GUEST POST with REVIEW, EXCERPT and GIVEAWAY: KC Burn of 'Banded Together'
I’m KC Burn and so happy to be here today at Kimmers' Erotic Book Banter.
I’ve written this little punk rocker/professor romance called Banded Together. Now, you may not be aware of this, but rock stars are really not my go-to heroes, either for reading or writing. In fact, not that long ago, I would have told you there are three things I’d never write: rock stars, cowboys, or fae. Well, between this and the cowboy story I’m working on now… I guess it’s only a matter of time before I end up writing a fae hero.
It’s not because I don’t like reading about those heroes, it’s just they don’t appeal to me as much as other types. However, Devlin (my punk rocker) has a slightly nerdy professor love interest, Dr. Jack, and he’s much more my style. I adore the nerd heroes. Love them. (And I married one, so I guess that all makes sense.)
As for other hero types… I prefer werewolves over vampires. No, really, without a heartbeat, how DO they have all that sex? For some reason, that’s where my suspension of disbelief snaps.
I’m a city girl from Canada, so I never came across any cowboys, but I love aliens. I can’t explain that one, because at least cowboys are real. Maybe it’s the dream of finding sentient life out there? If we ever discovered sentient life, odds are we wouldn’t be interested in boinking it. Star Trek and sci-fi romance will have a LOT to answer for if that day ever comes.
I love a good brooding cop and broken loners. I usually prefer the regular guy over the billionaire alpha. I have a feeling that most billionaires are giant dicks. And not in a good way. Honestly, I think it might be harder to relate to a billionaire than an extraterrestrial. Then again, I’m a die-hard sci-fi fan and I don’t have a lot of money, so there’s that…
Have you got a favourite hero type? What about a hero type you don’t care for?
Title: Banded Together
Author: KC Burn
Published: December 29, 2017
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Tiferet Design
Genre: Erotic Romance; Contemporary Romance
Length: 200 Pages
Tags: Gay; M/M; Rock Star/Musician; Geek/Nerd
About Banded Together
Punk’s not dead, but it’s time to redefine life.
Devlin Waters thought he’d have music forever. But the tragic death of his best friend ended the twenty-year run of his punk band, Negative Impression. Unable to process the loss, Devlin distances himself from everyone and everything that reminds him of the band. But forty-one is too young to curl up and wait for the end. In a search for a second career, he finds himself at university with a bunch of kids young enough to be… his kids. His sexy archeology professor, however, makes Devlin think about life beyond his grief….
Dr. Jack Johnson does not appreciate Devlin’s lack of respect, his inability to be serious, or his chronic lateness. Worse, he hates that he’s attracted to a student. When he realizes Devlin is the rock star he crushed on in his youth, he drops his guard—against his better judgment.
Before they can move forward together, Jack must admit to Devlin that he’s not only an admirer, but he also sings in a cover band. How will Devlin react to his ultimate fanboy when his own music has died?
Dev slid into his customary place at the kitchen table while his mom puttered at the stove. A giant bowl of tossed salad already sat in the middle of the table. He really needed to get a handle on his self-absorption, since he should be taking care of his mom and not the other way around, but when he moved back to Oakville, it didn’t seem as though she needed taking care of. And he had to admit, there was the definite appeal—at any age—of letting a mom do all the worrying. His mom had been super young when she’d married his dad, and Dev had been born five months after their wedding, so at least he didn’t have the added guilt of her age on top of everything.
“How’s the charity committee going?”
His mother turned to him and stuck out her tongue, making Dev laugh. “Hallie Marsden is going to drive me to violence one day, I swear. Nitpicking on every idea, when everything she comes up with will cause twice as much work and cost three times more.”
“They do say committees are the work of the devil.”
His mom slid two plates of macaroni and cheese from scratch on the table and sat down across from Dev. Although they were both aware of the empty space where his dad would have sat, it didn’t cause the same searing pain it used to.
“They do, do they? Whoever ‘they’ are, they’ve got some brains.”
Dev scooped a forkful of pasta into his mouth and hummed in pleasure. When he was a kid and his parents both labored with the effort of continuing their education while parenting an excitable, energetic kid, a lot of their macaroni and cheese came out of a blue box. His mom had been so proud the day she’d had the time to make mac and cheese from scratch, and it had quickly become one of the family’s comfort foods.
The first day at university for a forty-one-year-old shouldn’t require comfort food, but somehow it was exactly perfect.
“How’d it go?” His mother carefully looked down at her plate, like she was afraid Dev was close to having a meltdown and she didn’t want to trigger him by being too solicitous.
“Mooommm. The other kids don’t like me, and I don’t have any friends.” He intentionally made his voice super high and extra whiny.
That brought her head up, and she glared at him, which only made him laugh. “You little punk.”
Dev only laughed harder. Since he’d spent decades fronting an actual punk band, that particular epithet didn’t really hold up, and she knew it.
“Seriously, though, it is weird. Those kids are… kids. There are other mature students around, but how much would I have in common with them?” His lifestyle had certainly been atypical since Negative Impression had started touring in earnest, and he sort of had the feeling most people his own age were… not stick-in-the-muds, precisely, but had more in common with his parents than him. Besides, the majority of the people in his age group at university were faculty, not students.
“Well, I bet those mature students are also developing a second career. You might find more in common than you think.”
A second career. The words sent white-hot pain searing through him, leaving him breathless. His mother made it sound so prosaic, when it was merely a desperate attempt to figure out who he was without the band or Trent to keep him grounded.
Meet the Author
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.
For more from KC be sure and visit her website!
