Author Dawn Cutler Tran
BREAKING THE MOLD... AND SOCIAL CONSTRUCTS
Hello!
My name is Dawn Cutler-Tran, and I’m a nonbinary (she/they) millennial writer, reader, and book enthusiast!
I’ve been reading for as long as I can remember. My first memory of reading books on my own were the old school “bob” book sets. If you don’t remember these, they came in a little suitcase by color, red blue and green. I remember reading that series over and over and over again.
Then, as I entered grade school, I was that kid who would compete in every library reading challenge each summer (gotta get those pizza hut pan pizza coupons!) reading books such as the Magic Treehouse, A to Z mysteries, the Zak Files etc. (see photo below of an amazing haul I found at my local used bookstore)
ALL THE BOOKS!
We used to go on a lot of road trips as a kid, and my mom would always rent ten to fifteen “books on tape” to get us through the trip. That led to my deep love of audiobooks, and I continued to read and listen to books throughout grade school, college, grad school, and afterwards.
It truly never occurred to me to write my own books. I wasn’t really very good at creative writing in school. I always struggled to take a writing prompt and run with it, and the writing SOL pretty much struck down any dreams I could have had of being a writer. I think about this now, as I’m working on my second book with ideas for several more. I hope that schools are doing a better job of fostering creativity and passion in children for not just reading but also writing.
The idea to write hit me in two separate waves during the COVID19 pandemic. First, it started with a series of zoom cooking nights we held with some close friends. It started as a fun event I hosted for my (virtual) birthday, and then became an almost weekly thing, helping us amass over 70 recipes, ranging from crockpot chili to curry, sundried tomato pastas and cinnamon rolls. One day it hit me that we had the beginning of a really useful, easy to use cookbook so… we wrote a cookbook! You can find the book here, we privately published on a platform called blurb.
I had an amazing time with the photography (which eventually led to the photography I now do for bookstagram, follow me here) and also writing all of the blurbs, recipes and introductory language. This interest in writing continued and came to a head in 2022.
I’d always known I was queer, and during the pandemic I became a huge consumer of queer literature, reading upwards of 350 books in 2022. One of these books was the phenomenal Gender Queer graphic novel by Maia Kobabe. This book, along with a lot of research and a few other novels and stories, helped me to begin to identify as nonbinary. This was no an easy discovery, but through all of this searching, exploring, and engaging online with those in the gender queer community, I came up with the idea for An Epic Construct.
ABOUT PENELOPE
Penelope’s story is not my exact story, and the stories of those in the book are not any one person in the LGBTQ+ community’s story.
Instead, they are inspired by true stories, portraying many of the different experiences, challenges and struggles those in the LGBTQ+ community face in discovering themselves, portraying themselves, and living in the often less-than-friendly world.
I am constantly being inspired, motivated, and impassioned by those in my personal community as well as those I meet online and stories that I am fortunate enough to be entrusted with. These stories continue to provide brainstorming fodder for me as I consider what my next book or project will be.
I’m currently in the beginning phase of editing my second book. The title, cover and synopsis should be ready to share later this year (reminder: follow my Instagram @dawncutlertranwrites for these announcements!)
After the second book, or possibly even before, I have several ideas for additional stories, shorts or possibly novellas that could branch off from the Not So Normative world. These would continue to focus on genderqueer identities and characters, and would really stretch my abilities as a writer, but I’m truly looking forward to all of the challenges and joy that come from taking on new writing projects.
An Epic Construct is a contemporary LGBTQ+ romance that takes a (very) queer take on the traditional love triangle trope.
Penelope, our quintessential millennial, has had just about enough of online dating, until she finds a LGBTQIAP+ friendly dating app which catches her eye, because just like her name, she’s the P- Pansexual.
Her ex-girlfriend turned best friend and roommate is the A- Asexual, and she encourages Penelope to take the dating app seriously and she quickly matches with Riley, a mysterious yet very attractive guy.
We follow her through her misadventures at work and in online dating, including awkward first and second dates, fighting for the bill, arcade bars and more.
Meanwhile, Penelope is given the opportunity to MC a drag brunch at her brother’s cafe. She’s a pretty outgoing person and will do just about anything to help her brother, but there is a catch. She has to be in full drag king regalia. For a long time, Penelope has suspected she might be nonbinary, but she’s just never had the time or wherewithal to examine it any closer.
The drag brunch is a smashing success, and she begins to grapple with not just her gender identity, but with meeting a beautiful woman in the audience named Taylor. They begin forming a deep connection in their queerness and Taylor supports Penelope as she finally comes out as nonbinary.
She falls deeper into her relationship with Riley but begins to question if he is who she truly wants to be with, or if Taylor offers her a level of support and connection she’s never felt before.
Read the book to find out how things work out and if the two people Penelope is falling for are more than just amazing, what if they’re her soul mate?
CONNECT WITH ME!
I truly hope you enjoy this book, and find something to relate to, or learn something about yourself or a loved one. Take care everyone!