She chatted instead about the Maura Shaw book she’d read, talking about her favourite scenes and asking questions about how Travis had found his way around the twisty plot he’d flung his clever amateur sleuth into the middle of. Listening as he answered, she couldn’t help but notice the way his eyes lit up as he talked about the wonderful protagonist he’d created and the captivating world in which she did her sleuthing. Maura Shaw, and the books that detailed her various adventures, was obviously his great passion.
As he talked about how he’d dreamt up some of the crazy plot twists in the first book, and spoke more about his writing process and how he liked to work, Courtney couldn’t help feeling caught up in his enthusiasm and admiring his love for his craft.
“…so, that’s how I came up with the multiple red herrings in the first book,” Travis said as they approached the front gate of the house where he was staying on Foxglove Street. When he realised they’d arrived there, he gave her a sheepish look. “And it’s only just occurred to me that I’ve been talking non-stop about the book since we left the park. Sorry, you must be bored silly listening to me.”
“Of course not,” Courtney said, honestly. “I’m enjoying listening, and it’s fascinating to hear how the story came about.Do you ever think about sharing some of these insights with your readers?”
As he unlocked the front door, he let out a laugh. “I’m sure the readers just want a good book to entertain them for a few hours. They don’t want to know about the nuts-and-bolts of the writing process.”
“Some of them might. While I’m sure you might want to keep some details of your writing process private, I think many of the fans would enjoy finding out more about the behind-the-scenes stuff. Just a few snippets about how you work and where you are with your current project, and maybe a few teasers about what’s happening in the story without giving too much away.”
Travis looked thoughtful. “That doesn’t seem a little, I don’t know, self-indulgent?”
“No! Not at all. I’m not suggesting you write screeds and screeds about the behind-the-scenes writing, just that you throw in a post every few weeks that gives your readers a little insight into how you write and where your current project is in terms of progress. Since I’ve been working as your assistant, I’ve looked at many other author profiles on social media and it’s not an uncommon thing to share those kinds of posts. Readers like to see them, too, from what I can tell.”
“Maybe I’ll give it some thought. It might not hurt to add another thread of content to the social media material I already share about the published books. Coming up with new things to post about isn’t easy.”
They were inside the house now and Travis headed for the kitchen, where he filled the kettle. Removing a bag of ground coffee from the cupboard, he frowned.
“I just realised I don’t have any decaffeinated coffee,” he said.
“Tea is fine,” Courtney said.
“Are you sure? I can run down to the high street and grab something.”
“No need. Tea suits me. It’s more refreshing after the walk, and I’m a bit parched.”
At these words, Travis filled a glass with water and handed it to her. Grateful, and also touched by his consideration, she gulped down half the glass while Travis sorted tea things and emptied the bag of cakes onto a plate.
“Oh, wow, those look fantastic,” Courtney said, scanning the selection of chocolate brownies and iced cupcakes he’d brought home. “I might need to eat more than just one.”
“You can have as many as you like,” he laughed, pouring hot water into the teapot and then adding it to the tray where he’d already placed mugs, a sugar bowl and jug of milk. “Shall we sit in the living room?”
“Suits me. I’ll bring the cakes.”
She followed him through to the front room, her gaze skipping across to the desk where he worked as she moved towards the sofa. The screen on his laptop was dark, but spread around the machine on either side were open notebooks and scattered pens, along with an array of coloured sticky notes bearing swirling scribbles, mini flow diagrams, and more.
“Please ignore the mess,” Travis said, gesturing to the desk. “Like I said, I’m in the final third of writing the new book, and there are a lot of threads and plotlines to tie up in this story. The notes help me keep everything in hand, although I’m sure it probably doesn’t look that way.”
“It looks like a lot of amazing creativity is happening here,” she said, accepting the mug of tea he handed her and nodding towards his desk. “And this is exactly what I was talking about earlier. Your readers would love to know that all this is part of your working process. If you took a quick photo of your desk and blurred out any legible writing on your notebooks, they’d love to see what your desk set-up looks like, especially as you get to the end of a new book.”
Travis glanced towards the desk, his expression unconvinced. “Maybe. I guess I’m just quite a private person. I think I’d feel uncomfortable sharing that sort of stuff, to be honest.”
Courtney realised she’d been pushing him in a direction he didn’t want to go. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kept going on about it and suggesting you share things you don’t actually want to share.”
“It’s fine,” he said, waving away her apology. “I agree with what you’re saying, and I’m sure some of the readers would enjoy seeing this sort of stuff.” He waved again, this time towards his writing desk. “Ever since the Maura Shaw books took off, I’ve tried to find the right balance of what I share online. I want readers to feel they’re getting decent content from me when they follow me on Facebook or wherever, which is why I share bits and pieces about the research I do for the books and some of the ideas that inspire the plots and some of the locations I visit to add colour to the stories. But I’ve always been hesitant about sharing more personal stuff.”
He laughed and gave her an amused look. “Not that there’s much personal stuff to share. I’m pretty boring. All I do is write.”
“You’re not boring, Travis. How could you say that? You’re anauthor. That’s really cool.”
“All work and no play…” He laughed again, and gestured to the plate of cakes she’d sat on the coffee table between them. “Help yourself.”
Courtney selected one of the iced cupcakes and considered her next words as she peeled back the paper case. “What do you like to do in your spare time?”
“When I’m not writing, I’m thinking about writing,” he replied, an amused grin on his face. “That’s both good and bad. It’s good for my publisher, my readers, and my bank account. It’s bad for the work-life balance thing. These past couple of years,I’ve found it too easy just to disappear into my writing and into my stories. I’ve had a hectic publishing schedule to keep up with, and I know that makes me very lucky. But I’ve let other things slide in order to write, and then one day I looked up from my keyboard and realised I’d lost touch with friends, stopped doing activities I’d once enjoyed, and…”
He blinked, and a mixture of surprise and embarrassment crossed his face. “And I have no idea why I’m telling you all this. I’m sorry.”
