NaNoWriMo Musings Along the Way

I may be feeling too confident. Everything might come to a crashing halt any day now but so far I'm ahead of schedule for NaNoWriMo. If you are one of the people left in the world who don't know what I'm talking about, it is National Novel Writing Month for all us people across the world who want to tackle the horrendous task of completing a novel in a month.
Have you ever said, "writing a novel couldn't be that hard", or, "I could write a novel if I tried"? Well this was your chance. Don't despair if you haven't signed up. You can sign up late or do it next year. It's an annual thing so anyone who procrastinates can jump in next time. www.nanowrimo.org 
I stared at my computer all summer, wishing I could get going on the second in The Dream Jumper Series. I have readers waiting for this thing. I just couldn't get motivated. Publishing #2, The Dream Jumper's Secret, was originally planned for this fall but without any words on the page, that didn't look good. I had the basic story line. I just couldn't write it down.
At the last minute I signed up for NaNoWriMo when I realized that my hubby will be away on trips over half the month of November and I'll have the freedom to write with uninhibited abandon. Don't get me wrong, he's a wonderful husband, and I love him dearly, but he does blame the state of our messy house on my novel writing. He works from home so I imagine he spends the whole day wondering when I'm going to get up from my keyboard and do something around this 4,000 square foot house. And I spend most of the day cursing the day I let him buy this big place, wondering how expensive a cleaner would be. Until I hit the bestseller list I haven't been able to justify paying someone to clean. I'm driven by the need to prove something, most days.
So you see, I had two problems with the novel--no motivation and lack of support. Then I realized I had a third problem. Fear. I love the first book. It was nominated for BEST INDIE FIRST BOOK by Indie Rom/Con this year, has 166 reviews, has been downloaded 67,000 times and I consider it as small success.

I'm terrified to write the second one in case it's not nearly as good. Here's what helped give me that last push. Just before November, I read a series of 3 books by an author I felt was on my level 11 months ago. She and I published around the same time, went neck in neck on the free lists last winter and I was intrigued by her provocative cover and title. Sins and Needles is the name of the first one. I foolishly didn't read it, thinking it was about drug use, not tattooing. Okay, I'm a dork. But I also didn't want to buy it and help her do better than me. Did I tell you I'm competitive?

She published the second book in her series a few months after the first, then the third a few months after that, managing to fit in a prequel as well. According to what I've read about her, she writes at an alarming speed, holed up in an office, stopping for nothing until the book is done. In the last year, her books rose to the top of the charts, she's now represented by Scott Waxman of the Waxman Agency and is published by Hachette. This month, she is my hero. Not just because she wrote quickly but also because she turned out some fine reading. They are romantic/suspense, but more erotic and more suspenseful. Edgy. Hard to describe. Just buy the first book and see if you can get through the swearing, sexy scenes, and gritty descriptions. If so, you're in for a wild ride.
Before I started NaNo I took mental note of what made that series so compelling and decided to get off my fat arse and write the next book in the series. I plotted it out, penned out 35 scenes like Bob Mayer said Jennifer Cruisie does and signed up for NaNo. Excitement started to rear its lovely head. On Halloween night I was like a race horse chomping at the bit, pawing the ground at the gate, anxious to start writing. It was difficult to not jot down even a few words.
November 1st, I woke up, wrote my 2,000 words and left on a girls' weekend with my laptop. I woke each morning I was away, hours before the other ladies, got myself a cuppa and planted myself in the big chair by the roaring fireplace to write 2,000 words. I came home the first weekend with a really good start to my book. Yipee!

Did I lose steam? Not so far. I'm still writing like a maniac. Everyone has their writing process. This is the process that worked for me-- plotting ahead of time and planning scenes. My friend Geri, is the opposite. She needs to do away with all the obsessive planning and just give herself permission to write a very rough roughdraft. See where the story goes just before she writes it down.
Once I gave myself permission to just write the damned thing, much like the Cherry Adair Finish the Damned Book Challenge, I was off to the races. (With all these horsey references, you'd think I was a jockey). And now I'm up to almost 40,000 words this first week. They are not all great words and the rewrite is going to be horrendous but I'm getting this story down. I know now that I will finish this book by the end of the month unless I become like the hare in that fable where it falls asleep and the turtle wins the race. Knowing I'm 4/5th's of the way done is a beautiful thing over here in my head. I've set my sights on a Valentine's Day publication and am having the cover artist get busy for the second book in the Dream Jumper series.
Having this glorious international challenge, knowing that there are thousands and thousands of us out there in far-reaching countries, struggling to write, helps spur me on. I have a competitive nature but it's all friendly and fun. Mostly, I'm challenging myself to be the best I can be.
Also, checking in on word count is right up my alley. If you're writing and want to friend me, my name this year is Kimberwrite and I'd love some friends. I asked to join a group here in Seattle and didn't get a reply, so I took that as a no.

