Showing posts with label #authorkimhornsby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #authorkimhornsby. Show all posts

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Kim Hornsby

Kim Hornsby is an USA Today and Amazon #1 Bestselling Author, having shared space on the top five bestseller list with J.D. Robb, Stephen King and Nicolas Sparks. 

To read more about Kim, her blog posts, and books, please click HERE .

Making Decisions ~ by Joanne Jaytanie


Perseverance doesn’t always pay off, but sometimes it does.


I count myself fortunate that the last 30 days have been filled with firsts – in the best of ways. This story began three months ago. And, I thought long and hard over the decisions I faced and realized that if I were to accept the opportunities I was invited to partake in, it would mean sticking to a rigorous schedule, with little to no wiggle room. 




In late August, I was invited to write in a collection with nine other authors. I’ve mentioned this collection in my two latest posts, Never Say Never and An author’s life and as with most collections, that meant writing a story to a theme that was chosen by the group. I didn’t commit to the collection immediately. Instead, I mulled it over for a few days. I really wanted to take part, but I’m not a fast writer, and my process can often make for many a re-write. What if I couldn’t come up with an idea? What if I couldn’t get the book done by the deadline? I drug my feet for days trying to decide what to do. In the meantime, the group was tossing around different Christmas themes. Among the mix was an idea of having all the stories take place around an inn or a lodge. This type of theme gave us considerable latitude with our stories, and the decision was made to name the collection: Christmas at Mistletoe Lodge. 

I started to think about my Christmas collection Forever Christmas in Glenville. If I was going to write a Christmas story, I wanted it to also work as a book three in this collection for two reasons: First, we all agreed that after January 2020, Christmas at Mistletoe Lodge would be taken down. Each of us would then be able to publish our individual stories. When this time comes, I don’t want a standalone Christmas novella. I want a novella that I can incorporate into my existing collection. Secondly, I wouldn’t have to start from scratch. Writing the new novella as book three of Forever Christmas in Glenville would provide me with a setting, backstory, and characters. It couldn’t have been more perfect. I’d wanted to write Gina’s story, and this theme was tailor-made for her. So, I committed to the collection.

Now I just had to come up with a plotline for this new novella, which I titled Christmas Chemistry. Two thoughts kept tugging at me: First, Gina, a character in Forever Christmas in Glenville, manages the main house that is the heart of the Christmas tree farm at Forever Christmas. The second was the antique reception desk at the main house at Forever Christmas. I can’t go into any more details without giving away too much of the story. I do find it peculiar that I tend to leave a few threads in nearly every story I write that I can later pick up and sew into an entirely new sequel.

Over the next two months, I wrote and promoted Christmas at Mistletoe Lodge. We promoted the collection in every way we could think of; a free cookbook - Christmas at Mistletoe Lodge Cookbook, media kits, blog tours, Facebook groups and parties, tons of book sites, teasers on all our social media sites, and postcards we handed out. Previously scheduled book signings and events featured our collection. We even had a book trailer. Within days of the collection’s release it became an Amazon bestseller. We dedicated a great deal of time and work to this collection, and in doing so, we achieved the goal that brought us all together to begin with – USA Today Best Selling Author!

Taking part in Christmas at Mistletoe Lodge has been an exhilarating ride and I’m thankful and honored to have been invited to be a part of this adventure. If you'd like to read more about the collection, including excerpts from all ten stories, click here.

Click here to read excepts and find out more about the authors.


Sabrina York – Cooped Up For Christmas — It was supposed to be an easy gig—working as a concierge at a luxury lodge for the super-rich over Christmas—but then he had to show up. The boy who broke my heart all those years ago. But former Navy SEAL Cameron Cooper isn't exactly a boy anymore.

