We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Travis Tougaw a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Travis, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Any thoughts about whether to ask friends and family to support your business. What’s okay in your view?
In my work, as a writer published by a small, independent press, word of mouth is our most effective marketing strategy. That starts with me letting friends and family know about my work and asking them to read it and tell their friends about my books. There can be a strange dynamic to that, though, as I don’t want to “oversell” or make people feel like I’m only reaching out to them because I’m selling something. One boundary that I’ve set is not marketing on my personal social media sites and reserving those activities to my professional profiles. Plenty of my friends and family follow my professional profiles, but I figure they know what they’re getting into, and it’s okay to sell there.
There have been quite a few positives for me as I’ve asked for support on my journey. One thing that sticks out is that through the publication of my books, I’ve been able to reconnect with a number of people I had not spoken with in a while. It’s been very rewarding to have members of my extended family reach out, as well as to get in touch with former coworkers again. They’ve been very excited about my work and have become enthusiastic supporters.
That’s a second positive aspect: I’m learning that the people I know are happy to support my efforts. Sometimes I worry about damaging a relationship by bringing my professional life into it: what if they don’t want to buy a book? What if they buy one and they hate it? But, those fears are unfounded. My friends and family have made my journey into becoming a published author something that I will always cherish.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a fiction writer. I’ve always wanted to be a writer and to create. Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time working on various fiction projects, including novels, short stories, and children’s books. Though nothing had been published, I felt like I was improving my craft and getting better at storytelling. When I was in grad school, one of my professors encouraged me to write more about my military time. She said there as a definite interest in that. I did not follow her advice for a long time because I worked a desk job in the Air Force (we called it the Chair Force) and didn’t think it was interesting. When the U.S. was withdrawing from Afghanistan in 2021, though, I reflected on my time there and realized I had gone someplace and seen things that very few Americans had and that many people would find my time there interesting. Then, the fiction writer in me started playing what if: What if the story was about a guy with a desk job? What if what made it interesting wasn’t what he did for a living but about things that happened in the combat zone? What if, for instance, someone died during his deployment and he was convinced it was a murder? That was the genesis of my first novel, Foxholes.
My professor was right. There was a market for that writing, and I signed a contract with an agent, and then with a publisher. As a result of that, I’ve now put out a three-book series, Foxholes, Captives, and Last Call, with a fourth (Death Grip) coming in September 2025.
There are a lot of fiction writers out there. Many of them write mystery/thrillers like I do. I think what makes mine different is that they are about ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances. I don’t write about super-soldiers or action heroes. My protagonist in Foxholes is a paralegal who eats Lean Cuisines and sometimes falls asleep on the couch. He’s determined, though, and even if he makes a few mistakes along the way, his passion for justice propels him forward. In addition to the normal action of the story (and I made sure to put in a lot of action), there’s a depth of character and internal conflict that makes Vince worth getting to know. It’s been exciting to see readers connect with that type of character and that type of thriller.
One other difference in my writing is that I’ve set most of my books in Colorado. I try to showcase different parts of the state and let the differences in geography shape elements of the plot. I’ve had a lot of fun researching the state and introducing other readers to the nuances of a place they might think is only about ski slopes.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
We live in uncertain and anxious times. I see my job as a writer as two-fold: One, I need to entertain people and give them a break from their day-to-day worries. Two, I need to encourage people. That’s not to say my books are all “rainbows and puppies.” The opposite, actually. There are a lot of bad things that happen to people in a thriller. But, if I can show you someone having their worst day and show you how they persevere and overcome it, how justice is served, or how some positive can come from a terrible situation, that might help you the next time you’re facing a bad day. If I can sprinkle enough flickers of light in the darkness of the worlds I create, perhaps it will help you find the bright spots in your world. I think, at its heart, that’s what all art is seeking to do. When I hear from someone that they enjoyed something I wrote, that it brought them some entertainment or levity, I feel rewarded and that I’ve done my job.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
For the longest time, I viewed writing as a solitary endeavor. While the actual act of writing is still solitary for me, I’ve come to realize that a supportive community is vital to growth as an artist. I’ve found a lot of that community with other writers I share an agent or publishing house with. But, there are public resources available to provide writers with support and community. I’ve joined the International Thriller Writers and have been introduced to many incredible and supportive people who want to see other writers succeed. Locally, I’m part of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, which does a tremendous job of connecting writers and providing education and camaraderie. I would recommend anyone just starting on a writing journey find a group like these and immerse themself in it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://travistougaw.com
- Instagram: @travistougaw
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084872761573
- Twitter: @tb2gaw
