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Annette Bentley Smith

Author Spotlight

By Tammy ReesePublished 3 years ago 6 min read
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Author Annette Bentley Smith

Annette Bentley Smith is a Georgia-born children’s book author of fictitious, realistic books for children ages 0-12. She’s the wife of a jack of all trades, the mother of two young adults, and the grandmother of a beautiful and bright little girl. Her grand doll Melody Rayne is now her latest and greatest inspiration for her stories.

In the mix of learning about how to be a writer and getting published, she experimented with various occupations: Cashier, Massage Therapist, File Clerk, Computer Operator, and working from home as a Virtual Sale Agent… But her favorite thing to do now is the one she’s doing writing for children. She does her best writing in her home when there is total silence. However, when she is out and about and her surroundings give her an idea for a story, no matter what paper is around, she quickly jots it down. She completed a book called "Nyrah's Bully" (Publisher- AnneCorp Literary Works) which is one of ten while sitting in a doctor’s office for two hours.

Yes, she still writes her stories on paper, before typing them up. She feels closer to her stories that way. Annette loves writing her stories in a way that will educate, entertain and give children a temporary escape into a think outside of the box adventure. Her mission is for her stories to be your children’s favorite books to pick up and read. Annette’s books are aligned around a city-to-city strategy called “Get Hooked on Mrs. Annie’s Books” which centers on an exceptional reading experience. She is committed to continuously enhancing your child/children’s experience. She wants her stories to inspire your children to become creative and allow their imaginations to run as far it will take them.

She took a writing course with The Institute of Children’s Literature, but she feels her best qualifications come from her readership as a child in elementary school, and raising two boys. Watching their growths and incidents, gave her many ideas for stories. Also, she began caring for other children at the age of fourteen and still cares for other children now. Her books have received starred reviews on Amazon and social media sites. Authors such as J. Hale Turner and Maxine Billings, regard her as “an amazing writer.”

Vocal readers, please enjoy our interview!

Author Annette Bentley Smith

Tammy: What inspired you to become an author?

Annette: My first inspiration to become an author was from the seed planted by my mother who used to write my siblings and I letters when we were young. Then that seed was fertilized by my two now-grown boys. When the oldest boy was around four years old, he had an incident where a Caucasian child was going to color his face black during an art session.

My son was very literal at the time, and told his friend he wasn't black he was brown. The Caucasian child was talking about his race, I'm sure, but my son didn't know that. This upset him so much. This incident stuck with me for years. I started seeing more and more situations about children being bullied because of their skin, so I decided to write my story to help other children. I used the multicultural crayons made by 'Crayola,' to solve his dilemma. From there came several more stories of which twelve have been self-published so far.

Tammy: How did the book Nyrah's Bully come to be?

Annette: I have a close friend Cheryl. Her daughter who is now 13, was in first grade. She was bullied by a fifth-grader and was physically assaulted. It broke my heart. I decided to write a book about bullying. I wanted to turn the situation around for other children, therefore, centering around help for the bullied, the bully and promoting forgiveness. The story itself has a different ending than most.

Tammy: How do you balance family and career?

Annette: I am a nighthawk. At night the world shuts down and my brain gets going. I try to leave as much time for family during the day and career at night when all is silent. I think better when my surroundings are silent. If by chance family has been taken care of, I'll squeeze in some writing, or whatever is needed for my books during the day. Now when that urge to write hit at odd times, it's juggle time!

Tammy: What feedback have you received from your books?

Annette: Other authors and readers of my stories had this to say: "Your stories are warm, inviting, speaks to the heart, adorable, refreshing, diverse, realistic, wholesome, enjoyable, emotional, thought provoking, well written, enlightening, whimsical, loveable, and delightful!"

Tammy: What impact do you intend to make with your work?

Annette: A few of my stories are not like most. The biggest thing about them is that they are realistic. The "based on a true story" type thing. So, if I can take realism and help a child see him or herself in it, then that's the impact I'm looking for. Something that will help them cope, smile, laugh or even cry. I want my stories to impact a child's imagination so much that they too, will want to be an author!

Tammy: What are you currently working on?

Annette: Recently my grand doll and I were in Target looking for a "Baby Alive" doll. We saw one that was Caucasian and one brownish to dark tone. Nothing that fit her skin tone. She chose one doll, I chose another. doll. I wasn't buying two. I shared this dilemma with a friend of mine, and she went online and found the perfect "Baby Alive" doll that fits both worlds! Again, another skin tone situation. Weeks later I was out and about with my husband and brother and a title suddenly popped in my head. "Two Colors of Me!" I am currently building a story around this title due to the doll situation.

I am also working on a patent-pending toy koala bear named 'Kobe', that will be able to record stories, songs, or special messages, so kids can also enjoy a bedtime story, told by their favorite cuddle toy, using a real voice, when Mom and Dad need a break. This will be a wonderful way to connect with a child at bedtime-even if the parent isn't there.

After that, I will be bringing another new approach to bedtime stories and give a new generation of children (and parents) the gift of something exciting. I plan to do this by printing my self-published books onto bedsheets; turning children's beds into one big book! This too is patent pending.

Finally, I had masks made for one of two of my most recently released books that were poetically written to get children to wear masks, and I made stuffed monkeys that wear a mask and braces to help children smile who also wear braces. The monkey will be bundled with my second newest released book! I hope to approach orthodontists around the world and have the monkey as their office mascot!

Tammy: What is your favorite book and why?

Annette: My favorite book is 'Nyrah's Bully', because bullying is so prevalent now, and there can never be too many stories about helping a child to cope or identify themselves as a bully.

Tammy: What advice would you have for upcoming authors?

Annette: We all have a story to tell. Don't worry about the logistics such as where the period, comma, quotations. semicolon, and all that goes. Just pick up your pencil, put it to paper, as I still do, and just write! Leave the logistics up to the editors. To, it's so much easier to become published than it used to be. It can be scary at times, frustrating, yet at the same time exhilarating and fun to open a box filled with books that say "Written by..." and see your name in bold print! So satisfying!

For media inquiries please connect with the Being That Girl empowerment agency by visiting www.iam-thatgirl.com

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About the Creator

Tammy Reese

Tammy is best known for her legendary interviews with Sharon Stone, Angela Bassett, Sigourney Weaver, Geena Davis, Morris Chestnut, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Laurence Fishburne, Omar Epps, Joseph Sikora, and more.

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