Biography

-Colleen Hoover-

Colleen Hoover was born in Sulphur Springs, Texas, on December 11, 1979 to her parents Vannoy Fite and Eddie Fennell. She grew up in Saltillo, Texas. Her father physically abused her mother, and they got divorced when Colleen was just two years old. Her mother later got remarried and her family ran a small dairy farm. They did not have much money and struggled financially. She met her husband Heath Hoover when she was just 16 years old and in high school. She graduated from Saltillo High School in 1998. After high school she went to Texas A&M- Commerce. While in college she married Heath Hoover in 2000, when she was 20 years old. By the time she graduated in 2004, she had two sons and was pregnant with her third son. She graduated with a degree in social work. Her first significant job was a counselor for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. During this time, Colleen and her family lived in a small trailer home. 

Colleen Hoover had a passion for writing and wanted to become an author one day. However, with getting married and having children at a young age, it was not ideal for her to become an author at the time. She needed a stable job to help support her family. Eventually, in 2011, she started to write. The book was called “Slammed” and it was intended to be a Christmas gift for her mom. Initially, publishers were not interested and she kept getting turned down. She decided to self publish the story in 2022. The book quickly appeared on the best seller lists. Social media really helped to promote the book and help people find the author, Colleen Hoover. Everyone loved her. Her novel “Slammed” is about an 18 year old girl named Layken. Her and her family were moving to Michigan after her father had passed away. She eventually becomes romantically involved with her new neighbor in Michigan. A surprising discovery tears them apart. Things were already complicated in Layken’s life when another family tragedy hit her family. Readers really enjoyed this book because of the romance, drama, and surprising plot. Hoover’s audience really enjoys her stories because they all have drama, plot turns, and romance. This story sparked many people's interests in Colleen Hoover and set her up for success and an amazing writing career. Hoover was very shocked and excited about the reaction to her first book. Soon after her book was published she won the Goodreads Choice Award. The book “Slammed” also was a New York Times bestseller in 2012. This book encouraged Hoover to continue writing and make a career out of her work. 

In 2015 Hoover and her family founded The Bookworm Box, which is a nonprofit organization. It is a subscription service as well as a bookstore. Hoover created this organization to give readers a chance to find new books and even get some signed novels in their subscription. People have a chance to find new authors from all over the world with this organization. With all of the profit, Hoover donates the money to various charities. The Bookworm Box has helped over 400 charities and donated over one million dollars to these charities.  The Bookworm Box unfortunately closed in February of 2023. In 2016 she wrote one of her most famous books, “It Ends with Us''. The book went viral. It was a story about an abusive relationship, and she compared it to her own parents' relationship. It was a very powerful story line and gave a great message. The story was inspiring to so many girls. Through multiple social media platforms, including Tik Tok, Instagram, and more, this book really got her name out there. People were talking about this book non stop and making posts to talk about the book and get more people to buy it. As of October 2022, she had sold 4 million copies of “It Ends with Us”. She won many awards with this book.  It was such a hit that it is even now being made into a movie. Hoover has now written around 26 books. With these books she has won 5 Goodreads Choice Awards, held six out of the top ten spots on New York Times bestseller list for paperback fiction in 2022. She is also the number one New York Times Bestselling Author of more than 23 novels. As of October 2022, Colleen Hoover had sold around 20 million books.   She is now 43 years old and still living in Texas with her husband and three children. She is still writing and publishing books. Her books are still selling very well and she is still popular and being talked about in the book world. Hoover is now living her dream of being a famous author.