Hometowns Reveal One Favorite on The Bachelor

Monday's episode of The Bachelor began in Colorado where deer run free and snow is plentiful. This week was hometown dates and Jo Jo was in town to see Chase and meet his family.

After a talk on a rock, they went to his house, that he owns (I'm assuming) and talked about Chase's divorced parents and once estranged father. Ding dong. It's Dad at the door!
Hard feelings seem to have been buried and Chase admitted to his father, "I'm diving in to this one, Dad," which made me fear for the reserved hunk. At the mom's house, everyone gathered, including a baby with a mustache pacifier and Chase's mom, who is hip and cool!
When the familial evening is over and we officially like Chase immensely, she and Chase kiss at the black SUV and she's off into the darkness to meet the other four families.

Next is Chico, CA, Playboy Magazine's pick for best Party college, years ago, and we're off to Jordan's home. In matching outfits he and Jo Jo go to the high school to meet the football coaches who have a pinup board of both Rogers boys all over their walls. Turns out, Aaron Rogers is a big quarterback in football and doesn't speak to Jordan, maybe even the whole family, and won't show for the family visit. I"m not a huge NFL fan but recognize the bro from the Green Bay Packers. Good riddance if he doesn't talk to anyone. The Rogers live in a gorgeous Victorian home and both parents seem lovely. Luke, the other brother, brings his G/F who seems nice. The visit is wonderful even though they pan in on the two empty seats at one end of the table like Aaron should have been there. Sappy.

Next is Florida. Robby. He and Jo Jo walk around, talking. When they get to the family home, the dad is a coach of some sort, and the mom, who's birthed five kids, is a rock. She talks about Holly, the ex-GF whose roommate (are you following me here?) has granted an interview to say that Robby broke up with Holly to go on the Bachelor. There's talk in the town about Robby's intentions but not his hair. Interesting.

In Texas, Luke the cool cowboy takes Jo Jo to a community barbecue at the family ranch. Luke has 50 friends whooping it up on the Texan ranch, while he takes Jo Jo riding to a field where he's set up a heart-shaped group of roses to pledge his feelings for her. What is more romantic than that, as Rascal Flatts sings in the background?   Nada.
At the rose ceremony, in a cobalt mermaid dress, Jo Jo indicates Luke is going home. Inside a jet hangar, Luke asks to speak privately to Jo Jo, tells her his feelings and she breaks down on the runway, no knowing what to do. Let Robby go!!!!!!!!! Luke is the front runner. Right????
To Be Continued...

Pity Roses Turn to No Roses on The Bachelorette!

The pressure was on this week on The Bachelorette knowing two men would be eliminated and only four would take Jo Jo home to meet family--a big frickin' deal for the family whether they want to be on TV or not because ABC gets to film inside your house! They'd have to rent a clean house if either of my kids did this.
Alex gets the first one on one in Buenos Aires and off they go in an SUV as bored with each other as any people who've been married fifty years and never had anything in common in the first place. It was painful to watch! Painful to see how little chemistry they had and how big Jo Jo's yawn was.
Meanwhile the guys get on a funky bus, drink beer and compose an awesome rap wishing they were alone with Jo Jo. James, Chase, Jordan, Luke and Robby stop for mystery meat (that even the local dogs won't eat) at a roadside stand then continue on their Magic Bus journey.

