Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I married my high school sweetheart. We have been married 35 years. We have three grown sons. Our oldest son CJ passed this past year. Still adjusting to that. Our middle son, Caleb will be getting married October 9 we are excited. I am blessed to be able to officiate at my sons wedding.
Our youngest son Jake continues to pursue a career in theology. He teaches at a Catholic High School. He is looking to start his masters and would like to go onto a Phd. His goal is to be a college professor teaching theology. Not bad for someone born with a brain hemorrhage and was supposed to die at birth.
I have been pastoring for 25 years. I started with the established church. Then I became a church planter. Out of the church plant we started the first biker church in Massachusetts.
I moved to Florida started a consulting business to pastors. Then was called back to the pastorate. Hopefully, ending my ministry where I began with an established church.
My calling has been to small struggling churches or planting a church. I have been offered larger churches but I continue to turn them down. God has made a good team with my wife Kristin and myself.
Kristin has had great success as a Research Engineer in the medical field with over 10 patents to her name. That made it possible for me to either plant churches or work with small struggling churches. She recently left the medical field is the Senior Vice President Global Technology Development. She builds teams and implements new processes to help make the company more effective and productive.
Called to Battle is my first book. This isn’t the first time I published. Guide Post did publish one of my articles.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book is Called to Battle. A Supernatural Thriller. It deals with spiritual warfare. It was inspired by my life.
I came to Christ when I was 8 years old and I have never left Jesus. I started a bible study for athletes in High School. I was an accomplished athlete so that was where my influence was. I had the typical warfare in high school. Some kids taunting me for my faith. Access to drugs and so forth.
It was my first pastorate that spiritual warfare became real. I took a church of 25 that was getting ready to close. We grew to 100 in a year. The more we grew the more fights that occurred. There were a group in the church that had influence who couldn’t really describe themselves as Christians. When I asked them to tell me of their faith walk they couldn’t. One man told me he was going to do everything he could to get rid of me. When I asked what my sin issue was they said there is none they just wanted me gone.
The long term members started to complain there were too many young people coming into the church. I was preaching too much from the bible. We were having too many baptisms every month. People were talking about bringing praise music into the church.
That ended in a huge battle.
While this was going on Kristin became pregnant. The attacks were so intense she went into distress. I resigned on Dec. 23rd. We had no savings. Kristin was pregnant and working 2 days a week as a consultant. God did multiple miracles. Kristin was hired full time within two weeks of leaving.
Five months later our son was born. He had a brain hemorrhage and was supposed to die. God intervened there and saved his life
I would plant a church a few months after that. During the plant we met at the local Junior High. We had a signed contract. The acting Superintendent one Sunday locked us our. Our lawyer got involved and with much prayer we were let back in.
Another time we were going to hold a prayer service on the town Park on Good Friday. The Selectman told me if I did they would arrest me. I told them they knew where to find me at noon on Good Friday. At that meeting every newspaper and TV station from MA and RI showed up.
I have stories about God changing the weather to help a block party happen.
My most recent battle our son being killed by a hit and run driver who had a revoked license because of a DUI. His car was unregistered and uninsured.
I was a pastor of a small church. Not a mega church pastor. I hadn’t written any books. I realized I am like a thousand other pastors. If these spiritual battles were happening to me they were happening to everyone. So I decided to write a novel and incorporate some of my stories. In the process encourage people to let them they are not alone and how to have victory.
Kristin and I had to learn how to weather these battle. How to build ourselves up. We realized When God Call You Need to Be Ready for Battle.
This inspired my book. 95% of what happens in the book actually happened to me.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes. I don’t make an outline. I don’t recommend that. I know how the book starts and I know how it ends. I have to start writing the book to figure out how I am going to get from the beginning to the end.
An editor informed me that 80% of fictions writers don’t have an ending when they begin a book so they never finish their book. So I was ahead of the game.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Bible.
This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti had a big impact on me.
Robert Whitlow who is a lawyer who writes book with courtroom scenes. He is also a Christian.
I read biographies: Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan.
What are you working on now?
I have three books that I have going right now.
1. The sequel to Called to Battle
2. A Christmas Book. I am a Christmas fanatic. I am one of those lunatics who puts thousands of lights on his house.
3. A Non-Fiction Book. It is about me and my sons. All three of my sons went through life altering times. My oldest had cerebral palsy and obsessive compulsive disorder that haunted him. When he was 18 he got into drugs and became a drug dealer. At 24 God turned his life around. He found a wonderful woman and married her. Then was killed at the age of 29 by a hit and run driver.
Our second son was the child who did well and had a million friends. He is the type parents think I don’t have to worry about him. He went to college and became an alcoholic. He had a car accident where he should have died and God saved his life. He still didn’t stop drinking. Eventually God got hold of him turned him around and he is doing great.
My youngest one went through a life choice moment turning away from God. His lasted only a few years before he turned back to God. At 24 he reads the bible and prays 1 to 2 hours everyday.
In this book it is about how I as a dad held onto my faith when I watched my sons go down these roads. I thought I did everything right. We sent them to Christian Schools. We homeschooled them. I was actively involved with their life. Everyday Kristin and I prayed with them. I discipled them. When serious issues came up we went to Christian counselors. We try to do everything right and everything went wrong. Keeping your faith when God doesn’t seem to be listening.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
www.jhenrywatson.com or www.called2battle.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I am a self-publisher who received help. I learned if you are not passionate, disciplined and driven don’t bother. I didn’t realize writing the book was the easy part. I worked with Donna Partow who told me you have a choice. You can write a book or you can write a book people will buy. If you want them to buy it the work is extensive.
A couple of weeks before we launched the book I was getting contacted from Donna a number of times a day. It came to a point I would see her message and cringe. I would think what miserable thing does she want me to do now.
Everything she had me do was important and valuable. If you are working with someone who knows what they are doing trust them.
There is one thing we can’t control. Will our book resonate. We know our books can help people. Believe in your book and pray it resonates.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
This was a phrase I read from “Raising a Modern Day Knight.” I taught it to my boys and to the men I serve.
A Man Rejects Passivity, Accepts Responsibility, Lead Courageously and Expects the Greater Reward – God’s Reward.
What are you reading now?
Unshakable Hope by Max Lucado
Lament for a Son by Nicholas Wolterstorff – It is about a dad who gets that awful phone call that his son is dead. He died in a climbing accident.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I will try to continue to write one book a year. It is tough being a pastor and a writer. I don’t know how other pastors do it.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible
This Present Darkness Frank Peretti
Reasonable Faith by William Lane Craig. It will take solitude and years to fully understand that book.
Called to Battle
Author Websites and Profiles
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