K-Horn is retired from teaching English and Communications at the high school level and is now an adjunct professor at Capital University. When she was teaching, she became concerned about teens and prescription drugs. It served to inspire her to write Downward Spiral to alert teens and their parents about the perils of prescription drugs as entertainment or to take unprescribed medications for anxiety or stress.
As she researched Downward Spiral, she met Sargeant Michael Powell. He came to the high school where she was teaching and gave a presentation about drug paraphernalia and the current street drugs.
K-Horn was fascinated by his stories about teens and that teens know a lot more about drugs than do parents and teachers. Her recent project, Mistakes Can Be Deadly, is based on their experiences as undercover officers.