I met Colleen Coble through ACFW – better known as American Christian Fiction Writers. Colleen was in Dallas at the conference this year and taught the Early Bird session along with author Deb Raney. I’ve had the privilege of knowing Colleen for a number of years now and found her to be a great encourager to new writers. A few years back she and one of her writing partners, Kristin Billerbeck, put on a Writing Partners Scholarship Contest where the winner got a trip to Mount Hermon’s writer’s conference! I didn’t win, but I was in the running, and Colleen’s encouragement really meant a lot to me as it has to so many others. She’s won the Mentor of the Year Award through ACFW twice in a row – 2004 and 2005 for her work in helping new writers.

Colleen is the author of twenty novels and nine novellas that are out right now including the Rock Harbor Series, the Aloha Reef Series, the Great Lakes Legends Series, with Steeple Hill, and Wyoming, the western forts historical series.

Colleen is also an award-winning author. Her awards this year include: ACFW Overall Book of the Year (Distant Echoes), the ACFW Suspense Book of the Year (Distant Echoes), the ACFW Short Contemporary Book of the Year (Shadow Bones, Steeple Hill), and the Readers Choice Award (Distant Echoes). In the past, Colleen’s thirty novels and novellas, have won or finaled in awards including the Romance Writers of America’s Rita award, the Holt Medallion, the ACFW Book of the Year, the Daphne du Maurier award, the National Readers’ Choice Award and the Booksellers Best award.

Colleen Coble’s favorite character is still Samson, the search and rescue dog in her acclaimed Rock Harbor series. Samson is special because he was based on Colleen’s “grandpup” Harley, and in spite of losing him to bone cancer last year, Harley lives on in the pages of her books. She has successfully managed to marry off her son and is now taking applications for her daughter’s hand. Colleen is determined to get grandchildren one way or another!

Here’s the blurb for her latest, just released book Fire Dancer:

A decade ago, Tess Masterson’s parents died in a terrible barn fire. Now she’s become one of the best smoke jumpers in the business. Though she makes a living jumping out of planes into roaring wildfires, she’s never found the courage to face the wounds of her past—or to deal with the anger that flares whenever she encounters Chase Huston.

When a serial arsonist known as The Fire Dancer strikes near her old home place in Arizona, Tess is forced to examine the past as it relates to the present. Her smokejumpers team offers support, but can she trust her fellow adrenaline junkies as wildfire after wildfire is set? And how will she find it in her heart to accept and forgive—or will she always run from her past?

You can find Fire Dancer at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Christian Book Distributors. I’ve began reading Fire Dancer, at the conference and so far, I love it! So please, click on over to one of these sites and

buy this book!

I asked Colleen to give us some insight into the calling behind her writing ~

Jill: When and how did you know that you wanted to be a writer?

Colleen: I wrote my first story when I was six. I still remember it—it was about a horse who had twin colts. Today I still have animals in my stories. The seed was planted early though, and it just lay dormant until the trauma of my brother’s death cracked it open.

Jill: Tell me a bit about what you write now and what you hope to write in the future.

Colleen: I write romantic mysteries and love it. It’s what I want to write forever.

Jill: If and when did you realize your writing was a calling?

Colleen: I’ve always read a lot of secular fiction. In the eighties it seemed so many books came from a worldview that there was no God. I remember closing the cover of one such book and telling the Lord if he’d open the door for me, I’d love to write from a worldview that God exists and cares about us.

Jill: What means did God use to confirm in your heart that this is exactly what He has prepared for you to do for Him?

Colleen: I was standing on the parade ground of Ft Laramie in Wyoming and the first idea just dropped into my head, fully developed and as real as if it really happened. I knew only God could have done that.

Jill: When and how did you come to realize that writing meant more to you than a means to meet physical monetary needs or fulfill your dreams?

Colleen: It IS my dream. I wake up every morning wondering how life could be any better. I’m writing the stories of my heart for my dream team at WestBow. God’s blessing of a job and a ministry all rolled into one is more than I ever imagined I could receive.

Jill: How would you say that God has used writing to change you – to strengthen your faith and to make you more like Christ?

Colleen: My characters often experience the same struggles I’m going through. I work out some issues in the writing of the story and emerge at the end with a little more understanding of that issue.

Jill: Has writing opened opportunities for you to give your testimony and witness for Christ or minister to fellow believers? If so, can you give one example?

Colleen: Oh yes. I’ve spoken to women’s groups and local secular organizations and have told how God worked things out and opened doors for me. People love to hear the story of how God works in ordinary lives.

For a look at all of Colleen Coble’s books or to get to know Colleen better you can visit her website here. Also, for a look at the fun side of Colleen and her relationships with her critique partners, you won’t want to miss their joint blog Girls Write Out.

I hope you have enjoyed this interview with author Colleen Coble. Please click on over to one of the above online stores and look for Fire Dancer or one of her other many novels.

Thanks Colleen for joining us this month on Spotlight.