Lynn Cahoon

Not sure I'm doing NANO this year but I found this blog and I'm repurposing it today. :) Novel Writing month is an annual event for writers around the world. The project has it's own website and community groups all over. I'm pretty sure there are t-shirts. Goal - write 50000 words in one month. November. I’ve started NANO several times and for some reason, the thought of 50000 scares the pants off me. But I’m not giving up. My best word count was 35000 which for someone who

What’s love got to do with it? Uhmm, everything? As a genre, romance fiction gets a bad rap. From being called bodice rippers to porn, ask anyone on the street about reading romance, and you’ll get an opinion. Probably not one we’d mention in polite conversation. So, why do I write romance under the Collins pen name? Because I love the love. Literally. I love putting my characters through hell and letting them find out that if they would just get out of their own way, lov

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

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

I've got a surprise for my romance side fans. Lynn Collins (me) is putting out the Shawnee Valley series this summer. A full season of cowboy crush stories and the first one is available now! The Bull Rider's Brother is a secret baby - coming home story set in a mix of my favorite Idaho mountain hideaways. And it starts the series off right. In two weeks, The Bull Rider's Buddy will release, just in time for a hot July. August - The Bull Rider's Manager is scheduled and ju

I realized I posted my January plans, but never really followed up. Even with the unusual circumstances (#losingbothourboys, #Homerlove, #Demonlove) I got most of the stuff on my list done. But there's one item that was on January's list and February's list, and is looking like it might stay on March's list if I don't do something about it today. Edits for the Bull Rider's Brother (Lynn Collins). It's a secret baby/cowboy/reunion story and I love it. But I haven't been puttin

Happy Halloween Month … This is another special blog from my other self - Lynn Collins. I love the feel of fall. October is a special month for me as it’s my birthday (waving hands in the air). Add in amazing weather that begs for walks and bike rides and I’m a happy girl. When I started writing The Council Series, I knew I wanted a witch out of water story. Parris McCall started life in a magical family. But she’s blocked those memories away and is living a different but

There's just something about sitting (vegging) in front of the television and watching shows off the DVR. Sometimes I even let them build up so I can have a few hours of entertainment. NCIS is my current favorite. This method of watching (and collecting) shows is so different than when I grew up and if you missed a show, you had to depend on someone else watching and telling you what you missed. My mom was that person for Dark Shadows. She'd turn on the television and then wa

Happy July! I've taken some time today to go over my progress for the year on my resolutions. What gets measured, gets done. So here's my report. I've written two books and one novella. (I still have two books and two novella to go by end of November.) I've lost about 15 pounds - Depends on the scale I've started a budgeting process I've released four books (or will by Tuesday) What I need to focus on the last half of the year: Continuing the budgeting Working out more consi

On my author Facebook page, we do a roundup of all the books we've been reading over the last week. I'm always amazed at how many readers pause and comment on other posts. It's like going to the bookstore with a bunch of friends. "Hey, I've read this book and it's great." Friend #1 picks up IT'S RAINING CATS AND DOGS, A MEMOIR OF A HUMANE SOCIETY MANAGER "Really? I've thought about it but I was concerned that it didn't have enough puppies in the plot." Friend number two touc