Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Pen Name: Doctor Chicken by K.C. Burn ~ Goddess Fish Virtual Book Tour ~ Giveaway


Pen Name: Doctor Chicken
by K.C. Burn


The author will be awarding a $20 Amazon Gift Card to one randomly drawn commenter and a $20 Starbucks Gift Card to a second randomly drawn commenter during the tour. A randomly drawn commenter at each stop will be awarded an autographed copy of the book (international giveaway). Please be sure to leave a comment below, along with your email address so you may be contacted if you are one of the lucky winners. To increase you chances of winning please visit the other tour stops. You may find those locations here... http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/01/virtual-book-tour-pen-name-doctor.html

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INTERVIEW: 


Crystal: Today as part of this Goddess Fish Virtual Book Tour, I have the opportunity to interview KC Burn. Welcome KC, I'm so happy to have you here today. Would you share a little bit about yourself with us today?

KC: I’m KC Burn, I write gay romance for Dreamspinner Press, Carina Press, and Loose Id. I’m Canadian and have lived most of my life in Toronto. I ended up moving to Florida seven years ago for my hubby’s job, which has since moved us to California. No kids, one spoiled cat. I’ve been published since 2010 but I’ve been writing for a lot longer than that. In my spare time (what little there is of it) I like to watch TV & movies – I love B horror movies, action & comedy – and I also play board games. Settlers of Catan is one of my favourites, although we just bought Fortune and Glory, which is a lot of fun.

Crystal: Where did you come up with the idea for Pen Name – Doctor Chicken?

KC: I have a collection of snippets – ideas, plots, characters, scene settings, dialogue. These snippets are things that I think I’d like to work into a book one day, but they don’t fit whatever I’m working on at the time. When I was working on my last book, Cast Off, I needed a name for a gay club and I was having difficulty thinking of something. I ended up on a random word generator that spit out random words in pairs. The second I saw “Doctor Chicken” paired together, it was an epiphany. I suddenly realized how I could incorporate a number of the idea snippets I’d been saving (like, a cat named Bob Marley, underwear in the driveway, adult toys used to embarrass an ex, and fun with typos). Thus, Doctor Chicken was born.

Crystal:  What are you currently working on?

KC: I have a couple of things I’m working on right now. One is an erotic paranormal romance/cozy mystery. I’m just jamming genres together to see how they fit! I hope it works! The other is a contemporary trilogy about three unemployed guys who go into business together, each of them finding their significant other while trying to get the business going.

Crystal: Do you have any special routine that you follow when you are writing? 

KC: No, not really. I like to listen to music when I’m working, but I write when I can fit it in around my day job and my husband. I aim to write two thousand words a day, but I don’t manage that as consistently as I’d like. I also have to figure out how to type around a cat that wants to be in my lap all the time!

Crystal: Did you have to do a lot of research for this book or any other? If so do you have a fascinating fact that you have learned you would like to share with us?

KC: I don’t do huge amounts of research, however, probably the most in-depth development I’ve done was setting up my alien species in my Galactic Alliance series. I have a degree in Biology & Physical Anthropology. So basically, I used what I know about evolution, genetics, and animal behavior (along with a little additional research) to create a believable evolutionary history for a species that developed into a sentient, bipedal race over time. Although I’ve never written a mÈnage, I set up my species so that it requires a triad to reproduce. It’s only a matter of time…

Crystal: Who are some of your favorite authors that you like to read?

KC: So, so many! Agatha Christie, Mercedes Lackey, James Rollins, Douglas Adams, Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels, Simon R Green, Anne McCaffrey, Johanna Lindsey, Suzanne Brockmann, Josh Lanyon, ZA Maxfield, Mary Calmes, Amy Lane. This isn’t an exhaustive list, by the way.

Crystal: Is there a genre you haven't written that you would like to try?


KC: Mystery & high fantasy are definitely some that I’d like to try. I also wouldn’t mind writing an action/adventure thriller. 

Crystal:  Do you have a favorite scene you would like to share with us?

KC: Just a little set up for this scene from Pen Name – Doctor Chicken: it occurs right after a disastrous first date for Stratford, and just before he meets Vinnie, the guy he decides is the one.

“ABBY, I swear, I’m never going to find my own Thad.”
Stratford should have waited until he’d gotten home to call Abby, because the wind was going to freeze his fingers into a permanent curl around his phone. Gloves, scarfs, and wind-resistant fabrics hadn’t suited his super-sexy Barry-bait outfit. Unfortunately, the Barry bait had been too enticing. Or the wrong kind of enticing. Sluts might wear shirts and pants as tight as his, but they didn’t wear bow ties, did they? At least he was able to grab a latte on the way home. Aside from being one of his few expensive indulgences, it was keeping his left hand warmish.
“Of course you will. Are you sure you’re not judging him too harshly? You sometimes have unrealistic expectations.”
He snorted. No one had to know he’d had a sneaking little thought that he’d so dazzle Barry with his erudition and joie de vivre that the man would immediately become smitten and fall in love. Besides, Abby already knew he was a hopeless romantic.
“There was a certain romantic touch to the butt plug discussion over shrimp devolving into a dessert discussion on whether silicone, rubber, or glass was preferable for dildos. A dead giveaway, if I’d been paying attention. I mean, anyone who has enough information to write a dissertation on dildo production materials is either way too oversexed for me or hasn’t had enough sex with other people… and probably for an excellent reason, as I discovered.”
An older man in a fedora, walking in the opposite direction, gave Stratford a raised-brow look, and Stratford simply rolled his eyes and shrugged.
“Ford, you slut. You didn’t! On a first date?” Abby’s light, teasing tone hadn’t the slightest hint of censure, but it could have. After all, Stratford had had his slutty moments, to be sure, but slutty wasn’t the best way to snag a boyfriend. He didn’t think. Or at least, not too slutty. What man didn’t like a hint of slut? Monogamous slut. If there was such a thing.

