Kindle Select - FREE BOOKS!

Why would anyone want to give something away that they spent years creating? Aside from blatant benevolence, the answer could be to eventually direct you to something that does cost money. Like your second book. If you are a new author, building a reader base is extremely important. More important than money, unfortunately. Especially if you are in this for the duration and hoping to build a career. Getting in people's faces and heads is everything for a new author. visibility. Exposure.

And that is why Amazon Kindle has a program called SELECT where you can give away downloads of your book 5 days out of the 90 day program--free downloads of a book that you might have spent years writing. It seems like a terrible idea when what you want is to make money from writing books. However, if you can see ahead a year, the free days can help your ranking on Amazon, which helps to sell books. On Amazon, (the biggest book sellers in the world), ranking is everything. If you get yourself in the top 100 on the paid list, you can look forward to some sales that are generated purely by being on that list. No advertising necessary. Unless you want to keep the momentum and propel it farther up the list. Which you should. It's not a great idea to sit back and watch your success. Marketing is an ongoing process.
Unless you're Nicholas Sparks and wrote Safe Haven. Then you can sit back and rake in the money because your book reached #1 and stayed there for a long time.

Kindle Select gives you the opportunity to get exposure, but it's up to you to advertise your free days and get on lists with your generous offering. Over the last few months, I've compiled a secret list of forty publications who will announce your free days and direct traffic to download your novel. The higher your ranking gets, the more likelihood that when free days ends, you will maintain sales for a while if you play your cards right. And it's good to have a marketing plan for after free days like cheap ads, keeping the cost of the book low and good reviews to keep sales coming in.
Should you do all 5 days together or split them up? I've done both and I'm not sure what is best. When my Romantic Suspense did all 5 together it garnered 35,000 downloads and got some kick-ass sales for six weeks after. Then the publisher raised the price and things are not going as well. My Paranormal Romance has only ever split up the free days. Because it's self pubbed, I can choose and it does well enough with 3 days in a row. I would never do one day because you need the momentum to build. And five days feels like too much. I want to save two free days to give the book another shot in the arm next month. The Dream Jumper's Promise was free May 26-28 and after the first 24 hours, had 12,000 downloads, reaching #4 in the Kindle store FREE and  #1 in paranormal romance. The FREE lists are way different than the paid lists but still a good indication of how the public likes your cover and blurb. At the point of writing this, in my free days, I'm just hoping, that with another 40 hours to go, I can maintain my position or even reach #1 in the Free Store (above that dad-burned 160 calorie cookbook!)
Free Days has helped us self pubbed or newbie authors gain a fighting chance in this market. Since ebooks and self pubs have opened to writers who used to spend years trying to get an agent, editor, publisher and readers, there is now a lot of floatsum and jetsam out there and the discerning reader must sift through it to find a good read. But, if they like your cover, your blurb, you reviews, your name, anything, they might 'buy' it for free, read it, review and tell their friends to read it when it costs money.
Granted, many of the readers who buy your free book will never read it and those who do will probably never write a review or refer someone to your book but some might. There are millions of readers out there in the world, buying books, downloads, entertainment, and even if there is a slight chance of a hundred real sales and 2 reviews, it's worth it to do free days.
Even though it's hard to giveaway something that you value greatly, the idea behind free days is that you have to 'spend money to make money'. Give something away for the reward later. Readership. So go ahead and get writing that second book while free days are on because you know they're going to ask for it. And you'll probably have to offer that one free at the beginning too.
Good luck Writers and don't forget to check your SELECT actions on KDP to make decide if you want to re-enroll in SELECT when your 90 days ends. Otherwise it automatically gets re-enrolled for you.

Kim Hornsby is the author of NECESSARY DETOUR, published by The Wild Rose Press and
THE DREAM JUMPER'S PROMISE
as well as a contributing author to SWEET SUMMERTIME LOVE

Amanda Bynes Doesn't Do Drugs

This blog was written May 25th. Check the update below...

