Travis Tougaw
Foxholes | Captives
DOSSIER: Having earned English degrees from Angelo State University in Texas as well as the University of Nebraska in Omaha, The Dossier has limited our number of questions to three: which degree gave you the best foundation for becoming a writer, and why was it the school in Texas? Was it because you were 3-4 hours from Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio, giving you limitless driving options to find and enjoy civilization as a young co-ed?
TOUGAW: You’ve obviously done your research! There were a lot of road trips originating from San Angelo. Those days were before cell phones and GPS, so a typical road trip involved pointing the car in a general direction and seeing where it took us. Once, it took a few of us to a steakhouse in a small West Texas town that was celebrating Mardi Gras in October (still can’t figure out the timing on that one). Another time, we ended up at a place in Wichita Falls that advertised “Texas-sized burgers,” which ended up being six pounds! My friend was six-foot-five and 155 pounds (I’m not making that up) and ordered a six-pounder. They brought it out in a cake box, and he barely made a dent in it. Looking back, perhaps the desire to explore for the sake of exploring and the joy of experiencing those unanticipated moments have carried through into my writing. Getting through a draft and seeing a vague destination become concrete and finding little surprises along the way are my favorite parts of writing.
DOSSIER: It seems like you’ve moved around a little bit. How does what you do in Denver these days influence your writing (besides being the setting for your Marcotte/Collins Investigative books)?
TOUGAW: The move to Denver was my 13th move from one city/state/country to another, and I’ve been here for 14 years now, so the first 12 moves happened in pretty quick succession. Being on the move for so long and now finally growing roots in a particular place is great training for a writer; it allows me to think through how characters might experience their setting and what details to emphasize to help readers understand the impact of place on the story. Beyond that, community is an important part of writing. In Denver, I’ve found a community of support, including writers and non-writers alike, who cheer me on and make the long, solitary hours worthwhile.
DOSSIER: When and where do you write, and what kind of environment do you prefer? (Absolute silence/music playing/middle of a corn field or oil field?)
TOUGAW: I have a day job, so I end up writing in the late afternoon when my “real work” is done. I’m kind of embarrassed to admit this, but I don’t have an actual computer for my writing; I do it all on an iPad with a Bluetooth keyboard. Most often, I set up at the kitchen counter with my back to the living room, and my writing soundtrack ends up being whatever someone is watching on the television. If my oldest son is home, then it’s most likely The Simpsons. I haven’t found any stray Cowabunga Dude’s or Doh’s in my drafts yet, so I guess I’m good at blocking out the sound.
DOSSIER: Your Marcotte and Collins Investigative thrillers have dealt with Afghanistan deployments (in your debut, FOXHOLES), and you’re currently getting ready to publish CAPTIVES which focuses on crazy things going at the Marcotte (detective) Agency. Given the variety in your writing, what did your experience in the U.S. Air Force leave you with that you still draw from today?
TOUGAW: FOXHOLES is deeply influenced by my time in the Air Force, and I drew a lot from my own deployment to Afghanistan in writing those scenes. CAPTIVES is about the investigation of a missing child, and it doesn’t have the same military elements to it. But, one of the benefits of serving in the military is that you find yourself moving to places you never would have gone on your own and working with people whose backgrounds and cultures are much different from yours. That helps me create characters and add some nuance to them, so they’re not all like me (which would make for some extremely boring characters). Another thing I learned in the military is no matter what happened, someone would find a way to take the situation way too seriously…when I was in basic training, we were two minutes late for lunch, which got us a chewing out that ended with the line “PEOPLE COULD DIE.” When I’m working out plots now, I can fall back on that training and think through how to make a bad situation much worse.
DOSSIER: Tell us more about the musical instruments you play. Dossier member Alex Kenna plays the dulcimer (top that!), so where would you fit in the still unformed Dossier Band?
TOUGAW: I once had a dream of starting an acoustic band called the Indefinite Articles. I envisioned five or six of us in the band, and we’d all be multi-instrumentalists, so we could switch off from instrument to instrument as the song required. Sadly, that dream has never come to fruition, but it led me to acquire and learn to play several instruments. Mandolin is my favorite these days; I love its versatility. I find I’m much more creative while playing it than while playing other instruments. I also play guitar, bass, and, yes, dulcimer! I play both the lap dulcimer and the hammer dulcimer. The Dossier Band is a thing that definitely needs to happen!
Website: Travis Tougaw | Amazon Page
Jeff Circle 