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BLURB:


Sometimes Stratford Dale feels like Doctor Chicken consumes his life. It’s his pen name for a series of wildly popular children’s books. They were his brainchild; he meant for them to be a way to pay his many bills while he pursued his dream of publishing graphic novels. But the Doctor Chicken contract was a raw deal. Instead, he churns out book after book for a pittance, leaving him broke and no closer to his dreams.

Stratford’s dreams of love have fared no better, but he’s still trying. After yet another disastrous date, he’s intrigued by a man going into a cooking class—so he takes the class too. Vinnie Giani is a successful, self-made man who is charmed by Stratford’s bow ties, sharp humor, and clumsiness—which leads to an opportunity to take Stratford in for stitches. Vinnie is, above all, responsible, having taken on the care of his mother and sisters from a young age. Perhaps it’s natural when he begins to treat Stratford more as a child who needs a parent than as an equal partner. But when Vinnie tries to “fix” Stratford’s career woes—including the Doctor Chicken problem—and ends up making the situation worse, their fledgling relationship may not withstand the the strain created by blame and lies.


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EXCERPT:

ABBY, I swear, I’m never going to find my own Thad.”

Stratford should have waited until he’d gotten home to call Abby, because the wind was going to freeze his fingers into a permanent curl around his phone. Gloves, scarfs, and wind-resistant fabrics hadn’t suited his super-sexy Barry-bait outfit. Unfortunately, the Barry bait had been too enticing. Or the wrong kind of enticing. Sluts might wear shirts and pants as tight as his, but they didn’t wear bow ties, did they? At least he was able to grab a latte on the way home. Aside from being one of his few expensive indulgences, it was keeping his left hand warmish.

“Of course you will. Are you sure you’re not judging him too harshly? You sometimes have unrealistic expectations.”

He snorted. No one had to know he’d had a sneaking little thought that he’d so dazzle Barry with his erudition and joie de vivre that the man would immediately become smitten and fall in love. Besides, Abby already knew he was a hopeless romantic.

“There was a certain romantic touch to the butt plug discussion over shrimp devolving into a dessert discussion on whether silicone, rubber, or glass was preferable for dildos. A dead giveaway, if I’d been paying attention. I mean, anyone who has enough information to write a dissertation on dildo production materials is either way too oversexed for me or hasn’t had enough sex with other people… and probably for an excellent reason, as I discovered.”

An older man in a fedora, walking in the opposite direction, gave Stratford a raised-brow look, and Stratford simply rolled his eyes and shrugged.

“Ford, you slut. You didn’t! On a first date?” Abby’s light, teasing tone hadn’t the slightest hint of censure, but it could have. After all, Stratford had had his slutty moments, to be sure, but slutty wasn’t the best way to snag a boyfriend. He didn’t think. Or at least, not too slutty. What man didn’t like a hint of slut? Monogamous slut. If there was such a thing.

“Uh, hello, you still there?”

“What, oh, yes. Sorry.” Stratford had to stop drifting to his fantasies of a fairytale ending.

“You dog. You did it, didn’t you? And how was it?”

“No. Really, I didn’t. I mean, he blew me a little bit.”

This time it was Abby who snorted. “Blew you a little bit? Kind of like being a little bit preggers, you know.”

“It’s never a good sign when you have to say ‘watch the teeth,’ followed closely by ‘don’t bite that.’ Puts a damper on things.”

“You think?” Loud gales of laughter buffeted him across the wireless waves, and Stratford pursed his lips. Why was his dating life such a fucking joke?

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:


KC Burn has been writing for as long as she can remember and is a sucker for happy endings (of all kinds). After moving from Toronto to Florida for her husband to take a dream job, she discovered a love of gay romance and fulfilled a dream of her own – getting published. After a few years of editing web content by day, and neglecting her supportive, understanding hubby and needy cat at night to write stories about men loving men, she was uprooted yet again and now resides in California. Writing is always fun and rewarding, but writing about her guys is the most fun she’s had in a long time, and she hopes you’ll enjoy them as much as she does.

Website: http://kcburn.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorkcburn


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kcburn


Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GU9P6WW/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=B00GU9P6WW&link_code=as3&tag=revibycrys-20


Dreamspinner Press: 


http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4395

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16 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing KC with us! I loved learning new things!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for hosting, Crystal! And thanks Jennifer :)

    I'll be in and out today as the day job allows.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice scene

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love COP OUT, and am eager to read this story!

    vitajex(At)Aol(Dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Awesome interview, thanks for the giveaway!

    saavedralupita1@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Loved the excerpt, thanks so much for sharing it and for the giveaway!

    jaidahsmommy(at)comcast(dot)net

    ReplyDelete
  8. I enjoyed this story, I thought it was such a fun read!

    elewkf1 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love the excerpt!
    jmartin77(at)roadrunner(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  10. thank you for the giveaway! love the excerpt

    elena_istomina at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  11. Interesting interview. I'm always interested in knowing how much research an authors does. Every author is different of course and there's nothing wrong with using what you know. Thank you for the excerpt =)

    humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  12. Awesome title and great excerpt. Thanks for sharing.
    ilookfamous@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. I am hooked! This is definitely a must buy. Loved the interview. Thank you for the chance to enter.

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  14. Again, thank you all for stopping by! Grand Prize winners are Amanda S and Erin H. The winner of the print copy is Jenny Martin - congratulations! I'll be contacting winners via email.

    http://kcburn.com/2014/02/blog-tour-winners/

    ReplyDelete