Take a Necessary Detour with Kim Hornsby

Lucky me, I've got romance author Kim Hornsby here today. Kim has two recent releases. One of them is making quite the splash in the Kindle Free program--and against some stiff competition, too. She's agreed to answer some interview questions for me. Won't you stick around and take a NECESSARY DETOUR with us?

1.   What is the story behind your book title?

 

Ha! Necessary Detour was written as a high concept novel and titled Goldy and the Bayers. It loosely follows the storyline of Goldilocks, and I really thought that agents and editors would LOVE that idea. LOVE! Apparently it’s been done to death, or is a recipe for disaster, and no one would touch it as such. One pub said it’s not enough Goldilocks and another said Nursery stories as romance don’t sell. So, I renamed it after a song I'd written for the book, Necessary Detour, which seemed appropriate since Goldy sings the song in the opening chapter as she’s being electrocuted The title captures the theme of the book--her 180 degree turnaround to leave the spotlight. Renamed, it got the interest of Ally Robertson/Alicia Dean at The Wild Rose Press. She read it and had sent a contract before I could thumb my nose at all the agents who wouldn’t read it as Goldy and the Bayers. (Kinda kidding)

 

2.   What part of the writing process brings you the most pleasure? The most angst? 

 

I actually slog out the storyline first and that is tough for me. I let myself write a horribly immature version of the book to get the story down. It has a lot of “she goes over here then does this and that...”  Then I go back in to really write the thing. That’s the most fun! The final 7 to 127 passes at the manuscript are not as fun seeing I’m taking out repetitive verbs, dangling modifiers etc.

 

3.   Oh, I am awful at repetitive words. I'm trying so hard to break that habit. Tell us, how do you see your career in five years?

 

With a pool boy and a really nice laptop! Oh career. I hope to be a bestselling author, writing a book a year and able to support my family. My husband is a cancer survivor and my goal is to let him retire and enjoy the life we’re so lucky to have together. I haven’t told him this because he’s a proud man but that is definitely the driving force behind my maniacal need to succeed.

 

4.   A very noble gesture. What are you currently working on? 

 

Promo, promo, promo for two books. I’m also working on the 2^nd book in the Dream Jumper series while thinking about the possibility of writing the second Nursery story which is about a female stalker named Jacqueline Beane. Thus Jack and the Beanstalks. I’ll have to see if Goldy and the Bayers does well to see if I actually finish the Stalker one.

 

5.   Has your road to publication been a walk in the park or a steep mountain climb? Give us some details?

 

I’m sure in some respects it’s been a walk in the park but it feels more like it started out as a lovely stroll in the woods. Then I happened upon some hills and they became steeper. Now I’m on a mountain plateau. I have many hills coming up, but I’m in better shape now. I wrote my first novel, based loosely on my daughter’s adoption in Taiwan, in 2004, expecting it would be a bestseller. I had outfits all picked out for the Oprah show, was prepared for the media blitz and reporters camped in front of my house etc. Two years later I was knee deep in a second book called Necessary Detour, by now having learned that the first book rarely goes to print. I rushed through this one (rushing for me is writing a book in a year), queried the heck out of it and was told by every agent who read the first 30 pages that it wasn’t romance. Whatever it was, I still wanted an agent to love this book and sell it to someone.

 

Cherry Adair and Me

I resigned myself to the fact I just wanted to write a story and not worry about the genre. I wrote a third book in the Cherry Adair Finish the Damned Book contest. I finished The Dream Jumper’s Promise, spent a year fixing it and finding a cover, developing my social footprint and cleaning up Necessary Detour. It seems like the years have slipped by but in some ways. Now I have two published novels (one in romance) and a third on the way.

 

6.   Tell us about your current release…or soon to be release.

 

I released two novels within the same month, one is a self pub The Dream Jumper’s Promise. The second is with The Wild Rose Press, Necessary Detour. The latter is #2 on Kindle free Suspense and Suspense Thriller list and has been holding that spot for 4 days. It’s also #2 in Romantic Suspense so I guess you could say that I do write romance! Alicia Dean read it last June, helped me make it fit the romance guidelines and now I have a book that is battling it out with Alexa Grace and Bev Petterson in the romance category. I’m honored to be in there with them. (In thriller, I’m neck in neck with J.A. Konrath today) Necessary Detour is about a rock star who retires suddenly for two very private reasons and is hounded by the media. She hides in her lakehouse and becomes involved with the man next door only to find out that he’s hiding something BIG.

 

7.   If your new release were being made into a movie who would you cast to play your heroine and hero?

 

    Love this question because I’m a big movie buff. If you look at my Pinterest board I have photos of Sawyer on LOST as Pete and Fergie (the singer, not the princess) as Goldy but that’s mainly because I found awesome pics of her online as a rock star, which she kind of is. Whoever plays Goldy must be able to sing though, because she gets such joy and comfort from playing the piano and singing, it would have to be in there. I am an award winning lyricist so I wrote a few songs for the book and dug out another one I thought captured Goldy’s sentiment. I’d still champion for Josh Holloway to play Pete or Daniel Craig, if Josh isn’t availabe!

 

9.   Do you belong to a writers group or have critique partners. Do you enjoy their input or do you find it hard to take criticism?

 

I take criticism really well if I trust the person. Coming from a background in theater, I’m quite used to having a director tell me how to make my interpretation better. And in writing I feel like a moldable baby sometimes, especially with my critique group. They’ve been writing all their lives. I’m lucky to have their wise and sage advice and they tell me that I bring a certain something to the mix when it’s time to do their work. We meet every two weeks to work on our stuff and with 6 of us, there is always something to do even if it’s talking about marketing. Two are published novelists and the rest are on their way.

BLURB:

After a stalker's attack, rock star Goldy Crossland flees L.A. for her secluded lake house in Northern Washington. Retired from the music business, she hopes to avoid both the press and her psychotic fan. But obscurity leaves her restless, and when a mysterious--and disturbingly handsome--new neighbor moves in, she can't resist spying.

Pete Bayer is undeniably attractive, but Goldy quickly realizes there's something strange going on in the log house across the bay. Is he a member of the paparazzi? Or a much more sinister threat? Despite her suspicions, Goldy can't deny her fascination with him.

When the press discovers her hideout, it's Pete who offers an escape route, but it comes with a price. Unwillingly drawn into his dangerous world, Goldy soon learns the reason behind Pete's secrecy--and her crush on her charming neighbor takes a deadly turn.

 

 

BUY LINKS:

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

Necessary Detour http://amzn.com/B00AU50M76

 

WHERE KIM CAN BE FOUND ONLINE:

www.kimhornsby.net

www.kimhornsby.blogspot.com

http://twitter.com/kimhornsby