist and pursued by her mother's killers. She takes shelter in a cabin that her husband deeded her in Lavender Tides, Wash., where she encounters FBI agent Lance Phoenix, who's investigating a local sex-trafficking ring that he believes has captured his missing sister. As romance sparks with Lance, Bailey discovers her connections to the community are deeper than she suspected, but her presence in Lavender Tides threatens a powerful man who will stop at nothing to protect his secrets. Coble's Christian message and emphasis on abstinence before marriage will resonate with readers who share her beliefs, and series fans will appreciate appearances by beloved characters from previous novels. Those willing to overlook saccharine platitudes and overwrought prose ("Sudden clarity surged into his eyes") will be satisfied. Agent: Karen Solem, SpencerHill Assoc. (Jan.)
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Coble, Colleen. "Secrets at Cedar Cabin." Publishers Weekly, vol. 265, no. 48, 26 Nov. 2018, pp. 39+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A564607027/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=cac788e7. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
Colleen Coble. Thomas Nelson, $16.99 trade paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-7180-8588-9
Coble (The House at Saltwater Point) wows with this suspense-filled inspirational that follows a woman trying to piece together her past. Thirty-year-old marine biologist Harper Taylor, who grew up in foster care, is desperate to find her biological family. After she takes a DNA test, the testing company sends her contact information for her half-sister, Annabelle Rice. Harper rushes to meet her, and the sisters quickly discover they have more in common than the same unknown father. Annabelle and Harper both lost their mothers at a young age, and both have been victims of recent attacks: Harper's houseboat was broken into and she was attacked while diving. On the same day, Annabelle was stabbed with a needle and woke up trapped in a trunk that she was barely able to escape. Harper and Ridge, the son of her boss and an older brother figure to Harper, begin to search for answers and connections between the two attacks--which might also be connected to the deaths of Harper's and Annabelle's mothers. As they work together, Harper and Ridge develop feelings for each other. But Harper is worried a complicated history with Ridge's father might ruin their chance at happiness. With startling twists and endearing characters, Coble's engrossing story explores the tragedy, betrayal, and redemption of faithful people all searching to reclaim their sense of identity. Fans of Susan May Warren will enjoy this. (Sept.)
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"Strands of Truth." Publishers Weekly, vol. 266, no. 27, 8 July 2019, p. 70. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A593351708/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f5a8a987. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
One Little Lie
Colleen Coble.Thomas Nelson, $16.99 trade paper (352p) ISBN 978-0-7852-2844-8
Coble (Sunset Cove) opens her new Pelican Harbor series with this thrilling inspirational set on the Alabama coast that is centered on troubled detective Jane Hardy. When Jane's father retires as sheriff, Jane is appointed his interim replacement. But when her father is arrested for a murder he says he didn't commit, she must face public scrutiny while trying to clear his name and prove her worth as a woman in a traditionally male role. She begrudgingly enlists the aid of new-to-town documentary filmmaker Reid Dixon, whose calmness under pressure helps her get more information. But little does she suspect they have a shared past in the small town where she grew up. Their sleuthing uncovers an underworld of Alabama cults, and as they investigate, Jane and Reid begin to examine their own demons--and the dark secrets of those they thought they knew. Jane and Reid grow closer, but a lie from the past emerges to threaten their bond. Coble explores themes of the legacy of sin, salvation through faith, and redemption. There are just enough threads left dangling at the end of this well-crafted romantic suspense to leave readers hungrily awaiting the next installment. (Mar.)
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"One Little Lie." Publishers Weekly, vol. 267, no. 2, 13 Jan. 2020, pp. 45+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A612369002/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6c5cafbb. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
Colleen Coble. Thomas Nelson, $26.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-7852-2854-7
Coble's busy conclusion to her trilogy set in Pelican Harbor, Ala., picks up where 2020's Two Reasons to Run left off. Police chief Jane Hardy sets out to find her mother, who abandoned her as a child, and to remember what happened years later during the three days she disappeared with her mother about a month before the birth of her now 15-year-old son, Will. Meanwhile, she and her boyfriend and Will's father, Reid Dixon, are being targeted by members of the cult the two of them escaped separately years earlier. Jane must also contend with Reid's estranged wife, Lauren, who refuses to divorce Reid so Jane can marry him. When Lauren is murdered, suspicion falls on Will. Along the way to the neat ending, Jane must solve three murders, face the cult members who are stalking her, and save the town from the threat of a dirty bomb. Jane and others often invoke God, but their religious beliefs don't interfere with the story. Coble's clear-cut prose makes it easy for the reader to follow the numerous scenarios and characters. This is just the ticket for readers of romantic suspense. (Apr.)