If you are stuck and can't get going check in to NaNo's motivational speeches by bestselling authors. Some are very inspirational.
Here's what works for me if I get stuck along the way.

1. Get up from the computer. Go do something else. Think about what you are going to write next but deny yourself the action for an hour. It's like the 'takeaway' in sales techniques.
2. Go back to your synopsis and read what you intended. If you don't have a synopsis, maybe try writing one.
3. Write out the next two scenes, making sure you are making it almost impossible for your protagonist to achieve their goal.
4. Pretend you are the protag. Get inside her head. Then write from that angle. Not necessarily first person POV, just be her and then try writing.
5. Music the protag would listen to, stick a hat on your head for different characters,
6. Give yourself permission to write a terrible book. Don't worry about editing, choosing the best words, the most narrative descriptions. You are going to fix that in the coming months. Just write what comes to mind.
7. Don't read back what you wrote and don't backspace more than two sentences. Keep the bad stuff and just continue.
8. Have fun!


NaNoWriMo is to be credited for more than just getting those first time authors to write their novel. It helps writers like me drop all the expectations and just sit down to write. Isn't that what it's all about?

Kim Hornsby is the author of two full novels The Dream Jumper's Promise and Necessary Detour, two short stories based on THE BACHELOR and has two contemporary romances in the Seasons of Love Series. All are available on Amazon.

                                                   Find Kim at www.kimhornsbyauthor.net

Kindle Direct Publishing Select Free Days. Read this First!

KDP FREE DAYS, OR NOT? THAT’s THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION.

There are thousands of readers out there who will pay for your books but many of them will barely look at your novel without a sign it's worth paying for. Especially if you are a new author and without a huge following. 

One way to help get sales is to offer your novel free. This generates free ‘sales’ and looks good on paper, even if you don’t see money for those downloads. And, if you’re in this for the money, I feel kind of badly for you right now. (Imagine me patting your back and handing you tissues) I have done KDP Select free days about 10 times now and feel like a bit of a Select Amazon expert.

Amazon Headquarters in Seattle

For free days, I upload a version of my book that includes a note after THE END to ask if the reader sees fit to review, the author would really appreciate it.

In the days after free days, sales escalate. So do the reviews a week or two later. The ranking looks much better approximately two days later. Don’t freak the morning after free days when your book is 164,000 in rank. It’ll decrease as the day goes on.  Soon after, you’ll get reviews. Many of the reviews that follow your promotion will start out like this “I wasn’t sure what to expect but …”
Why do they expect so little? Because it was FREE! The expectation is less than if the reader paid $12.99 for an e-book download. It’s no wonder some of the best books don’t have all 5 star reviews.  Novel readers want their moneys' worth. I have yet to read Gone Girl because of the cost. Just sayin’. Oh and now it's going to be a movie, without my help.

                                                              Gone Girl Cast Announced

 If you have lots of reviews that are above 4 stars, you'll get more real sales eventually. This is fact. The readers who don't subscribe to free day lists on a daily or weekly basis will jump on board to buy the book when they see more reviews. Books with 200 reviews and over a 4.7* rating are more likely to catch on than 6 reviews and a 3.2* average. Do some hopping around on Amazon, and check out Safe Haven, Sins and Needles and Warm Bodies. I use those three because my novel was lumped in with them and I spent weeks/months watching. Two were movies and one was a breakout series that came out boom, boom, boom and caught on like wildfire.

I'm a stat watcher. I watch my stats daily, sometimes three or four times a day. When things are going well with a book, I’ve been known to wake up in the middle of the night and check stats. By stats, I mean ranking, not sales. It’s not necessary to check my sales if I’m looking at ranking on the Amazon list. Ranking reflects sales. Another thing I do is keep track of books that were published the same week as me. I love to reflect on how their sales are better than mine. From this obsessive activity, I’ve learned a lot. Here’s some of what I know to be true. The ranking is directly related to sales and sales are affected by :

1. 'NY Times Bestseller' at the top of the cover, or something similar

2. Lots of good reviews – Over 100 is good, Over 300 is better

3. Amazon Ranking (or Kobo etc) Less than 10,000 in Kindle books is great

The above indicators help a reader to avoid paying for a clunker. And there are a lot of poorly written books out there right now, with self pubbing at an all-time high.

4. Whether you have the power of a publisher or NY publishing house behind you.

5. Whether it's a series, or not. Series are BIG!!

6. COVER! Non-pro covers are overlooked on a regular basis. Pay the $200.

7. Whether the author has a following. If this book is the third of a series, the sales should be better than a first one with no second published.

8. Ads, marketing, word of mouth, BUZZ!

9. If you love ranking, find a rare category and boast that you are top ten in psychic romance. Sure it might be Romance, Suspense, time travel, werewolf, psychics but you’re top ten!