Today the star of Easy A tells us, via twitter, that she doesn't drink or do drugs. If we are to believe this, then  there is something worse going on here besides lying. The former child actress and recently famous celebrity for spinning out of control via twitter pics, is seriously in need of mental health evaluation. Let's say she wasn't drunk or high when she tweeted those near naked pics of herself on the toilet. And let's say her horribly rude comments to Jenny McCarthy were said without the help of alcohol and drugs. If that is true then Amanda Bynes needs a really good shrink. Something terrible is happening inside the brain of that young woman and the only answer is to commit her to a mental health facility and give her 24/7 access to a psychiatrist.
Personally I think she needs rehab desperately and all her tweeting is a cry for help. Who doesn't agree with me? Throwing a bong out the window at the sight of policemen entering her New York apartment and then denying that she did that or that she is involved in drugs is just crazy talk. When someone has to remove a ratty wig to reveal their recently shaved head to be booked for possession, something is terribly wrong. And then to have her comment that she needs to get another nose job by the sight of her mug shot, not that she needs rehabilitation, is sad. According to Ms. Bynes, she needs Niki Minaj's wig master, a new nose job and for people to leave her alone, even though she tweets constantly, has strange men (she apparently had never seen before) in her bathroom and takes little or no pride in her physical appearance unless it's to tweet her sexy underwear photos.
Amanda Bynes, the gig is up. We hear you. Time to call someone to help. I suggest Robert Downey Jr. or any of the countless other actors who've pulled their careers from the wreckage of drugs to go on to lead a productive life. Do it. Now.

Update July 27th

Amanda Bynes tried to set fire to a gasoline can in a driveway in Thousand Oaks (her hometown) a few days ago and according to rule #117 of the Home Owners Guidelines in the upscale neighborhood north of Los Angeles, that is not allowed. Now she's not only Cuckoo but she's dangerous. Taken away by the men in white coats, it is in the hands of a judge now, whether her parents will get power of attorney over her and the millions she supposedly is blowing left right and center. At least if she's in a 'hospital' the troubled young woman does not have access to drugs and will either detox or prove that the problem is mental, not pharmaceutical.

Breaking down like this in front of the public, and making her downward spiral into heck public on twitter, she's become like our troubled cousin who we can't stop watching. We can't look away as much as we want to. Uggh. Hang in there Ma and Pa Bynes.

Update August 16th. She's still under observation but it's looking good for Ma Bynes' conservatorship.

Kim Hornsby is the author of Amazon Best Selling Suspense Necessary Detour http://amzn.com/B00AU50M76 and The Dream Jumper's Promise,http://amzn.com/B00AA4FAJC the latter of which is up for Best Indie First Book. 

Under the pen name Kiki Abbott, she also publishes short stories based on THE BACHELOR called The Husband Hunt http://amzn.comB00BN1YNS0.

Lip Syncing at The Billboard Awards

Lip Syncing or not lip syncing? That is the question. Some did and some didn’t exactly at America’s Billboard Awards at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas last night. And Kid Rock called them on it when he took the stage to say that everyone was singing to pre-recorded music. As much as I don’t appreciate the Kid’s music, he was right. The first person I saw who I suspected was lip syncing was Selena Gomez. Her whispery voice and Egyptian dance moves made for a lovely performance but I suspected with all that dancing, no one’s voice can be that evenly projected. As a singer, I know this stuff. Trust me.

Chris Brown did not lip sync and that performance is a perfect example of my last point. He was winded, off key, missed words and danced like there was no tomorrow. That man’s temper might be questionable (and I thought a Ninja fight scene in his choreographed number was an unusual choice) but he sure can dance. And I have to think that Chris Brown is in tip top shape. Still his singing suffered because of the dancing and that is as it should be during a live performance. No one can jump around like that and sing exactly like the recorded version. No one.

 

Justin Bieber sang along to his track, adding two vocals to the performance. The sound glitch in his second performance with Will i Am, allowed us to hear his recorded version and his almost flawless live performance. A few times he came into the phrase late and that was the clue, when we clearly heard his softer recorded track. That, and the fact that someone made a major boo boo, mixed the sound wrong and we, at home, could hear his live voice clearly above everything else. I was amazed that the kid could sing as well as he did and dance like that. Kudos to J.B.

Taylor Swift, on the other hand, (who did a darling performance of Twenty-Two), sang almost flawlessly which was highly suspicious seeing that she can barely sing live when she’s standing still. T.S. is famous for singing way off key in T.V. live performances and that could have something to do with her monitor or ear piece or excitement, but she never sings well on an awards show. So to hear the almost perfect version of Twenty Two, was extremely suspect, even though when she finished her mile run to the stage through the bowels of the MGM Grand, she was breathing hard and we could hear her panting in her head mic.