Tamara Ferguson – A Kiss Under A Blue Christmas Moon — Blue Moon’s bandleader, Noah’s been crazy about Mia since the moment they met at a magical beach concert, but Mia’s father sabotages their romance before Noah goes to war. Six years after escaping her controlling father, Mia’s returned to Crystal Rock to find Lieutenant Noah Erikson’s never stopped loving her.

Jen Talty – Alaskan Christmas – Flynn Wagner sets off to the frozen tundra and the Mistletoe Lodge, prepared for endless stories about her mother. However, nothing can prepare her for coming face to face with the one man she couldn’t get out from under her skin. At the lodge, Colton Granger never expected to find the woman who had changed his life forever in high-heeled boots, a winter coat that wouldn’t keep a person warm, and a killer smile that would soon melt his heart.

Natalie Ann – Christmas Love – Former model, Noelle Bennett has decided she wants to be behind the camera instead of in front of it. Just her and the woods around her little home, snapping pictures of the winter landscape and historic Inns. Then how did sexy veterinarian Dr. Chase Martin talk her into adopting a puppy and wondering if the peaceful life wasn't what she wanted all along?

Pam Binder – Christmas Makeover — Mistaken as a wedding and events planner, the out-of-work dog walker, is hired to transform a rundown inn into a Medieval themed-wedding destination. But the owner’s handsome son, Owen, has other plans for the Inn.

Tammy L. Grace – Christmas in Snow Valley — Fifteen years ago, he broke her heart. She never moved on. Will a little Christmas magic bring them back together?

Jacki Delecki – Mission: Impossible to Wed — A wedding designer and a Special Ops soldier are thrown together for a country wedding that has them both thinking they’ll never get married.

Joanne Jaytanie – Christmas Chemistry — It's nothing but an old tavern. But to the Jamersons and Brocks, it's a treasured history, a precious legacy. Can Gina Jamerson and Owen Brock meet in the middle or will their families ruin any chance of compromise?

Kim Hornsby – The Christmas Challenge A hermit blogger attends a destination wedding as part of a Christmas challenge and meets someone who gets her heart racing again only to discover he has a game-changing secret—about her.

Lauren Gayle – A Southern Lights Christmas When a rare winter storm covers their Christmas getaway with bone-chilling snow and ice, two strangers are challenged with the reality of winter in a southern town.




Chemistry and Christmas draw them together, but family loyalty could keep them on opposing sides.


After the loss of Gina’s dad, her mom and siblings needed her more than ever. So Gina uprooted a life she loved and moved to Glenville, Washington. She’s become immersed in the charming town and its heartwarming people who accept and love her. Gina never imagined she’d find her forever career managing the main house at Forever Christmas tree farm. Now a popular overnight destination, the main house needs a proper name. Searching for the perfect name, Gina discovers that generations ago her family was quite prominent in Glenville.

Owen Brock has built a thriving law practice in Phoenix, where the weather is always perfect. Phoenix is also as far away as possible from the frigid winters of Glenville—and his overbearing family. His mother’s health is declining, so Owen decides to return home only long enough to assess mom’s condition and to help his family reclaim their history lost in a card game decades ago.

He never dreamed he’d be battling with Gina Jamerson over an old tavern worth nothing to anyone except the Jamersons and Brocks. 




Until next time...
Joanne

Beach Houses ~ by Kim Hornsby

Beach Houses. I love 'em. I love the thought of 'em. I love the light blues, the wood, the palm trees, the salty breezes, driftwood, sand, hammocks, and inside the walls and under beach house roofs I love those signs that read "Everything is Better at The Beach."

If I had a beach house, I'd write books looking at the ocean, drink gin and tonics, wear stripes, play guitar on the front steps, sing scat, wear coral-colored lipstick, eat papaya salads, twirl in long skirts on the porch.


What would you do?
Here's some photos to inspire you...


I call this one Frond Cottage



I call this one Blue Bungalow




This one is The Hangin' House




I call this Seagull Hideaway




This one is Sandy Shack




This one is Seashell Cottage




Begonia Cottage




This one is called New Beginnings.

