Travis Mulhauser

Travis Mulhauser was born and raised in Northern Michigan. His novel, Sweetgirl, was long-listed for The Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize, was a Michigan Notable Book Award winner in 2017, an Indie Next Pick, and named one of Ploughshares Best Books of the New Year. Sweetgirl has also been published in France, Germany, Brazil, The Netherlands, and the UK.

Mulhauser is the author of Greetings from Cutler County: A Novella and Stories, and received his MFA in Fiction from UNC-Greensboro. He is also a proud graduate of North Central Michigan College and Central Michigan University. He lives currently in Durham, North Carolina with his wife, two children, and dog.

Mulhauser's new novel is The Trouble Up North.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

The title for The Trouble Up North had one big job, in my opinion--to locate the story in the very specific setting of northern Michigan. The phrase "Up North" will be immediately recognizable to Michiganders and other readers, I think, will understand that the book takes place in a rural, northern landscape. That's important. The Trouble Up North, I think, also indicates that the conflict in the story is bigger than just the people involved--that we are also talking about a very particular place where a larger-scale threat is looming.

What's in a name?

I think the most meaningful character name in this book is the surname, Sawbrook. The Sawbrooks are a family that is very connected to their history. Alfred Sawbrook was the first member of the family to arrive in Cutler County--he showed up in 1850 with nothing but his beaver traps and a dream--and he is still revered by his descendents nearly two centuries later. The family's name conjours their history as fur traders, but also fits their modern turn into bootlegging as well. There is also the connection to water, which is central to their work between the Michigan and Canadian border.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

My teenage self would love this book. He probably wouldn't believe that I had written it, but he would love the action and the humor and the fact that there are explosions.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Beginnings! They're super hard to write because I want to move fast. I want to get the reader into the story quickly, and there is a constant tension between my desire to move forward and what the reader needs to know so that the story has meaning as it progresses. Endings are miracles. I never see them coming and I never know what they will be until they happen. There is a magic to a good ending that, in my opinion, is impossible to plan for, or see, before they happen.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

Great question! I'm a huge sports fan and a lot of my attitude about writing and doing the work that needs to be done comes from my two favorite coaches in the world--Dan Campbell, head coach of the Detroit Lions and Tom Izzo, head coach of the Michigan State Spartans Men's basketball team. Both coaches are fiery motivators and sometimes I imagine what they would shout at me when I'm sitting on the couch being lazy and not wanting to work. Songs by Bruce Springsteen and Jason Isbell and Lily Hiatt. This is probably cheating, but bookstores are a massive source of energy for me. Here's one that I think is interesting and that I tell writing students to try--movie trailers. There's something about seeing the way that a two hour movie is distilled into a 90 second pitch that can clarify things for whatever story I'm working on.

Visit Travis Mulhauser's website.

--Marshal Zeringue