I watched Safe Haven rise to the top of the lists this year. And stay there. For a long time. Yes, Nicolas Sparks has a huge following. Look at the list above and the only one not used was #5, the series, and instead of that he had a movie with Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel.

I also watched a novel (comparable to mine) rise to a USA bestseller in the last ten months. The author did free days with me, right after we both published late December 2012, both of our books did well, then she published the second and third in the series within two or three months of each other and her rise to stardom was imminent. The writing is pretty clean for a self- pubbed author, the cover is hauntingly compelling and she has over 200 reviews on each of the 3 books. Ta Da! She went free several times with the first one to get her stats up, published the second, went free to get those stats up and the rest is history. What this author did with her high concept romantic suspense novel that I did not do, was release 3 in one year, had a pro cover to start with, and who knows what else. I'm still watching her... Not that The Dream Jumper’s Promise was left in the dust. It’s done well for itself. Especially for a first novel, but without a second in the series to keep the readers engaged, I lagged behind.

And so, dear readers, these are my observations. I’m a huge fan of Free Days. And of marketing those days to the absolute max. When my thriller, Necessary Detour, went free over Valentine’s Day in 2012, with The Wild Rose Press, I had 42 ads out there to announce the deal. Some were free to me, some cost a few dollars. None cost over $20.  I got 35,000 downloads in 5 days and made almost $2,000 in the following month in royalties as well as landing #42 in Author ranking, above some very heavy hitters. That was a month to remember.

If you decide to do KDP and take advantage of the 5 Free days, here’s my gift to you. 

Do 3 of your 5 days at the beginning of the 90 days, and do 2 days, 60 days in. To advertise, log on http://authormarketingclub.com/members/submit-your-book/  to see 20-30 sites that will advertise for your free days at little or no cost. Then sit back and watch. 

You’re welcome.


 

Kim Hornsby is the  author of KDP Free Days, http://amzn.com/B00AFJ8BJS a cheap eBook on Amazon that elaborates on how to get the most out of your Select Free days.
She's also the Amazon Best Selling Author of Necessary Detour and The Dream Jumper's Promise. He highest ranking as of November 10, is The Husband Hunt, a perma free short story that reads like watching a series of THE BACHELOR.

  

Writing Romance is Harder Than it Reads!

Ever read a romance novel and think "I could write this stuff!" Well you can't. Not without years of hard work, training and tears. For those of you who have the know-how, (and I don't mean the personal romance know-how) and the education, this doesn't mean you. I'm talking to the people who poo poo the genre and say it is easy to write a romance. If it were, wouldn't everyone do it?
If a romance author let you think you could do it without a degree in creative writing, or at the very least classes and workshops on novel writing, they are probably one fine writer. Making the story flow, making you feel you are a part of the story and can write like that if you tried, is the sign of a good writer. It might look simple, but it is not.

Thank God I didn't know this before I started my first novel. I said those above fated words while reading a Susan Wiggs romance one summer. It seemed to me that there was nothing to thinking up a compelling story and then just typing it out. No offence to the author but sheesh, just write a handsome man, a woman the reader would care about, a nice setting, story and BINGO! Publication.
I was so confident, I started writing in the fall and had a spring power outfit hanging in my closet for an inevitable meeting with my editor in New York.

In some ways it's wonderful to be so confident. I'd just been on a family vacation in Canada, over the border from Eastern Washington, and decided to set this blockbuster hit on a lake, like the one we'd just been to. And then I started writing. And deleting. And writing. And deleting.
This wasn't my first novel, but it was my first romance. I'd already written a Women's Fiction that had been rejected by some of the finest agents and editors in NYC, so you see, I wasn't totally green. Just unpublished and uneducated about the process of novel writing. Aside from a few workshops on the Hero's Journey, I had no clue. I didn't even read romance but after reading Susan Wiggs' novels, I thought I might start.

Then I read somewhere that the second book doesn't usually sell. It's purpose is solely to babysit the dust bunnies under your bed, The third book was the one that would sell. Regardless, I finished the book, sent out a queries, and got rejected by some of the finest agents and editors, not only in NYC but all over this fine country. It was unanimous. No one wanted it. No one wanted the first thirty pages, let alone the full manuscript. Although I loved the high concept, no one else did. I'd written a story about a modern day Goldilocks and the Three Bears, something that apparently would sink like a lead hard copy, and I was told repeatedly that it was a bad idea. It had either been done to death or couldn't be done, I can't remember which.

That was bad news to me, who had a series all planned out with Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk about modern day women who find themselves in similar circumstances to the nursery stories. The completed romance was titled Goldy and the Bayers, about a rock singer who suddenly retires and escapes the media by hiding out at her lake house, only to find herself spying on the family next door - the Bayers.

