Travis Tougaw
Last Call
A child disappears, leaving behind a broken and grieving family. With no witnesses, no motives, and no evidence, Hadley, Vince, and Eddie must delve deep into the past to piece together what really happened, unaware of the powerful enemies they’re about to make.
DOSSIER update 6/6/2024:
The Dossier had the privilege of meeting Travis at ThrillerFest 2024, where he wowed the crowd during the Debut Author’s Breakfast. By the end, people were running to the bookshop to get a copy of Captives. He was kind enough to do a few update questions with the release of his new book.
What did he get himself into?
DOSSIER: What was going through your head for the hour before you stood up and gave your speech at the ITW Debut Author’s Breakfast at Thrillerfest?
TOUGAW: I had a lot of different thoughts before the breakfast…and, being an end-of-the-alphabet guy, I had plenty of time during the breakfast to keep thinking. My thoughts were things like, “That is a LOT of people…what have I gotten myself into?” “I wonder what I’m going to say? I hope it’s something good.” “OMG…Lisa Gardner knows who I am!” And, of course, “Mmmm….bacon.” Fortunately, the voice that won out said, “Relax, have fun, and be yourself.” And, it was a ton of fun. I am deeply appreciative of ITW putting on such a great event, the welcoming nature and general niceness of all the attendees, and the camaraderie of my fellow debuts.
Freedom to fail
DOSSIER: When you look back at everything from your military career to the release of your second book, CAPTIVES, what would you say had the most influence on your writing? Anyone in particular you’d like to thank or point out?
TOUGAW: One idea that keeps popping up around me lately is having the freedom to fail. I read a blog post about failure being a great teacher for writers, and the same idea came up in a couple of the panels during ThrillerFest. The idea being that if you never fail, you’re probably not taking chances, and you’re going to get stuck in the rut of approaching writing the way you always have; there’s no opportunity for growth in that model. During my time in the Air Force, I was fortunate to work for several commanding officers who encouraged us to innovate, and if we failed, to assess what went wrong, determine what we could do better the next time, and learn from it. I remember a three-star general in Korea telling a group of officers that with most of our troops being away from home and family, they would be willing to put in extra work and would probably come to us with new ideas, and we should let them try them out. “I’m the only one here with a ‘no stamp,’” he said. That’s always stuck with me, and the military method of trying, collecting lessons learned, and trying again has been crucial to my development as a writer.
On a more personal note, I’ve been fortunate to learn from several great writing professors over the years, and I still hear their voices in my head whenever a blank page confronts me. Terry Dalrymple, Chris Ellery, John McKenna, and John Price: thank you all for your invaluable mentorship, for investing in me as a student, and for always pushing me to improve my writing skills.
Below is Travis Tougaw’s first Dossier. It was obtained and released on 3/19/2024 for his novel, Foxholes.
Those pre-GPS days
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.
Moving … a lot
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.
Doing “real work”
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.
U.S. Air Force deployments to Afghanistan
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.
Stand back, he’s with the band
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!
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