Balancing Life and Writing with Travis Haugen – Guest Post and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $30 Amazon/BN.com gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

How does Travis Haugen balance life and writing?

That is a great question. I am one of those who do not think about life/work balance. Mostly, situations present themselves and I go with the situation.

I started playing in bands at an early age, about 14, traveling around to small towns near my home town in southern Saskatchewan. Then, in my late teens, I traveled with various bands throughout US and Canada. I began writing songs somewhere around then, becoming immersed in the music world as I did so. I became curious about what happens behind the song, behind the bass, so I learned much of the technical aspect of recording while I continued to tour. There was no question of balancing life with work, music was my work, and my life.

Later in life, I drifted into consulting part time as a computer technologist. In early 2001, I sat down and like many other days, I wrote a song. However, on that day I kept writing, only it wasn’t a song, it was the beginnings of a book, which turned into a series of books. It was as if I had all these thoughts and experiences that I had to get on paper, without really knowing why. At no point in my life did I plan on being an author, it simply presented itself to me, and I ran with it, and I haven’t stopped since. I did shelve the project for a while when I moved to Winnipeg in 2002. A new house, a new job, a new city; life got busy. So yes, I guess it was a matter of balance at that time, but I did not think of it as such. There just wasn’t time. But I never stopped thinking about the books, and I always had a guitar in my hand, when I had a moment to do so.

Life changes as it does, and about five years ago, I found myself living in the basement of Bedside (Recording) Studios in Winnipeg. I pulled the box of manuscripts down from a shelf, blew off the dust, and dove in. As I edited, I started writing songs to fit situations in each book. After work, I would spend time in the studio laying down tracks for those songs. I continued to work, play in various bands, write my songs, and write more books.

Then, fate tipped her hand again. About two years ago, my niece, Candy Haugen and I re-connected after years of little or no contact. Candy’s ordeal with colon cancer, and the passing of my mom, Candy’s gramma, were the forces that worked to draw us together. And through that connection, Candy became connected to the One song Project, and the book Soup. In fact, Candy’s involvement led to the book being published. Without her, that would not have happened. She went from helping with the editing to advising on artwork to co-writing the last seven songs from Soup with me. Her influence changed me, which changed the book, both to the good. Now, she is as important to the project as I am, maybe more so, because I wanted to start book four of the series, wile she wanted me to focus on finishing Soup, and getting the book out there in people’s hands. That would not have happened without Candy

In September, I plan on retiring (or at least cutting back) from computer consulting, and with Candy’s help, focus my time on getting the second book of the series published. We will also get the fourth book on paper, finish the songs, and continue the story of the Yonge family as they move through the years. The first book I wrote started from one song. That song came out of loneliness. Now, the series of events that led to my strong connection with Candy has led to a strong connection with the rest of the family, and I am the furthest from lonely as I’ve been in my life.

That first book, aptly titled One Song, may never get published, but it will remain special to me, as that is where Scott, Michelle, Scheck, Duke and many of the other characters came to life. And, like me, it was never a question of balance, it was simply, life. Sweet and beautiful, ever changing, ever precious, life.

Scott Yonge exploded onto the national consciousness at the 2001 Garrett Awards and quickly rose to legendary status on the wings of his music and his whirlwind romance with independent film actress Michelle Zoe. What should have been a perfect life was interrupted by an ultra-right wing militant group called the American Freedom Force and its leader, Colonel Randall, who forces Scott to choose between his life and that of his son. After his heroic sacrifice, his family is left to pick up the pieces and forge ahead to a future in the vacuum he left behind.

Now, in 2021, his son Hedley inherits music for himself, becoming a star in his own right as technology gives new life to the medium. Scott’s daughter, affectionately known as Soup, throws herself into unravelling the mysteries of her family’s history. Michelle commits herself to keeping them all together and trying to make sense of life without the one she loves. Through it all, the AFF looms in the shadows, threatening to resurrect the pain they have just begun to overcome.

Enjoy an excerpt:

The dream wakes him, the same one. Hedley’s whispered words “Bye birdies, bye” still ring in his ears as he achieves consciousness. Sound of a different source soon intrudes: that of music playing through the PA system. It’s late, he realizes, and jumps to his feet. He can feel more than hear the rustle of people filing into the arena, bringing with them a sense of tension that will build until show time, then burst like a stick dam before a raging river with the first note. It’s 7:10 PM; an hour and twenty to go. A shrill knock comes to the door, followed by Del’s voice.

“You in there, dude?”

“Si,” Scott replies. All the years of the road, sharing the stage, and the music are audible in Del’s simple words. They don’t have to speak to talk; they’re on the same wavelength.

