Interview with mystery author Travis Haugen

Today’s special guest is novelist Travis Haugen. He’s here chatting with me about his new mystery thriller, SOUP: The Future Is Past and Present.

During his virtual book tour, Travis will be awarding a $30 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too.

Bio:

Travis was born and raised in the prairies of Saskatchewan, lived in Calgary for over 25 years and presently lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Travis Haugen has spent forty years of his life touring on the road as a musician and has spent hundreds of hours in recording studios. Travis spends much of his time writing songs, writing stories, playing music and spending valuable time with his family and close group of friends.

Welcome, Travis. Please share a little bit about your current release.

The story spans 20 years from 2001 to 2021. It is the continuing story of the second generation of the Yonge family. They are a family in search of themselves while dealing with the premature death of their musical father. They find that answers come hard in this period of political unrest, an unrest that contributed to their father’s demise.

What inspired you to write this book?

Music. The writing of one song in 2001 started the process that led to SOUP.

Excerpt from SOUP: The Future Is Past and Present:

March 30, 2001 – Calgary

The melancholy sound of lonesome piano blues wakes Michelle from a restless sleep. She throws on Scott’s old faded black and white striped cotton robe and makes her way through the darkness to the living room. She takes her place beside him on the piano bench, his face partially lit by a solitary low wattage lamp sitting to the left, on the mantle of the old antique acoustic piano. He shows her a sad smile and continues playing an old blues tune she can’t place, but knows she’s heard somewhere before. “Scott, are you okay?” she asks.

He stops and turns to face her, patting her bare leg. “I’ve been better,” he replies with a wry grin.

“You’ve been crying,” she says softly. “What’s wrong?”

“The dream woke me again, same one. I remember more this time. A little, anyway. I’m a kid outside a blonde wooden door in a long white hallway. The door has number 519 stenciled in black on its surface. I don’t want to open that door, Michelle.”

What exciting story are you working on next?

My niece, Candy, and I, are working on bringing the second book in the ‘One Song’ series, Hedley, from the editing stage to the publishing stage. We are also working on music and prose for the 4^th book in the series, so stay tuned.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I have been writing songs since I was 15 years old. Writing one particular song on one particular lonely night in late 2001 led directly to me writing the ‘One Song’ series.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

When I write, I write full-time. Once I start writing, it flows and flows and flows until it stops. However, I also work as a computer consultant, play in numerous bands, do session work at ‘Bedside Studios’ in Winnipeg, and conduct philatelic on line auctions for ‘Bow City Philatelics in Calgary, Alberta. So, you can see, when the writing urge hits me, my life is not busy at all, lol. This is why Candy has become invaluable to me in this process, we are a team.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I do most of my writing while I am not writing. I have not driven since 1980 because of my eye sight. I get around, snow, rain or shine 365 days of the year on a bike. I do most of my writing, be it music or prose, while I am riding. When I get home, I sit down to a piano or a guitar for the music, or a computer for the prose and I put down what came to me during the day.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A Mad Scientist!

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

If you are an e-book reader, I strongly recommend this format for you. The links to the music are embedded in the book so the music is a simple click away. If you prefer the hard copy, the interactivity between the music and the website is a simple thing. Instructions are in the book itself on the very first page on The Note From The Author. I hope you enjoy our Interactive Musical Thriller.

Links:

Website | Online Bookclub | Facebook | YouTube | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Amazon

Thank you for being a guest on my blog!

Thanks for having us.

--Travis Haugen and Candy Haugen

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