An Author In Progress: GSR Day 7

Lynn U. Watson has incorporated her love for Jesus and passion for essential oils into a three-volume devotional Collection, sharing spicy and aromatic essences of Scripture. Her devotions encourage you to diligently cultivate your heart and grow your roots deeply in an intimate relationship with Jesus. Lynn holds a BA in Journalism from University of Memphis, a certificate in aromatherapy, and is a practicing reflexologist.

She and Steve have been married since 1973 and call Bartlett, Tennessee home. Their lives are blessed with two adult children, their spouses, and five beautiful, of course, grandchildren. Jasmine, her tuxedo kitty, runs the house. Her current work-in-progress is a novel inspired by a painfully challenging event in the life of her great-grandmother, changing the course for her family forever.

~ Facebook ~ Website ~
~ Pinterest ~

All three of the Cinnamah-Brosia devotionals in one ebook volume!

Fruits; spices; essential oils; & botanicals of all kinds sprinkled over & planted on the pages of the Bible provide insights into God’s word. Our Coffee Cottage’s fictional characters, Cinnamah-Brosia and friends, courageously use the essences to season the world around them with an overflowing measure of Jesus. All three volumes of Cinnamah-Brosia's Inspirational Collection for Women are featured in this single e-book.

"The Essence of Courage: Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit in Solomon’s Locked Garden and in Your Heart"

As you breathe in the fragrant aromas found in Solomon’s Locked Garden (Song of Solomon 4), you'll harvest the Fruit of the Spirit and cultivate it in the garden of your heart.

"The Essence of Joy: Filling Your Heart with the Aromas of Jesus’ Nativity"

The scents of Christmas invite our imaginations into the holiday season. What emotions flood your heart when the holidays aromas waft your way?

You’ll meet women of the Bible and contemporary women (Cinnamah-Brosia and friends) like you and me who will encourage you to discover the refreshing essence of a life lived in the presence of Jesus. Let JOY fill your heart with the aromas of His nativity.

"The Essence of Humility: Live and Love Like Jesus"

We live in a culture overwhelmed with disrespect, egos, entitlement, rudeness, and offense — lives focused on self, rather than God or others.

Jesus entered our world and walked among us. He placed no importance on rank or position. Jesus’ life reflected love because it reflected humility, and He invites us to live and love like Him.

You’re invited to travel with Cinnamah-Brosia and friends once again to meet real-life people — our contemporaries and those on the pages of God’s word, who encountered the same real-life challenges you and I face each day. Learn the blessings of a life lived like Jesus lived —- with love and humility.

~ Universal Amazon Link ~

Q&A With the Author:

What do you do when you’re not writing?

My other job is reflexologist. I serve about 8 clients a week. That helps pay the bills, (yes, I have those, too) giving me freedom to write. I have a few online game obsessions like Words with Friends and Wonka’s World. Mostly they’re a great escape from life’s demands. I also bake bread for my family from freshly milled grain, read, craft, travel a little, and spend time with my grandchildren. It’s summertime, and I’m eager to get in the pool.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

As a child, I learned to focus on books, homework, and projects while tuning out many distractions around me. It became a coping and survival skill – one carried throughout my life. Not always a positive thing, when sometimes I tune out important stuff, too. So, there’s usually noise in the background when I write, don’t ask me what songs they played on the radio. I won’t have a clue, but I will have accomplished much in my writing world even in the midst of television shows, others’ conversations, radio blaring and more.

Do you have any suggestions to help budding authors become better writers? If so, what are they?

Attend writers’ conferences. They are available throughout the year at different locations. Many are very affordable. Soak up all you can from those who lead these workshops. Make connections with other authors on many different mile markers along their writing journeys. Many will become treasured friends.

Encouragement from a well-published devotional writer during a one-on-one session at a writers’ conference in 2016, led to the three devotional books which are compiled here as the Coffee Cottage Collection.

During a first chapter critique group at the same conference this year, we were given a resource list of great books to help us really learn how to “craft” our books. I’ve completed one of them and started on a second. My work-in-progress is a Christian Historical Fiction novel. A novel is definitely uncharted water for me. Reading the books, I’m learning so much to make my story shine. Make the investment.

Where do you get information and ideas for your books?

In 2004 I discovered essential oils and their properties and aromatic influences. God gave me many fresh insights into different passages of Scripture where the plants are mentioned. Almost from the beginning of my essential oil journey, He laid the task of putting knowledge I gleaned into book form. Through prayer, and over time, the devotional books look much different than I ever expected. I’m thankful it all came together perfectly and in God’s perfect timing.

Many of the stories in the devotional collection came from friends, family, and even strangers willing to share snippets of their lives that fit the chapter themes.

Inspired by events in the life of my great grandmother, I stepped up to the challenge of fictionalizing and writing her story as a novel. There is so much more I don’t know about her than I do, but I believe the story will be used to bring beauty from ashes almost 150 years later. Her noble cause: a voice for the unborn. I’m praying a trip to her home in Germany will become reality this summer. I count on even more insight, walking where she walked.

Most authors, I believe, would agree. Research, research, research, for accurate facts and information. I remember the tediousness of card catalogs and periodical indexes from school term paper days, and sing praises for the ease and extent of research made possible by the internet today.

What do you think makes a good story?

Characters inviting us into their lives honestly and authentically. Their flaws and troubles, their positive attributes, and their quirks are visible. The characters also willing allow us to witness their changed lives often through perils and less than ideal circumstances. By the story’s conclusion, they leave the reader with an encouraging dose of truth and hope.

Tell us about your favorite summer vacation? Or what do you like to do in the summer?

Long weekend getaways to more places than occasional long trips are my favorites, and keep it interesting. We joined friends in Charleston, South Carolina a few years ago. Our rented cottage on the beach offered perfect sunrises. Up early and coffee in hand, I caught them from the third floor deck each morning. The history and architecture of the city, the friendly people, wonderful cuisine, a sunset sailing adventure, and seagrass baskets along with good company, made for a memorable get-away – one I would repeat in an instant!