The show, the focus is the show. Whatever lies with tomorrow lives with tomorrow; they live for tonight. “I need a shower, I stink. I’ll be along soon.”

“Cool, dude, don’t forget your pants.”

He hears cowboy booted footsteps receding on the concrete floor.

A new, unidentifiable tension floats to the surface as Scott showers, rising from the dark side. It has an ominous feel about it, winding like a creeping vine around Scott’s confidence, bringing with it a sense of fear, and worse, a sense of defeat. The wariness settles on him again, draining his energy and his will. He shivers uncontrollably as coldness sets in, and he wonders if he can go on. Then it occurs to him as he cranks the hot water that this is all part of it. The plan all along was to isolate him, weaken him bit by bit, reducing him to a shell of what he is. By show time, they would see Scott as the colonel wants them to see him, a weak and ineffective fool incapable of sustaining a mission of any substance. “You will not break me,” Scott whispers. He leans his head against the cool tiles of the shower stall. “I will not give you that.”

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.

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Comments

  1. Thanks for hosting!

  2. James Robert says

    Great post and I appreciate getting to find out about another great book. Thanks for all you do and for the hard work you put into this. Greatly appreciated!

    • Thank you James, the One Song project is alot of work, but Travis and I are very excited with the reviews and comments we are seeing from readers. We are also excited to be getting the next books in the series published.

  3. Thanks for the giveaway.

  4. Hi folks,
    Thanks for having us today. This is a great way to start our first tour. We appreciate the opportunity to meet new people. We would love to hear from you.

  5. kim hansen says

    Sounds good, love the cover.

    • Thanks, Kim.
      The goose was an illustration from Haley Craw, a young artist from Calgary. Haley is in England right now attending art school. The fountain fill blue, which has become our trademark, comes from my niece, Candy. She also did the layout, and came up with the phrase, ‘An Interactive Musical Thriller’, which perfectly describes what the book is.
      Thanks for your comment, Kim

  6. I liked the excerpt.

  7. Thank you Rita, I appreciate you letting us know.

  8. Thank you for hosting!

  9. Thank you for Hosting!! We appreciate all the hard work you do for Authors.

  10. Mya Murphy says

    This book sounds excellent!! Loved the excerpt..

  11. bernie wallace says

    At which age did you have your first book published?

    • SOUP is our first published book, so the answer would be 64. However, SOUP is the third book in the One Song series, which dates back to 2001. Candy and I are working on the second book, HEDLEY , as our next release.

  12. Great excerpt, thanks for sharing 🙂

    • Thank you, Victoria,
      SOUP is set in 2021, but the excerpt takes the reader back to 2009 and Scott’s run-in with the colonel. That episode leads Soup and Hedley’s involvement directly back to the same people who caused the demise of their musician father.

  13. Gwendolyn jordan says

    I like the cover

    • Thank you Gwendolyn, the cover is actually a collaboration of efforts! Haley Craw completed the goose and Travis came up with the title SOUP The Future is Past and Present. Through many conversations with my uncle Travis, we came to agree on the color blue, and the phrase An Interactive Musical Thriller.

  14. Love Canadian rock and authors, so I’m amazed I didn’t know about Travis before!

    • Hi Trix,
      I have been out there for years, but you can hardly say I’m famous, so odds are you would not have heard of me. I’m one of those working musicians, you know, out there quietly doing my thing, touring Canada and the United States, writing and recording, and, yes, writing books. It was niece, Candy who convinced me I should get down to publishing my works.
      You can check out the music at http://www.soupsyz.com
      Or via the author website http://www.travishaugen.com
      I thank you for your comment.

    • CANDY Lynn HAUGEN says

      Hi Trix, yes, my uncle Trav has been a musician for over 40 years travelling around Canada and the US. He is a very talented musician, song writer and now can add to his list of talents, author! We are both very proud of this project.

  15. Thanks for the giveaway; I like the excerpt. 🙂

    • Thank you, Cali. My niece, Candy, picked the excerpts for the tour. I gotta say, it is from one of my favorite parts of the book. Namely, Scott Yonge’s showdown with the colonel, the man who orchestrated the kidnapping of Scott’s son Hedley.

  16. Dale Wilken says

    The book sounds really great.

  17. Thank you for introducing me to this book.

  18. Thank you, everyone, for being a part of our blog post. Candy and I had fun today. Stop by and see us any time on the rest of the tour, or through our website or Facebook page..

  19. Great post

  20. Linda Romer says

    Soup sounds like an interesting read. Thank you

  21. Hi Folks,
    I wanted to drop in one more time and thank everyone for stopping by on the tour. We had a blast! On behalf of my niece, Candy, and myself, we’d love to wish you all a very magical summer in 2019!
    Hope to see you all again soon!

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