Bell, Ann 1945- (Anna Mae Bell, Anna Mae Orr)

PERSONAL:

Born September 5, 1945, in Dexter, IA; daughter of Walter (a farmer) and Frances (an abstractor) Hartman; married Terry Alan Orr (a minister), June 5, 1965 (deceased); married James Bell (a military officer and attorney), December 26, 1986; children: (first marriage) Teresa Ann Orr Sanchez, Philip Dean Orr. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: University of Northern Iowa, B.A., 1966; University of Montana, library media endorsement, 1987; University of Hawaii at Manoa, M.L.I.S., 1991. Religion: Protestant.

ADDRESSES:

E-mail—annamaeball@yahoo.com.

CAREER:

Elementary schoolteacher in Conrad, IA, 1966-67, Miles City, MT, 1968-69, and Glendive, MT, 1977-78; school library media specialist in Geraldine, MT, 1987-88, Agat, Guam, 1989-90, Reedsport, OR, 1991-92, Great Falls, MT, 1992-93, and Billings, MT, 1993-95; Camanche High School, Camanche, IA, teacher-librarian, 1996-2007; retired, 2007. Guam Community College, librarian, 1988-90; online professional development instructor for University of Northern Iowa, 2002-04, and University of Wisconsin—Stout, 2004—; conference presenter.

MEMBER:

American Christian Fiction Writers, American Christian Writers, Writers Information Network, International Society for Technology in Education, American Library Association, American Association of School Librarians.

AWARDS, HONORS:

One of top three favorite authors of Heartsong members, 1996; Information Technology Pathfinder Award, American Association of School Librarians, 2001; Lamplighter Award, Iowa Educational Media Association, 2002.

WRITINGS:

FICTION

Autumn Love (also see below), Heartsong Presents (Uhrichsville, OH), 1994, published as Montana: Autumn Love: A Legacy of Faith and Love, Book 1 ("Large Print Candlelight" series), Thorndike (Waterville, ME), 2004.

Contagious Love (also see below), Heartsong Presents (Uhrichsville, OH), 1994, published as Montana: Contagious Love: A Legacy of Faith and Love, Book 2 ("Large Print Candlelight" series), Thorndike (Waterville, ME), 2005.

Inspired Love (also see below), Heartsong Presents (Uhrichsville, OH), 1995, published as Montana: Inspired Love: A Legacy of Faith and Love, Book 3 ("Large Print Candlelight" series), Thorndike (Waterville, ME), 2005.

Distant Love (also see below), Heartsong Presents (Uhrichsville, OH), 1995, published as Montana: Distant Love: A Legacy of Faith and Love, Book 4 ("Large Print Candlelight" series), Thorndike (Waterville, ME), 2005.

Healing Love (also see below), Heartsong Presents (Uhrichsville, OH), 1995, published as Healing Love: The Legacy of Faith and Love Continues: Montana Skies Book 1 ("Large Print Candlelight" series), Thorndike (Waterville, ME), 2006.

Compassionate Love (also see below), Heartsong Presents (Uhrichsville, OH), 1996, published as Compassionate Love: The Legacy of Faith and Love Continues: Montana Skies Book 2 ("Large Print Candlelight" series), Thorndike (Waterville, ME), 2007.

Love Remembered (also see below), Heartsong Presents (Uhrichsville, OH), 1999, published as Love Remembered: The Legacy of Faith and Love Continues: Montana Skies Book 3 ("Large Print Candlelight" series), Thorndike (Waterville, ME), 2007.

Montana: A Legacy of Faith and Love (contains Autumn Love, Contagious Love, Inspired Love, and Distant Love), Barbour Press (Uhrichsville, OH), 2000.

Love Abounds (also see below), Heartsong Presents (Uhrichsville, OH), 2001, published as Love Abounds: The Legacy of Faith and Love Continues: Montana Skies Book 4 ("Large Print Candlelight" series), Thorndike (Waterville, ME), 2007.

