SOUP: The Future Is Past and Present by Travis Haugen (VBT, guest post, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

ELF: I have the pleasure of sharing a guest post by author Travis Haugen, who shares insights about his story.

TH: Music is my life. The book Soup came out of my passion for music. In fact, the entire ‘One Song’ series can be traced back to the writing of one song on one lonely night back in late 2001.

We were the house band at the St. Louis Hotel in Calgary, Alberta. We finished the night, a Thursday, and I retired to my room with guitar in hand. I sat down on the edge of the bed, as I often do, and started to play. Out came a moody, three-minute song, wrapped around a bluesy, minor 7 chord progression, titled, ‘I Call Your Name.’ I decided I liked it, so I recorded it with my onboard Cakewalk 9.0 digital audio work station. Satisfied with the results, I retired for the evening. Sleep came fast but had no length to it. I bolted upright, jumped out of bed, sat down to my computer, and began typing. And typing. And typing. I had no idea what I was typing, or why, but I typed, until I could type no more.

Friday morning came hard. I worked during the day as a computer consultant/courier. It’s complicated, lol. All day, as I was doing my rounds, thoughts were swirling through my head. Constantly.

Friday night, the St. Louis Hotel bar. The place is packed and rocking. We finish the night, and I retire to my room, exhausted, but I do not sleep. I type. And type. By now, over a hundred pages, and still, I know not what I am doing. It is as though the information was channeling through me, not coming from me. I found the process entirely weird, and fascinating, and somewhat bewildering.

Finally, sleep. But not for long. I woke up Saturday morning nine tenths exhausted, but sleep was not on the agenda. I began to read what I had written. It hit me. It’s a story. But why? I’m a musician, I write songs. Lots of songs. But I don’t write books, so why? I still can’t answer the why, I only know that I have written since that day. Over the next five months, I wrote One Song, the first in the series, and Hedley, the second book, as well as much of the music for those two books. Soup came much later, the third book in the series, but the first to be published. That’s a story in itself. Another time, perhaps?

All of this started from writing one song. Now it is a life’s passion. With the invaluable help of my niece, Candy Haugen, we will endeavor to take Hedley from the editing stage to the publishing stage. We are also working on the prose and music for the fourth book. That’s where the future lies.

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SOUP: The Future Is Past and Present

by

Travis Haugen

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GENRE:   Adventure/Mystery

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BLURB:

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.

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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.”

Where Soup Is Sold:

https://books.friesenpress.com/store/title/119734000048943105/Travis-Haugen-Soup

Amazon US

Amazon CA

Kobo

B&N

iTunes

Google Play

Indigo CA

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

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.

Links:

Website

Facebook

YouTube

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