The completed manuscript collected dust for several years while I continued writing. I'd gotten too far in to quit now. I had thousands invested in Writers' Conferences and posit notes and felt I owed it to myself to prove that writing a book and getting it published was super simple! Dammit!
When I saw a call for Fairytale stories by Entangled Publishing, I ventured under the bed to get Goldy, and sent the pitch to several other publishers while I was at it.

Then I got a shovel, a pick ax, and a big garbage bag and started editing and cleaning up the first three chapters. When several publishers asked for the full, I smirked and told myself to dig out that Power Suit for NYC. Turned out I hadn't exactly written a romance. No siree. According to several agents who almost considered representing me at this point in my almost career, the story wasn't formulaic enough. Apparently there is a definite formula to follow for romance and I hadn't done that. In the first few pages my hero did not catch the protagonist when she fell off a ladder in her Daisy Dukes, his hand getting tangled in the jean rips, until they broke apart, embarrassed. I wasn't sure what the formula was, but when one of the queried editors suggested some easy changes to make it fit the formula, I gladly said yes and signed on the dotted line. Thank you Ally Robertson!

Writing romance is not easy. And it isn't just me who's had a hard time at this. Most writers will tell you that if you think it's easy, the joke is on you. Writing a romance (and a believable sex scene, while we're talking about it) takes a ton of skill and talent. It is not the walk in the park it looks to be and next time you read a novel that's as smooth as a piece of crustless cheesecake, think about the craft that goes into writing your entertainment.
How about it writers? Anyone ever heard that romance writing is easy?

Kim Hornsby is the author of Amazon Bestseller, Necessary Detour with The Wild Rose Press, originally named Goldy and the Bayers.

Miley Makes Audience Cry

Miley Cyrus has a business plan in place, that's for sure!
Step 1, do something so provocative that the whole world is talking about it.
Step 2, announce the breakup of your engagement to a man who bounces back the next day with another woman. (this guarantees sympathy for you)
Step 3, Show your actual talent at the next huge concert and feel free to show emotion.  What is step 4? Release the next song on your album and watch the reaction.

Saturday night, Miley Cyrus performed in Las Vegas at the i Heart Radio Festival and sang with such talent and emotion that she had the audience in tears, along with her. THIS GIRL CAN SING! I think amidst all the boohaha about her strip dance with Robin Thicke, we forgot that she has singing chops. Oh yes she does. The video isn't up on youtube yet of the performance but you can bet that when it is, the world will be tuning in to see the train wreck but ending up moved by her performance.
As a singer/entertainer I have to wonder if the tears were all part of the plan. It isn't hard to get caught up in the emotion of a song and let a few drop. Regardless, Kudos to Miley again for making her name a household word again this week. Notice I didn't give credit to her bizarre, look-at-me-I'm-screaming-for-attention outfit?

What's next? Can't wait.

Note:Adam Lambert's set with Queen was one of the most awesome performances I've ever seen. LOVE THAT MAN who sings pretty darned close to perfection in concert! Putting his own spin on Freddy Mercury songs, he rocked the stage and at the same time did not try to take away from the guaranteed perfection of QUEEN. Well done Lambert.

Kim Hornsby is a former rock singer who now makes her living as an Amazon Bestselling Author. Necessary Detour is a suspense novel about a newly retired rock singer who can't stop spying on her neighbors to save her own life. 

Blog Hop Fun (for me, at least!)

Carol Mason, author of The Secrets of Married Women, The Love Market and Send Me A Lover   interviews me below. Seeing she is one of my favorite authors and almost as famous as Kate Middleton in the U.K., I was thrilled to be included in this blog hop. Take it away Carol...

I am going to ask 11 questions of Kim Hornsby, author of The Dream Jumper’s Promise and Necessary Detour, to name two. http://www.kimhornsbyauthor.net/ Kim, here goes…

1. Describe the type of books you write, as I believe you also write under a pen name.

 I'd like to think I write novels that appeal to smart women who like a little mystery and romance. (Men have been known to enjoy my books too!) THE DREAM JUMPER’S PROMISE has the added aspect of supernatural dream sharing and serendipity, something I hope to layer into my future novels. NECESSARY DETOUR is romantic suspense after my editor worked her magic on it to make the romance more important for the Wild Rose Press Crimson Rose suspense line.

I took a stab at contemporary romance this year with the pen name Kiki Abbott, writing a type of fan fiction, about the TV show THE BACHELOR. Because Romance sells the best, I figured it couldn’t hurt to take a stab at romance and I have to say it was super fun! I also wrote a novella for an anthology available on Amazon with 3 other authors, titled Sweet Summertime Romance.

