NECESSARY DETOUR is On Sale!

Amazon Encore, an Amazon Imprint, has put my book Necessary Detour on sale at 99cents!
Ever wonder what it feels like to be a celebrity rock star?

With 151 reviews at 4.6*****, this Romantic Suspense #1 Bestseller is a great bargain.

"Necessary Detour thrills with a rush of page-turning suspense and sexy twists!"
 ~ Ann Charles, USA Today Bestselling Author of the Deadwood Mystery Series


Here's the first few lines of the book to see if you connect with my writing style:

Click Here to Find the Novel on AMAZON  www.bit.ly/NecDet

Chapter 1

Goldy walked onstage to the thunderous screaming of the Los Angeles crowd. The explosion of applause inside the Staple Center was the tangible evidence of their love for her; love that had fueled her drive over the years to get to this point. Soon she would desert them.

      “Necessary Detour,” she mouthed off microphone, not waiting for Burn’s reaction. They hadn’t played the hit song since she and Burn vowed to never give it credit again. But tonight, it was the only appropriate song for their final encore. If someone was going to kill her, she’d damn well have the last word.

     Grabbing the downstage microphone, she scanned the front row of the Staple Center Arena. “You are insatiable!” she shouted to the 60,000 people who were on their feet, shouting for their beloved rock star to do one more song.

      “Necessary Detour!” Burn yelled to the band. “1,2,1,2,3.” The opening chords filled the cavernous arena and the crowd roared.

     Goldy wasn’t smiling as she strutted along the cat walk, spotlight in her eyes, staring out at the sea of pumping fists. “If you’re out there Shakespeare, this one is for you.”

     The intro played twice before Goldy jumped into the lyrics she’d written about her stalker who’d become known as ‘Yellow’ by the band – named from a fan’s feeble attempt to emulate Goldy’s platinum hair, kohled eyes, thigh high gold boots and signature arm cuffs. It was pitiful to watch Yellow let her fan worship overtake her and jeopardize her Goldy’s life.

     “You think you got me.

     You think we’re done.

     I’ve only started

     And it’s not fun.

     You make me see,

     The other side

     It’s not pretty

     But I’m not one to hide”

     At first it was amusing to see Yellow in the front row of Goldy concerts around the LA area. The band commented on how she must blow every paycheck on tickets. Then everything changed.

     After a show in Pasadena, Goldy was signing autographs for a group of fans when Yellow pushed her way to the front and flicked out a pen knife. In gushing adoration, she asked Goldy for an autograph in cuts on her scarred forearm. Two body guards reached to grab her but Goldy held them back with a single look, then took the penknife from Yellow’s hand and closed it. She girl was obviously high on something, rambling about how she’d never be complete without something permanent from Goldy.

     “I’ll sign your arm but with a marker.” Goldy’s voice was audible only to Yellow.

     “No. Cut me!” Tears streamed down the young girl’s pitiful face. Her eyes were as big as poker chips, her hair teased and wild.

     A bodyguard moved in to take the knife, lurking just between the two women, as if ready to spring.

     “What’s your name?” Goldy asked.

     “My name is Goldy.”

     “No, my name is Goldy. What’s your name?”

     Just as the bodyguard moved in to take the fan’s arm, her face changed frighteningly fast, as though rejection had arrived to take her under. Her gaze measured Dwayne, the towering guard, as if planning how to take him on. She spit a huge gob of saliva in Goldy’s face and made a record breaking exit, disappearing into the mass of fans. Dwayne radioed security but she was gone.

     “You say you love me

     But do you know

     That all you bring

     Is the need to have control

     I’m done with looking

     For your face

     You can stay down

     In your hiding place” 

     A warrant went out for Yellow’s arrest when she planted a bomb under Goldy’s tour bus. ‘Necessary Detour’ hit number one on the charts and shortly after, Yellow quietly slit her wrists in the front row of a Goldy concert and bled to death.

     The next few bookings were cancelled while Goldy questioned her own sense of morality. After a week of soul searching, America’s beloved rock icon dropped the song from her repertoire.