Alex and Jo Jo pull in to a gorgeous country ranch/horse training center to learn to be estancias - Argentinian cowboys. The horse whisperer estancia got his horse to lie on the ground while Jo Jo and her date nestled in around the horse's head to talk and kiss. (Alex is dressed like a pancake hat-wearing goofball and Jo Jo gets to wear tight suede pants and heels!)
After cleaning off the horsey smell, Jo Jo and Alex meet for dinner and continue to have absolutely no chemistry although she tells him that it was a GREAT DAY, thereby leading him to think he was part of the great factor. Nope. She cut him loose and off he goes.
The men have checked in to a Polo Club rental house with high ceilings for all their hair and Jordan gets the next one on one. The men shoot daggers at him with their eyes.
Fresh from rejecting Alex, Jo Jo meets Jordan at an airstrip where they catch a private jet to Mendoza for wine tasting. Lots of kissing and flirting on the plane ensues and when they get to the gorgeous vineyard with the Andes Mountains in the background, they crush grapes with their feet then drink the juice, toe jam and all. A hot tub has mysteriously appeared in the middle of nowhere and Jor Jo get in to kiss, drink and talk.
We find out at dinner later that the famous quarterback, Aaron Rogers doesn't speak to Jordan or the other sibling. Aaron has no idea Jordan is on this show and probably won't until it airs. Wow! What a twist! This made everyone in the room fall in love with Jordan. Familial strife! Even though Jordan has posey lip biting expressions, he seems like a nice guy. What the heck is his real job though? And someone trim that hair or get him a hairband.

The group date is rained out so they play games in Jo Jo's hotel suite, like truth or dare, who can stuff the most fries in their mouth at once and then form a massage train. James does a bit of teasing/trash talking, especially on Robby, which is weird but Robby's extremely buffed body distracts us and probably Jo Jo because he gets the rose.

Luke has the next one on one and he gets to show Jo Jo just how sexy he is on a horse. There is a HUGE connection between these two. His hometown visit will be interesting. The cowboy is the front runner. What does he do for work??? I love what he says about his relationship with horses. Very eloquent. The date finishes without dinner and Luke returns to the Polo Club to tell everyone to get their suits and ties; it's time for the Rose Ceremony.
What?
At a building that resembles The Alamo, the men line up inside and roses are given to everyone but James. No surprise there. Off goes the cuddly singer from Texas.
Next week it's hometowns, where we think Robby's old GF might still be waiting in the wings. Or hiding under his pompadour! What's that you say? His ex was last seen this weekend on Instagram kissing Bad Chad?? Now that's revenge!

Kim Hornsby is a Bestselling Author of Suspense and Romance who lives in the Seattle area near a former Bachelor and personally knows a Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise alumni. Her opinions are her own and not those of the dogs lying at her feet begging for treats.
Find her books on Amazon, including The Husband Hunt, a novella strangely similar to a season of The Bachelor.

Jo Jo Shocks Wells, Derek, Alex and James!

And it's off to Buenos Aires for The Bachelorette Gang where the remaining men settle in to a gorgeous suite in a historic hotel with architecture to die for --The Plaza Hotel. Buenos Aires looks absolutely gorgeous and absolutely enormous!

Wells got the one on one date with Jo Jo which was pretty funny because it alluded to kissing and Wells was the only bachelor who hadn't kissed the lovely Jo Jo yet. The men made fun of Wells' opportunity and way too much pressure was put on the boy/man to get that kiss! He looked like it was his turn to save the world.

While Wells was dodging and avoiding the kiss like someone with a lip sore, the men received their group date card back at the hotel. Everyone was on the group date like Robby, Luke, Jordan and James but not Derek and Chase, two of the front runners for Jo Jo (in my mind.) That meant that those last two would be pitted against each other in the two on one, something I thought was a production mistake when I read the date card. Why have two front runners compete against each other knowing you have to get rid of one? It didn't make sense to this Bachelor Nation member.

Wells

Back at the Wells and Jo Jo date, the twosome ended up at a performance art show where they were rolling around in four inches of water on a clear surface hovered over an audience (or was it just us with the camera?) that tipped, thereby jostling the half naked performers from one side of the see-through platform to the other. What this meant was there was loads of rubbing up against each other and wet bodies and kissing opportunities but did Wells take his cue? No. Not really. It wasn't until the jostling finished that Wells caved and kissed her after Jo Jo had thrust her lips and more his way for probably hours of filming. When they kissed, she cheered like it was the Superbowl win. After drying off and dressing in fancy clothes, they went on to have dinner in a terribly hot room with 1,000 candles, which made Wells continue to dodge, sweat and stutter. During their conversation, the nervous Ned said he didn't believe in true love, never realizing he was digging his own Bachelor grave. YOU"RE OUTTA HERE! We kinda screamed from my viewing party. Wells was not Jo Jo material and she knew it. Funny, sweet guy but not ready for prime time, if you know what I mean.