2. You were once photographed with Sylvester Stallone. Is there something about you that we need to know?



Ha! I sang with the Maui Philharmonic Swing Band for years and in 1994 we were working a “Hollywood Party’ on New Years Eve on Maui and the host was  film producer, Shep Gordon. Loads of celebrities showed up every year and that year Frank Stallone, the writer of the song Eye of the Tiger, from Rocky, was in the house. I asked him to sing with me on stage and he declined. When his brother Sly arrived with his posse of followers, I spoke to him on a set break. He let my friend take a pic of him with me if I did not sell the picture to a magazine. Having just finished a film in Florida with Sharon Stone, he talked about how hard he worked out to look good on film. He's much shorter than you'd think and very easy to talk to. In my singing career, I met a lot of celebrities, including Maya Angelou. I spent about a half hour talking to her backstage. My band opened for her keynote speech to a convention group. Unreal!

3. What is your ultimate dream as a writer if you could map the course of your writer’s career?

 I LOVE THIS QUESTION! I’d like to be as famous as Janet Evanovich, write like Elin HIlderbrand and rub elbows with Jodi Piccoult at writer conventions. I hope to be traditionally published in 2014, have film options that same year and be able to write full time with a gorgeous office and the respect of my husband who does not support my career choice at this point.

4. What is the best novel you have read recently and the one that disappointed you the most, and why?

I read a lot! A book a week. I have read and loved so many books in the last few months. The Secrets of Married Women was gorgeous,Looking for La La was hilarious, The Rules of Dreaming was cerebral, ROOM was haunting, The Girl From Long Guyland was like a blast from the past, Summerland was perfect, and the book that disappointed me the most was a N Y Times Best Seller and not as good as I would’ve liked. Sorry author! I also feel okay saying I did not like Safe Haven as much as most people. Straight romance is often disappointing to me. At this point in my life I like Women’s Fiction. If it has a romance…BINGO. Or a mystery to solve!

5. Describe your writing process – to plot or not to plot, before you begin?

Plotter or Pantser?  I plot a fair bit, write, and see where it takes me so you might say I’m a plotser or a pantter. I like to know where I’m going, what the conflict is and who the main characters are before I start. With Dream Jumper, the big surprise ending (the twist) was added just before I published, as an afterthought. Am I ever glad I did that! Read my reviews to see how important the surprise ending is.

6. Since you first started writing, up until now, how would you say you have grown as a writer?

As a writer, I’ve grown by about 7 pounds. But then, I also had my 50th birthday in the last few years. I'm in that stage of life where I 'm trying to embrace my new curves. Kidding aside, I'm now working on the first book I ever wrote because I love the story so much. I have grown as an author a lot in nine years, thank goodness. My writing is stronger, cleaner and has more cut to the quick in it. Phew! 

7. How do you come up with a book idea?

The question should be ‘how do you deny all the ideas you have for books?’ I’m inundated with ideas, shooting at me all day long.

8. How secure are you as a writer (given that creative people are thought to be quite insecure about their art)? If you had a great book idea and 5 of your writer friends shot it down, would you write it anyway?

 I am overly secure as a writer. The first book I wrote, there was no question that it would be a household word. I had a business suit pressed and ready for the big agent meeting. This is why I teach the course Channeling Your Inner Rock Star, a workshop on public speaking. There is no doubt in my mind that I’ll be successful as a writer. It’s just a matter of when. I suppose it’s better than being shy but being overly confident has its drawbacks too. Keep in mind that I used to make my living as an actress. I had a youtube channel called Dr. Venus, offering love advice as a foreign 'doctor' of love.

That said, if 5 writer friends shot it down, I'd listen. I still feel like a baby in this industry and my writer friends would not shoot something down they didn't feel was all wrong. I'm thinking here of my critique group and their advice is golden.

9. Without giving away any plot, what is your favorite scene in a book you’ve written?

  I love the scene in The Dream Jumper’s Promise where the main character, Tina, walks the beach with an old boyfriend who’s come to Maui and finds her in a terrible state. Her husband has gone missing and is presumed dead but she can't accept his death without a body. Her dreams of him are driving her nuts. The old boyfriend, Jamey, feels he must reveal that he can enter dreams. And with this strange and unbelievable ability he offers to visit her dreams to help her determine her husband’s whereabouts. They have quite a history together and after an argument, he kisses her. Writing a book where there is a missing husband, an old boyfriend and a confused woman had to be handled very carefully but I'm told it works.

11. Tell me about Beach Read Authors. What can readers hope to find there?

  Beach Read Authors is a blog group I formed with several up and coming novelists who write gorgeous, compelling books that can be savored to read on vacation. We have blog posts, contests and cross promote each other’s work. If you find yourself at our site, you can discover over twenty-five different books of all genres by nine different authors who write like their life depends on it. Love this group!Beach Read Authors

10. If you were forbidden from writing novels, what would you do that might come close to satisfying you?

 Writing short stories and stringing them all together. Or painting, drawing, some form of art. I once won an award in the American Songwriting Competition but that's a hard life, writing songs. I feel like music is behind me now.

