IN THE SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT-AUTHOR LYNN CAHOON~A MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL

Please help me welcome Lynn Cahoon to my blog today! Lynn lives near my hometown of St. Louis and is also a fellow Crimson author so we've had the opportunity to get to know one another, and let me tell you, you're going to love her. She's a hoot, and very talented. Let's find out a little more about that.

So Lynn, what is the best thing you’ve learned about writing and/or the publishing business?

To the determined goes the spoils.  Seriously, I see so many writers who give up after one book doesn’t sell. Or, they sell one book, then don’t hit the lists first time out and they are done.   It took me a while to find my groove, what I love to write.  And, I think I get better with each finished manuscript.

Not to mention the determination it takes to get here in the first place, huh? Now here's a key question, how do you balance the demands of your everyday life and your writing life?

I write when I can.  I set yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily goals. So I know what baby step I’m taking every day.  And if I don’t meet the baby step, I won’t meet the weekly goals, and, so on.  But when I am rocking on my daily goals, life is good.  I’m a big proponent of doing something every day – promotion, marketing, writing, or editing.  Or even research.  I have a list of books I’m planning on writing this year.  And have more on my list that I’d like to finish.  Unfortunately, I have the day job. 

Yeah, that whole steady income thing is a real drag. Why don't you give us a brief glimpse at your road to publication.

I wrote four years before I sold more than a short story or essay. My target publisher was Harlequin American.  I read and analyzed their line for months before I started each book, but then, after a long waiting period and a couple re-writes, they turned down what I thought was the best manuscript I’d written.   I decided I’d send it out to a new digital first publisher, if they turned it down, I’d put The Bull Rider’s Brother under the bed and start again.

I sent the query on Friday night.  An hour later, I got a request for the full.  Then I had a contract in hand in a week. 

A week later, I got a second contract offer for A Member of the Council.   

Since that time, I’ve sold four other projects. I released three books in 2012 and will release at least three in 2013. (Including the second installment in The Council Series – Return of the Fae.  http://lyricalpress.com/return-of-the-fae/ )

Now I’m reaching for the next rung and will be shopping a cozy mystery this month trying to snag an agent.

Tell me more about where you live? And where would you love to live?

From my bio – Lynn lives on the banks of the Mississippi river in a town steeped in history.  Basically I live in the St Louis area with my husband. The little town we live in was on the ghost hunter show because of all the paranormal activity.  A ‘certified’ haunted mansion sits just down the road from our house.  We moved here about seven years ago from my home state of Idaho. So I write about both settings, the Idaho mountains and the more city-fied St. Louis.   I want to retire on the Oregon Coast or Seattle.  My husband is pressing for a cabin in the Idaho mountains.  We might have to compromise. 

Now for a fun question. Name your favorite children's story.

I have two – A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle) and The Phantom Tollbooth (Norton Juster) Both books focus on a life away from the everyday normal, a wish I’d had for years growing up.   I keep looking for an old schoolbook (blue cover – probably second grade reader 1966-67) that had a story about a little boy who took a walk in the park… my earliest paranormal read.  And of course it rhymed.

I loved "The Phantom Tollbooth" but it's a little off-beat and not as widely known as some others, so I'm glad to see that it is one of your favorites, too. It was great having you here today, Lynn!

Thanks for inviting me MJ!

Come back anytime!

Now here's Lynn's blurb for A MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL: 

A rogue hunter, a clueless witch and a mission to save an unknowing world.

Parris McCall, owner of the dive bar, The Alibi, has finally constructed a life where her little quirks don’t show or matter to anyone. As for her grandmother's warnings that she’s different, well, she'll cross that bridge if she comes to it. But when Ty walks into her bar, both lives are instantly changed.

Ty Wallace loves his life. How could he not? He’s a powerful human lawyer by day and the Magic Council's rogue witch hunter by night. But after he agrees to substitute on his secretary’s dart team, all hell breaks loose. Now Ty has to help Parris admit who she is before her long-lost relatives kill her.

BIO -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

Lyrical Press - http://lyricalpress.com/a-member-of-the-council/

e -Book http://www.amazon.com/A-Member-Council-ebook/dp/B00A262YW4

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/

print -  na

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