James

On the group date, the players, I mean contestants, I mean daters went to a street fair and ended up playing soccer. James, the man who lost lots of pounds of Margherita pizza to be on the show was measuring himself to the other buffed jocks and came up short but the Buenos Aires soccer GK let James' ball through the goal in what looked like a setup and he got a Jo Jo kiss. Imagine me coughing here saying "fixed" into the cough. James is too insecure for Jo Jo and at the after party James proves that in throwing his best buddy in the house, Jordan, under the bus for Jo Jo. He trash talks Jordan and Jo Jo doesn't know what to believe. She takes cool Luke aside and he goes in for the kill by kissing her passionately and grabbing her "hip." He later gets the rose, mostly for being the least afraid to kiss her. Which doesn't mean he's the best husband material but those two sure can swap spit!

Chase

The two on one with Derek and Chase is a stupid class in Tango dancing. Not that a tango class would be stupid but the producers and director REALLY missed the mark with this one, having both men pulling on Jo Jo in a fight to win her heart. The dance sequence was cringe worthy and dumb and below the intelligence level of the people who like to watch this show, like me. People who draw the line at extremely stupid but watch the show anyhow.
At dinner, Jo Jo cut Derek, the guy who looks like Jim on The Office and I was incredulous! Why keep Chase, Dudette? She must have her reasons but we have no idea. At my viewer party we all agreed that Chase must have something we couldn't all see besides his stone-faced expression that rarely smiles and big muscles.

Alex

At the rose ceremony, in a Game of Thrones type hall (where Cersei blew up Marjorie and the gang,) Jo Jo gives everyone roses but Alex and James who I think she should just put in a limo and forget about. After a tense moment asking Chris Harrison something about the rules of The Bachelor, she went back in the room and gave both men roses. This seemed like a slap in the face for Derek fans. She gave James and Alex roses?????
What was she thinking? I left the party mad at Jo Jo, vowing to not watch the following week which turned out fine because it was a rerun.

Derek

Two weeks have passed and now I've forgiven Jo Jo and am ready for the next episode even though Derek won't be appearing. I've learned that Derek has gone on to use his media fame to draw attention to a cause close to his heart--raising money for victims of domestic abuse. Now that is a classy thing to do.




Kim Hornsby is a Bestselling Author of Suspense and Romance who lives in the Seattle area near a former Bachelor and personally knows a Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise alumni. Her opinions are her own and not those of the dogs lying at her feet begging for treats.
Find her books on Amazon, including The Husband Hunt, a novella strangely similar to a season of The Bachelor.

Jo Jo Tosses Bad Chad!

I'm feeling guilty and inadequate about not reporting in on The Bachelorette yet when I have so many readers asking me where's my blog. So here goes:











I loke Jo Jo (between love and like) She is a great Bach so far. Wears cute clothes, admits that guys are sexy hot, treats the guys well without making it seem like a harem, and has kept the hair twirling to a minimum, thank God! She also had the good sense to cut Bad Chad loose even though he made GREAT TV and was the man we loved to hate.

BAD CHAD

On Monday we got to see Bad Chad hike up to the house in the woods, scrape his nails down the glass door and wait to be let in so he could start yet another confrontation with the boys, I mean men. Chad needs to join a friendship club to learn some social skills. That or have one ball removed. He's too much! Why are the jerkiest guys so very handsome??? Why? If Chad had what I think is Derek's personality...

So Chad says that Alex (the stocky Marine) lied about him. "Now I have to go find Alex," he said. Chad, if you're reading this, please remember that if Alex turns up dead, you are the #1 suspect. Like Elsa sang in FROZEN, Let it go, let it go!

Marine Alex

Alex returns a hero and gets a cake in his face for his efforts to expel Chad. He also gets a swollen head and his nice guy demeanor is seen flying off in the PA breeze.
At the rose ceremony, Robby is metrosexually groomed, James F reads a sweet poem, Jordan has her up against the wall with kissing, and Derek still reminds me of Jim on The Office.
The Canadian heads home before he can embarrass us Canucks any more with his posturing and eh'ing all over the place. Also, James from Nashville who wrote the poem, is cut loose. WTF?? I liked him. He must've said or done something we didn't know about. Poor James!

