Interview With Iris Chacon
Many thanks to the talented author, Iris, for talking to me today.
Author IRIS CHACON
Release of DUBY’S DOCTOR, the Audiobook
Author bio
Iris Chacon’s goal is to provide quick, easy, fun reads when people need a vacation from current events. Laughter is healthy — for mind and body.
All the nonfiction we have to read each day is our broccoli. An Iris Chacon novel is pure dessert.
Iris designs novels to divert busy minds from grimy streets, dusty houses, dirty laundry, unwashed kids and unbathed dishes — or maybe the other way around — and Internal Revenue forms.
Grab an Iris Chacon novel and get ready to smile! Iris cultivates a Sunshine State of Mind for herself and her readers.
Iris Chacon has written video documentaries, stage plays, teleplays and screenplays, and has worked as a writer/producer and voiceover artist for radio. She also taught mass media, English, creative writing, literature, and more for middle school through college students. Iris occasionally edits manuscripts for other authors. Duby’s Doctor was her fifth novel; she is currently working on her seventh.
Duby’s Doctor
John Doe remembers nothing of his life before waking up in the hospital. He doesn’t know he was a dangerous man, and he somehow has survived assassination by even more dangerous men. He doesn’t even know how to speak English, or read, or count. Even after his body heals, he will need long-term supervision and care to re-learn how to live.
Dr. Mitchell Oberon has been married to her surgical work for too long. So, she resists being attracted to a brain-damaged patient with the body of Adonis and the mind of a child.
Agent Frank Stone, of Homeland Security, forces the doctor to take John Doe into her own home while he recovers. Stone, who knows John Doe’s past history well, says it’s not safe to send him back to the place he lived before he was “killed” by his enemies. If it ever becomes known that John survives, his foes will make sure he doesn’t live long.
Q: First of all, Iris, do you write under your real name, or is Iris Chacon a pen name?
A: Well, first of all, it’s a pleasure and a privilege to be interviewed on your beautiful blog. Thank you for having me. Then, second of all, Iris Chacon is a pen name, although Iris Chacon is a real person — sort of a relative.
Q: What does that mean, “sort of a relative”?
A: A few years ago, my husband and I adopted a baby from Guatemala. We tried to learn as much as possible about her biological family, and we discovered that her (very young) mother, who was forced by extreme poverty to abandon her infant, was named Iris Chacon. I wanted a pen name that meant something to me, and I decided to pay homage to the mother of my precious little girl.
Q: Why did you choose to write under a pen name, rather than using your own name?
A: Before my first books were published, I was afraid my friends and family might be embarrassed or ashamed of their association with me. If the books were terrible but I used a different name, my loved ones were protected! I also know several authors who write in different genres, and they use a different name in each genre. In this way, readers know what kind of experience to expect from the author’s “brand.” If I ever decide to write science fiction, for instance, I’d use a different pen name. I like “Buzz Lightyear,” but that one is already taken, or so I hear.
Q: I heard you taught English for several years, at the middle school, high school, and college levels. What books did you require your students to read? Do you recommend those books to YA readers now?
A: Ooh, lovely question. I’ll tell you some of the novels my middle schoolers loved the most. (That would be kids from about 11 to 14 years old in the school system where I taught.) The Talking Earth, by Jean Craighead George, was an Everglades adventure with a Native American girl as its heroine. It’s been around many years, but it’s a timeless story backed by excellent research on the author’s part. We liked Crispin, by Avi, about the trials and travels of an orphaned boy in the Middle Ages. The Tale of Despereaux and Because of Winn-Dixie, both by Kate DiCamillo, were fun and heart-warming, as was Beverly Cleary’s The Mouse & the Motorcycle. One that is newer and not as well known as the foregoing is Listening for Lions, by Gloria Whelan.
My high school students, usually ages 14 to 18, read Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man & the Sea. Hemingway’s book was special for us because, since South Florida was our home, many of us had family ties to Cuba, and the fisherman in the story was Latino. Also, many of us were frequent visitors to the Florida Keys and Key West, where Hemingway lived at one time, so we felt close to Hemingway’s story. I’m going to stop now, because I could go on for hours listing all the good books my students and I have read together over the years.
Q: Did your students ever read any of your own novels?
A: Goodness, no. I didn’t publish any novels until after I stopped teaching. I had written many scripts for various organizations over the years, and sometimes my high school drama class or creative writing class would use one of my scripts in an exercise. I’ve stayed in touch with many former, though, and several have read my books in the years since I taught them.