Thanks Carol for the fun questions. As someone who used to practice being interviewed by Johnny Carson in the mirror as a child, I was tickled to answer your questions!

Shark Tank Shows its Dorsal Fin

This week we've gathered around the TV at 8 pm to watch ABC's Shark Tank, the show where five entrepreneurs are lined up to hear pitches from lowly business people needing money and expertise. My family comments on everything, unlike a movie where the rule is to shut up and let everyone have their own individual journey. "He's scummy, he's nice, she has morals, he doesn't. That pitch was terrible, oh look at the predatory looks on their faces when the scantily clad girls come out."
We love to comment.

We love Shark Tank because we play along as if we have the smarts to suggest a better presentation, or offer more money to a fool proof product. Scrub Daddy - we want one! That guy with the flashing patches on jean pockets-absolutely not! Last night the male sharks were horribly rude to Real Estate Barbara with the red dress and big necklace . The FUBU guy was particularly awful to her. Then Kevin, who I think is smarmy, called her a witch. Is this like pro wrestling where they rehearse the drama ahead of time because if I was the only woman on that panel I might have pulled back and punched Kevin or Fubu. The director seems to have put the most polite ones on the end. The guy from Croatia is polite, moral and loves dogs, as seen by the Rat and the Bear dog ice cream pitch. The Croatian was abnormally fixated on the rat dog and picked him up against his will while an unnaturally happy dog owner couple smiled through their tears that Robert only liked the dog, not the ice cream.
Last night Barbara the shark got lambasted and the night before, Lori Greiner was on the chopping block. Why do the men feel the need to pick on the women? I don't see Fubu picking on Mark. Or Kevin picking on Robert. Well, actually Kevin is pretty rude to everyone.
Here's my lowdown of each Shark and what I think of them:

Mark- sports team owner, business man and well spoken guy, Mark seems like the nicest one of the bunch and often opts out early if he feels he can't add anything to joining the business.
FUBU - He has the cutest little smiley lips but don't let that fool you. He's mean. Last night he pretty much lied when he promised the guitar chord inventor an endorsement by a really big pop star he managed. Wait. does he manage talent now? Cool.
Kevin - Dresses well, Probably came from nothing and is never gonna look back, including being humble or polite.
Real Estate Woman Barbara - My husband and I REALLY like her. But then, hubby is in real estate. She is classy, carries herself well and speaks nicely to the contestants, I mean business people. Why does FUBU think she's not a good business mentor?

Lori Greiner (Ponytail QVC lady) She's savvy. Loads of people shop on QVC so why do the men poo poo her efforts? Just because she's not Wall Street? I like to hear what she has to say. And I think the women have credibility when a presenter uses a pretty woman and the male sharks' dorsal fin stands on end over a low cut blouse or tight jeans.

This week each shark has chosen a favorite episode from the re-runs and so far we've been thoroughly entertained. I love to see the updates on past products, whether the sharks chose them to mentor or not. I'm looking forward to the next few nights of sharks and chumming with bait.
What about you? Who's your favorite?

Kim Hornsby is the Best Selling Author of Necessary Detour and The Dream Jumper's Promise and loves to spew narcissistically on her blog.

Mystery/Suspense/Paranormal Love Story

Nominated for BEST INDIE FIRST BOOK by Indie RomCon

Amazon Bestselling Author Kim Hornsby

THE DREAM JUMPER'S PROMISE

Without a recovered body Tina Greene can't accept the presumed surfing death of her husband, Hank. Months after signing the death certificate, she trades mourning for saving her Maui dive shop from bankruptcy. When Jamey Dunn walks back into her life things take a strange turn. Dreams of Hank have the dive instructor questioning her sanity and leaning heavily on Hank's best friend, Noble. Jamey and Noble clash at every turn, both desperate to help Tina. When Jamey suspects Tina's strange dreams hold clues to Hank's disappearance, he must reveal his unbelievable ability to visit dreams. Trusting the man who betrayed her years before doesn't come easily for Tina when the decision to let Jamey enter her subconscious has a price. As Tina, Noble and Jamey decipher the mystery of Hank's disappearance, grave danger sets in to reveal that one person is a traitor, one is flirting with insanity and one is an impostor.

146 Reviews on AMAZON- Mostly 5 STAR

Book Trailer on YouTube

REVIEWS

A mysterious skill that straddles the line between paranormal and possible, a woman mourning her husband lost at sea, and the sunny embrace of Maui all come together in an evocative narrative that quickly becomes a real page-turner.

Lisa Costantino, Author of Maiden's Veil, Chanticleer Top Pick Women's Fiction 2012

Kim Hornsby's "The Dream Jumper's Promise" is a fantastic, compelling novel. It straddles the boundaries between genres - it's got elements of romance, mystery, suspense and also the supernatural, and the author brings them all together very satisfyingly.

