Meet Lynn Cahoon!

 I had Lynn Cahoon on the schedule for today's blog for a couple weeks now, but little did I know she'd be pulling out some big news just in time for her appearance today. She's just inked a three-book deal with e-Kensington books for a cozy mystery series called The Tourist Trap Mysteries. Congratulations, Lynn! You go, girl. Let's find out a bit more about her now.

Bull Rider’s Brother, Bull Rider’s Manager—I’m sensing a theme here. Tell us a little about your background and how you know so much about the inner workings of a rodeo.

As a new author, I kept reading advice on write what you know.  So two things kept running through my mind, the rodeo that took over my home town every July since I can remember (and probably before that) and a trip to a small town, party rodeo I took with boyfriend before the husband. So the town of Shawnee was born.

I grew up on a farm (which in Idaho terminology means crops and livestock.) Summer rodeos and riding horses were part of my daily life. Although I loved reading in the shade of the old tree more than anything else.

Give us a little glimpse into the daily life of Lynn Cahoon. I’m thinking horses, acreage, long trail rides with your own long, tall drink of water. Am I even close?

A few years ago, yes.  And definitely, I have my own long, tall drink of water.  Sometimes though, having the dh is more like “What cha going to do with a Cowboy?”  If you haven’t heard the Chris LeDoux song, find it.  Now.

***twiddles thumbs**** 

You’re back, good, we can go on. You understand. LOL

So my day?  I work for a large leasing company now after spending four years in health care and twenty in social services.  Really no difference except who is the end customer and what service provided.  I’m up early, try to get off the social media sites quickly, then write or edit for 30 minutes. Quick shower, dress, and a 45 minute commute to the day job. (Here’s where I fit in my reading. I love audio books. LOVE.) Work 8 hours. Come home, watch whatever bad habit I’ve got going in reality shows, (Currently – Fashion Star and Project Runway) and then write for about an hour.

Rinse, repeat. Your version sounds so much better.  Can I live in your reality?

When did you know you wanted to be a writer? When did you start to take it seriously?

2007 was the year of cancer. While I sat waiting for treatments or doctors or labs or life to resume, I did a lot of reading. And thinking. I’d always said I wanted to write. Someday. When someday isn’t guaranteed anymore, then I got a fire.  My first sold piece to a national magazine told the story of freezing corn with my parent and siblings.  I sold a Chicken Soup essay that same month. 

Then I started experimenting with short stories.  And finally novel length projects.

How long does it take you from start to finish, on a project?

I love this question because the answer is ‘it depends.’ Truly.  I mentioned I’m writing a cozy mystery right now.  My plan is to have it completed by mid-May. But that’s first draft complete.  Then it needs to stew for a while and get beta reads.  So I should have it ready to go by my deadline of June 30^th.

I can write at least 1000 words a day which should add up to 7-9K a week if I double up on weekends.  Category length book?  Two months.  Cozy?  Three. Single title?  I don’t know.  I’ve never completed one.

Snow day 2013 I wrote 5100 words in a day.  My eyes burned that evening.

What’s next up?

This month (April 20^th) I have Temporary Roommates, a novella, releasing from Passion in Print. This story is just a little hotter than my other stories currently out for purchase.  I’m kind of on pins and needles waiting to see how it’s received. 

I’m currently writing book two of a cozy mystery series.  I’ll be posting more updates on my website on that project.

You’re also a fellow SoulMate author with a book scheduled for release soon. Tell us a bit about that one. Is it a different genre from what you’re writing for Crimson?

Marriage Not Included (releasing May 22^nd) is probably more like the Crimson Bull Rider series than anything else I’ve written.  The book is set in Idaho and the small farm at issue in the book is based on the one where I lived as a child. The cool thing about the setting is all the restaurants and sites really exist, with different names. So imaging the heroine driving to the laser tag place for a birthday party or out to Murphy for dinner on the river, took me on a journey home.

What’s your writing process? Pantser or plotter? Messy desk with sticky notes or neat, orderly piles? Music or deadly quiet?

Do all pantsers have messy desks?  I wonder if that’s true? Anyway, it’s true for me. I’m trying to learn to plot and I keep cleaning my desk. But it’s a losing battle most days.  Sometimes I have music, mostly just quiet or my husband’s video games. Writing romance while the battle ranges on his computer can be challenging at times.

Information on Temporary Roommates:

When a determined nurse and a hot intern find the perfect apartment, the same perfect apartment, they must find a way to share it for ninety days, without killing each other.

Annie Baxter has her dream job.  Now, all she needs is a cheap apartment close to the hospital.  Troy Saunders knows his life as an intern is all about the long hours. He doesn’t have time to play doctor to some Nurse Barbie.  So when his sister finds a great apartment walking distance to work and next to the best running paths in the city, he’s sold. Two leasing agents, two prospective renters, one apartment.  Can they co-exist without fireworks?

Author Bio and Links:

Lynn Cahoon is a contemporary romance author with a love of hot, sexy men, real and imagined. Her alpha heroes range from rogue witch hunters, modern cowboys, or hot doctors, sexy in scrubs. And her heroines all have one thing in common, their strong need for independence. Or at least that’s what they think they want.  She blogs at her website www.lynncahoon.wordpress.com

Goodreads -http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5857424.Lynn_Cahoon

Twitter - https://twitter.com/LynnCahoon

Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/LynnCahoonAuthor

website - http://lynncahoon.wordpress.com/

Amazon author page - http://www.amazon.com/Lynn-Cahoon/e/B0082PWOAO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Passion in Print website - http://www.passioninprint.com/future.php
Buy Link: http://www.passioninprint.com/ShowBook.php?CR=LC_TMPRMATES