     One way or another, this would be the last time anyone would hear her sing these words.

     “I’m giving back

     The fear you want

     We’re ending this now,”

     Goldy’s voice rose with intensity as she jumped an octave.

     “It won’t be long….”

     Burn’s guitar screamed as he poured himself into a frenetic guitar solo.

     Prancing across the massive space that she’d owned for two decades, Goldy had to believe that Shakespeare wouldn’t take her out with a bullet. Shooting wasn’t his style. What had he meant in the last letter, saying he’d take her out at the end? Maybe it was written only to create false confidence.

     Goldy gestured to the crowd, not knowing if she was staring into the face of the demon. Tonight she dared any one of them to take her on.

     “It’s a necessary detour,

     No more spinning round,

     It’s a necessary detour

     Now you’re going down

     You shouldn’t have started this,

     I’m fighting back,

     Shouldn’t have taken on

     The qualities you lack,

     I’m here to warn you,

     You better give,

     If you don’t walk away

     You’re not gonna live

     To tell the tale of me,

     Because this detour’s…necessary”

 

     A dozen FBI agents peppered the audience, looking for anyone suspicious; anyone who looked like they might have written six months’ worth of heinous letters that threatened to torture Goldy with unimaginable creativity. Trickling acid along her face, then watching her melt was Shakespeare’s style--capture, torture, then relish in the hours, possibly days, that it took him to claim her life. That was his “fondest wish.”

     Burn’s ripping guitar wrapped up the instrumental, once again proving he was one of the world’s best guitarists. He’d been an unintentionally horrible husband – negligent and unfaithful. Everything they’d been through as a couple had been necessary to achieve this end result, though, and being Goldy had been a sweet ride for a very long time. Too long, in some ways.

     She moved to stage left where a stray bullet wouldn’t hit anyone else. If Shakespeare chose to break character she sure as hell didn’t want an innocent to suffer. With one verse left, Goldy pulled the microphone away from her lips to make a powerful run to the end and, as she did, a shot of electricity domino’ed from her hand, along her arm and hit her torso like a jack hammer. The pain was formidable. Goldy’s brain got the message and her hand flew open to drop the microphone on the stage floor. Her first thought was to finish the song. Get the last line beyond her lips. Pretend nothing is wrong.

     As she ran to Burn’s microphone, she was acutely aware of the other one lying behind her on the stage like the pariah it now was. Soon the FBI would be all over the stage, if they weren’t already running toward her. Goldy noticed Agent Gateman waving frantically from his post offstage, two seconds from shutting everything down.

     She shook her head and him, her steely gaze telling him to wait. Her left arm hung limp as she picked Burn’s microphone off the stand with her right hand. The band continued on like the pros they were and, hearing the approaching notes, she took a deep breath.

     “It’s a Necessary Detour,

     You gotta know

     It’s a Necessary Detour

     This detour’s ……..Necessary!”

      Goldy’s punched the air with her good arm, positioned her legs wide apart with her head tilted back. This had always been her trademark pose. It punctuated the final moment of any concert. The band laid their instruments on the stage and came out from behind, clapping with the audience in their adoration of Goldy.

     With the emotion of the moment and the pain in her arm, she fought tears. Moving upstage to the edge, she held her arms out to receive their love, then brought the microphone in to her words. Her arm still worked, it just felt strange, weakened. “Goodnight everyone!” she shouted above the din. “I – HAVE – LOVED – YOU!” Gold confetti rained over the masses and as always in the final moments of her concert, Goldy reached to get something from a security man and spun a gold Frisbee into the crowd. A disc that contained a voucher for a family vacation in Hawaii.

     Applause filled the arena’s rafters. “Goldy! Goldy! Goldy!”

     The rock star waved one last time to the people who’d been her reason for almost everything in the last twenty years and then turned to leave the party while she was still having fun. Cradling her arm, Goldy ran offstage and was immediately flanked by two paramedics who caught her just before her multi-million dollar backside hit the floor in a faint.

