After spending 25 years running several different hospital foundations around Renton, Kent resident Lynn Bohart decided to pursue a new career in writing.
“I took a ghost story writing weekend class when I lived in Oregon a few years ago and fell in love with writing,” Bohart said. “A few years later, the woman who taught the class decided to publish a book with the best stories from her ten years in writing the class and selected my story to be in the anthology.”
After that, Bohart was hooked.
“I started a paranormal mystery novel and had a few short stories published in ‘Woman’s World,'” she said. “When eBooks became popular, I decided to take that route and first published ‘Your Worst Nightmare,’ an anthology of creepy short stories and mysteries. Then, in June, I published my first novel.”
She submitted her completed novel to Grub Street Reads, an independent group that reviews books against a pretty stringent set of guidelines. They don’t endorse a book unless they feel it meets their qualifications, which include characterization, pace and consistency.
“I was absolutely thrilled to get their endorsement,” Bohart said. “It’s taken me a long time to get here. I’ve revised and rewritten the novel multiple times, each time correcting structural problems, voice problems and pacing until I felt it really was ready.”
Grub Street Reads encourages higher readership of indie authors by providing a quality standard for independently published novels. The Grub Street Reads Endorsement is given to those books that pass an evaluation process based on the fundamental qualities of good storytelling, including well-developed characters, strong pacing, a well-researched world and a powerful overall voice.
“Mass Murder” is a paranormal mystery novel set in Bohart’s hometown of Sierra Madre, Calif. Detective Giorgio Salvatori is called in when a woman is found dead, hanging by her bra strap in the supply closet of the Catholic monastery. As a former New York detective, he’s seen the worst humanity has to offer, but he doesn’t have a good feeling about this case. Soon, his suspicions are borne out when a second body is found buried in the garden, and days later, one of the monks is found floating face down in the duck pond. To complicate matters, the specter of a young boy who committed murder and then suicide back in the 1940s, appears to be sending a message.
Bohart holds a master’s degree in theater and currently runs the Renton Community Foundation. She also did a short stint writing for Renton.Patch.com. She will teach a class titled, “Writing the Mystery Short Story” for Kent Parks and Recreation this fall, as well as through Green River Community College’s Continuing Education program.
“Mass Murder” is available for sale as an eBook on Amazon.com for only $2.99. Interested readers can learn more about the author by visiting the Grub Street Reads Endorsed Book library at www.grubstreetreads.com or by visiting the author’s website at www.bohartink.com.
Bohart is currently working on her second mystery novel, “Grave Doubts”. Her anthology of creepy and mysterious short stories, “Your Worst Nightmare”, is also available on Amazon.com.
Talk to us
Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.