We chat with author Travis Mulhauser about The Trouble Up North, which is an atmospheric, haunting novel about a family of bootleggers, their troubled history, and the land that binds them.
Hi, Travis! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m from Petoskey, Michigan, but live now in Durham, North Carolina. I write about northern Michigan and some of the crazy things that happen there.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
It was probably when I was about five years old and I had a Fisher-Price record player and an album of James and the Giant Peach. I listened to it constantly.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: That would be James and the Giant Peach.
- The one that made you want to become an author: The End of Vandalism by Tom Drury. It came out in the 90s and is still a book I go back to regularly. It was the first book I read about the Midwest that captured the weirdness and humor of the place—in addition to the stoicism and toughness that readers might typically associate with the region.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Wolf Whistle by Lewis Nordan. It is the best book I have ever read and I have read it probably fifty times. No book has influenced me more. There are a lot of things to say about Wolf Whistle, but it’s the writing itself, the electric way that Nordan discharges each sentence that I have never been able to escape. All of Nordan’s novels take place in a fictionalized version of the deep south, a town called Arrow Catcher, and I’ve tried to emulate the way he built his strange, southern world in my own invented version of northern Michigana—Cutler County.
Your latest novel, The Trouble Up North, is out March 11th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Family. Land. Violence. Hilarity. Heartbreak.
What can readers expect?
I think they can expect to be blown away by the ending and I think they will laugh and feel connected to these characters—the Sawbrooks are desperate people, but that desperation is rooted in love for the land and each other.
Where did the inspiration for The Trouble Up North come from?
I have walked around for years with an image in my mind of a young woman running along a riverbank at night. There is a fire along the shore, and high flames above the pines. The woman has set the fire, but I did not know why. I would say writing this book was mostly about answering my own curiosity about that central question—why did this woman start this fire?
Where the image itself came from, I have no idea. That’s the part of it that feels like magic.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I really, really enjoyed writing about Buckner Sawbrook—he’s a young man struggling with alcohol and he is in love with an exotic dancer. He is prone to fits of violence, but is also kind-hearted and earnest. I think his sections are both deeply felt and funny.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge for this book, and this is always the case for me, is that I write in a really non-linear fashion. I have basically been writing since I was twenty years old and I have everything in files on my computer and every novel is about combining brand new material with old bits and pieces—storylines and characters—that I’ve been writing about for years. It’s a lot like putting together a puzzle.
What’s next for you?
The second book in the series! More on the Sawbrook family and northern Michigan!
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
The next book on my TBR list is THE FORTY YEAR KISS by Nicholas Butler. Nick is from Wisconsin and I’ve learned a lot about writing from the way he tells stories. He is a Packers fan, but I do not hold that against him.
