I am delighted to welcome fabulous author Lynn Cahoon to my blog. Lynn is a sister author with Lyrical Press, and I recently had the great fortune of meeting her in person at my favorite Nashville bookstore, Mysteries & More Booksellers. What a treat!

Today, she’ll be telling us about her new release, Temporary Roommates, a smokin’ hot contemporary romance from Passion In Print. The story features a dedicated nurse, a busy doc, and the apartment they agree to share – just for convenience, of course.

Yeah, right.

Blurb:

Annie Baxter has her dream job.  Now, all she needs is a cheap apartment close to the hospital.  Troy Saunders knows his life as an intern is all about the long hours. He doesn’t have time to play doctor to some Nurse Barbie.  So when his sister finds a great apartment walking distance to work and next to the best running paths in the city, he’s sold. Two leasing agents, two prospective renters, one apartment.  Can they co-exist without fireworks?

Lynn, tell us a little about Annie and Troy. Aside from the physical, what drives their attraction and what makes them hesitate to act on it?

Both Troy and Annie have strong future driven goals.  They can see the finish line and don’t want anything, or anyone, to get in the way of what needs to be done. For Troy, his grandmother’s death from cancer set his mind to work for a cure. Annie got left at the altar by her high school sweetheart. An action she blesses him for because it forced her to look at what she wanted out of life, besides the white picket fence. 

This determination fuels the desire for each other, even though both deny wanting more than just a friendship. Maybe it’s the idea of forbidden fruit as much as karma that keeps throwing them in each other’s line of sight.

Sounds like they both get a lesson in work-life balance, which I’m sure a LOT of us can relate to. And three cheers for Troy – nothing like a hot guy with noble goals. Since cancer research is my day job, he’s definitely my kind of hero. Speaking of, I commend you on winning your battle with breast cancer. Congratulations on being a five-year survivor and kicking cancer’s ass! Did your personal experience with nurses, doctors, and hospitals influence this story?

Of course! I spent so much time at the hospital and in the general area, I almost considered moving closer.  At first though, thinking about the story allowed me to think about anything else than the treatment.  As far as kicking cancer’s ass, I’d rather not crow about that. I’m a bit superstitious. Let’s just say I’m doing good now and I have a full head of hair.

I have to tell a husband story here. The guy is a true romantic. One Sunday, I was taking a nap (which I did a lot during the chemo summer.)  I’d just started to lose my hair. A noise woke me and I went into our bathroom to find he’d taken the buzz shears to his shoulder length hair. He’d fully committed too. He ran those puppies right through the middle of his head, no turning back.  He wore the buzz cut all summer.

Even now, that memory makes me smile.   

Understood, and I’m so delighted hear that you found your real life hero. What a wonderful husband! Can you give us any hints about what is to come in this series?

Temporary Roommates (A Central West End Story) will be followed by a sequel, continuing Annie and Troy’s story.  And, there’s at least one unattached friend, Sasha, who needs her own story.  I’m not sure about Matt though.  I don’t know if I can rehabilitate him into anything close to hero status. But it might be fun to try.

I’ll be releasing Marriage Not Included in May with Soul Mate and the second in The Council series with Lyrical –Return of the Fae July 1^st.  So there is lots to read from me while you’re waiting for the second in the Central West End series. And of course, there’s always The Bull Rider series 🙂

You are one busy writer! How do you balance life and writing (yes, I’m always looking for advice on that!)?

Just do it?  Nike has a point here.  I work 40+ hours a week, commute another 8 hours, and try to fit in a work out. I’m a firm believer in baby steps. Writing 250 words a day is better than none and you have a page.  Write 500 words twice a day, and you have 7000 words in a week or 28000 words in a month. Two months and you have a nice category length book to revise, edit and shop.  Four months and you have a full length book.

My bad habit is all or nothing at times.  So I have to remember to take time for me, even if I haven’t made word count for the week.   As you know, once you’re published, more time gets stolen away from you for promo, edits, publisher requests, etc.  Only you can write your story, so make sure you focus on that first. The rest can fit in around the big stuff.

Sounds like you have the right attitude, and I like the idea about baby steps – those 250-500 word count days really do add up! Desert Island – three must-have books?

The Stand by Stephen King – Anything I haven’t read from Harlan Coben – Illusions by Richard Bach (author of Jonathon Livingston Seagull).  It’s a little book, but punches a wallop as far as story. Wait, I just realized these are all male authors.  Let’s add Jayne Ann Krantz and her Arcane Society series to the mix.  So Four – because I’m getting a boxed set.  Maybe I can do that with Harlan’s books too. ???

Yes, I like to bend the rules, why do you ask?

Thank you for inviting me. I’m so blessed to have met so many wonderful authors and readers, on line and in person.

Oh man, Stephen King’s The Stand is definitely one of my all time favorites and one I’d bring along to the beach. Thank you so much for the wonderful interview. To learn more about Lynn, please visit her website. Temporary Roommates is available now from Passion In Print , Amazon, and Barnes&Noble.