Authors Interviewing Characters: Emma Barry, Chick Magnet

Authors Interviewing Characters: Emma Barry, Chick Magnet

In CHICK MAGNET, social media influencer and backyard chicken keeper Nicole Jones (better known by her fans as Chick Nic) recovers from an explosive break up from a YouTuber by moving to small town. There, she’ll meet and fall for the grumpy veterinarian across the street who’s been hate watching her content…and maybe nursing a crush on her.

Emma: Thank you so much for chatting with me today. I’m a huge fan of your work and your chickens.

Nic: Sure. My pleasure. Just from the start, can we not discuss Brian?

Emma: We can definitely avoid your ex, he seems—

Nic: Because we broke up months ago, and he can’t seem to stop talking about me. (Pauses.) At least, that’s what I hear. 

Emma: I gotta say, that sounds pretty scary.

Nic: Right? He has millions of fans, and he can rile them up and…well, what I’ll say is it’s not a tone-deaf John Lennon singalong.

Emma: No, of course not. I’m so sorry you went through everything with him. It seems really terrifying.

Nic: Why doesn’t anyone else get that? Most of the reporters I’ve talked to want to treat it like run-of-the-mill influencer drama.

Emma: Do you think the perception that social media content is frivolous or for kids means people don’t take it seriously?

Nic: 100%. Social media is where a lot of our culture happens now, but it can feel like some folks haven’t adjusted to that. So they sometimes downplay really frightening things, like internet harassment, but also they can treat more sincere hobbies or discussions as trivial simply because they’re on TikTok. Take chickens, for example. They’re cute, and so some people who would never consider getting a flock themselves enjoy watching my channel. But keeping chickens can also be about trying to find alternatives to industrial farming. The people in the Chickens for All community, they’re thinking about what they eat and the food supply and sustainability. I understand that some of the influencer stuff can be silly, but it can also be real, in good and bad ways.

Emma: (Writes, Brian, bad, chickens, good.) You’re such a passionate advocate for chickens.

Nic: Thank you. This is going to sound ridiculous, but I admire chickens. They’re tiny, under all the floof, and vulnerable. Pretty much everything in nature is a predator to them. But chickens take absolutely no guff. They march through the world as if they own the place. I want to be as brave as my hens are, you know? Plus, they lay eggs. Not for one season of the year, like turkeys, but almost daily.

Emma: I didn’t know that, about turkeys. Where does your love of chickens come from?

Nic: My grandmother was the one who introduced me to chickens, to gardening, to canning. My parents weren’t into homesteading stuff, but Granny was. She kept all of those traditions alive. Little things like making a cake from scratch or putting pickles up, those seemed magical when I was a kid. Later on, I found adult life to be not all that fantastical. So I found my way back to the things Granny had taught me. They feel very…centering.

Emma: And Yagerstown, that was her hometown?

Nic: It was. I had never been here. That probably seems pretty random?

Emma: A little.

Nic: When I decided to leave California, I think I wanted to be in a place with more gravity. After Brian, I was sort of floating away, and—and I have no idea why I’m telling you all of this.

Emma: I have that effect on people. But I want to hear more about Yagerstown. Are you meeting new people?

Nic: I am. There’s a chicken group, BROODY, and everyone’s wonderful. I haven’t had real-life chicken friends in a long time. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love my pocket chicken friends. But I sort of feel like I’m relearning how to be in the world again.

Emma: I totally understand. I think a lot of us are feeling that way post-COVID. How do your new neighbors feel about your flock?

Nic: (Starts blushing wildly.) They’re good.

Emma: Are you sure? You seem a little flustered, and—

Nic: Nope. Not flustered. I have absolutely nothing to tell you about my neighbors. They are in no way notable. One of them is absolutely not a giant hot Viking. 

Emma: That’s…a specific denial.

Nic: (Stares, silent as a clam.)

Emma: Well then, I’ve probably taken up enough of your time. I’m so glad that Camilla is on the mend.

Nic: Me too! I’m really grateful to Dr. Lund, he’s the Viking—I mean, he’s the veterinarian. (She’s blushing so hard now, she almost has to squeeze her eyes closed.)

Emma: Take care, Nic.

Nic: You too.

—

Emma Barry is a teacher, novelist, recovering academic, and former political staffer. She lives with her high school sweetheart and a menagerie of pets and children in Virginia, and she occasionally finds time to read and write.

CONNECT WITH EMMA ONLINE
Website: AuthorEmmaBarry.com
Twitter: @AuthorEmmaBarry
Instagram: @author.emma.barry

CHICK MAGNET

From Emma Barry comes a clever romance about a hot veterinarian and a chicken-loving influencer who can’t help but ruffle each other’s feathers.

Nicole Jones needs a fresh start. “Chick Nic” to millions of internet fans, the social media star and her flock of chickens bask in the spotlight―until she’s publicly dumped by a YouTuber for clout. She has no choice but to round up her birds and move on.

But when one of her hens has an emergency, Nic gets her first taste of her new stomping grounds―and it isn’t good. Veterinarian Will Lund is wildly attractive, yes, but he’s also surly. In fact, he comes right out and calls her a menace for parading her chickens on social media.

As neighbors, Nic and Will can’t exactly avoid each other. Then again, maybe they don’t want to. The two can’t deny their smoldering attraction, and it isn’t long before late-night confessions lead to backyard shenanigans.

Is this the start of a neighborly relationship―or could something more be hatching?

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Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Interviews, On Writing