Sept. 12, 2024

Finding Love and Adventure Arden Coutts on Writing Queer Romance Thrillers

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In this episode of Living the Dream with Curveball, host Curveball interviews author Arden Coutts, who writes queer romance suspense novels about finding yourself and finding love in your thirties and forties. Arden shares their journey from a young poet in rural Nebraska to a published author, discussing the influences and motivations behind their writing. Dive into the world of queer action and romance as Arden talks about their books, including the Fall trilogy, and upcoming projects. Tune in to learn more about Arden's writing process, the importance of representation in literature, and the joy of connecting with readers.

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> Curtis Jackson>Welcome, to the living the Dream podcast with curveball. If you believe you can achieve Chee Chee.

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> Curtis Jackson>Welcome to the living the Dream with curveball podcast, a show where I interview guests that teach, motivate and inspire. Today I am joined by author Arden Coutts, who writes queer romance suspense novels about finding yourself and finding love in your thirties and forties. So we're going to be talking to Auden about writing, the writing process and everything that is going to be coming up in the future for Auden.

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> Curtis Jackson>So Auden, thank you so much for joining me today.

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> Auden Coutts>Hi, thank you so much for having me. I'm very excited to be here.

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> Curtis Jackson>Why don't you start off by telling everybody a little bit about yourself?

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> Auden Coutts>Absolutely. as mentioned, my name is Arden.

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> Auden Coutts>I am, an author. I started writing when I was eight or nine. Started with poetry.

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> Auden Coutts>I was a very sad child and used poetry to kind of get my feelings out. Growing, up in rural Nebraska didn't give me a lot to do, so I wrote and read a lot and that kind of fostered my love for books and I wrote them to kind of entertain myself and it kind of grew from there.

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> Auden Coutts>I think I always wanted to be a writer on some level and it took me until about 32, I think, to really start looking into it and to dig into it and make it a reality. So I've kind of done, ah, some odd jobs, until then I was an archaeologist for a while, did the corporate six figure job thing in DC for a bit and I'm now finally focused on the writing.

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> Auden Coutts>So I'm very excited to finally be doing something that I love.

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> Curtis Jackson>So speaking of growing up in rural Nebraska, I'm in Kansas. So what part of Nebraska did you grow up in?

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> Auden Coutts>Very far north central, like almost in South Dakota.

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> Auden Coutts>Just town of about 600 to 1000 people, you know, in a good year and. Yeah, cows and corn, that was about it.

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> Curtis Jackson>There you go. I'm in Wichita, Kansas.

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> Auden Coutts>Oh yeah. So, you know.

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> Curtis Jackson>Yeah, so we got like 500,000 people here. So tell us about, you know, why you decided to write queer, ah, romance novels.

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> Auden Coutts>Yeah, I think it started again when I was younger and I didn't realize I was doing it, but I would see a movie or read a book that I loved and I would essentially write fan fiction about that story, but I would make the characters queer. I would write female characters into where there were male characters because I wanted to see female identifying characters as heroes because, growing up in the eighties and nineties, a lot of action movies only featured men saving women, and I wanted to see someone like myself in those lead roles, saving people and being the hero. So I kind of started writing queer action and queer romance when I was in my teens, I guess, and kind of forgot about it again until I hit my thirties. And then I was like, I'm gonna. I'm gonna try this again.

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> Auden Coutts>And I had an idea for a story about a female genderqueer bouncer, uses she, they pronouns that worked at a club that falls in love with an ER doctor. So a little bit of, roadhouse. Ah, I guess to, if folks remember that movie, the original, or I guess the remake, but it kind of came from that. And again, I really just wanted to feature queer characters in these lead heroic roles because I don't feel like there is a lot of representation in that kind of action mystery thriller genre when it comes to, the LGBTQ community.

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> Curtis Jackson>Okay, what keeps you motivated to still keep writing?

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> Auden Coutts>I think for me, it's the joy that my books bring other people. It's one of the things I love the most is being able to enjoy other people's enjoyment, if that makes sense. I love hearing how it's the first book that people have read that have a gender fluid character or that, it's the first queer book that they've read that has characters in their thirties and forties.

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> Auden Coutts>And that really motivates me to keep going. It really motivates me to.

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> Auden Coutts>It lets me know that I'm on the right track, I guess. But I'm also just. I have. I'm full of stories and I want to get them out and I want to share them, and I really would love to build a community around, my books that is focused on motivating and encouraging the queer community to do what they love.

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> Curtis Jackson>So sticking on that motivational topic, who are your influences? Who influences you to write, whether popular or not popular?

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> Auden Coutts>I'm a huge fan of Tal Bauer. he writes, m m romance, so male male romance that is thriller and action based. And his books are just fantastic. I love them so much, and they just pull you in and, I mean, you're on a ride from beginning to end, and it's just a fantastic journey.

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> Auden Coutts>And his writing style is something I hope to be close to one day. so Tao Bauer is a big one, but some other influences I grew up with, ah, reading a lot of Stephen King and Terry Brooks. So those are two genres outside of romance that I really enjoyed is the horror, thriller and fantasy. So those are kind of two other, big influences in my, writing styles.

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> Curtis Jackson>Okay, so tell us about your books. You know, kind of go through them and tell listeners what they can expect when they read them and where to get them from.

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> Auden Coutts>Absolutely. So I have two books out. Well, technically I have three books out right now.

