Meet Kim Hornsby

My guest today is author Kim Hornsby. As you will see, Kim has had an interesting life.

Welcome, Kim, please tell us about yourself.

I’m a mother of two kids, ages 11 and 16, I have two crazy dogs, drive a mini van and have a very messy house. I used to sing in the Hawaiian hotels, drive a sportscar and sign autographs at the grocery store. Sigh. Now I’m known as my kids’ mom. I love to hike, camp, scuba dive, waterski, swim, write books and watch my kids do anything that makes them happy. I’ve been married 21 years to a very funny real estate agent in the Seattle area and have a wonderfully privileged life with exceptional health and happiness.

What does your family think of your writing?

My husband thought it was admirable when I wrote my first book. He was proud of me. Then after 60ish rejections from agents, he must’ve lost his enthusiasm. Years later, I hear he resented all the time I spent writing. He wanted me to get a real job but I stuck with it, wrote more books, took classes, went to conferences, even got a real job for 15 months selling clothes at Macy’s while I wrote in the off-time. He had five years of thinking I was wasting my time and resenting the hours I spent working on my novels. Now he’s proud. Recently he gave me this beautiful laptop I’m typing on right now, and a card that said I am Wonder Woman. It’s been a long road getting him to come around though. The kids think it’s great. My eleven year old daughter is a pretty wonderful writer, herself. And my son wants me to do something that makes me happy, aside from following him around and embarrassing him. (teenager)

How long does it take you to write a book?

I’ve written three books and although I could stop working on my manuscript after a year, I tinker and fiddle and edit and tweak for another year. I’m hoping to get faster at it. Right now I’m experimenting with short stories-contemporary romance and they take about a month to write. But they lack the suspense, mystery, twists and turns that my full novels have.

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

I’ve completed three full novels (at 90,000 words) and several novellas. My favorite has to be the first one The Need for Something Sweet, because I wrote it straight from my heart, about adopting a baby in Taiwan. Even though it’s fiction, I had just come back from Taiwan with our baby girl when I started the novel. That book is currently in the process of being edited and fixed and will be published in July. The writing wasn’t strong back then and the story needed some work to get ready for publication.

That said, my favorite in some ways is The Dream Jumper’s Promise because it is my best novel, writing-wise. Now I feel badly for Necessary Detour, my second novel, and have to say that it is my favorite middle child novel because it was pursued by a publisher and gave me confidence to self-publish my other works.

What do you think makes a good story?

Conflict, twists and turns, a little sexy stuff and a goal that must be obtained or else! For me, I like turning pages because I have to know the answer to some burning question that is driving me crazy. And I like a romance somewhere in the story line.

What is the best part of writing for you?

Getting to sit down. (kidding) I love the thrill of making up the story as I go, that moment when something pops into your head you didn’t plan and you know it’s an awesome idea.

What are some jobs you've done that would end up in a book?

Scuba Instructor (The Dream Jumper’s Promise), Rock Singer (Necessary Detour) Mother (The Need for Something Sweet) White water kayaking instructor, Stage Actress, Submarine Commander (kidding)

If I was a first time reader of your books, which one would you recommend I start with and why?

I’d recommend The Dream Jumper’s Promise because it’s the cheapest, has the strongest writing and has 99 Reviews at 4.7 stars. It must be enjoyable because I don’t have 99 friends to write all those reviews. As most writers will tell you, friends are often the last to write a review unless they are your BFF’s and realize how much you need those reviews up there. Getting neighbors and acquaintances to take the time to write a review is hard work. So if you started with TDJP, you would probably be inclined to read the other one- Necessary Detour. And Dream Jumper is the first in a series. The second one is coming out late 2013 so you’d have the promise of another story coming with the same characters!

That all sounds very logical. LOL Now I hope you’ll share the blurb and an excerpt from The Dream Jumper’s Promise.

Blurb: The Dream Jumper’s Promise

AMAZON BESTSELLER! 

Nominated for BEST INDIE FIRST BOOK by Indie Rom/Con

AMAZON BESTSELLING AUTHOR

Tina Greene can't accept that her husband's body simply disappeared the day he went surfing off Maui and never returned. Struggling to pull her Lahaina SCUBA shop from bankruptcy, she is haunted by the idea he didn't die. When Jamey Dunn, an old boyfriend, walks back into her life and offers to help, things change. Inconvenient feelings for Jamey surface and Tina tries to ignore her attraction to him. Lifelike dreams of her husband have the dive instructor questioning her sanity and leaning heavily on Hank's best friend, Noble. At every turn, Jamey and Noble clash, both desperate to help Tina. When Jamey discovers her dreams hold clues to Hank's disappearance, he reveals his strange ability to enter dreams. Trusting him to enter her subconscious doesn't come easily, and as Tina, Noble and Jamey decipher the mystery of Hank's disappearance, danger sets in to reveal that one person is flirting with insanity, one is a traitor, and one is an imposter.

Excerpt:

“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.

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

Where can readers find you?

At my laptop in the kitchen, near the giraffe statue, by the door. Or, if you can’t make it to Seattle, you can find me at www.kimhornsby.net, www.kimhornsby.blogspot.com , www.facebook.com/kimhornsbyauthor, www.twitter.com/kimhornsby  www.goodreads.com/authorkimhornsby,   

Thanks for having me Diane!

It’s been my pleasure, Kim.