Lynn Cahoon's Blog, page 2

Unplugging - kind of...

I took a few days off last week to go camping at Branson, MO. It's a tourist trap of a different kind. Here, there's a lot of music shows, mostly catering to a person of a certain age, which apparently I'm approaching. But there were lots of family activities. In fact, we talked about doing the fake skydiving adventure. Instead, we hunkered down at the camp site and enjoyed the summer sunshine. We tried our hand at fishing - I caught the first and only fish - a baby catfish. And I read. A lot. It was heaven. I love reading outside in the natural light. This time, I was deep into non-fiction and finished three books over the few days. (Atomic Habits, Big Magic, and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***.) Did you take a final summer vacation? Beach or mountains?

Making a bucket list?

I was in the Cleveland area this week (crazy traffic). I knew I was near one of the great lakes when I was planning the route at least according to Google Maps. However, I was so focused on my book events, I didn't take the time to get to a viewing point where I could see the lake and maybe even touch it. This is the second time I've missed out seeing one of the big tourist stops. I've been 30 miles away from Niagara Falls and 25 miles away from the Grand Canyon.(If you drive by a place but don't stop, is it even real?) That was my bad so with future trips, I'm going to make a list of things I want to do. Like stop and see the world's largest ball of twine. Okay, so maybe not that one. But you get my drift. What's one place you've been near but not stopped.

Are you freaking kidding me? It's September?

This year has seemed to fly by. January didn't start well with losing two of our fur family within weeks of each other. The house was too quiet and sad. So in March, we brought home new babies - Quinn and Dexter. They are the bright spots in our day, even when we're cleaning up or replacing things they chewed up or on. My husband keeps reminding me that they're puppies still. About fifty pounds (together) of puppy. The picture above was when they first came home. We have realized we are no longer in charge of the house. They are. :) Last year in early December, Laura Bradford and I did a writers retreat in Galveston around a signing at Murder by the Books. We both made goals and reviewed our author career status. One big goal that I'd had in my head for the last three years was a proposal for a different type of book. Well, I just turned in the final edits on the proposal. Now it's in my agent's hands. I wish it much luck out in the world but I can't sit still and worry. Now I have to go back to my contracted stories. The worlds I've already built and put this new, alternative universe away until someone falls in love with it like I did. I'm excited to see what comes out of this years retreat.

Corn, it's what's for dinner...

Or at least it's in my head this last month. I just got back from Iowa. Beautiful farm country. Lot's of corn fields by the side of the road. Friendly people and a successful book signing. One of the best things is the drive to these events. I have great friends who also are authors. So we spend a lot of time chatting about books, about writing, about plotting, and always, marketing. What works, what doesn't, what totally bombed. It's like a 8 hour trip to the water fountain in The Office. Only this is our business we're trying to grow, not someone else's. Today I'm grateful for book friends and readers. Thanks for making this journey fun.

The Sweet Smell of Summer

This essay was the first thing I'd ever had published besides a review of a dinner theater show for my local paper. The Sweet Smell of Summer tells the story of my family and the process of putting up corn for the winter. This gathering and preserving of food was my mom's hobby. She loved canning, making jelly, or freezing food for later meals. I do the same with memories. Mix them up into a story, then put it away for later. Here's one I can pull out for you. Enjoy.

July report from the front lines

I didn't travel anywhere (at least for the books - I did go to my cabin for 4th of July. Everything was fine until someone tried to blow themselves up with the fireworks.) It was nice staying home and getting things done. We had a staycation during the hottest time of the year. So we moved my office. I moved so many books, my legs hurt for two days. But I'm lifting right, apparently. The bad news is I found so many books I want to read NOW. And I have no time. We took the babies to the levee and walked. They said it was too hot, even early in the morning. And they had their first grooming. They'll be seven months old next week. Quinn is celebrating by getting spayed. I think she's going to be hating us in August. And I'm hopefully finishing a book (the eleventh book in the Tourist Trap series) by the end of the month. I'm close. And I know what I need to write. It's just finding the time to do it. (By the way, Guidebook and the rest of the Tourist Trap series e-book is on sale this month. Check it out on your favorite vendor.)Which is the answer to everything in life. Making the time to do the things that push your dreams forward. I'm back on the road in August. Upcoming events are all posted on my webpage. So make sure you check it out. Lynn