CHECK IT OUT! 99 Cents!

    www.bit.ly/NecDet

ENJOY, my friends!

Kim 

One Immigrant's View

I'm a first generation immigrant.
I came from Canada twenty-eight years ago. I didn't cross the border in fear of my life, nor did I feel persecuted, or have children that were ripped from my arms by emissaries of the current government.
I simply wanted to live in Hawaii, teach scuba and get married to my American boyfriend. Although there was a lot of paper work and I did everything legally, it was a huge process and speaking English made it possible.
I can't imagine what these families who've crossed two countries, mostly on foot, are thinking when they reach America hoping to escape a life that is no longer friendly to them. No longer conducive to their idea of raising children peacefully. I feel guilty for coming to America when it wasn't imperative, taking a spot that someone might have now, someone who is in fear of being killed by their government.

Nicaragua is in a state of upheaval, turmoil and murder at the hand of its government. I have family who live in the historic and very touristy town of Granada. They've been basically hiding and staying safe at their ranch on Mombacho volcano, keeping away from the restaurant they own in town. Not that anyone is out, wandering around and going to restaurants. The town is basically closed, empty of people, since police started shooting at protesters who are demanding a better government who has recently reduced programs for the elderly and poor. The dictator, Ortega, has no problem ordering his army to shoot people in the streets. Many have died in Nicaragua in the last few months. You don't hear about this because news agencies have been taken over.
Granada is like a ghost town now. My family took a video of the streets that once had musica coming from doorways, tourists wandering arm in arm, horse drawn carriages off the central park, people enjoying prosperity in a town that depended on tourism. The town is now shut up, dead, empty, quiet.
The road to the capital was blocked, preventing food, gas and supplies. It's now open and food is getting through. Gas too. Who knows how long it will last. Families are leaving because there are no jobs, no work, no hope in Nicaragua. We will soon see Nicas at the US border. I'm sure of that.
My relatives are tearfully bidding goodbye to part of their family who are heading north to Canada to seek a better life for their child.
This is how it happens.
First there is fighting, danger, either from the government or gangs or anyone threatening your safety. Then there is no food, no way to get food. Then you make the decision to save your children and set out on a journey. My relatives have the means to make a choice, stay if they want, as long as they have food. Many people in these impoverished countries need a job to keep food on the table. Many in Nicaragua haven't had a pay check in months. Many are leaving.
If your children are taken from you at the border until your case is heard, it still might be better than what you faced back home but is this necessary? The US government does this to deter people from showing up at the border but what they don't realize is that many of these people will come anyway. It's like the day the seal jumped into the motorboat to avoid being eaten by a killer whale. It was the lesser of two evils.
Are we in America that evil that we need to separate families? I've been American for twenty-eight years, longer that many of Trumps children have been alive. And what I know of being American, is that we are all immigrants, all from somewhere else down the line.
Today, as we celebrate disassociating ourselves from Britain 242 years ago and being independent, let's think about what it feels like to be American.

KIM HORNSBY is an Amazon #1 Bestselling novelist who lives in the Seattle area and writes books about women in dire circumstances rescuing themselves. She tweets her dreams most mornings on Twitter under the hashtag #StrangeDreams
www.twitter.com/kimhornsby

Newsletter Signup for Book Releases & Free Stuff www.bit.ly/KimHNews

Kim's Website https://kimhornsby.godaddysites.com

Or find Kim's AMAZON books' site www.bit.ly/kimamzn

Pirates, Rock Stars and Screenwriting

I'm feverishly writing a story about a pirate and a blind psychic falling in love.
It's called Moody & The Ghost and will be a mystery series as well as using the first book for a tv script to pitch to producers.

Moody is Bryndle Moody, a paranormal investigator, with a successful You Tube show who loses her sight and her husband in a tragic accident. When she discovers she's also lost her ability to communicate with ghosts, all seems lost. But she mysteriously inherits a haunted house on the Oregon Coast and finds she can see in the presence of the ghost--a dashing smuggler from the 1850's who wants her to solve his murder.


