Former registered nurse and peri-natal loss counselor, Jan Watson won the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild First Novel Contest in 2004 with Troublesome Creek. Written with a dollop of romance and a smidgen of suspense, Jan’s award winning historical novels, are uniquely set in the Appalachian Mountains.
Jan was recently voted 2012 Best Kentucky Author by the readers of Kentucky Living Magazine.
A voracious reader since childhood Jan recalls “when all those squiggles on the page made me want to learn what Dick and Jane did next.” Although she has always loved books, she had no intent to write one of her own. . .until one day she recalled a story told to her by her grandmother.
As a child, Jan often visited her grandparents in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. One summer day, as she and her grandmother sat in the porch swing breaking beans, her granny told her the true story of the terrible flash flooding of Frozen Creek, and of the tiny baby who was swept away never to be seen again. Jan carried the story in her heart for fifty years before she decided to save that baby, if only fictionally. This became the basis for a series of books: Troublesome Creek, Willow Springs, and Torrent Falls and of a spin off, Sweetwater Run.
In all her books, Watson artfully draws on the folklore and culture of times long past to create colorful characters living their faith in a world that offers comfort and peril in equal measure.
Jan’s latest novel, Skip Rock Shallows, follows the story of Lilly (Copper’s daughter) who is featured in book 5, Still House Pond. It is sure to be a satisfying read. Jan’s publisher is Tyndale House.
Watson lives in Lexington, Ky. Most mornings you’ll find her at the keyboard with her Jack Russell terrier, Maggie, on a pillow in her lap. Her work day lasts as long as Maggie will allow.
When Jan isn’t writing or entertaining Maggie, she enjoys reading, taking long walks, and collecting out of print medical books, which she reads “like other women read cookbooks”.

Jan lives in beautiful Lexington, Kentucky near her three sons and her daughter-in-law. Jan also enjoys two grand-cats, Buddy and Lily B.

“Watson’s success lies in her ability to create characters that are endearing and timeless. . . .” –Romantic Times Magazine