James deBenedetto, Author of The Dream Student

This is a perfect summer read or when your winter nights get too long. Romance, mystery, gorgeous setting brought to a magical life. Kim has a way of bringing her characters to life and making them feel normal but special with real heart. That's rare these days. Nice mix women's fiction light with a twist of magic/psychic without being heavy handed so the 2nd chance love story stays the main focus. The surprises at the end are worth the wait!
Christine M. Fairchild, Author of Suspense/Thriller An Eye For Danger, The Goliath Conspiracy


Priced to allow anyone with a mobile device and three dollars, to have a copy
Also available in Print and soon to be available in Audible

Sample- The Dream Jumper's Promise

Chapter 1

A shadow moved past the front window of Tina and Hank’s Dive Shop. The door opened, the overhead bell jingled, and a Maui Cop entered the store. The uniform, gun at the hip, even his downcast eyes were all familiar sights. In the last ten months, Tina had seen more than she wanted of Maui’s finest, and they hadn’t come through when she most needed them.

“The sharks will get the body,” they’d said.

Everyone believed Hank was dead, but she wasn’t convinced. Not yet, even though the search had been abandoned after only one hundred and sixty-eight hours—ten thousand and eighty excruciatingly long minutes of hoping.

Her dog, Obi, trotted over to the policeman, as if the man wasn’t seconds away from pounding another nail in Hank’s empty coffin.

“We found your husband’s wallet.” The leather in the cop’s outstretched hand was a small but powerful reminder of Hank. Memories meteored towards her—his gypsy-black hair and twinkling eyes. At the beach, driving his truck, smiling from their bed.

She cupped the wallet in her small hand and closed her fingers around its edges. For all that remained of a dynamic man, it was surprisingly light.

“Where?” She tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.

“Off the path, above Honolua."

No one takes a wallet surfing. “Thanks.” It would hold his credit cards, medical insurance card, driver’s license, dive instructor card, all part of Hank’s life on Maui. A life he’d cherished. Married only sixteen months, would a man simply abandon his wife and a charmed life in Hawaii without a word?

The faint chugging of the air compressor in the shop’s back alley broke through her thoughts. Katie, her shop girl, was in the back alley filling scuba tanks. Tina looked around to see the policeman had gone. She pulled the driver’s license from its slot and grains of sand fell, sand that Hank might have touched before he went into the water that day.

 “Did I hear you talking to someone?” Katie popped in from the back room, her blond hair swinging.

“Police.” Tina held up the wallet. “Hank’s.”

Katie froze.

Someone barely of drinking age would know little of consoling a thirty-four-year-old widow. “Katie, can you do the coffee run now? I’ll finish filling the tanks if you’ll get me a double.” Tina needed something and she hoped it was just coffee.

She walked through to the back alley and lowered herself to sit on an overturned milk crate, waiting for the group of submerged scuba tanks in a metal trough to fill to 3000 psi. Leaning against the wall, her gaze drifted towards the sky. The gray clouds held in the humidity like a wool blanket, and sweat trickled down the small of her back into the waistband of her board shorts.

This new turn of events didn’t completely eliminate the possibility that Hank might have faked his own death. He was smart enough to know credit cards were useless to someone who wanted to disappear. Still. The wallet felt cool in her hand. She’d have to tell Noble it turned up. Open that bag of snakes. Poor Noble.

She extracted a picture tucked into a fold of the wallet and a stab of loneliness shot through her. In it she and Hank were smiling from a sun-drenched, black-sand beach in Hana. She fit perfectly into the curve of his long, lean body. Like phantom pain in an amputated leg, the memory of how it felt to tuck in under his shoulder lingered. They’d driven to the sleepy town of Hana, that day, with their best friend Noble and a girlfriend, hoping to take a break from the craziness of the Lahaina scene. Back when she knew he loved her, beyond any doubt.

But now there was doubt. Especially when days before his death, he’d said, “No matter what, always remember how much I love you.” She’d thought he was worried about how their relationship would change when she got pregnant, a plan they were working on with feverish diligence. “Silly man,” she said, kissing him.

Tina tucked the photo back in the wallet. Memories would drive her crazy if she didn’t get a grip soon. A deep breath revealed the scent of plumeria flowers from the tree across the laneway at Mr. Takeshimi’s house.

Watching the elderly neighbor sweeping the porch of his pristine cottage, his broom swishing a gentle rhythm, she called out. “Hey, Mr. T.”. He was a fighter, still holding onto his real estate despite million-dollar offers. Hank’s plan had been to buy the house and open an art gallery. But now she was in debt and that plan was long forgotten. Someone would come along eventually and make it a tacky T-shirt shop. Or a competing dive shop.

When Mr. T. straightened, Tina increased her volume. “Big storm coming in."

He nodded. “Doesn’t scare me.”

No, it wouldn’t. He’d endured World War II as a Japanese American in Hawaii. Sixty-one years after the Pearl Harbor attack, he was sweeping his porch. He stared at her, his face a question in waiting.

“Me neither.” She tried to believe in her own words.

Mr. Takeshimi nodded, as if this explained something. “Fall seven times and stand up eight, Tina.” Japanese proverbs lived on the tip of his tongue. He’d once said, “Good things come to those who wait,” and then Hank came into her life.

She stood. “I’m up. Thanks, Mr. T.” She smiled his way, knowing he’d worry without it.

Back in the shop, Tina met the gaze of a fist-sized octopus in one of the aquariums. Staring directly into the cephalopod’s eyes, she tried to convey an apology. Five days in an aquarium was too long for an intelligent creature. “I’ll see you get released today. I’m sorry it’s been so long, Mr. Oc.”

It was eight a.m. Time to open the store for the day. Flipping the wall switch, she illuminated all six fish tanks to create the underwater look to her Lahaina Towne shop. Over two years before, Hank had installed the wall of sixty-gallon aquariums to stylize the store and lure customers in. Even during the recent shutdown, the tanks had been maintained and viewed through the windows, still colorful, the fish vibrant, even though Hank was dead.

Walking around the room, she noticed the octopus watching her. Its scrutiny made her feel like she was not only being watched, but judged. A ridiculous thought. She tilted her head and contemplated what it must be thinking. “Being caged sucks,” she said, not necessarily to the octopus.

The pit mix, Obi Wan, bared his teeth in a smile, his usual reaction to any word ending in ‘uck.’ “It’s okay. Mommy’s having a good day.” She scratched behind her dog’s ears, his favorite spot, and then moved to the back room. Tucking the wallet in the top drawer of her messy desk, her palm lingered on the metal front in silent apology to Hank for shutting him away.

 “Here, Boss.” Katie entered the back room and then set the double espresso with extra sugar on the desk. Ever since her boyfriend, Ned confessed that her constant talking drove him crazy, Katie had been trying to use fewer words.

“Thanks, Katie.”

Katie hovered over Tina, her smile hinting at all the unspoken sentences rattling around inside her mouth.

Tina arched her brows in question. “Just say it Katie. I won’t tell Ned.”

“Uncle Jamey’s coming today.” The words shot from Katie’s lips like dice thrown on a table.

“Your uncle from Seattle?” She nodded. “My offer stands. Tell him he can dive free on slow days.” A soldier on leave from Afghanistan could dive on her nickel any day there was space. “He might have to wait until this Kona storm blows through.” Bad conditions would put a halt on diving for the next few days. Katie beamed and skipped into the next room, a sunny influence to have around.

Tina took a sip of the steaming coffee and wondered which problem to tackle first. The desk was littered with bills and phone messages from creditors but before she could open another letter from the bank, Katie’s scream made her fly out of her chair and run into the next room. She rounded the doorway to see a man grab Katie roughly and lift her off her feet. The scream turned to a squeal that ended in a giggle. This was not Ned, who was lean and scruffy and always looked like he just woke up. This was an adult--tall, with sandy-colored hair on the long side of a crew cut and muscular arms. His crisp white T-shirt reading Maui Parasail stretched across a broad back.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” Katie pulled away from the hug. “I miss everyone, you know? How is everybody? I mean really. How’s Dad and Grandpops?” She stopped to take a breath as her resolve to use fewer words went flying out the window.

“Everyone’s good."

Katie did a little happy dance, her smile stretching from ear to ear. “I hoped you’d call this morning. I was just telling my boss that you’d come today. The diving isn’t looking good. I’m sorry about the storm coming in and Tina said it’s not likely we’ll dive tomorrow but the weather here can change in a few hours, just like Seattle.”

Tina stepped forward, knowing an interruption would be necessary. “You’re Katie’s uncle, I presume.” She extended her hand.

As the man turned to face her, Tina froze. It had been a while, but she knew this person well enough to know that when he slept on his back, he snored. And that he had a small birthmark shaped like South America below his belly button. Far below. She’d once pointed to Tierra del Fuego, and then inched southward, with her tongue.

His slightly lopsided smile was achingly familiar and once so dear to her, her breath now caught in her throat and produced a tiny warble that she hoped was inaudible. Even though she’d changed in ten years, he must recognize her too. As their palms made contact, Tina felt a powerful surge pass between them, almost like an electric shock. Her eyes widened as a curtain of darkness moved in front of her vision and blackness invaded.

“Kristina?” The familiar timbre of James’ voice sounded far away, muffled, as she fought for consciousness. Sinking to the floor, the last thing she felt was his arm moving behind her back.

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The Dream Jumper's Promise

Kim Hornsby is also the author of Best Selling Romantic Suspense novel Necessary Detour, published by The Wild Rose Press and available on Amazon, Sony, Kobo, iTunes, Nook, in print and Audible Amazon.