The book's rough draft is half way done, she says as she writes about writing the book instead of working on the actual book. The spec pilot is done at 55 pages of mostly dialogue and action and I'll be pitching this show to producers later this week at Connecting Writers to Hollywood, an event in Washington State to allow writers to meet and pitch to some Hollywood heavy weights who buy stories to produce.

I'm excited. I might wear a pirate costume.
Probably not, but wouldn't that be fun, to show up in a pirate costume! I bet Hollywood hates that kind of schtick.

I'm pitching it as an hour long drama with supernatural elements and romance possibilities. I hope there isn't something exactly like it out there already but one never knows. I'm saying it's Happily Ever After meets The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. I'm hoping the producers are old enough to know how popular that last show was when I was a kid.


If they look like they're going to sleep, I'll move on to my other project, Necessary Detour. It is the story of a rock star hiding at a remote lake house from a psychotic stalker and the media after announcing her retirement from show business, who can't stop spying on the people across the bay, to save her own life.
I've mapped that book out as a 5-part limited series for distribution. Like Big, Little Lies. I'm sure I'm the only author who's taken her suspense novel, turned it into a mini-series and is shopping it after the mega success of Liane Moriarty's book. NOT.

Be thinking of me Saturday (all day please) as I pitch my projects to several producers in hopes of some interest in Mood &The Ghost and Necessary Detour.

The first book will be out late July and I'll shout that launch from the rooftops!

Ten Reasons Why I Watched the Royal Wedding

I watched the recent Royal Wedding of Harry and Meghan.
I did.
Not in real time but when I finished work for the day, I sat for hours in front of the TV with two shows on, one featuring highlights and backstory, one taped continuously from two hours before the wedding to after everyone cleared out of Windsor.

Why did I find this so fascinating seeing I never even knew Harry was dating an American until a few months ago?

1. She's American
2. She's 1/2 Black (a milestone for a White Royal Family
3. She's an activist, championing for poor children
4. He's an activist, championing for many worthy causes
5. Hats
6. I'm a romantic
7. Gospel choir singing Stand By Me
8. I've been to Windsor
9. The British accent
10. I needed something sweet and lovely in the news this week

Screenwriters and Authors - Pitch Your Work to Producers!

It's hard to get someone to read your screenplay, love it, and option the thing for production.
The odds are probably up there with growing a third nipple.
Then, to get out of development hell and see the project on film is a whole other mountain that needs to be climbed.

Do you write Scripts? Screenplays? Books? Have you pitched to producers, film companies and those muckety mucks who hold your happiness in their hands? Standing out in the crowd of screenwriters in LA is a feat in itself. One way to pull away from the pack is to win a screenwriting contest. Another is to pitch when you have the attention of the producer. Pitchfests are difficult, even if the producers ARE looking for material.
How about pitching at an exclusively small conference that is hundreds of miles from Hollywood but filled with top-caliber people who are producing content for screens, big and small? A place where you have their undivided attention for several days. I went to a small pitch conference last year and my series got optioned for film!

Connecting Writers With Hollywood is an event/pitchfest/conference in Spokane, Washington (4 hours east of Seattle-with an airport) where you can pitch to industry heavy weights in such a setting. These producers are around all weekend, taking pitches, giving talks and are more than accessible to the writers attending. It was here I met the woman who optioned my book series for her film company.

If you are a screenwriter with a script or a novelist with a book and are actively looking for an agent or a producer, or both, you might want to consider this event in June. It draws writers from all over the west coast (including those savvy but tired of the competition LA screenwriters) and promises to be a weekend filled with screenwriting, learning and pitching.
If you are an author who envisions your book as a movie or series, go for it!

A producer from Affirm Films with SONY will be there (Rich Peluso), Reps from the Dove Channel, ISA, LINK Entertainment (David Katsman), Clover Entertainment, EPICENTER Entertainment, the producer of Z Nation (Rich Cowan), and more!
The woman who discovered WILD (Shari Smiley) and took it from a book to a movie is the Key Note speaker on Friday night and is taking pitches all weekend.
Laura Bradford will be at CWWH taking pitches in hopes of finding clients for her successful literary agency.
If you have a book that would make a great movie, you might want to attend. That was me last year. I went home, studied screenwriting, wrote the thing and the series was optioned by a company who's fully committed to making this movie. It's in development now, which is both exciting and amazing to me.