Cover Reveal - Have a Deadly New Year

Check out Dru's Book Musing here - for a cover reveal. The crazy thing about this book is it wasn't even a thought in my head at the first of the year. And now, it will release on December 3rd. It's a Farm to Fork book so it's set in Idaho, but in Sun Valley, the mountain community that became way too expensive for the locals. At least it was before Boise became a bedroom community for California refugees. When I was a teenager, I spent a week at the Sun Valley Lodge for a state Future Homemaker of America conference. The highlight? Hanging out in the hot tub after the conference shut down for the day with the snow falling into the steamy water. Chef Angie Turner of The County Seat—Idaho’s finest farm-to-table restaurant—is preparing a private dinner in the mountains during ski season, but the trip’s about to go downhill . . .It’s a rockin’ New Year for Angie and her crew as they cater a bash for a famous band—and as a bonus, they’ll get to stay at the singer’s Sun Valley house for a whole week once the party’s over. But there are hints of discord, and the event hits a sour note when one of the musicians is found with a drumstick in his chest.Is this a case of creative differences turned lethal or is there another motive at play? Angie’s jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire as she and her fellow foodies try to solve the case before the killer comes out for an encore . . .

My writing life

I'm on a no-travel, no-event month. July usually has a few trips in there for me and there's a few conferences I wanted to attend, but I decided to take a Lynn month. We spent the 4th with friends and family and a few strays down at the cabin. Quinn and Dexter got to play in the water at the spillway for the dam. We had fireworks. And a few adult beverages. Last week I compressed my work week so I could finish a proposal for a secret project. I'm so in love with this story already. I hope my agent feels the same way. It's a stretch for me. One that I was scared of taking for a long time. Finally, I knew I had to get it done and out there for my own well being. I've got a short, staycation scheduled for next week. I'll still be playing around on social media and writing words since I have a book due end of month (Tourist Trap #12) but I've got a stack of books to read and a lot of things planned to get done. Finally, I'm planning for a quick sneak away from work one Friday so I can go visit the new Paul Gauguin exhibit at the museum. A man with a challenging life in a world of #metoo, but I'm interested in the art he created. That's my July, what do you have planned? Oh, and don't worry, I'll be back on the road in August. Suffolk Mystery Festival August 10th and Romance Rendezvous Book Blast (as Lynn Collins) in Cedar Falls Iowa August 24th. I hope you can make it to one of these or the other events I still have coming up in 2019.

Live like you were dying

Some of you know I had breast cancer in 2007. It's part of my author story since having it really kicked me in the butt to start living the life I wanted, including writing.Well, I've been in remission since after getting the trifecta - surgery, chemo, and radiation, but since it was so advanced they kept me on the no cancer pills past the ten years.Last year I had to cancel several appearances due to a hysterectomy that was possibly caused by the anti cancer pills. They switched me to a different pill.So when my oncologist called after my mammogram in May, I was concerned. Went back for a second mammo. Scheduled for a biopsy. Of course, this was all during the Sconed to Death tour, so I kept busy with the book release.Good news, the biopsy showed no cancer. Big sigh of relief.Why am I telling you this? Because if there's something you want to do, remember, tomorrow isn't promised to any of us. Just do it to steal the Nike motto. You might be pleasantly surprised.What are you going to do today?

Keeshonds - our new babies

One complaint, they grow too fast. We're coming up on six months and Dexter is almost 30 pounds. He leans over on his side when he sits because he can't hold himself up. Quinn's my little girl. She's a momma's girl when she's not being a real witch. I think we're in teenage times. Pray for us. And our house. :) Lynn