Coble, Colleen 1952–

(Colleen Rhoads)

PERSONAL: Born January 19, 1952, in Wabash, IN; daughter of George (a guard) and Peggy (a homemaker; maiden name, Everroad) Rhoads; married David Coble (a buyer), October 30, 1971; children: David, Jr., Kara. Ethnicity: "White." Education: Attended Indiana Wesleyan University. Politics: Republican. Religion: Baptist. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, travel.

ADDRESSES: Agent—Karen Solem, Spencerhill Associates, 24 Park Row, P.O. Box 374, Chatham, NY 12037. E-mail—colleen@colleencoble.com

CAREER: Romantic suspense novelist.

MEMBER: Romance Writers of America.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

Where Leads the Heart, Barbour (Uhrichsville, OH), 1998.

Plains of Promise, Barbour (Uhrichsville, OH), 1999.

The Heart Answers, Barbour (Uhrichsville, OH), 1999.

To Love a Stranger, Barbour (Uhrichsville, OH), 2000.

From Russia with Love, Barbour (Uhrichsville, OH), 2000.

The Cattle Baron's Bride, Barbour (Uhrichsville, OH), 2001. Love Ahoy, Barbour (Uhrichsville, OH), 2001.

Maggie's Mistake, Barbour (Uhrichsville, OH), 2002.

Red River Bride, Barbour (Uhrichsville, OH), 2002.

Without a Trace (romantic suspense), W. Publishing Group (Nashville, TN), 2003.

Beyond a Doubt (romantic suspense), WestBow Press (Nashville, TN), 2004.

Into the Deep (romantic suspense), WestBow Press (Nashville, TN), 2004.

Distant Echoes, WestBow Press (Nashville, TN), 2005.

(Under name Colleen Rhoads) Great Lakes Legends, Steeple Hill Books (Buffalo, NY), 2005.

Black Sands, WestBow Press (Nashville, TN), 2005.

Dangerous Depths, WestBow Press (Nashville, TN), in press.

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.

WORK IN PROGRESS: An "Aloha Reef" trilogy and a "Firejumper" series, both for WestBow Press (Nashville, TN).

SIDELIGHTS: Colleen Coble told CA: "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."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, April 1, 2004, Tamara Butler, review of Beyond a Doubt, p. 78.

ONLINE

Romantic Times, http://www.romantictimes.com/ (October, 2003), Jill Nelson, review of Without a Trace; (April, 2004), Jill Nelson, review of Beyond a Doubt; (October, 2004), Jill Nelson, review of Into the Deep.