Christina Aguilera sang live. Of this I’m sure. Because she can.

Not J Lo, whose vocals are never the main focus in her performance anyhow, especially when she’s wearing red, BIG BIRD sleeves, but it’s my humble opinion that she sang along to her own vocal track too. Too bad her right boot came loose but she continued on like the trooper she is.

 In this day and age when women performers are upping the ante to include full- on dancing/stage shows, Madonna-style, is it ridiculous to ask them to sing live as well? Who could do it? Madonna can’t. Even she lip syncs at her shows sometimes (or maybe all the time). But have you ever seen a Madonna show? OMG. Last night she received an honorary award in her underwear and was as pretentious and charming as only MDNA can be.

It appears, after last night, the Milli Vanilli faux pas is becoming the norm now. I’d love to hear the discussion between artist and producers about how everyone is doing it. ”Don’t get left behind singing your heart out, off-key, when you can be singing along to your own perfect voice!”  The Perry’s, I’m pretty sure delivered a pure unadulterated vocal performance, so did the gal at her guitar singing about Mary’s, Kacy something. Now her voice was full of nerves, flaws and problems but the gal sang live. Well done Newcomer!

Last night the performances at the Billboard Awards were absolutely amazing. Stunning. Full of lights, effects, dancers, acrobats, confetti, balloons dropping from the roof and pyrotechnics. But what about the live singing? Is that a thing of the past if the artist decides to do choreography? Do we have to choose as an audience what’s acceptable and allowable now? And the big question which must’ve been tossed around at pre-productions meetings for the Billboard awards show is: Is it lip syncing if you sing along to your own track? You decide.

Over and Out

Kim Hornsby is the author of Amazon Bestselling Suspense Novels

                             The Dream Jumper's Promise                                           http://amzn.com/B00AA4FAJC

                                                  and Necessary Detour 
http:amzn.com/B00AU50M76

 

 

New Cover for The Dream Jumper!!!

I have a new COVER to show off for my novel, The Dream Jumper's Promise! And I love it!
This magnificent artistry was designed by cover artist extraordinaire, Jen Vinci/Jeanine Henning who has done some amazing bestseller covers lately. I can't remember how I found her but when I did and she started working on finding the exact combination of photos and font to reflect the contents of my book, I knew I was going to be very, very pleased.
My last cover was lovely. I still think it is a great cover. I worked really really hard on it, 5 months of searching for different photos, pouring over sites, worrying about looking too weird, too romancy, too pale, too creepy. BUT, comments from readers have led me to think that the cover did not truly represent the story. I felt badly to change the cover because my dear friend Lori Coulson, who has a fantastic eye, helped me with the cover, according to my specifications. I know she'll understand it served me well and it was time to move on.
And so, I launch this new cover with a light heart and the knowledge that I finally let the expert take over some aspect of this process and help me.
As The Dream Jumper's Promise gets more successful, I'm excited about the prospects. This new cover puts it in a whole new section of Amazon Books - the bestseller section!
http://amzn.com/B00AA4FAJC


Thanks for your support in my struggle to be a successful novelist!
Kim

Take This Job and Shove It

 You know that song "Take this Job and Shove It"? I kinda did one of those on Saturday. Except, being me, I simply walked out of a meeting quietly and said "I'm done."
I don't like a lot of conflict.Can you tell by the last sentence? And, I like to be liked. Which got me in this situation in the first place. Someone at my job did not like me and my sales methods, and was hating on me for weeks. I dreaded working with her but thought we'd come to an understanding. Until she started up again last Friday. In front of customers, she basically told me that I was stealing her sales. Understand that although we sell designer jeans and expensive clothes, we are not on commission.
Long story short, a pow wow was called to try to get to the bottom of her angst (or so I thought) but when we all sat down, she took over the meeting, it was allowed, and I walked out when she told untruths about things she thought I did. Let me just spew here that I was one of the top sales people at this store in 2012 and am well liked by almost everyone. Really.
I loved my job. Selling clothes to women was so much fun over the last 15 months. I loved every aspect of working for America's biggest department store. The pay wasn't much but it was and enjoyable place to work. When it stopped being fun and it was evident that someone did not like me - ALOT- I couldn't stay. It was ruined for me.
I'm sorry that I let mean girl win but glad that I left before I told her to shut her pie hole, which apparently I did one time on the ski hill in Whistler when someone tried my patience a little too much.
I think leaving quietly was a lovely way to end a job. And to just not show up for work on Monday but assume they heard me, was even more lovely. Especially after it felt like a Saturday ambush in the ole' corral and I was what they were having for dinner. There was no staying after mean girl was allowed to go on and on.
So, readers, if you are ever faced with a situation where you just can't stay and keep the piehole comment in your mouth, I invite you to stand up, say you are done and go look for alternate ways to make money.
Like writing books! The second installment in The Husband Hunt is now done and will be published this week. The Dream Jumper's Promise gets a new cover tomorrow and goes to .99 for ten days!  And, along with Christine M. Fairchild, I am entering into a new venture as one of a group called BEACH READ AUTHORS.
Lots to do now that I'm not working at my day job.

