Author Interview (and a Giveaway!): Lynn Cahoon & Sconed to Death

I am delighted today to welcome one of my fave cozy mystery authors to the blog! Lynn Cahoon is here to chat about her new Cat Latimer novel which released yesterday – Sconed to Death (don’t you love that title?!?)

Lynn Cahoon is the award-winning author of several NYT and USA Today best-selling cozy mystery series. The Tourist Trap series is set in central coastal California with six holiday novellas releasing in 2018-2019. She also pens the Cat Latimer series available in mass market paperback. Her newest series, the Farm to Fork mystery series, released in 2018. She lives in a small town like the ones she loves to write about with her husband and two fur babies. Sign up for her newsletter at www.lynncahoon.com

You can connect with Lynn on Facebook, Goodreads, BookBub and Twitter.

SERIES: Cat Latimer Mystery #5
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
PUBLISHER: Kensington
RELEASE DATE: May 28, 2019
PAGES: 288

Cat Latimer pursues a scone-cold killer who iced a top chef in a local bakery . . .

Cat has a full plate at her Aspen Hills Warm Springs Resort, as a group of aspiring cozy mystery authors arrives for a writers retreat. So when baker Dee Dee Meyer stirs up trouble by filing a false complaint with the health inspector against the B&B–all because she insists Cat’s best friend Shauna stole her recipes–Cat marches into the shop to confront her.

But Dee Dee’s about to have her own batch of trouble. Greyson Finn–a celebrity chef and, until today, one of Denver’s most eligible bachelors–has been found dead in her bakery. Cat’s uncle Pete, who happens to be the chief of police, warns her not to engage in any half-baked sleuthing. But as her curiosity rises, Cat’s determined to discover who served the chef his just desserts–before the killer takes a powder . . .

Hi Lynn! Welcome back to the blog!

Lynn: I’m bi-lingual in the animal world, so I have both. ?

Carrie: haha i love that – bilingual in the animal world. I only speak dog but i can respect those who also speak cat lol

Lynn: COFFEE. Maybe I wasn’t clear, definitely coffee. 

Carrie: Now… was that coffee? 😉

Lynn: Coke. When I drink soda. My husband on the other hand is Team Pepsi. Do you think it’s grounds for a divorce?

Carrie: haha! Not with regular Coke/Pepsi. Diet on the other hand…..

Lynn: Print. I’m on the computer way too much as it is. I see reading on line as work. But a print book? It’s a luxury. 

Carrie: Ah good point! And there’s nothing quite like cracking open a new book 🙂

Q: Around here I like to say that reading is my superpower. If YOU had a superpower, what would it be?

Lynn: Knowing when someone is lying. I’d love to be a human lie detector. I’d be the one who would point the finger and shout – FALSEHOOD. 

Carrie: That would be an extremely important trait to have these days.

Q: Tell me some good books you’ve read recently!

Lynn: I’d had some amazing reads lately but there’s one that really made an impact– American Gods by Neil Gaiman – he made me really think about life and what choices and paths we take. What would you do if all hope was taken from your life? What kind of man do you want to be? What are your base values?

Carrie: oh that sounds really thought-provoking!!

Q: Writing spaces are as diverse as authors and books. Where is your favorite space to write?

Lynn: I’m old fashioned. I have a desk. It’s horribly messy most of the time, especially when a book is getting ready to be finished. The computer is a desktop and my monitor is huge (32-inch) to allow me to see typo’s a little better.

Carrie: we won’t talk about how messy my work area is lol

Q: Which of your main characters is most like you?

Lynn: I think Cat is most like me since she’s my want-a-be full writer persona. And she lives in a huge house where her friend does all the cooking. Which is another dream of mine to have a fulltime chef in the house. LOL 

Carrie: YES – #lifegoals haha!

Q: Did you have the whole plot outlined before you started writing Sconed to Death, or did you let the characters dictate what came next? 

Lynn: I never have the plot outlined. Mostly because if I do all this work, I feel like I’ve already told the story and nothing surprises me. I feel like I’m setting up the story, then the subconscious takes over. This magic happens every book. I think the plot is taking off and jumping the shark, but it all comes together in the end.

Carrie: I think it’s so true, especially in mysteries, that if the author has it all figured out ahead of time so will the reader. This way keeps the clues unfolding organically because the author is figuring them out too.

Q: What do you most want readers to take away from Sconed to Death?

Lynn: For me, and for most of my books, family, friends and community are the most important takeaways. Cat is betrayed by a friend in Sconed and she has to figure out what her role [is] in the destruction of the friendship. I believe it takes two to totally blow up a relationship so even though her friend does betray her, did Cat have a role in the destruction?

Carrie: That’s what i love about your books – the strength of family, friends, and community – as well as the mystery, of course 😉  But now I’m scared for Cat and her friends because I don’t want it to be any of them!

Thank you so much for taking time to talk with me! 🙂 Before we say goodbye for today, tell us what‘s coming up next for you.

Lynn: A VERY MUMMY HOLIDAY – A Tourist Trap Holiday novella will release in late October (available for pre-order now.) But I’m working on the fourth Farm to Fork mystery – working title- Death on a Stick. (It happens at the State Fair.)

Carrie: haha i love the Death on a Stick title in that setting. I hope it… well… sticks 😛

Lynn Cahoon is offering a signed copy of Slay In Character (book #4 in the Cat Latimer series, just precedes Sconed to Death) to one of my readers! (US/CAN only) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What interests you most about this novel? (AND/OR do you have a favorite type of scone?)