You don't get anything unless you go for it. Step out of your comfort zone.

See you in Spokane in June. I'll be there pitching my next project!

www.CWWH2018.com


KIM HORNSBY is an Amazon Bestselling Author best known for The Dream Jumper Series, which is optioned for film, with over 400 reviews on Amazon at 4.5 stars.
Sign up for her newsletter to keep posted on news and freebies and contests or follow her on Amazon.

www.bit,ly/kimamzn
www.bit.ly/KimHNews

Public Speaking - Fun or Torture?

Rock Star Confidence...

No one is born a rock star, complete with over-the-top confidence and leather pants. An individual has to work for that. (And grow into the pants.) Ever heard that Nickelback song “We all just want to be big rock stars, live in hilltop mansions driving fancy cars”?

These days we use the term Rock Star to mean someone who’s achieved success in their field. Eg) Wow, kids, you finished homework. You are a Rock Star.

We tend to look at those who’ve achieved enormous success performing in a rock band as beyond ordinary. But remember, even Pat Benatar and Tommy Lee have baby pictures. They put their pants on one leg at a time and catch colds, just like you and me.

My Point: One must work at developing an image to fool the public into believing that you are special. It’s referred to as Smoke and Mirrors. And it’s human nature to want to believe it true, to see someone as super-talented, uber-wonderful. That’s not to say if you follow the advice I’m going to give you, you need to be so conceited your head won’t fit through the book store door. Believing in your own PR (public relations) is a slippery slope. A true Rock Star can take out the garbage when not in black leather and chains.

            Under the costumes, tattoos, makeup, piercings and hair gel, a Rock Star is simply another person in the world who has insecurities-- a human being who probably feels more comfortable in a larger-than-life personality when greeting the public. I bet Pat Benatar made lots of PB and J’s for neighborhood kids between tours and Tommy Lee played Little League before he joined Metallica.

            In my life I have known a few rock stars, celebrities, and movie actors of enormous proportions and I’m here to tell you that off stage and out of makeup, most are a bit shy--Steven Tyler, for example. I took him snorkeling in Hawaii once and he is a quiet man. Jamie Foxx, whose name is actually Eric was raised by his Grandma and is extremely humble. These people created a stage persona and you must too. If shyness is holding you back, you must dig deep to find that inner celebrity that we all have hiding somewhere behind the spleen. Once you find her she will help get through public events that would’ve otherwise leave you shaking in your boots, quivering in your Victoria’s Secrets, sweating through your sweat suits. (Note: Unless you are a sports star, I highly recommend you refrain from wearing sweat suits when trying to be a Rock Star.)

            On that note, the first step to Rock Stardom is physical presentation. Go into your closet and find yourself an outfit that says “__________”. You must insert your celebrity or pen name here and if you don’t have one I suggest you find one because this is how you will refer to yourself when it’s ‘ShowTime!’ My stage name used to be Kimberley Horn because there were too many syllables in my real name for my former talent agent. Now my pen name is Kim Hornsby. I did not deviate too far from the truth but you see where I’m going with this. Once you have a few killer outfits that make you feel special, check that the rest of you is ready for the spotlight -- hairstyle, shoes, jewelry. What makes you feel successful enough to have a Lear jet to fly to San Fran for breakfast on the pier. This is the side of you does not scrub toilets, make school lunches, clip coupons. She takes her pool boy (or husband) to South Beach on Saturday night to dance and sleeps until three the next day.

After your have the look, you must make yourself believe how wonderful you are. If you skip this step you’re in trouble. Affirmations, self talk, call it what you want, but do it just before called upon to speak in public.