Over and Out!

Why Women Love "The Bachelor" on ABC

These next words are only my opinion and not the opinion of the dogs who lie snoring beside me.

The Bachelor. America's mindless phenomenon. I watch it faithfully and my sister, who is the smart one in our family can't get enough of the reality TV show that appears, blessedly, on Monday nights- which is a good night after a weekend, because it gives us something to look forward to after getting up for work on Monday, right? But, The Bachelor comes only twice a year and we have to wait and wait between shows, forced to watch Dancing with The Stars because now the last Bachelor Sean Lowe has joined the dancing reality show to get enough money to buy a house or something like that. We only get to see our beloved Bachelor show half of the nights out of the year. Damned. Can't they produce more shows? Come on ABC. And now Bachelor Pad (which was a terrible cross between The Bachelor and a hedonistic semi-porn game show) is not filming this year for our summer enjoyment. What's a viewer to do?
The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are wildly popular TV reality shows. Wildly. Just see how many followers Chris Harrison has on Twitter. Or join Bachelor Nation on FB or twitter. Why is there such appeal to intelligent women who have high stress jobs, who manage families, have been married for twenty years, or even young women who are looking for love? The Bachelor is not just for women either. Even men watch this show, with no worries about how others will gauge their masculinity. (My husband gets a beer and sits himself in front of the TV for The Bachelor, calling out opinions on what he thinks the guys should do or should not do-he loves it!).

ABC's The Bachelor is watched by all age groups, demographics and genders. The Bachelorette, its sister show  is equally popular. If you don't watch the show or have never heard of it (where have you been living? In a cave in Borneo?) the young woman chooses between twenty-five single men, as opposed to The Bachelor where  one man chooses between twenty-five single women. As a nation, we love to watch the drama of a villain among the seemingly nice contestants,(Tiara) the horror of a fan favorite not getting a rose, (Lindsey) or the unthinkable of the mean girl getting proposed to (Courtney).
Why do we tune in every Monday night ( in droves) to watch someone whittle the list down to one hopeful candidate for a lasting relationship? It is mindless FUN, that's why. If love makes the world go 'round, and what the world needs now is love, sweet love, then the quest for love and partnering up is very important in our lives. Maybe the most important thing we, as human beings, have. And watching someone on their quest of this is voyeurism at its finest. We get to see someone during the dating process and it's only rated PG. We are not peeking in on anything that would be considered naughty or twisted. We are simply watching a person doing the most normal human thing possible-look for love.

As someone who's been married twenty-one years, I have two thoughts on why my husband and I sit down on Monday nights to ravage every second of this show like the characters were beloved relatives/friends who we care deeply about. One, is that we are past the initial romantic buzz of our relationship and have long been in the comfortable, I love- you- no- matter- what stage and watching someone who's jazzed on that initial attraction brings back memories and emotions we haven't felt in a long time. And two, is that after a long day with teenagers, chores, work, the dog chewing a hole in the dry wall, stress, we just want to watch something that's entertaining and makes us feel happy without investing too much emotion. After the Rose Ceremony and our favorite is eliminated, we don't go around all week mourning the event. We simply pick a new favorite. Isn't that lovely and so unlike real life when a boyfriend dumps you and you spend three months wondering where you went wrong? We walk away at the end of the show, commiserate on what the problem was and go to bed, our psyches only slightly affected by the bachelor's rejection of our favorite contestant.
If you're an avid fan of the reality show franchise, you know that groups congregate all around the country on Monday nights to watch the show, in neighborhoods, sororities, bars and girlfriend's houses. The Bachelor has become a cultural phenomenon. Tabloid magazines carry the latest news on the contestants, and opinions breed like bunnies on what's going to happen as the road to the Final Rose gets twisty .

