Annie M. Cole is a local author from Sheffield and the wife of a pastor. She and her husband make their home in Muscle Shoals near the banks of the “Singing River,” where they enjoy the art, music, literature and faith of their community. She has three children, one daughter-in-law and one grandson.
Cole has written five books; four have been published, and the fifth is in the process of being published. The four published books are Bell Forest, Water on a Sea, Silver Leaf and Murmuring Cove. Her books are published by Infinity Publishing out of Philadelphia, PA.
Three of her books are set in Alabama, and the other is set in Louisiana. She has traveled to all of the places she writes about. Bell Forest starts in north Alabama and ends in the fictional town of Bell Forest, AL. When people contact her about wanting to visit Bell Forest, she normally points them toward Fairhope.
Cole has always loved writing and considers herself a storyteller. Storytelling is her passion. Her love of storytelling was passed down to her from her grandmother. When she was younger, she and her grandmother shared a bedroom, and she was able to hear tales from Louisiana. As a matter of fact, when she is writing, she is often inspired by the colorful characters her grandmother told her about.
Although she has always loved writing, Cole never had the time to while she was raising a family. Now that she has an empty nest, she has time to devote to her novels. Even though she has time to write, it still takes about a year-and-a-half to write a 300-page novel, since she does maintain a full time job with Certified Alarm Co. In order to stay consistent with her writing, she sets aside time every day to write. Even after a long day at work, writing remains her passion.
“Writing brings me joy, and it is not work if it brings me joy,” Cole said.
She loves her job because it allows her to travel. This travel time gives her a chance to take in the scenery.
“Driving down the road, I can visualize stories,” Cole said.
Cole is often inspired by the people she meets. She jots down notes to help develop characters. Her novels share a gospel message in the form of love and mystery. She also likes to weave in oral history from family stories.
“I do not preach in my stories, but I do have a message into which God is woven,” Cole said.
Surprisingly enough, Cole has a decent-sized male following among her readers. She gets letters from firefighters, construction workers and many more. It is a true testament to her natural talent to be able to reach such a broad audience.
Cole’s advice to anyone looking to write a novel or any literary work is to write a little bit every day and believe in yourself. She believes everyone should take the chance to write if that is what they really enjoy.
Her books are available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com, The Rock Christian Bookstore in Sheffield and Cold Water Books in Tuscumbia.