            I want to introduce to you a character I love to laugh at on SNL, called Shy Ronnie. He is played by Andy Samberg and the one of the reasons he is so drop-dead funny is that we know Andy is not shy. Were Shy Ronnie a real person, it would be excruciatingly painful to watch him try to rap alongside Rhianna. When asked to speak up, his voice is so minuscule it’s painful to watch. But when his beautiful co-singer leaves the room in frustration, Shy Ronnie takes off. His shyness in front of Rhianna makes him not only unable to do his job but makes him look silly, due to lack of confidence. Remember this when you are in front of an audience – the people who have paid money or taken time out of their busy lives want to like you. When you open a book, you are hoping that the protagonist is someone to relate to. Likewise, an audience member wants to like you and will give you every possible chance to be worth their time. If they don’t like you (and you will probably never know this), it might be their own problem. Maybe they’re distracted, closed-minded, too focused on their own lives or not ready to listen.

            As you look out on the sea of faces, just remember, do not read your audience too closely. It’s the kiss of death. Just plough through, if you’re giving a key note speech, talking to a group at a book signing, whatever. Don’t assume you know what they are thinking. The expressions on their faces may not reflect their thoughts. Probably won’t if they are listening intently. Take your glasses off, look over heads but don’t read their faces.

            In recap, you must create a celebrity side to yourself complete with a pen name and an outward appearance that says ‘Someone Special is in the House’, practice self talk and remember the audience wants to like you.

Now click on Shy Ronnie and tell me you aren’t this bad!

KIM HORNSBY is an Amazon Bestselling Author best known for The Dream Jumper Series, which is optioned for film, with over 400 reviews on Amazon at 4.5 stars.
Sign up for her newsletter to keep posted on news and freebies and contests or follow her on Amazon.

www.bit,ly/kimamzn
www.bit.ly/KimHNews

Get in the VIP Club -- Kim's Krowd!

Just back from 3 days of talking about writing and marketing, my brain is going to explode if I don't get some of this wisdom on paper.
Virtual paper works too.
If I took any one message from the Chanticleer Author Conference this last weekend it is to be accessible to my readers and cultivate those relationships. Forget about hangin' and talkin' on FB to old friends or writers. If they don't read your books, don't put them first in your business account. I say this because I have very limited time and rarely have a moment these days for things like chatting with friends, cleaning the house, dressing myself. That last one isn't true but you get my drift.
I'm busy.

As a marketing author who's struggling to build a reader base, I realized this weekend I need to zero in on my precious readers and give them more fun and rewards.

So, I'm opening a Beach on FB called Kim Hornsby Beach (named after me because it's my virtual beach) and I'm going to have fun stuff going on over there for readers of my books. I'm kind of excited about The Beach. I'll have a grand opening maybe even on my birthday--May 8th.
A beach party!
Who doesn't like those things? For anyone who has to stay out of the sun, we'll have palapa huts and umbrellas and personal umbrella handlers who are very attractive and follow you around.
When the Kim Hornsby Beach opens, we'll have a bar open with pu pu's (appetizers) but remember that 5 o'clock rule because I don't want anyone getting arrested by the cops at my piece of property.

As well as the FB Site, I'm hoping to support my books with more ads, contests and giveaways to get new readers. People love my books, if they can just discover them, I'm finding.
So, I'm stepping up my game to give my Peeps the creds they deserve. Stay tuned on my FB account, Follow me on Twitter to hear what I'm doing and if you're on Instagram, I'm over there ever day or two with photos.

Here's my links and remember, you can always email me at kimhornsby@yahoo.com

www.twitter.com/kimhornsby - Follow

www.facebook.com/kimhornsbyauthor - Like

www.bit.ly/kimamzn - Follow

www.kimhornsby.blogspot.com If you have a blog, follow

www.goodreads.com/kimhornsby - Follow

www.kimhornsby.com – Newsletter signup

www.bookbub.com/authors/kim-hornsby - Follow

Anyone who signs up for two of the above and has bought and read a book, qualifies to be in my VIP Club -- Kim's Krowd. 

Feel free to let me know by email and I'll contact you about the fun coming up for the Krowd. 

Kim