A new series from the author of the Tourist Trap Mysteries!
Former English professor Cat Latimer is back in Colorado, hosting writers’ retreats in the big blue Victorian she’s inherited, much to her surprise, from none other than her carousing ex-husband! Now it’s an authors’ getaway—but Cat won’t let anyone get away with murder…
The bed-and-breakfast is open for business, and bestselling author Tom Cook is among its first guests. Cat doesn’t know why he came all the way from New York, but she’s glad to have him among the quirkier—and far less famous—attendees.
Cat’s high school sweetheart Seth, who’s fixing up the weathered home, brings on mixed emotions for Cat…some of them a little overpowering. But it’s her uncle, the local police chief, whom she’ll call for help when there’s a surprise ending for Tom Cook in his cozy guest room. Will a killer have the last word on the new life Cat has barely begun?
Q: Aloha Lynn, and welcome back to Island Confidential! Can you tell us a little bit about your protagonist, Cat?
A: Cat Latimer thought she had the dream life. Both she and her new husband were professors at the local college where she’d graduated. They’d bought an old Victorian to restore. And she was finally taking the time to write a book. Then she’d found him kissing one of his students.
Divorced, she landed in California teaching and sold her young adult paranormal novel. When the letter came from Michael’s attorney, she’d almost not opened it.
Now, she’s back in Aspen Hills, Colorado, running a writer’s retreat in the Victorian her ex-husband left her in the will. But she’s finding things aren’t always what they seem.
Q: How much of you is in Cat Latimer? How would you feel about her if you met her in real life?
A: I would love to meet Cat in real life. She’s down to earth and thoughtful about this crazy journey writers take when deciding to share their stories with the world. As far as how much of me is in the character? I’m not quite sure yet. Every character has a touch of the author. Cat and I love food. We both struggle with the blinking cursor. And we love OLD houses. My husband just shakes his head at some of the old houses I say are beautiful. But he’s looking at them with a construction eye. I see the house it was or could be again.
Q: Do your characters change and evolve throughout consecutive books in the series?
A: Definitely. Although it’s early in the series for Cat Latimer, I already see changes in the way she deals with her own insecurities. Like all of us, she does the best thing she can do at the time. And hopes to be a better person tomorrow. (Or in the next book.)
Q: Have you ever thought of killing someone that you know in real life–on the pages of a murder mystery, I mean?
A: Can I take the fifth on this one? LOL Seriously, I may think about killing someone on the pages of my books, but the truly evil people I don’t want to give page time. Or any more attention than they’ve already received. I do look at objects though (like the supervisor award at my day job) and think about what a great weapon they’d make.
Q: How realistic is your setting? Do you take liberties, or are you true to life?
A: I write fictional small towns. Now, they feel like the real places they are modeled after but there is no Aspen Hills in Colorado. At least not with Covington College as the primary business. I can point to where the town would be on a map though and I keep Denver in mind when I’m writing distances.
Also, I tend to mix up places and put them together in a better way that works for the story. So in my bull rider series, the small rodeo town is real, but had a different name and is modeled after another mountain town along with a small hot springs resort I found miles away from either town. Shawnee is better for the mixing.
Q: When the movie or TV series is made, who plays the major parts?
A: I could see a younger Sandra Bullock type playing Cat, Selena Gomez could play Shauna, and Seth? The guy who plays on NCIS –New Orleans- Lucas Black. I love his smile.
Q: What’s the worst and best advice you’ve heard or received as an author?
A: Best advice – there’s always a lake monster. Or make sure your story had conflict. Worst advice – You have to follow the rules. When you’re writing, you should ignore the rules. When you’re editing, bring them back but analyze what one’s you’re going to listen to.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lynn Cahoon is the author of the NYT and USA Today bestselling Tourist Trap cozy mystery series. Guidebook to Murder, book 1 of the series won the Reader’s Crown for Mystery Fiction in 2015. She’s also the author of the soon to be released, Cat Latimer series, with the first book, A STORY TO KILL, releasing in mass market paperback September 2016.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
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