Ann Coffee

After thirty years in the fast-paced fashion industry as a personal shopper and a buyer for high-end women’s fashion houses in Dallas, TX, Ann’s life took a dramatic turn. A chance encounter with her “first” college sweetheart, Robert Coffee, created this sudden new chapter for her, as he whisked her off to Southern California to be his wife. Ann was incredibly happy, but with a new name, a new home, and knowing no one, what was she to do? It was the perfect time for fresh exploration of a long-ago engagement in the arts. As a child, she adored all things artful. As a college student she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, majoring in Art History and painting. Thus, it was the perfect time for her to revisit these endeavors: writing, painting, ceramics, and mosaics. In the past five years she also became a grandmother thrice over – another of life’s transformations. It occurred to her that she had an assortment of stories that she wished to share with her grands. A legacy of tales, anecdotes told to her by her grandmother, mother, and others. It was her turn to share these narratives not only with her grandchildren but with all children in a written and illustrative forms.  By writing and illustrating fantastical characters, these magical stories would come to life on a storybook page – ensuring the legacy. Thus, ‘Sir Jonathan Creepy Mouse’ was born. Ann wrote and illustrated Sir Jonathan to try to capture the spirit of an “ugly duckling” scenario. As Ann has stated, “Sometimes we find that what we may have thought was our worse attribute, delivers us our best rewards if we persevere and look at obstacles in a new way. Age old stories of families, friends, and sometimes foes come to life in a child’s world, creating fun, havoc and solutions to age old problems and dilemmas, now in the present tense.”  Ann hopes her books will help parents, grandparents and friends create that special bond between generations. Bedtime stories that create the trust between children and adults and issue in the love for books and early reading.