The HEA Cafe

March of 2007 will bring Lyn Cote’s tenth anniversary of receiving THE CALL. Lyn started writing     her first book when her daughter was thirteen months old and Lyn’s first novel was published when her daughter was about to enter high school. She admits she had a long journey to publication. But Lyn was writing for a market that hadn’t taken shape yet, the inspirational fiction market. A Golden Heart finalist in the inspirational category in 1996, she spoke to the first Love Inspired editor at the RWA conference in Dallas and that led to THE CALL. In the past decade, the inspirational market has continued to expand its markets and readership.

A lifelong Midwesterner (though born in Texas), she often uses rural Iowa, Chicago and the northwoods of Wisconsin as settings for her novels.  As of 2006, Lyn has twenty-one novels to her credit. Though Lyn’s first love is historical sagas, she’s also written contemporary romance and romantic suspense for Love Inspired and Tyndale. Right now, her “The Women of Ivy Manor” series for FaithWords (formerly Warner Faith) is available and she will be doing two historical sagas for Avon Inspire in 2007-2009. And her first Love Inspired Suspense series, “The Harbor Intrigue” set in Bayfield County WI will be out in April, May and July of 2007.

The inspirational market continues to grow! Every spring Lyn contacts most inspirational houses acquiring fiction, especially romance about their current acquisition requirements and personnel. She always posts the results of this survey on her website.  Please drop by the Market Page on Lyn’s website if you are interested in this market.  She remembers all too well how little information she had to work with when she began writing inspirationals and doesn’t want anyone else to be that clueless.

Lyn also likes to knit and crochet, read, and do lunch with friends.  She and her husband live on a large lake in the northwoods of Wisconsin with their two cats V-8 (for the engine not the juice) and Sadie.  And Lyn collects everthing “watermelon,” her favorite food.  Visit www.LynCote.net to visit the Market Page and Lyn’s Books page

           Blessed Bouqets

The Women of Ivy Manor series:

     Chloe        Bette   

  Leigh          Carly