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> Auden Coutts>one is the prequel to the fall trilogy, and it is called before we fall. And you can get that one on my website, which is ardancoops.com, or you can get it on Amazon. But, if you do go to my website, you can get it for free. So a little bit of a perk there rather than purchasing it off of Amazon. But before we fall introduces you to Hannah and Gray, who are our main characters in the Fall trilogy, and you get to learn more about them, who they are and why they're in the situation that they find themselves in. When we roll into book one, and it's short, sweet, little bit of action, but it's really just setting up everything for book one, which is fall into midnight.

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> Auden Coutts>And it is written from Hannah and Gray's point of view. So it's a dual pov book.

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> Auden Coutts>And it is spicy. So there's a little bit of spice, I would say, like, in the book world, maybe three to four chili peppers out of five, depending on how you rate your spice.

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> Auden Coutts>so it's a little spicy. There's some action, there's mafia drama, and it's pretty angsty. It is probably one of my favorite books that I've written. And, I mean, it holds a special place in my heart because it is my first, full novel that I published. So it's very special to me. But it is a, gender fluid bouncer meets er doctor.

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> Auden Coutts>They have an instant attraction.

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> Auden Coutts>And then gray, our bouncer, finds out that Hannah, the ER doctor, has someone trying to kill her. And what they don't know is that that person is closer to them than they realize. So the book follows them through that journey and ends on a cliffhanger, which I know some people love, some people hate.

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> Auden Coutts>but you can pick up book two, which is fall into me and continue reading so you don't have to wait too long.

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> Auden Coutts>It's already out. And it's told from key and Marcus's perspective, who are two other characters that you meet in book one.

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> Auden Coutts>And we follow Marcus as he goes on this vengeful journey to capture our protagonists, or, sorry, our antagonists from book one.

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> Auden Coutts>So he kind of takes matters into his own hands and is trying to essentially save everyone. He's on a one man mission to kind of save everyone from the trouble that they found themselves in, but ends up in trouble himself. And key and Gray and the rest of the team have to. Have to rescue him so he doesn't go as planned. and that book is out as well right now. And you can get both fall into midnight and fall into me on Amazon or my website. You can also find it on, you know, like barnesandnobles.com, like Walmart, I think, carries it. It's kind of everywhere. But, I would encourage you, if you want a paperback version, to buy it from my website, because you get a lot of goodies.

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> Auden Coutts>I throw in a lot of extras. book three of that trilogy we all fall is coming out later this year, in November. And it concludes the plot from the first two books, and it's told from Luke and James's perspective, and you meet them also in book one. So it's three books, the same plot, all told from different perspectives. and it's an.

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> Auden Coutts>Mm, romance thriller. So male male romance. And it's all about kind of the recovery from what they've experienced. There's a lot of mental health representation, PTSD, depression, anxiety, and kind of how our characters are dealing with those, things that they've experienced in the past and in the present as they kind of deal the final blow to our antagonists from book one. So book three will be out in, November, and it's available for pre order right now. So those are. That is the fall trilogy.

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> Curtis Jackson>Okay, so besides that book coming out in November, are there any other upcoming projects that you're working on that listeners need to be aware of?

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> Auden Coutts>yeah, I have a.

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> Auden Coutts>It's a holiday special book. That novella that's coming out in December. December 6, I think, is the date that I've set for that one. And it is kind of my gift to readers of the fall trilogy.

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> Auden Coutts>It's the bow on top of the trilogy, and it, really, is a, ah, little holiday extravaganza that involves the nightclub from book one, where all of our characters kind of meth.

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> Auden Coutts>And it's my happily ever after for, Gray and Hannah. So that's coming out December 6. It's also available for pre order right now. And I'm currently working on my second book of poetry.

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> Auden Coutts>I write poems that are about love, loss, and grief and am hoping to release another collection sometime next year. I'm kind of taking my time with it. and I'm trying to really put together a nice curated collection of poems before I release that next poetry book.

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> Curtis Jackson>Okay, so you throw at your website, audincoops.com. that was one of my questions. Close us up with some final thoughts.

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> Curtis Jackson>Maybe if that was something I forgot to talk about that you would like to touch on, or any final thoughts you have for the listeners.

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> Auden Coutts>I would just like to say, if you are thinking about writing or are interested in becoming an author or a writer, I would encourage you to explore that. Journaling is a great way to start and to kind of find your voice.

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> Auden Coutts>That's how I started with writing. I would journal and kind of just free flow, I guess, right? And then I started coming up with story ideas and those kind of turned into my books. So I would encourage you to explore that if it's something you're interested in.

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> Auden Coutts>And to also find, a writing community wherever you are or even online, there are great options out there and it's super motivational to be a part of those communities. So, definitely check those out and I hope, that you read my books.

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> Curtis Jackson>Yeah. Ladies and gentlemen, check it out. Go pick up Artin's books. Go to ortoncoutz.com. check it out. Follow Rape Review share this episode to as many people as possible jump on your favorite podcast app. Give us a review a follow share this episode to as many people as possible once again, if you have any guests or suggestion topics, Curtischackson 1978 Dot Net is the place to send them. As always, thank you for listening and supporting the show. And Auden, thank you so much for joining us.

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> Auden Coutts>Thank you so much for having me.

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> Curtis Jackson>For more information on the living the Dream podcast, visit www.djcurvefball.com.

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> Curtis Jackson>until next time, stay focused on living the dream. Dream it.