Montana Skies: A Legacy of Faith and Love in Four Complete Novels (contains Healing Love, Compassionate Love, Love Remembered, and Love Abounds), Barbour Press (Uhrichsville, OH), 2002.

(With Judy Sagal) Mended Wheels, Heartsong Presents (Uhrichsville, OH), 2002.

NONFICTION

(Under name Anna Mae Orr) Proving Yourself: A Study of James, Aglow Fellowship (Edmonds, WA), 1983.

Creating Digital Video in Your School, Linworth Publishing (Worthington, OH), 2005.

Handheld Computers in Schools and Media Centers, Linworth Publishing (Worthington, OH), 2006.

Contributor to periodicals, including Library Media Connection, Learning and Leading with Technology, Iowa Media Message, and Teacher/Librarian.

SIDELIGHTS:

Ann Bell told CA: "As a youth I had no dreams of becoming a writer, although I did love to read. My first article was published in the local weekly paper when I was seventeen. The article was to be, not a literary essay, but a tribute to my beloved grandfather, Norman Leonard, who passed away at the age of ninety-three. From that experience I learned to write about what I love and know about.

"When my children were in primary school, I wanted to explain the basics of Christianity to them, but the concept of the trinity (God being the father, the son, and the holy spirit all at the same time) was much too complex. To address this issue, I wrote my first children's book, Squeaky the Church Mouse. Even though the book was never published, it became a family favorite and inspired me to continue writing. This simple beginning led to my first published book, the Bible study Proving Yourself: A Study of James.

"While living in Montana as a young wife and mother, I recognized the importance of inter-generational relationships. Two Montana women, Monida Vaughn and Muriel David, were particularly influential in my life as they quietly maintained a ‘kitchen table ministry’ for the younger women in the communities where they lived. These women served as a model for the main character, Edith Dutton, in the eight-book ‘Heartsong Presents’ series.

"Many of the events in this series of books are based on my personal experience or the experiences of people around me. In 1988-1990 I served as a librarian at Oceanview High School in Agat, Guam. In the fourth book of the series, Distant Love, the heroine retires from a position as a public school librarian and goes to the island of Guam to automate a school library. After this book was published I received a letter from Carl T.C. Gutierrez, the governor of Guam, that stated, in part: ‘Your love for Guam is evident not only in the dedication of your book to the gallant people of Guam, but in your beautiful and loving depiction of its people and its culture. I believe any one who visits our island—or makes it their home for a while—and has the opportunity to meet our very hospitable people and experience our island way of life, leaves a more enriched person.’

"In 1996 my family was both shattered and blessed with the birth of a granddaughter, Jessica Ann Orr, with severe spina bifida. The medical and emotional impact of loving a child with disabilities led to the theme of the last two books in the ‘Heartsong Presents’ series Love Remembered and Love Abounds. When these books were released in 1999 and 2001, I was contacted by a reader, Judy Sagal, who was fifty-nine at the time and was believed to be the oldest survivor with spina bifida. Together we wrote the book Mended Wheels, which revolves around the love and romance of a woman with spina bifida who is confined to a wheelchair.

"After finishing that book, I turned my attention to another of my passions—educational technology. I developed and taught two online professional development courses, first for the University of Northern Iowa and then the University of Wisconsin—Stout. The information gathered for these courses was used to develop two books, which are also valuable tools for any teacher or home-schooling parent who desires to increase their students' visual and media literacy while they expand the formats in which their students communicate and retrieve information.

"Whatever I write, fiction or nonfiction, you can be certain it will be on a subject I love and feel passionately about. Life experience is the best source for story ideas and research topics. My training as both librarian and author keeps me constantly mindful of the enormous responsibility for accurate research in all that I write. My greatest desire is for my writing to inspire, encourage, and educate my readers to face the challenges of life."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

ONLINE

Writing and Resources from Ann Bell,http://www.annamaebell.com (April 27, 2007).