They head to the airport and board a tiny cartoon plane to Uruguay, land of ocean and goats, it seems. I don't know about you but Uruguay was not shown in a light that made me ever want to go there. Rain, modern ugly hotel, goats (again). Someone said they had a 360 degree of the ocean from the men's suite and I'm thinking that guy needs to go back to sixth grade math. Unless the suite was on an island, they did not have that many degrees.
Jordan gets the one on one. He's a contender and definitely has Jo Jo's interest. He might be too much too fast though and that's usually the kiss of death in the game. While they swim with seals in heavy wetsuits and kiss some more, Vinny opens his own barbershop at the men's suite and even has the latest tabloid that tells of Jo Jo being involved with her old boyfriend before the show started. The guys don't understand how tabloids work (and pay!) and some believe their collective girlfriend isn't there for the right reasons. Many are upset. Remember, these guys have NOTHING to do all day but talk to each other so I'm cutting them a bit of slack. They have Stockholm Syndrome for Jo Jo.
The group date involves sand surfing until it starts to rain, then they all clean up and go for cocktails. Evan has avoided a bloody nose so far. Derek admits he's smitten, is having a tough time with no attention from Jo Jo and gets the rose, something the men find hateful. An imaginary target is drawn on Derek's back by some.
Robby gets the second one on one date and they jump off a cliff into the ocean, swim, kiss, and go to town, literally. He's a contender for Jo Jo's hand. Man, some of these guys have a lot of hair! I can't imagine the hair products in their bathrooms. Robby's date moves to a picturesque farm where it's either raining or going to rain. I believe there are goats involved.
At this point, my notes stop, either because I lost my pen or I got up to get a glass of wine and lost interest in taking notes.

Derek

What I can tell you is that Derek is a new target and the guys don't like him particularly. He's quiet, but not mean or nasty so I don't know what the big deal is. Derek takes the guys outside at the next rose ceremony to talk to them but it turns kinda sideways proving that young men can be just as catty as young women when there is a mating dance involved.

At the ceremony, Jo Jo sends home Evan, the nosebleeder, Vinny the barber and Grant. Remind me who Grant is again? Oh yes, the hunky fireman. Why him? Oh well. It's not the rest of MY life she's choosing for. Evan had the absolute best exit speech EVER! Check out my twitter to see it. www.twitter.com/kimhornsby


That's it for now. Apologies for the typos. These blogs usually take about 2-3 hours and this took 20 minutes. More next week!

Kim Hornsby is a Bestselling Author of Suspense and Romance who lives in the Seattle area and personally knows a Bachelor alumni. Her opinions are her own and not those of the dogs lying at her feet begging for treats.
Find her books on Amazon, including The Husband Hunt, a novella strangely similar to a season of The Bachelor.

Billboard Awards - Kesha Bleeds on Stage

2016 Billboard Awards were a night of extremes. Here's my brief thoughts as a former singer, actress, performer, dancer and all round noisy pants with opinions:

These opinions, as always, are my own and not those of the dogs lying at my feet or the teenagers nearby complaining about never having enough snacks in the house.

Britney Baby - She wasn't drunk, high, and her hair extensions survived the stripper-like choreography and hair swishing. Highly entertaining and even though she wore little more than pasties and a thong, Brit has never pretended to be anything other than a sex symbol. She doesn't try to be a role model for young women anymore. Her Vegas show is full of expletives and stripper poles, apparently. Two words to describe her extremely suggestive set: sexy and powerful.

Justin Beiber - Love the Biebs! He's a cutie with oodles of talent and did a good job last night. His set wasn't flashy, he didn't beg us to like him, he lip synced to his own track as well as singing along (unlike Britney, I believe) and as a performer who was nominated in several categories this year and had a great chance of winning something, I was happy to see him dance. Two words to describe his enjoyable set: capable and understated.