Q: What was your most recent project?
A: The audiobook of my novel, Duby’s Doctor, goes public this month (April 2018), and I’m excited to hear the popular story come to life. The book has a Canadian hero, and Canadian voice artist Jenny Hoops did a marvelous job of portraying the great variety of characters with perfect timing and emotion.
Q: And what is next on the literary horizon for Iris Chacon?
A: I’m finally writing a sequel that readers of Finding Miranda have been asking me about for a couple of years. The “invisible,” shy librarian and the blind, hunky radio host will embark on their second adventure together in The Mammoth Murders (The Minokee Mysteries, Book Two). A body is found in a Florida sinkhole where mammoth tusks were unearthed, and Miranda and Shep try to solve the murder. Meanwhile, Shep’s difficult mother and Miranda’s professorial parents conspire to get the couple married. The quirky friends and neighbors in and around Minokee will return in all their peculiarity to add to the fun. The Mammoth Murders should be released in Fall 2018.
Q: Iris, thanks for chatting with us. We’ll be listening for Duby’s Doctor this month while we look forward to reading The Mammoth Murders this autumn.
A: It has been my very great pleasure to talk with you, Christine. Many thanks to you and your followers for letting me come along with you today.
Genre: Mystery/Thriller full of action, humor, pathos and romance
Formats available: Available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook.
Accolades and Awards:
Wattpad’s Crystal Awards 2016. The novel appears in serialized, illustrated form on Wattpad, where it has recorded more than 70,000 reads and has been ranked as high as #26 among the thousands of novels in the Mystery/Thriller genre. Duby’s Doctor won a Crystal Award in the Multimedia Story competition.
Reader comments. Direct quotes from readers of Duby’s Doctor:
“Laughs, drama, intrigue. I sound like a Hallmark commercial, but [the]writing is too good for me to NOT list out a fraction of [its] many incredible qualities. It oozes talent and sophistication and intelligence.” — T.S.
“Somebody should make this story into a movie. Seriously.” — F.A.
“Really action packed and full of surprises.”–M.F.
“Absolutely wonderful! I really, really enjoyed your book and will be looking forward to finding more of your works! Thank you for such an exciting, entertaining read.”–M.L.
“Ridiculously adorable, without being “cutesy.” I rarely find a writer with such a knack for adorable non-cutesieness.”–R.L.
“Once again, Iris Chacon has created a likeable set of protagonists well worth rooting for. The plot was sufficiently twisted to hold my interest and the scenarios believable. Duby’s Doctor is a thoroughly enjoyable read.” — PromptRose, Amazon reviewer
“I’ve probably read Finding Miranda a hundred times and am probably going to end up doing the same thing with this one.”–A.R.
“You’ve masterfully crafted this whole story. It is such a delight to read, truly. Your intelligence comes out in an ever growing abundance, as your characters evolve so fantastically and with such talent. I could sing my praises for ages.”–T.S.
Shareable Media:
Duby’s Doctor, the Multimedia version, in serialized form: https://www.wattpad.com/story/65309056-duby%27s-doctor
YouTube 60-sec. Duby’s Doctor Audiobook sample (3 Sheep & a Midget )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg4ZrNr7JCU
YouTube 30-sec. Duby’s Doctor Audiobook sample (Not About Pirates)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMC4TjJAeZc
DUBY’S DOCTOR purchase links:
Universal AMAZON link: https://bookgoodies.com/a/B01CRF31RO
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Dubys-Doctor-Iris-Chacon/dp/153047230X
SMASHWORDS https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/564444
KOBO https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/duby-s-doctor
BARNES & NOBLE https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dubys-doctor-iris-chacon/1122425547
APPLE iBOOKS https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dubys-doctor/id1025040317?mt=11
Author Iris Chacon contact links:
WEBSITE: https://www.AuthorIrisChacon.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Iris.Chacon137
TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/IrisChacon1371
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: https://www.amazon.com/Iris-Chacon/e/B00U4AYUZ2
NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP: https://www.instafreebie.com/free/zFcM1
LINKED IN: https://www.linkedin/in/iris-chacon-author
PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/irischacon137/
GOOGLE PLUS: https://plus.google.com/u/0/112871366306174137721 s
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/stewart.delia/
GOODREADS AUTHOR PROFILE: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8551298.Iris_Chacon
SMASHWORDS AUTHOR PAGE: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/guatemom578
SHARE LINK for Google Docs: