Author spotlight with Linda Wattley

Our featured author of the week is Linda Diane Wattley.   She is a proud veteran of the United States Army.  Linda is a native of  Akron, Ohio and  attended the University of Akron majoring in Psychology.  For more than twelve years, she was a religious/philosophical columnist for the Frost Illustrated Newspaper in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  In 2016, Linda addressed PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder by writing, “Soldier with a Backpack, Living and Dying Simultaneously”.  This novel made her a nominee for the “Best in Nonfiction during the African American Literary Awards Show.

Currently she joined TLBTV and the Beacon Project as host of “The Truth Will Set You Free Show” where you don’t have to be a celebrity to share our truth with the world.   Linda sat with us to talk about her latest novel and her vision as a author.

Q&A with Linda Diane Wattley

Tell us about you the author ad your vision.

When I first became an author, I had no idea I was going to be one.  I had just completed reading a book by Dr. Phil, “Self -Matters”.  This book was the catalyst of changing my life’s direction.  The intent of the book was to get the reader to see their soul.  I was literally feeling like I was having a nervous breakdown as I experienced emotional, mental and spiritual fragmentation.  My life had caught up with me from the time I was a little girl.  My deliverance began to come one night while I was sitting at my computer.

All of a sudden, I was typing words that became meaningful contents.  In the end, I had written my first manuscript then two more creating a series with a message God wanted me to share with the world.  In a very unique style, I was able to recapture the journey of a little girl surviving sexual abuse which is actually my sexual abuse experience.  I will never grasp how the creative process took over and created experiences and characters that reaches out to readers to just walk with them and if possible help them.    I am still amazed at how this is not a down-pull story in fact it proves to be uplifting in a strange and twisted way.  Though I became an author, I am actually a messenger for God.  It is such an honor to be an author because there is so much power in words and I was given an opportunity to experience the magic of it.

Tell us about your latest book in the series Love & Redemption: Unfathomable Love.

The “Love & Redemption Series” is a very exclusive work of art.  It was my first experience of witnessing bringing the unseen into the seen through words with a direction and purpose.   This collection begins with a main character, Leona Tillard, she is just a little girl trying to figure out what is normal.  She is experiencing conditional love in a household that presents love in such an eerie way yet accepted in total silence.  As the series continue, Leona grows up.  One of her most important questions is what do God expect of her and where was He while she was growing up among adults who loved with conditions.  Book one, “Charge of an Angel”, reveals there is something special about Leona.  People can’t seem to stay away from this little girl.  Book two, “Unfathomable Love”, is about Leona joining the United States Army where she learns who she is and is not.

What type of message would you like readers to walk away with after reading Unfathomable Love in the Love & Redemption series?

In “Unfathomable Love”, I want the readers to learn love is a universal word but when you hear someone say, “I Love You” it does not mean their meaning is the same as your meaning of saying those words.  As Leona experiences love while in the Army, she learns there is so much love for her to have.  The problem is her past keeps seeping out in unexpected and strange ways.  Her lovers know there is something special about her and at the same time, they know something is very strange about her also.

We just never know who we have fallen in love with but eventually find out.  And, at times it can be too late.  Take your time and get to know people and their families.    The question is:  If you knew me would you still love me?”  This is a question that causes many people to hide their true selves.  But, somewhere in this world there is someone who knows you without you saying a word and will love you deeply.   That person is chosen by God.

Learn more about Linda Diane Wattley by visiting her website and following her on social media.

Twitter: universalove@universalove

Face Book:  https://www.facebook.com/Lindadianewattley

Instagram:  lindawattlely

Website”  https://lindadianewattley.com/