Kesha

Kesha - What can I say about this artist who hasn't performed in 5 years because of her legal battles with her record label? Dr. Luke allowed her to perform tonight and we're glad he did. Dressed in a white suit and tie, the artist performed the show-stopper of the night--a version of Bob Dylan's "It Aint Me Babe," lyrics that begged Dr. Luke to let her go without her ever mentioning the man she accuses of so many more things than mismanagement. I teared-up with Kesha's raw rendition. Had she been on her knees it wouldn't have been any more clear. It was like she was bleeding all over the stage. #FreeKesha Two words: Heart Wrenching

Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani - A muchly anticipated duet by The Voice sweethearts who kept their relationship secret for a long time and aren't seen in public much. He looked like a country star, she wore a beaded gown and movie star hair with pink eye shadow (?) and they sang in harmony staring at each other nervously. They did not look like they were having a wonderful time at all but who knows. Two words: Disjointed and anticipated

Meghan Trainor - This once country (?) singer looked like a cross between Britney and the new Taylor Swift in her choreography and song choice. I believe Ms. Trainor has abandoned country officially with her new song, No, a great message for young women. I like her. I liked her transition and admire her spunk. Two words: Brave and Tuneful

Nick Jonas - He sang beautifully. And Live, not Lip Syncing! I doubt he wore makeup and he def has never worn braces. This guy is the real deal. His duet with Tove Lo, Close, was well done although she was a little pitchy, then the set rotated and we got Devi Lovato who I love! She was awesome, hitting high notes that shouldn't even be notes, strutting and selling her new song Cool for the Summer. Two words: Nick: Real Demi: Showful

Ciara

Ludacris and Ciara - As hosts they did a good job but they are no Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, or most other duos who get the honor to host a major awards show. Ciara changed gowns and hairstyles every time we cut to commercial which made it more interesting but the chemistry between the two hosts was just lukewarm.

Ariana Grande - Great performance, gorgeous voice, fun ponytail. She reminded me of a female Justin Beiber. She wasn't overly sexual, like Brit, and she didn't stand at the mike like Kesha but it was somewhere between both those performances. Two words: Entertaining and Talented

Rhianna - Amazing rendition of a blues number, Love on the Brain by an incredible talent. Loved everything about this performance! I'm a big blues fan but her vocal interpretation was incredible and reminded me of Whitney Houston Two words: Absolutely Spellbinding


Madonna - I have been a big fan of Madge in the past but last night she looked frozen, terrified, stiff, overly suited up, and wooden. Probably she was scared of ruining a Prince song seeing she's not known for vocal perfection but rather as a performing artist. Thus, her performance could've leaned a bit towards the Britney camp with more movement, showmanship and less starched tuxedo and hairspray. Two words: Disappointing and Stiff

Pink - Along with Cirque style trapeze work, Pink did an amazing job of Just Like Fire, proving that you don't have to show a lot of skin and dance provocatively to be artistic. Two words: Daring and Artistic

The Weekend - He did not perform but was up for a ton of awards, mostly for his song I Can't Feel My Face, which I sang along to in the car all last summer. His hair is his brand. He spoke well even though he gushed about how well he knew Prince but said he'd never met him. I was happy to see that Bieber and Adele won some awards as well but The Weekend was the big winner last night, apparently. Two words: Hair, Catchiness

Notes: Taylor Swift was absent, Wiz Kalifah was eloquent, Celine Dion was choked up and Joe Jonas is in DNCE!

Kim Hornsby is an Amazon Bestselling Author, having shared the top five list with Stephen King and Dean Koontz in Psychic Suspense. Find her books and bio on Amazon,

Dreaming and Remembering Them

Dreaming. Everyone does it. But not everyone remembers their dreams when they wake. I usually remember the last thing I dreamed and when I wake up I try to compose a tweet about the dream. Then I tweet it when I get on my computer, an hour later. Sometimes sooner.
If you follow me on twitter you'll see these rambling tweets. Or go over to #strangedreams It's mostly me and my dreams on that site.
Sometimes dreams leave me with an emotion I carry with me throughout the morning and that can really suck if the subject matter was scary or sad. I'm sure we've all woken up sad and wondered why. I love it when I have a happy dream and wake up happy, or excited about something, or wake up having just had a flying dream. These are my favorites and I have to wonder how I know what it feels like to fly.
But I do.
I have a very clear idea of what it feels like to be up that high and to glide over cities and water and bridges and trees. I wish I could dream of flying every night but I probably only have one of these a month. The feeling of flying is heady and wonderful, like scuba diving in some regards.