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"Three Missing Days: A Pelican Harbor Novel." Publishers Weekly, vol. 268, no. 6, 8 Feb. 2021, p. 42. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A652011205/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f448b351. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
Edge of Dusk.
Colleen Coble Thomas Nelson, $18.99 trade paperback (352p) ISBN 978-0-7852-5370-9
A law enforcement ranger investigates a cold case and searches for her kidnapped sister in this exciting series launch from Coble (A Stranger's Game) Annie Pederson was nine years old ,when her younger sister Laura was kidnapped from the pier on Tremolo Island, Mich Twenty-four years later, Annie works as a ranger and runs the Tremolo Marina and Cabin Resort, but in her spare time she continues to search for Laura When Annie learns that her ex-fiance, Jon Dunstan, has come back to town to care for his ailing father, she and Jon cautiously rekindle their romance Then Annie discovers the bodies of two women who vanished nine years ago stashed in an old cabin on her property Jon was the last person known to have seen the women before they disappeared and the recovery of their corpses stirs up old suspicions against him Annie, convinced of Jon's innocence, joins forces with him to investigate the murders, all while heeding signs from God to make peace with Laura's disappearance Coble expertly balances mounting peril from the murder investigation with the romantic tension between Annie and Jon. This fresh, addictive mystery delivers thrills, compassion, and hope Agent: Karen Solem Spencerhill Assoc (July)
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"Edge of Dusk." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 22, 23 May 2022, p. 45. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A706389737/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=3c3b5c2d. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
Dark of Night
Colleen Coble.Thomas Nelson, $18.99 trade paper (350p) ISBN 978-0-7852-5374-7
Coble returns to Michigan's upper peninsula in the largely satisfying second entry in her Annie Pederson series (after Edge of Dusk). Annie, a park ranger, assists Sheriff Mason Kaleva in the search for Michelle Fraser, whose car recently turned up abandoned in the wilderness with a bloody sheet in the trunk. Meanwhile, Annie deals with upheavals in her personal life. A paternity test reveals that Annie's eight-year-old daughter, Kylie, was fathered by Jon, her onetime fiance and current romantic interest, and he pushes Annie to tell Kylie, who thinks her father was Annie's dead husband. Additionally, Taylor, an enigmatic woman who worked under an adopted identity at the resort Annie owns, claims to be Annie's younger sister, who was abducted when Annie was nine. Taylor, who blames Annie for not saving her, feels she can be a better mother to Kylie and tricks the girl into running away with her. After Kylie realizes that Taylor has no intention of ever taking her home again, she escapes into the woods, while Annie and Jon search for her, which leads to an unexpected development in the Fraser case. There's not much spark between Annie and Jon, but Taylor's malice toward Annie and Annie's struggle to empathize with Taylor after she kidnapped Kylie powerfully speak to Coble's message on the difficulty and necessity of practicing Christian forgiveness. Series fans will find this up to snuff. (Jan.)
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"Dark of Night." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 44, 24 Oct. 2022, p. 63. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A726744383/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=fa21d1d9. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
Break of Day
Colleen Coble. Thomas Nelson, $18.99 trade paper (346p) ISBN 978-0-785-25378-5
In the overbusy final installment of Coble's Annie Pederson trilogy (after Dark of Night), a parks ranger works to crack a kidnapping case before she becomes a target. After some professional and personal turbulence, it seems Annie Pederson's life is on stable ground: she's learned that Jon, the love of her life (and, she hopes, future fiance), is her daughter's father, and the three are poised to settle down togethet. But when Glenn Hussert, a criminal accused of kidnapping and embezzlement, disappears from police custody, it becomes clear danger is lurking nearby--a suspicion that's confirmed when Annie receives a phone call suggesting Glenn is being held against his will. As Annie digs into Glenn's exploits, she uncovers potential links between his possible kidnappers and a number of hikers who have recently gone missing, all while contending with family issues, including a difficult relationship with her sister. Annie pursues the case and is soon stalked by gun-toting men who clearly want to curtail the investigation, leading her to stake her faith in God to protect herself and her loved ones. Despite moments of pulse-pounding suspense, readers may struggle to keep up with the myriad, overlapping story lines--including ones following Annie's struggles ro trust her formerly estranged sister, a friend's cancer treatment, and Jon's plans to propose to Annie (plus his own father's recent engagement)--several of which feel rushed to wrap up by the story's end. Coble's fans may be left wanting. (July)
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"Break of Day." Publishers Weekly, vol. 270, no. 15, 10 Apr. 2023, pp. 47+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A747080040/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a9c53040. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
Coble, Colleen. Fragile Designs. Thomas Nelson. Jan. 2024. 352p. ISBN 9780785253822. pap. $18.99. CF
Carly Harris is trying to adjust to life as a single mom after the unsolved murder of her husband. When her grandmother suggests renovating the family home into a bed-and-breakfast, Carly discovers generational secrets in the attic--including a treasure possibly worth millions of dollars. She reaches out to her next-door neighbor, a police officer, for advice, but neighbor Lucas gets more than he bargained for, as burglars and even assassins all turn out to be after what they think Carly has. As Carly and Lucas try to solve the mysteries uncovered in the attic, they also must deal with long-buried issues in their own families. The more they investigate, the more complicated the case gets--even spanning continents and linking back to a cold-case murder. VERDICT With tons of suspects and plenty of danger, this is Coble ("Annie Pederson" series) at her best. Readers will appreciate a stand-alone offering that'll keep them up all night with fast-paced and tightly written action. Similar romantic-suspense authors include Irene Hannon and Dani Pettrey.
