A warm Love Bytes welcome to author KC Burn joining us today to talk about her new release (which releases Today!! ) “Tartan Candy”.
KC also brought with her a wonderful giveaway so be sure to check out how to enter!
Welcome KC 🙂
Big happy caring families. In my Toronto Tales series, I have the O’Donnells, a big Irish family who provide exceptional support for Kurt and Ian. I’ve gotten a number of wonderful comments about how much people like the O’Donnells, especially Mama O’Donnell. In Tartan Candy, I introduce another big family, the Escobars, and I hope I again succeeded in bringing to life vibrant, loving familial relationships. Family is actually a tricky thing for me to write about because I don’t have much experience with families like I’ve written in these books.
I’m an only child, my parents were divorced, and my cousins are all at least ten years older than me. Their kids are all at least ten years younger than me. We moved a lot while I was a kid, so I didn’t have much stability. One year, I started a new school. About three weeks into the school year, on a Thursday, I went home and my parents told me I was going to start at a new school the next day. Let me repeat that: I was going to start at a new school on a Friday, three weeks after the school year started. Two new schools and two new sets of kids in the same MONTH. Ugh. Lucky I didn’t end up a serial killer.
My mother has never been a warm woman. She spent most of my formative years belitting me and pecking away at my self esteem (ditto the serial killer thing). If it hadn’t been for the friendships formed at the very school I started on that fateful Friday – friends I have to this day over thirty years later – I don’t know where I would have been. My dad did what he could to mitigate my mother’s actions, but at the end of the day, mom ruled the roost with lacquered talons, that god forbid anyone be responsible for breaking.
As you can imagine, I don’t know what it means to have parents who have your back no matter what. Sad but true. Lifelong friendships, though? That I do know about, and even when my characters aren’t brought up with a good family life, I try to give them a friend they can rely on, who’ll be there through everything. In Tartan Candy, Raven is especially in need of a good friend, and I’ve hopefully given Caleb the kind of family life I never had.
Between my friends and an awesome hubby who has stuck around for 24 years so far, I ended up mostly okay. I think. Since it’s hard in life to get by without some help sometime, let’s give a shout out to someone in your life you can rely on, or who has helped you through a rough patch – friends, family, anyone.
One lucky commenter will win a $10 All Romance eBooks GC.
Tartan Candy
Finlay McIntyre (aka Raven) is a successful adult film star with a penchant for kilts, until an accident cuts short his stardom and leaves him with reduced sex appeal, lowered self-esteem, and no job. He knew his porn career wouldn’t last forever, but he wasn’t prepared for retirement at twenty-eight. While trying to figure out the rest of his life, Raven attends a high school reunion. That’s when a malfunctioning AC unit in his hotel room changes everything.
Caleb Sanderson, an entrepreneur with his own HVAC business, has no idea what to expect when he steps into Raven’s hotel room to fix his AC unit. They’re attracted to each other, but Caleb, closeted, can’t afford a gay relationship, not with his mom pressuring him to produce grandchildren. If he wants to keep Raven—who no closet could hold—he’ll need to tell his family the truth. But Raven has a few secrets of his own. He refuses to reveal his porn past to Caleb, a past that might be the final obstacle to Caleb and Raven having any kind of relationship.
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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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A pencant for kilt, eh? Hi-five, Finlay – me too! 😉 and that blurb is reaally catchy.
Happy release day, KC! Thank you for the post and a chance of the giveaway.
LOL – thank you!
HOw can you resist any one in a kilt?
debby236 at hotmail dot com
The answer is, you can’t 😉
I love the blurb and cover. I can’t wait to read this one! I was lucky as an only child, my youngest uncle was only 6 years older than me, so he was a lot like a brother to me. My parents (who incidentally divorced and then eventually remarried each other), are people I’ve relied on many times (after some really rough teenage years when they reunited). My BFF and I found each other in college and helped each other through so much in life.
There were certain times being an only child was a good thing, but I envy you that uncle!