Dreams are still an enigma in this modern world. Scientists say it's our hind brain not shutting off when we sleep and feeding us images and ideas, like a pestering child. I prefer to think we actually visit alternate universes.We travel while we sleep.
I write books that always have the protagonist dreaming. Sometimes the heroine has a recurring dream. I have a novel series where the two main characters dream together and apparently this is possible. I had no idea when I started this series.
Dreams have always found their way into my books. Early on in my writing career, I heard that it's an author no no to start a novel with a dream. And to end the novel by saying the story was all a dream. Then I heard that people don't read books about dreams. I wasn't sure why but by the time I heard this advice I was too far gone and working on my next book about Dream Jumping, or sharing dreams. It's only been recently that I realized that the one thing all my novels have in common is dreaming. All the female protagonists are affected by their nightly dreams. Even the novel I'm releasing in the next few months, and doesn't have a thread of supernatural in it, has some strange dreams. Even my romantic suspense novel has the heroine dreaming about this and that. Mostly about the hunky, yet elusive neighbor. Because I remember dreams in the morning and because my husband calls out in his dreams nightly, I am affected greatly by my dream life.
The Dream Jumper Series has some weird-ass dreams and lots of information on lucid dreaming, Wake Induced Lucid Dreams and even ghosts entering dreams, which is something I think I made up until I hear from a reader that it's happened to them.

What about you? Do you dream? Ever had a lucid dream where you know you're dreaming?

I (Shamelessly) Pitched my Novel to Hollywood!

I pitched my novel, The Dream Jumper's Promise, to Hollywood players last weekend. That's the short version.

Former Cover

Here's the long version:
Over two days at the Universal City Hilton Hotel, I got 7 minutes of unadulterated privacy with a Hollywood producer to share the bare bones of my story line.

Final Cover

I also shoved my book into the purses of two other producers, one of whom said she thought my log line was intriguing, the other who was basically trying to leave the room. I weaseled my way into conversations and made the most of my short stint in Hollywood like my children's futures depended on this weekend, which is kind of true. As a polite Canadian, I'm not proud of my behavior but I had a brief opportunity to make a connection and I tried to put myself out there, just in case.





How Did I Happen Upon This Opportunity?

Just before I left the room to pitch!

The organization, Sisters in Crime, has a Hollywood chapter that's run by screenwriters, scriptwriters, actors, novelists, talented people in their own right, and they organized an event for an elite number of novelists to come together at the Hollywood Hilton last weekend to learn how to adapt a book to Hollywood and pitch said book to some high powered producers. Free! A friend referred me.
I was accepted very last minute and booked a plane ticket that cost way more than if I'd planned this in advance. But, this was the opportunity of a lifetime for me. I'm a big movie fan, former actress, and pitching to Hollywood just sounded so damn sexy when I said it out loud!


What Did it Involve?
Over 48 hours, we authors were treated to talks from David Isaacs (Writer of Mad Men, Cheers, Frasier, Mash etc), Ron Mardigian (former senior agent at William Morris), Pam Veasey (producer/writer CSI Cyber), and a host of other industry professionals that would knock your socks off. Can you say Giving Back? Pretty sure these people didn't get paid and most of them did not come to the Hilton necessarily looking for a book to adapt.
Some did though.

Hart Hanson, creator of Bones

Over the two day event we networked, schmoozed, learned how to write a treatment, pitched, and watched a scriptwriter fall off a stage and break his ankle. True. I was talking to another polite Canadian who writes Bones when the writer of Agents of Shield stepped back and disappeared off the back of the stage where he'd just charmed everyone with stories of writing for Hollywood. Both Hart Hanson and I said "Excuse me," like polite Canadians, and bolted to the scene.

