Author Spotlight: Lynn Cahoon
Award-winning, Bestselling Author of Seven Cozy Mystery Series
Lynn Cahoon is the author of the Kitchen Witch Mysteries, the Bainbridge Island Mysteries, the Tourist Trap Mysteries, the Survivors’ Book Club Mysteries, and several other cozy mystery series. Image credit: Lynn Cahoon
Lynn Cahoon is an award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She has written well over 50 mysteries and sold more than a million copies of her books. Lynn is known for writing delightfully addictive stories set in quaint towns like the one she grew up in. She also writes contemporary romance under the name Lynn Collins.
Lynn Cahoon's cozy mystery series include the:
Tourist Trap Mystery Series: This award-winning cozy mystery series is set in a small coastal California town with lots of tourist attractions, including a charming bookshop café owned by amateur sleuth Jill Gardner.
Kitchen Witch Mystery Series: This popular cozy series features a catering kitchen witch who lives in a small Idaho town where mysteries abound and magic is an open secret.
Survivors' Book Club Mystery Series: In this uplifting and heartwarming mystery series, cancer survivor Rarity Cole solves mysteries in between running a bookstore devoted to healing and a Tuesday Night Survivors book club.
Farm-to-Fork Mystery Series: This tasty cozy culinary mystery follows amateur sleuth Angie Turner, who moved back home to rural Idaho and opened a farm-to-table restaurant.
Cat Latimer Mystery Series: This fun cozy mystery features a mystery-solving English professor who runs a cozy Colorado writing retreat in the Aspen Hills.
Haunted Life Mystery Series: In this paranormal cozy mystery series, Eddie Cayce moves to New Orleans hoping to realize her dream of opening an antique shop, but her ability to see ghosts is getting in the way.
Bainbridge Island Mystery Series: This brand-new meta-mystery series is about Meg Gates, an author’s assistant who is writing a guidebook for amateur sleuths.
Many of these cozy mystery series have related novellas if you want a short read or extra ways to visit the fun settings. You can learn more about Lynn, her books, upcoming events, and more on her website LynnCahoon.com. Sign up for her newsletter to get a free Tourist Trap short story.
Cozy Crime Reads Interview with Lynn Cahoon
What attracted you to the cozy mystery genre?
I was going through cancer treatment when I found the cozy mystery genre. I loved how the books were challenging, yet gave me a comfort read where community and friendship was important in the world. The best thing about having cancer is since you're in waiting rooms a lot, you have a lot of time to read. I would go to the library, check out the max books I could, and start reading. I liked mysteries so they all had the mystery sticker on the spine, but they were all so different. I'd find an author I'd like and go through all of what the library had. Then I realized I liked a certain type. They had an amateur sleuth, were around food or knitting or books, and the world just seemed better in between their pages. A nurse told me they were cozy mysteries and brought me a bag when I came in for my next shot. And told me about local cozy authors in the area, suggesting I reach out to them about writing a book. So I did.
What are a few of the essential elements that make a cozy stand out to you as a reader?
Amateur sleuth - someone I could be friends with. Supportive community around the MC. A cute and fluffy pet. And the series has to be fun. Adding in some paranormal elements lets my imagination fly with the story. Easy to pick up after not reading for a week or a day and going on to the story.
Do you have a favorite amateur sleuth?
I loved Moonlighting. One - Bruce Willis, but also, she was a model who started solving crimes. I love that sexy banter between the two characters. I like strong, female, MCs - which I got from Nancy Drew. She didn't worry about the girls at school or what she was going to wear, she worried about solving mysteries. I like Eve and Roarke because of this opposites attract vibe, even though the In Death series isn't technically a cozy and Eve's not an amateur.
The Farm-to-Fork Mystery novels and novellas
What inspired your first cozy mystery?
The first cozy I wrote was the first KW set around Sun Valley (Idaho). I shopped it for a bit, but soon put it away and started a new series, Tourist Trap. It was inspired by a spring break trip to California during a time of change. I found this old house with a crazy fence that was part white(ish) picket, barbed wire, and chicken fencing. I took a picture of the for sale sign and kept it on my computer as a reminder I could totally change my life. I just needed to do it. I didn't move to California and buy a bookstore, but my MC, Jill, did. I just started writing book #19 this week.
How do you research and create the cozy elements in your books, like the settings and community?
I like to visit the area. And I like fictional towns that are based on real locations. So for Tourist Trap, my town of South Cove is based on Cambria. I like walking the streets and picking out what real things, like a town clock or a beach, do I want to add to my fictional town. For the Survivors' Book Club, I love taking a real hiking trail and putting it into the books, along with what I might see or feel on the hike. A (famous) author talked about his life in Sedona in a recent interview I listened to and how there wasn't a bookstore in town. I wanted to tell him that he was wrong. At least in my 'fictional' Sedona, there's a bookstore. :) Community is something you have to build, but I use real festivals for the SBC books, Tourist Trap, and the new series, Bainbridge Island. Bainbridge has a newsletter, but I've visited twice now and found out more about the island each time. Including the fact the ferry may not get you where you need to be on time, so you have to plan ahead.
The first six books in the Survivor’s Book Club Mystery series.
What is one key step in your writing process that helps you transform an idea into a finished book?
I do a bullet point outline. What needs to happen to build the story in the next chapter or chapters. I write out a chapter outline and put what MAY happen in each square, then, adjust as I need to. Often, I start a book with just a few items. Who is my MC playing with, who or why did someone die, and who are other people who want to kill your victim, but for social moras, they hold back. And writing a lot. If not every day, more days than not. It keeps me grounded in the telling part of the story and I'm able to let my characters loose.
What advice would you give aspiring cozy mystery authors who want to start writing their first novel?
It's the Nike slogan - Just do it. You won't know if this is what you want (or are good at) writing until you do it. Take chances, say yes more than no, and don't worry that someone is going to steal your ideas. Not even AI. You are the only one who can write this story. So jump when the muse hands you a story idea. If you don't, she'll give it to someone else. Oh, and get thee to a writers group. In person, online, it doesn't matter. What matters is they give you accurate information, support, and help you develop your craft.
How can readers connect with you online?
You can find me on Facebook (LynnCahoon, Author), Instagram (lynncahoon) or on X (@LynnCahoon). Or you can email me at Lynn@lynncahoon.com
I have a cozy readers’ hideaway group on Facebook, and we just finished our Summer Reading Program. We'll have a holiday bingo coming in November.
To end the interview, I'd use one of Meg Gate's Tips and Tricks - What doesn't kill you counts as work experience.
Books 1-10 in the Tourist Trap Mysteries.
Get a Recipe From Lynn Cahoon
Like many authors, Lynn Cahoon includes recipes in many of her cozy mysteries. This Easy Quiche Recipe comes from Reading Between the Lies, the fourth book In Lynn’s Survivors’ Book Club Mystery series.
Lynn Cahoon’s Cozy Mystery Books
The following image gallery features book cover images from Lynn Cahoon’s cozy mystery series. Use the arrows on either side of the image to cycle through all of the pictures in this image gallery.
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