Travis Leonard - Author Life

Travis Leonard recently published his debut book with us, The Gold Carolina Highway. We thought we'd ask the author a few questions about his life, both before and after his publication.

Did you always dream of becoming an author?

I loved going to the library and bookstores as a child. I loved getting lost in the world created by the author. Becoming an author seemed like an impossible feat so I turned to music. I began writing songs and eventually that was the way I was able to tell short stories in three to four minutes.

What was your first job?

I was a registered nurse in Los Angeles before I became an entertainer.

How did you come about writing your book? Was that your intention or did you start writing for fun?

I was sitting at home in Los Angeles one day and I had nothing to do for the first time in a very long time. I hate being still. I can only relax for a short while. I wasn’t writing any songs that day and I had no acting gigs. I called my mother who is a retired English teacher and asked if I should write a book or a screenplay. She told me to write a book, so I did.

What was your life like before you became an author?

I was playing a lot of concerts and acting in commercials.

Did you face any struggles before becoming an author? If so, how did you overcome them?

I was trapped creatively. I was expected to only write songs. After I wrote “The Carolina Gold Highway” people were surprised to learn that I secretly wrote a book in my free time. Plus, time management is always a struggle but I attribute my mastery of that discipline to college athletics.

Now that you are a published author, how has your life changed, if at all?

I’ll be honest, not much has changed other than I feel freer to express myself through the stories that I make up. I feel validated when people listen to the ideas I come up with outside of music.

Can you please describe a typical day in your life now?

Wake up. Drink caffeine. Go to the gym. Eat. Work on music, acting, or writing. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

What is your most memorable moment of your life as an author?

I woke up in a fancy hotel bed one morning at Disneyland to find an email from Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie Publishers on my phone saying that they enjoyed my book, “The Carolina Gold Highway.” They wanted to know if they could publish it. I called my mother who is a retired English teacher to tell her the good news. I forgot to tell her the good news because we started chatting about different things like usual. I had to call her back with the good news once I remembered why I called her in the first place.