Why do you write the genre that you write?
I found cozies when I was fighting breast cancer. They were easy and fun reads that took my mind off what was going on. I want to give that ease of reading to others.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?
I always go back to Josh Thomas, the antique dealer in South Cove (Tourist Trap mysteries.) He’s the town nitpicker. He wants daily trash pick ups. He wants to limit the amount of tourists coming in (to a tourist town.) He likes things one way and he’ll annoy Jill until she at least acknowledges his request. He used to date Aunt Jackie, but she fell for Harrold and that was the end of that. But Josh found his true love at the fruit stand near the highway. Now we just need to see if he’s going to pop the question. I’m writing a lot of books where marriage is on the table or happening right now so I’ve back off pushing Josh to propose.

How did you come up with your pseudonym?
I write under Lynn Cahoon which is my legal name, but I moved all my romance books under Lynn Collins (who proclaims to be the daughter of Barnabas from Dark Shadows.) I’ll be doing some historical romance/mystery under Emily Quinn this coming year. Emily is because I’ve always loved the name and Quinn is my dog’s name. 😊

Tell us how you got into writing?
I’ve always loved stories. A neighbor in high school used to write and illustrate (with Teen Beat) her stories, so I tried it. Then I went to college and put away my dreams. When I divorced, I pulled the writing dream out, dusted it off, and then put it back when I remarried. Finally, going into cancer, I realized that no tomorrow is promised, so I started writing and never looked back.

What jobs have you held before, during and/or after you became a writer?
It might be easier to say what jobs haven’t I done. LOL I worked in the fields, as a janitor assistant, as a car hop, as a waitress, in a factory making milk bottles, in a boiler room doing cold sales calls, in a daycare, in the Unemployment office, in the electrical bureau, in social services (17 years), my own business, nursing home business office, mystery shopper, and finally a license and title clerk. I just ‘retired’ from having day job other than the writing this March. And I’ve never been busier.

Where do you write?
My favorite place is my desk in an office I share with my husband. I have a huge monitor which allows me to see my typos.

What is your favorite deadline snack?
Sugar. Jelly beans. Peanut M&M’s.

What is next for you?
I guess it depends on when this is releasing. 😊 I released a new cozy series this year – the Survivors’ Book Club mysteries. Tuesday Night Survivors’ Club releases in June and the follow up book, Secrets In The Stacks, releases in November with a third in 2023. I love this bookstore set series as my characters get to talk about being breast cancer survivors without the angst of the disease. Going through something like that changes you and I want my book club members to be able to show that to other people.

I’ll also have a new Tourist Trap releasing in 2022 as well as a Cat Latimer mystery (Caught Dead To Write) and at least two novellas in my Haunted Life Mystery series (A Medium Fate). I was hoping for all four, but we had some issues here at Casa Cahoon that ate up some of my writing time earlier this year.

What are you reading now?
I just finished a fantasy about a nun who shares her body with a demon. (Vespertine) She becomes a warrior just when her people need her. An unlikely hero’s journey that turned into a heroine’s journey at the end. And I’m reading Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey. I’ll probably be finishing up the Shadow and Bone trilogy (more fantasy) next.

Where can we find you?
I’m mostly on Facebook at @LynnCahoonAuthor for SM but you can find me on Twitter at @LynnCahoon and Instagram at @lynncahoon as well. I’m also on Tic Tok but I haven’t posted anything. You can connect with me on my website at lynncahoon.com, on Goodreads, and on Amazon. 

Now to have some fun . . .

Vanilla or chocolate
Depend – Ice cream – Vanilla. Cake – Chocolate.

Ice cream or cake
Ice Cream. Unless I can have chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream.

Broccoli or squash
Zucchini wins hands down.

Pizza, burgers, or pasta
I’m not a big pizza person anymore. I also don’t eat a lot of red meat,
and hate turkey/chicken burgers, so I’ll go with pasta. My mom used to
make macaroni with milk and butter for us (we were poor.) I loved having
that meatless meal and will still do it if I’m feeling homesick.

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner
Dinner. I often skip breakfast.

Mountain or beach
Both? I’ll be living in the mountains so I’ll vacay on the beach.
I’d like to try to live at the beach. Maybe someday.

City or country
I like to visit the city but love to live in the country.

Introvert or extrovert
Introvert in a forced extroverted job. LOL

And even more fun . . .

You are stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?
I guess it’s cheating to say a library, but whatever. Maybe it’s a magical
library that delivers whatever book I want to read, even if I don’t know
it exists. I grew up with Fantasy Island. LOL
Chap stick because I’m going to have dry lips and that’s going to bother me.
Butter for the lobster and fish I’m going to catch to eat.

My bio
Lynn Cahoon, author of Three Tainted Teas, a Kitchen Witch mystery, is a New York Times and USA Today author of the best-selling Tourist Trap, Kitchen Witch, Cat Latimer, Farm-to-Fork, and soon to release, Survivors’ Book Club mystery series. No matter where the mystery is set, readers can expect a fun ride.