Annette Smith said her goal is for her books to be a child’s favorite ones to read, and to enhance a young person’s learning experience.

“I want my stories to inspire your children to become creative and allow their imaginations to run as far as it will take them,” she said.

Smith, of McDonough, focuses her efforts on writing “realistic” books for children ages 12 and under. She wrote her first book at age 25 and has amassed a total of 12 thus far.

Smith worked in a variety of jobs — ranging from file clerk to virtual sales agent — while honing her skills as a writer. Since launching her career as an author, her passion has not gone unnoticed, as she was nominated in 2019 for an Author of the Year award by the Artists Music Guild.

“I didn’t bring home the actual award, but the nomination was a reward in itself,” said Smith.
She said the response to her work has been positive over the years, with readers describing her books as “warm,” “inviting” and “whimsical.”

“To know my work resonates with parents and their children in this manner is humbling, and makes me emotional,” said Smith. “I don’t give myself enough credit, so to read these sentiments and to know that little old me can affect a person’s life with my words is surreal.”

She said much of her inspiration comes from her family, which includes her husband Danny and two grown sons — Danmario and Danniel.

Another crucial element in that inspiration, she said, comes from her nine-year-old “granddoll,” Melody Rayne.
Smith said the child even helped her to come up with one of her latest works.

“Recently my granddoll and I were in Target looking for a Baby Alive doll,” said Smith. “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 fit both worlds.

“Weeks later I was out and about with my husband and brother and a title suddenly popped in my head — ‘Two Colors of Me,’” Smith continued. “I am currently building a story around this title due to the doll situation.”

Although self-published authors of children’s books are among her biggest literary influences, she doesn’t single out any particular book as her favorite. Instead, she often finds inspiration from books she reads along the way.

“If I’m drawn to it and it touches my heart and my soul, it becomes my favorite book for that time,” said Smith. “I come up with a title, and then I form my story. I started writing because I didn’t know what direction I wanted to take. It wasn’t the way it was originally going to be, and you know what? It’s going to change again. That’s just the way I am. I may start out with one idea, and by the time I’m done writing, it’s something else. When I have the ability to take a story in any direction I want to, I call it the free will of a writer.”

Smith said she does her best writing at home in “total silence.” Still, she acknowledged that book ideas sometimes come from unconventional sources.

Such was the case, she said, with her December 2016 work, Nyrah’s Bully, which she completed while sitting for two hours in a doctor’s office.

“I still write my stories on paper, before typing them up,” said Smith. “I feel closer to my stories that way. I love writing my stories in a way that will educate, entertain and give children a temporary escape into a ‘think outside of the box’ adventure.

“I really don’t have a particular process,” she added. “I am old-school at heart. I love writing my story down on paper first with the old-school No. 2 pencil, then I type it out on the computer. I walk away from it for awhile, then go back to it to see if the story changes — which, the majority of the time, it does.”

Smith said one challenging aspect of writing, for her, isn’t coming up with book ideas. Rather, it is knowing how to avoid saying too much.

“The most difficult part of my writing process is keeping my children’s stories from being so wordy,” she said. “I just have so much to say. Once the pencil starts moving, I can’t stop writing. I may be the only writer on earth that’s like this, but my plot and characters are developed at the same time. To me, they work hand in hand. There’s no one without the other during the writing process.”

Smith said in addition to her collection of finished books, she has several others that are are unpublished or unfinished. She is also working on a patent-pending toy koala bear named Kobe, to help parents record stories, songs or messages, for “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,” she said.
For more information, visit www.mrsanniebooks.com/.