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"Fragile Designs." Library Journal, vol. 148, no. 11, Nov. 2023, p. 58. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A773380749/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=2c3d735f. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
What We Hide
Colleen Coble and Rick Acker. Thomas Nelson, $18.99 trade paper (368p) ISBN 978-0-8407-1198-4
Bestsellers Coble (Break of Day) and Acker (Guilty Blood) team up for a heartpounding tale of stolen artifacts and murder. History professor Savannah Webster has struggled to pick up the pieces after her marriage fell apart in the wake of her toddler's death three years ago. While researching the Willard Treasure, a collection of pre-Columbian artifacts housed in a small museum at her Alabama university, Savannah discovers a stack of fake provenance letters and becomes suspicious that someone is trying to steal from the collection. She goes in search of answers from "slimy" university president Ellison Abernathy--only to stumble on his dead body in his office and become a prime suspect in his murder. When Savannah's soon-to-be ex-husband Hez arrives for a new teaching job, she enlists his help tracking down the killer. Along the way, they draw on their faith to heal the emotional wounds from their daughter's death and try to resist falling back in love before their divorce is finalized. The second-chance romance adds dimension to the well-plotted whodunit, which leaves more than a few secrets to be uncovered in the next installment. Readers will be on tenterhooks. (July)
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"What We Hide." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 18, 6 May 2024, p. 38. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A799108217/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f2d1dd25. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
Coble, Colleen I THINK I WAS MURDERED Thomas Nelson (Fiction None) $18.99 11, 12 ISBN: 9780840712578
After losing her husband, grandmother, and job in quick succession, a young woman strives to uncover a criminal conspiracy while falling back in love with her hometown and its people.
A year after her husband, Jason, died in an accident, attorney Katrina Foster arrives at Talk, Inc., the Silicon Valley company where she's employed, to find the FBI raiding the premises. David Liang, the chief executive, is under investigation for embezzlement and has apparently fled the country, leaving Liv Tompkins, his pregnant girlfriend--who's also the company's chief technology officer, and Katrina's friend--behind. On the same day, Katrina's beloved grandmother dies of a heart attack. Shattered by upheaval and loss, Katrina travels home to North Haven, California for the funeral, where she learns that she's inherited her grandmother's restaurant. With a lead on a new job back in Silicon Valley, she offers to sell the business to handsome restaurateur Seb Wallace, a local man with a tragic past who has become a major success. Katrina also has a secret: Liv loaded a prototype of Talk's AI software onto her phone after Jason's death, and she often speaks to the chatbot of her dead husband for comfort. She starts asking him more questions about the night he died, and he finally says, "I think I was murdered." Returning to the homey comfort of North Haven, Katrina vows to uncover the truth behind Jason's death, which involves a mysterious Satoshi egg that contains the code to $30 million worth of Bitcoin, a possible international assassin, and a potential mole in the FBI. She's helped by her family, Liv, and Seb, with whom she falls deeper and deeper into attraction. It's a high-octane thriller with the grounding touches of Katrina's Norwegian heritage, the hygge of North Haven, and a very sweet romance between two likable, vulnerable people.
Romantic suspense comfort food--just like waffles with cloudberry cream.
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"Coble, Colleen: I THINK I WAS MURDERED." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Nov. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A813883725/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=95b33b3e. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.