Van Huizen, Tan: - Chris Burns writes under his pen name, Tan Van Huizen. Van Huizen is a phonetic variation of the name Van Husum his 8th times great-grandfather's name. Van Husum was a sailor for the Dutch West India Co., and the first of Tan's maternal line to arrive in America, 1639.When Tan's not writing, he enjoys researching family history, hiking, travel, driving The Beast his souped-up F-150 truck, and hanging out with his best friend and wife, Ann Stewart Burns. He and Ann live in Southeastern Massachusetts.