Different people have helped me at different times in my life. My mom was a bit like KC’s – always quick to point out my flaws and ways I could fix them (one involving surgery!). My grandmother was the person who kept me sane through that. I still suffer a bit from self-esteem issues but my husband, kids and 2 best friends provide a lot of support. I just purchased Tartan Candy – I cannot resist a man in a kilt! Can’t wait to read it. Thanks for the giveaway.
Thanks Tammy – glad you found a support system!
Thanks for the post; Tartan Candy sounds great.
I am glad you had your friends since your home life was so difficult. My parents were not quite that bad, but they were always critical of me. I also felt more like a nanny since I was the oldest of a large family and ended up doing a lot of the parenting for my younger siblings.
The person I have relied on most in my life is my husband. We got married pretty young (by choice) and have seen each other through a lot.
Oldest of a large family? Bet you can spot all my mistakes 😉
Love a man in a kilt!
So yummy!
What is not to love about a man in a kilt, if he’s wearing it in true kilt tradition.
And oh, yes, Raven wears it properly 😉
I have Tartan Candy on my ereader and i look forward in reading it. I love the cover 😉 what’s not to like about a man in a kilt? Thank you for this post and giveaway and a happy release day.
Thank you, Angela! I hope you have fun with Raven & Caleb!
This looks like such a fun book. kbmckee@mail.com at Mail dot com
Thanks Katy!
Sounds like a great read. Thank you for the post and sharing. My own parents are okay to me others might think they’re not so good. My mom likes to guilt trip me a lot going so far to tell me I’m a bad child sometimes when I don’t do the things she want me to. But I have my siblings.
Those guilt trips can be so, so effective, can’t they? But I’m glad you had your siblings.
Mmmmm…love a man in a kilt!
Christy.godfrey@yahoo.com
I know, right? So lovely!
As a kid, I hated my parents. They were pretty physical with us. My mom screamed a lot. After I moved away & moved back, they have been my rocks. I have been through so much with my son’s transition, his mental health issues, & his financial difficulties – that without their support there’s no way either one of us could be any sort of stable right now.
Oh Lisa, that must be so difficult. I’m happy your parents are there for you now.
the person I’ve relied on most has been my BFF Leanne….she’s been there for me through the births of my children (first one was pretty traumatic for a while) and the demise of my marriage as well as just being there when I need her
leetee2007(at)hotmail(dot)com
Sounds a lot like my BFF Dottie – we’ve been through all sorts of stuff together. Yay for BFFs!
Thanks for your sharing about your family. It always seemed to me that other people had such close families, which I envied. I’m so glad that you created another kind of family with good friends and husband.
I always wondered about other families as well! My hubby’s family are practically the Cleavers (I realize that’s a totally old reference) and I’m utterly amazed.
i still rely on my mother to this day..dont know what i would do without her
I’m so envious of those who have that great bond with their moms. I’m glad you have that.
Thanks for the post and the giveaway. And congrats on your new release! This is on my wishlist.
Thank you, Serena 🙂
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My mom and I are super-close, and I really miss my dad (who passed away in 2012). That said, I don’t have a ton of relatives that I feel super-close to otherwise, and choosing who gets to be your family is a great thing, too!
I’m sorry for your loss, Trix. My dad passed too.
Why would anyone try to resist a man in a kilt? Can’t wait to read this book!
There is NO good reason to resist, kp 😉
I love Toronto Tales! And I am definitely one of those who love families in stories. My own family has always been very supportive, especially during times of illness. Congrats on the new release! It sounds great, especially with the kilt thing. 🙂
Thank you! And I’m so glad you’ve got a supportive family 🙂
Congratulations on your new book! The Toronto Tales are new to me but I am looking forward to begin reading them. Thank you so much for the introduction!
Thanks, Ree! I hope you enjoy them!
My apologies everyone! I had a business trip + a conference this week and completely forgot to announce my winner!
Christy Godfrey is my winner – Christy, I’ll be emailing you shortly.
Thank you all for stopping by, and thanks to Love Bytes for having me 🙂