Ms. Bohart came to the writing field after thirty-five years as a nonprofit executive, where she raised millions of dollars for multiple causes by writing fundraising letters, grants, brochures, annual reports, and more. She retired in 2018 to launch her own freelance writing company, Lil Dog Communications, and has written for nonprofits and individuals all over the world.

With a master’s degree in theater, she has a strong background in storytelling. Currently, Ms. Bohart has eleven paranormal mystery novels, two short story books, and three nonfiction books on Amazon. The first book in her Old Maids of Mercer Island series Inn Keeping with Murder remained on Amazon’s top one hundred ghost story list for over ten months and maintains a 4.5-star average with over 1500 reviews.

Ms. Bohart has been published in Woman’s World and Dead on Demand, an anthology of ghost stories which rose to number thirteen on the Library Journal Bestsellers List. For a brief time, she wrote a weekly column for Patch.com and a monthly column for the Renton Reporter.

She has also taught “Crafting the Story” for ten-plus years through Green River College and has been a featured speaker at numerous online writing summits, including the Seattle Film Summit, League of Romance Writers, Fiction Authors Summit, Authorpreneur Summit, Brew Your Book Summit, the Escape the Plot Forest Summit, the Crime Thriller Summit and more. Her website (www.lynnbohart-author.com) offers several free writing tools, along with an emerging set of micro eBooks on specific writing topics.

Ms. Bohart also publishes a bi-monthly newsletter entitled “Let’s Talk About Murder,” where she interviews people who talk about, write about, or investigate the ultimate crime. She is honored to have interviewed people such as Marcia Clark (O.J. Simpson trial), J.A. Jance (bestselling author), Paul Holes (cold case detective who helped to catch the Golden State Killer), Barbara Butcher (death investigator featured on Netflix’s Homicide New York), K9 handlers, forensic scientists, and many more.

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Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I’ve enjoyed writing since I was in grade school. In fact, I was over the moon once in junior high when I wrote a short story about a bird my family rescued and earned an A+ from the teacher. It was empowering. What launched me on the road to writing novels, however, was signing up for a “ghost story” writing weekend through the local community college when I was working full-time. Our assignment was to write a short story over the weekend and then read it to the rest of the class by candlelight in an abandoned boathouse. The next morning, the teacher sidled up to me at breakfast and said, “You know, Lynn, your story is good enough to be published.” I remember driving home thinking, “Wow, I think I’ll write a novel.” Just goes to show how much impact a little flattery can have on your self-confidence. Of course, it took me several more years, along with countless writing classes and conferences, to actually get my first novel published. I did publish that short story, though. It’s part of an anthology of scary short stories in my book Your Worst Nightmare on Amazon. And the title? You guessed it… “The Boathouse.”

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I spent thirty-five-plus years in the nonprofit world as an executive director for several different hospital foundations and, finally, for a local community foundation. In fact, I’m a fellow in the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy. I also hold a master’s degree in theater in directing and spent many years with local community theater groups directing everything from The Sound of Music to Camelot to Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution. I’ve always felt my theater background gave me a leg up in writing novels since I was so familiar with the three-act play structure, characterization, and dialogue.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

No Place Like Home for a Murder is the sixth book in my Old Maids of Mercer Island series, which follows the crazy antics of four women in their sixties who can’t stop getting involved in murder investigations. Since my all-time favorite movie has always been The Wizard of Oz, the lead character in the series, Julia Applegate, not only collects “Oz” memorabilia but quotes the movie at inopportune times. It was only natural, then, that I would eventually find a way to use a line from movie in one of my books. And, since the first murder in the book takes place in the kitchen of one of Julia’s best friends, it was the perfect title. I even put Dorothy’s red slippers on the cover!

What part of publishing your book made it feel real for the first time?

I spent a couple of years attempting to get an agent for my first book Grave Doubts to have it traditionally published. I came very close but (like many) was frustrated in the end. My brother suggested self-publishing back when it was very new. I studied up on it and decided to test it out with my short story anthology to learn the ropes. I can’t say I felt like a published author at that point. It wasn’t until I published Grave Doubts on my own that I felt like a real author. But it wasn’t until I published the first book in the Old Maids series (Inn Keeping with Murder) that I really began to build a fan base. That book really took off.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

The Old Maids of Mercer Island books are filled with prat falls, crazy antics, a talking parrot, and a few helpful ghosts. There are also, however, real moments of tension and fear. In No Place Like Home for a Murder, Julia and the girls go up against criminals killing homeless people to steal their organs. So, I’m at a bit of a loss to suggest a soundtrack because it would have to be something like a mesh between Mario Party, Phantom of the Opera, and Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.

What’s one thing you hope sticks with readers after they finish your book?

The Old Maids series is meant to be a romp down mystery lane. So, first and foremost, I hope that each book makes readers laugh and feel fully entertained. Since I spent my entire career in the nonprofit world, however, I have also weaved social justice issues into many of my storylines. In other words, the murder usually has something to do with very serious things like sex trafficking, black market adoption, child abuse, mental health issues, or dog fighting—all things I hope that people might get involved in to rectify. It’s one of the things that makes puts these books into the next-gen cozy mystery category. Anyway, No Place Like Home for a Murder sends Julia and the girls into the homeless camps in Seattle looking for a murderer targeting the most vulnerable populations. So, I hope readers will come away from this particular book a little bit enlightened about how difficult it is for people who have been displaced.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

This review from a reader made it all worthwhile: “In my opinion, this is the best book in the series! Homelessness is a big problem in the Seattle area—this book shines a light on the problem while following the adventures of a group of determined older ladies who cannot stand injustice. Oh, the adventures they go on. Julia had me cracking up with her klutziness, as usual. I enjoyed the twists and turns as the plot unfolded. The Old Maids of Mercer Island series is exceptionally well written, and this book is no exception. Can’t wait for the next one!”

What creative projects are you currently working on?

Right after I finished No Place Like Home for a Murder, I wrote a prequel to the Old Maids series, going back to the 1960s, when Julia was only thirteen. In The Case of the Missing Will, Julia and her brother Ben (who is now also a regular character in the Old Maids books) solve the murder of a favorite neighbor. This is before cell phones, DNA analysis, and the internet, so it was a fun challenge to write a Nancy Drew-like story but much wackier (is that a word?). Anyway, I’m currently working on the second book in that series, The Case of the Deadly Secret.

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