Former captain Rude draws from experience in book

Years of experience as an officer and former Austin police captain are paying off for one local — in a different field, that is.

Curt Rude, of Austin, is the author of “JusThis,” a fiction novel derived from his years on the police force.

Rude was terminated as police captain in January 2010 after he was convicted of drug possession for taking a bottle of the prescription painkiller OxyContin from Austin Police Department’s evidence room in 2007. The pills belonged to Mark Johnson, a close friend of Rude’s and a former KAAL-TV reporter who died of an OxyContin overdose earlier that year.

While “JusThis” is available on e-readers, including Kindle and Nook, Rude received his first paperback copy on Monday for final proofing.

“This is cool,” Rude said, as he flipped through the pages with a big smile on his face, accompanied by a sense of accomplishment.

He suspects paperback copies will be available for purchase soon.

Rude wrote the book while he was in Sacramento, a task that took him about six weeks. The entire process, however, took much longer. Rude traveled around the country, talked to book reviewers, attended book conventions and more.

After his years on the police force, Rude had plenty of stories to draw upon.

“All of the sudden, I have the story, but I didn’t have the tools,” Rude said.

Rude’s book, a thriller, weaves the lives of individuals who live in the fictitious town of Normal. It peers into the world of violence, sexual assault and death. Rude even poses the question, “Can a parrot commit murder?”

“Everything I pose in this book, I answer,” Rude said.

Rude was originally going to call the book “Three Days to Halloween,” but he chose JusThis instead — another question of its own answered in the book.

Rude admits the novel is quite graphic with its imagery and profanity, the nature of the beast with this sort of novel. But Rude said he had to stay true to the characters.

“We really go places where Aunt Bee has never been before,” he said.

The whole experience has changed Rude’s views about writing, too. He reads more often and finds himself critiquing others’ works.

“I’m reading everything I can get my hands on,” he said.

He added it has been interesting talking to book reviewers, including one who thought Curt Rude was a pseudonym, as curt and rude are synonyms.

Though it’s his first published novel, Rude is almost finished with his second book. Now he knows how important the other aspects of publishing are, such as cover art, testimonials and a strong hook.

“I’m learning a lot,” Rude said. “It has been a great direction for me to have drifted into.”

More information and reviews of “JusThis” are available at amazon.com and sites.google.com/site/curtrudewriter. Rude said people may also contact him about his book at curtrude@hotmail.com.