Interview with Author Connilyn Cossette 

Connilyn Cossette

T4JYM: Can you tell us about your latest book and what readers can expect from it?

CC: My latest book, Splendor of the Land, is the third in The King’s Men series, and it’s set in ancient Israel during King Saul’s reign. This one follows Gavriel, an elite soldier who’s been carrying a lot of guilt from his past and numbing himself in all the wrong ways. When his behavior finally catches up with him, he’s reassigned to help lead the Kenite people to safety. That’s when he meets Zahava, a gifted goldsmith who’s been hiding from the world because of her condition. Their lives collide in unexpected ways as they both face fears they’ve carried for far too long.

Readers can expect plenty of adventure, some tense moments, and a lot of heart. It’s a story about redemption, courage, and what it really means to let go of fear and trust God with your story. And of course, there are all the rich historical details I love weaving into these books—desert landscapes, ancient copper mines, the clash of cultures. At its core, though, it’s about two broken people finding hope where they least expect it.

T4JYM: What comes next? Are you working on something new?

CC: Right now I’m in the thick of finishing up book four in The King’s Men series, racing toward my deadline while also walking through a difficult season with an untimely convergence of tough family stuff at the same time. It’s been a challenge to stay focused, but I’m pushing through and trusting the words will come when they need to. At the same time, I’ve got some ideas percolating for my next series and a novella I plan to write during the winter months. I can’t share much about those just yet, but the ideas are simmering, and I’m excited to see how they unfold when the time is right.

T4JYM: Where do you get ideas for your books?

CC: I always start with the Bible, using it as a framework for everything I write but then I also spend a week at my annual plotting retreat with my girlfriends, Nicole Deese, Tammy Gray, Christy Barritt and Amy Matayo where we spend hours throwing out tons of ideas to see which stick and usually by the time I come home I have a pretty firm idea on where I want to take the story. The rest is all up to a lot of daydreaming while staring out windows or at walls. My kids always know to give me space when I’m lost in Ancient Israel with my imaginary friends…I mean characters.

T4JYM: Please describe your writing process for our readers – from idea through draft to editing and finally publishing.

CC: I usually kick things off by plotting the big picture with my plotting group at our yearly retreat. From there, I loosely build the story using a four-act structure adapted from the Hero’s Journey, writing a quick synopsis of each chapter, but I always leave room for things to evolve as the story grows. When it’s time to write, I like to sketch out each chapter by hand in a mind map and then handwrite the draft as quickly as I can in a notebook to keep my inner editor quiet. Once I type it into the computer, I expand and polish as I go, laying in lots of sensory detail. After that, it’s a few more rounds of edits back and forth with my editors before it’s ready to go out into the world. Of course, if I’ve procrastinated too much, I sometimes have to skip or adapt parts of my process, but this rhythm has worked well for me over the years.

T4JYM: Your story of getting published and establishing yourself as an author is inspiring! Could you please share a shortened version of it for our readers who haven’t visited your site?

CC: For years, I kept my dream of seeing my own book on a library shelf completely to myself. I was honestly too scared to believe God would actually give me that kind of gift. Even my family had no idea I’d been quietly plugging away on a manuscript for years. But God is so much bigger than my doubts. When I finally worked up the courage to send it out, that little step of faith turned into so much more than I imagined. The manuscript became a semi-finalist in the ACFW Genesis contest, won the Frasier Award, and led me to my amazing agent, Tamela Hancock Murray, and eventually to my dream publisher, Bethany House. Since my first book was released in 2016, my stories have landed on bestseller lists, won Christy and Carol Awards, and reached readers all over the world in multiple languages. I’m still pinching myself at how good God is to give me the desire of my heart–the privilege of writing immersive stories that inspire readers to dig deeper into God’s Word for themselves.

T4JYM: Who is someone you look up to and why? Have you ever met them?

CC: I think perhaps the person I admire most was my grandmother, Ruth. She endured a lot of heartache in her life: losing her mother when she was a teen in a tragic accident, then her father abandoning all six children out of grief, and her pastor husband taking off for California when my mother was only two. But there was never anyone who trusted the Lord’s provision and care more than my grandma. She leaned on Him for everything, from sunrise to sunset. She was always either praying, singing, studying the Word, or sharing the love of Jesus with everyone around her, whether they wanted to hear it or not. She left a legacy of deep devotion and faith to my mother, and also to me. I would not be the writer I am today without either one of them and their strong influence on my life.

T4JYM: Please tell us how you came to be a Christian and how this has influenced your writing.

CC: I went forward during a Billy Graham Crusade when I was seven years old, but also walked away from the Lord when I was eighteen, determined to go my own way. However, because of the prayers of my devoted mother and the faithfulness of a steadfast heavenly Father, this prodigal came home a couple of years later. My walk of faith, with all its dark valleys, rough pathways, and detours, has taught me so much about the nature of my Savior and given me a hunger to dig deep into the Word and to understand its historical context. This has translated into exploring the rich world of the Bible through fiction, which blesses me as much as it does my readers.

T4JYM: If you could pick any character from one of your books or another author’s, who would you want to spend an afternoon with?

CC: I’d love to spend a few days with Moriyah, the matriarch of my Cities of Refuge series. I spent so much time watching her change from a young girl into a woman and eventually into a great-grandmother that she became very beloved to me. I’ll probably be pretty disappointed when she’s not in heaven to hang out with!

T4JYM: What advice would you give to someone interested in publishing their work?

CC: To read deep and to read wide. There is so much to learn about writing from analyzing works from all different genres. And also, to train yourself to write every single day, even if the words aren’t your best. Learning to be consistent in your writing habits is so important and was one of my biggest struggles early on (and still is, sometimes!). And most of all, don’t give up. If you’ve been called to write and are determined to keep moving forward toward publication, then God will provide all the resources you need to accomplish that goal–even if his timing seems a litlte slower than we’d like. Be faithful, be patient, be teachable, and be curious. The rest will flow from there.

T4JYM: What advice would you give to the youth of this world?

CC: To put down your phone, then go outside, be still, and listen for the Voice. And I am preaching to myself here, too, I promise. We all need to keep our eyes focused on the things that truly matter instead of all the many distractions the enemy loves to dangle in front of us. Because the ground beneath our feet is only beginning to tremble and we need to be so rooted in His Word and steadfast love that nothing can shake us.

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