After the proposal on national TV, the media heyday begins and the remaining lovey-dovey couple, barely has a chance of surviving as dirt is dug up, pictures of the individuals drinking shots off another girls' abdomen surface and the media struggles to tear the young love birds apart. Very few have survived the onslaught. Ryan and Trista come to mind, and so far Jason and Molly but remember, he originally chose someone else and broke up with his chosen one to go back to get his heartbroken Molly. As a nation we yearn for a happy couple but also can't resist what the media has found against them. Dang.
Emily and Jef didn't have a chance, especially if she was texting another man. The press dove on that one like a hungry tiger and then it was all over before it even got very far off the ground. I wanted that to work. What about you? They seemed perfect for each other. What the heck happened there? They were cute and full of benevolent aspirations, as well as love for each other. As much as I cheered them on and cringed at Ari's advancement as the weeks went on, I didn't shed any tears over the breakup and that's what I'm talking about. All the buzz without the investment. Or at least some of the buzz without actually kissing anyone who's not your husband.
I'm not entirely sure why everyone watches The Bachelor. Unless you are like me. Life is tough (as my mother used to say when I was a carefree teen), and there is so much stress and so many obstacles to overcome on a daily basis. To simply plant oneself in front of the boob tube for one hour a week and listen in on someone's quest for love is a blessed event. Especially if everyone is dressed to the nines, showing off a little skin here and there, kissing and flirting in romantic locations, and it's a game we can play at home. And it's free TV. Not cable. Ongoing TV, something you can count on twice a year for Monday night entertainment. It's love and we all know - Love is All You Need. The Beatles told us this. Tra La La

Over and Out

Kim Hornsby is the author of the short novella The Husband Hunt, available on Amazon books for Kindle or download. It's a two hour read similar to watching The Bachelor and The Husband Hunt 2- Kat's Season
She's also the author of the novel The Dream Jumper's Promise, nominated for BEST INDIE FIRST BOOK (click on the cover above) or http://amzn.com/B00AA4FAJC
and Necessary Detour, published with The Wild Rose Press. http://amzn.com/B00AU50M76
Both novels are Romantic Women's Fiction with strong elements of Suspense

I am Not a Team Player/Blogger

Firstly, let me say I'm sorry. I am not a social blogger. At all. I want to be but I'm not. I actually get gaggy when I visit other blogs. Aren't we just supposed to spew on our own, like it's therapy? As a writer, it's almost socially expected to visit around, comment, invite people over for guest posts. I'm not sure I like this or, more to the point, can do this for years on end.
I just want to spew my thoughts on my own blog. Like this. Write to my heart's content and not worry if anyone is reading. This is how Blogging works great for me. If someone reads, then fine. But typing my thoughts like this is all I want. To invite others to this site isn't what I envisioned when I signed up to blog. As someone who loves the sound of their own voice on paper, I just want this. To narcissistically spew. How do you spell that MOFO anyhow? People who host authors every few days probably have ice buckets handy in their own homes and entertain a lot. I admire them but I can't do it.
So, do not look for interesting guests here anytime soon. This is my place. I don't invite people over. It isn't that it's too messy but this is where I go to get away from the social media expectations. It' s like my backyard tree fort except I'm 55 years old and expected to have a semblance of maturity in the real house.
I do go occasionally to the neighbor's to guest blog. I must admit, it's not terrible but I can't wait to get back to my place afterwards. The couches aren't as comfy, the snacks aren't as good, it' s not my home and I can't stay long.
Just now, I went to comment on someone's blog who I know through writing, someone I genuinely wanted to support, then ran back to my own blog to write this. I am not a wanderer when it comes to blogging. And I'm not much of a team player when it comes to tweeting other people's plugs for their books. Especially if I haven't read them. I'm sorry. I do it anyhow. I try but it's hard to blindly offer my valued opinion. I wasn't much for baseball either. I was a tennis player. That probably says it all.
So if you want to blog over here, (and you probably don't now that I've admitted this) I'm not sure I can open the door for you. Very few even come down this street or walk by this house so I doubt it's worth it. For me this blog is wonderful because I just type away knowing no one really reads it. And that's what I love about my blog.
Over and out!