Do you have a favorite?


Have You Seen or Heard a Ghost? ~by Kim Hornsby


I write ghosts or unexplainable occurrences into my books and I’m not going to brag or apologize for it. I just do. I never started out to write about ghosts and I’m not a freaky ghost-loving fanatic, but those things just seem to creep into most of my books whether they were included in the character list or the original storyline, or not. I’ll be writing a perfectly sweet little story and the next thing I know something moves the curtains or there is a tap at the window that can’t be explained.


When I was a child, I was very frightened of ghosts. Even as a teen, I remember being told to say out loud that I did not want any ghost to present themselves to me. Apparently, the spirits that surround you will protect you from anyone coming through if you let your parameters be known. I was not open to messages, or visions from the other side. At all. I believed and I was terrified. I was a reluctant believer.

My grandmother was a believer and when my grandfather died, she felt him in the bed with her for the nights afterwards. I grew up hearing these stories. When she died, my aunt tried to contact her with an Ouija Board and a message came through for me that only my grandmother and I knew about. 

               Kim Ghost Hunting 
Over the years, I’ve had a few occurrences, including the vision of my recently deceased dog going around the corner a few days after his death. I saw him and so did my daughter who was ten at the time. We both couldn’t believe it. Now, it seems like we might have imagined it except for the fact that we both saw him.

I wrote my latest book series about a woman who was used by her mother as a child to do ghost readings in houses. Bryndle Moody is all grown up now and has a YouTube show called Moody Paranormal Investigations in which she investigates ghosts and films her findings. She’s a medium, which is different from a psychic, although she is also psychic. And, she’s newly blind. When she inherits a house on the Oregon Coast with a ghost that gives her back her sight in his presence, she never wants to let him go. But his request is to find his bones from 1850 to let him pass on.

I’m not sure where I got this story from, but it’s now evolved into 4 short books that involve ghosts, mystery, and lots of snarky humor from Bryndle. For this series, I drew upon stories my readers tell me about their experiences with ghosts to write a series with no gore, horror, little swearing and very little hanky-panky until the 4th book and by then you are ready for it. It’s a continuing series with cliff-hanger endings that lead you to the next book. If you pick up the first one, which is only .99, you might need to keep going to the next. I keep my books cheap so everyone can enjoy my stories.

Have you ever seen or heard a ghost? I’d be very surprised if you haven’t whether you knew it or not. Do tell!


Summer Cocktails! ~ by Kim Hornsby


With summer’s warmer weather quickly approaching, I’m trying to get my backyard in shape for living on the patio from sunup to sundown. I like to write on my laptop at the backyard table staring at the garden. As a matter of fact, I’m staring at my fishpond right now watching hummingbirds feed at our little red feeders all over the property.


What I really want after mowing the yard, cleaning the fishpond and re-screening one of the patio doors, is an exotic cocktail. You know those drinks that have fun names, are pink and come with a slice of something citrus on the side? I love trying new drinks like this one my writer friends at a retreat ordered for me called Dream Come True.

Here’s a few cocktails you might enjoy this summer, whether you’re inside getting quietly smashed in front of the TV or outside with friends enjoying the fresh air in your backyard!

The Whiskey Smash

Fresh Lemon Juice
Whiskey
Mint
Simple Syrup or Agave Syrup

The picture is a bit misleading since I used a blend of Whiskey and Rye, an all Rye version is fantastic as well. Either muddle the Mint at the bottom of the glass or give it a good clap between your hands to release the oils. Fill the glass with ice and fill it 2/3 with Lemon Juice (about 3-4 lemons) and 1/3 Whiskey. It is pretty tart as is, so a shot of Simple Syrup helps to balance out the cocktail.


FIRST BLOOM          
      
2 oz. Material Vodka
75 oz. Lemon Juice
75 oz. Lavender Mint Syrup
5 oz. St. Germain


Combine vodka, lemon juice, lavender mint syrup and St. Germain in shaker with ice.