When the guffuffle died down, I spoke briefly to the producer who'd caught my attention during the talk and sounded like she might be open to a new idea, Michele Mulroney (Sherlock II) and she took my novel. I have to admit, I felt a bit whorish doing business right after Drew's accident but hey, it's Hollywood and I'd scraped together the pennies to get to California. I had one shot at Michele Mulroney and Hart Hanson was off to the ER with Drew. I'd been about to hand Hart my novel and beg him to develop a TV show around The Dream Jumper when our attention landed elsewhere. Damn.

The day before, I'd pitched to Jane Goldenring who took my book, applauded my one liner, was very gracious and accomplished, and I'm hoping she takes a look at my little Indie self-pub and sees something that would translate to the big screen and make a lot of money.
I also pitched to Stan Spry from Cartel Management and he liked the idea of the book and referred me to Haley Stoessl, Manager of Development. Haley gave me her card.

Drew Greenberg at hotel valet stand after the Emergency Room. 

Friday night, at the Sisters in Crime cocktail party, I descended on Snowfall Films exec and powerhouse, Suzanne Lyons, who asked me to send her something-- Suzanne is also Canadian and happens to be funny as hell. Marianne Moloney, who was once a VP at Universal, and discovered the book Ordinary People also worked on Roxanne, one of my favorite movies, with Steve Martin. She said I had a great name, for whatever that's worth. I hope to find her contact info and will remind her of my great name.
We met readers for studios like Dreamworks and Amblin, who spend all day reading books to recommend, or not, to their bosses. They talked about what they look for. One turned down Fifty Shades of Grey and stands by that decision.
The whole weekend was absolutely fascinating and I got on the plane Saturday night with a thirty-seven pound head full of info and full of myself because hey, I frickin pitched to Hollywood!

Here's my log line:
The Dream Jumper's Promise is about a guy who can slip into other people's dreams and uses that to solve a crime.

Here's some of what I learned this weekend in a nutshell (a pistachio, not a walnut):

-Hollywood likes books better than concepts because novels are finished, complete, characters are fleshed out. Authors are pre-approved.
-Sometimes not having a huge contract with a big 5 agency will be appealing because the rights to your book are more readily available and cheaper.
-Be prepared for changes to your book. The screenwriter might completely change everything but make sure you get credit: Based on the Novel The Dream Jumper's Promise
-Managers can work harder for a client than an agent if you're with a BIG agency
-Unsolicited material isn't as welcome as if your agent sends it (or your entertainment attorney!)
-Learn how to write a treatment, do not leave out the ending in all its beauty
-Scouts in New York meet regularly with agents trying to find books that will adapt to movie well
-Ask your agent to get on the Friday list to producers--Notable Books of the Week
-Get an agent! Imperative to lend credibility to your project.
-Find the one thing unique to your book and lead with that in your pitch
-Don't try to tackle screenwriting to sell your novel, There are experts for this.
-If a producer options your book (ties it up while trying to get a studio on board) be patient
-When you pitch, tell it like a campfire story with lots of vocal inflections.
-No more than 5 characters in pitch
-Only pitch action, no dialogue
-Thrillers are popular, especially with a female protag
-In the pitch, include the hard decisions that turn the plot
-To get these people's attention, you need something unique and you need to be aggressive. Not obnoxious, Ron said, but aggressive.
-Short Stories sometimes rise to the top of the pile for TV ideas
-If a producer options your book it may take a year or two to get the studio, director, screenwriter on board. You must be patient.

Good Luck. Somebody's going to get a movie made from their book.
It might as well be us, right!?

Kim Hornsby is an Amazon Bestselling Author who's shared the top five list with J.D. Robb, Stephen King and Dean Koontz in Amazon's Suspense Lists. She's an Award-Winning Mystery/Thriller writer who combines Danger, Adventure and often Ghosts.
Find Kim's many books on her author site at Amazon,