Pen Name: Doctor Chicken VBT

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.

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?

KC Burn, thanks so much for stopping by. So, how did you get started writing?

When I was 10, my dad bought me Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings, and I loved it so much, I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to write books that made people happy. I wanted to give back some of the pleasure authors have given to me.

What was the inspiration for your book?

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. These included:

-a cat named Bob Marley (just a phrase that got stuck in my head, I don’t know from where)

-a pair of boxers I saw discarded in a hotel parking lot

-a friend who had a sucky apartment exactly like Stratford Dale’s

-a late night commercial for adult toys/videos promising “discreet shipping” and me wondering what “indiscreet shipping” would look like.

Finally, for my previous book (Cast Off), I’d been trying to come up with a name for a club and ended up online at a random word generator.  Doctor and Chicken came up together and it was like I’d been hit by lightning. Those two words enabled me to take all those little snippets and combine them in a cohesive whole, although the “indiscreet shipping” did not take the form I had originally imagined.

What’s the one genre you haven’t written in yet that you’d like to?

Actually, there are two genres. I’d love to write high fantasy and mystery. I’ve tried both, but I didn’t feel like I’d done a good job, so they’re languishing on my hard drive. I love to read both and I just wish I could write them as well.

Are there any genres you won’t read or write in? Why?

I don’t read or write young adult. I’ve tried, I really have, but it just doesn’t appeal to me, and honestly, I’m not sure it would have even when I’d been the target age group.

So, what are you working on right now? Got any releases planned, or still writing?

Right now, I’m taking another stab at the cozy mystery, but I’m also adding a paranormal romance element. Here’s hoping that all works out! I have another sci-fi, called Voodoo ‘n’ Vice, out in May, and another contemporary, called Rainbow Blues, out in June/July.

Alright, now for some totally random, fun questions. Favorite color?

Purple – which will be obvious if you check out my website : )

Favorite movie?

Just one? Impossible to choose! But if I have to say just one, let’s go with Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Book that inspired you to become an author?

Already answered, but the book that got me into romance was Johanna Lindsey’s Gentle Rogue. I’d never read a romance before that, and I have to admit, it was totally the Fabio cover that convinced me to buy it.

Alright, you have one superpower. What is it?

Invisibility, hands down. I love the idea of being able to observe people while being unobserved, or being able to get into places I’m not supposed to be.

You can have dinner with any 3 people, dead, alive, fictitious, etc. Who are they?

Amelia Peabody (from Elizabeth Peters’ Egyptian mysteries), Vanyel (from Mercedes Lackey’s The Last Herald Mage), and Ford Prefect (from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams).

Last question: Which of your characters are you most like and how/why?

Although I put a little of myself in all of my characters, there aren’t any that I think are particularly similar to me. But if you notice any of my characters having issues with trust or with being betrayed – that’s all me. I have difficulty trusting people and getting close to people. Because of that, I know that shows up in a lot of my characters as well.

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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.

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Buy Links:

Amazon     |     Dreamspinner Press