Shake for 20 seconds.

Strain into a coupe glass.

Garnish with a cherry blossom sprig if you have one.


                               
The Paloma


2 ounces silver tequila
2 ounces fresh grapefruit juice
½ ounce fresh lime juice
¼ ounce St. Germain
¼ ounce simple syrup
Lime or grapefruit wheel, for garnish








In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine the tequila with the grapefruit juice, lime juice, St. Germain and simple syrup. Shake well and strain into an ice-filled bucket glass. Serve immediately, garnished with a lime or grapefruit wheel.


                                   Mojito Slushie 

1/2 c. fresh lime juice (about 4 to 6 limes)
1/4 c. agave
1/3 c. fresh mint leaves
Zest of 2 limes
1/2 c. light rum
ice
Mint sprigs, for garnish
Lime wedges, for garnish


Add the lime juice, agave, mint leaves, lime zest, and rum to a blender. Blend until smooth. Fill the blender to top with ice and blend until slushy.

Pour into glasses, garnishing each with a sprig of mint and a lime slice.

Enjoy, Everyone! 

Do you have a favorite summer drink with or without alcohol?





Writing a Hallmark Christmas Movie~by Kim Hornsby

 I’m not going to tell you that I have a Christmas movie slated to start filming in June, a time of year when fake snow must be purchased by production companies and strewn about the Atlanta countryside. Or that we might just be watching this fictitious movie in the Hallmark lineup at the end of the year. 

However, I am a screenwriter and when it was suggested by my agent to write a Hallmark Christmas movie because the demand for 100 fresh scripts for 2019 was just announced, I jumped on the bandwagon and started typing words like “mistletoe” and “gingerbread.” 





I had one screenplay adapted from my novella, Christmas in Whistler, but it didn’t fit the template for Hallmark, with too much drinking of wine, nooky, and an antagonist that was just plain nasty. The second screenplay I pounded out last fall, is a wonderful story of patience and benevolence and hopefully will be sold to a cracker jack production company who does these Hallmark movies, but the female lead must sing like a Country star and not all Hallmark actresses can achieve that. Christmas in Crystal Creek, is a script for Carrie Underwood or an up and coming country singer looking for exposure.

As soon as I finished that one, I moved on to the next one, Christmas at Snowflake Lodge, the story of a double-booked snowy lodge where two groups must co-exist over Christmas, with opposing agendas. That one was firstly offered to a producer who was ripe for this story and interest was sparked.

Writing a Hallmark Christmas movie is not as easy as it looks when the writer is used to a lifestyle that isn’t the Hallmark way and can’t be shown on their channel because families are watching together. I had to take out all cuss words, throw the alcohol out, enroll everyone in church (or at least follow church values) and hide all piercings, tattoos and cleavage. No longer could my protagonists be badasses with dreams of revenge or one-night stands. They now had to want something purer and family oriented. My movies had to have a teachable moment for the kids watching with their parents. This was not easy for me because I don’t write for kids. 

The other thing that was hard was all the Christmas. I love Christmas like most people, but these movies are centered around ice skating on the lake, wrapping presents, gingerbread house contests, sledding in the snow, community activities that are totally decked out in Christmas garlands and jingle bells. The protagonist must work towards her dream among all this Christmas all the while falling in love with the guy who seems to be opposing her dream. There are only so many Christmas activities and things to do in the snow!

So, friends, I can’t tell you that I have this movie being filmed in June but I can tell you that I’m waiting for an email this week from my agent, and that there just might be a movie showing in December that features a lodge double booked by a caterer and her Christmas-loving family and an architect and his team hoping to avoid Christmas and work during the holidays. 




Boats, Boots, Bikes

Sign at the Stehekin Valley Ranch cookhouse. Good eatin' in Stehekin.   The Stehekin ferry Early this month we vacationed in a location...