{"id":1058,"date":"2018-02-19T14:33:28","date_gmt":"2018-02-19T14:33:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.fau.edu\/lifelongexchange\/?p=1058"},"modified":"2018-02-19T14:53:57","modified_gmt":"2018-02-19T14:53:57","slug":"conversations-with-michael-tougias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.fau.edu\/lifelongexchange\/2018\/02\/19\/conversations-with-michael-tougias\/","title":{"rendered":"CONVERSATIONS WITH…Michael Tougias"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sandi<\/a><\/p>\n

By Sandi Page, Member, FAU LLI Jupiter Marketing Committee member<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>

Michael Tougias<\/p><\/div>\n

Michael Tougias is an award-winning New York Times bestselling author and has written or\u00a0<\/em>co-authored 26 books on a variety of subjects:\u00a0 true survival stories, history, humor and the outdoors, inspiration, and Young Adult\/Middle Reader versions of some of his books.\u00a0 He will be back at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Jupiter on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 for a presentation on the war between the Colonists and Native Americans in 1675-1676.\u00a0\u00a0 Mr. Tougias has written two books on the subject:\u00a0 \u201cUntil I Have No Country (a novel of King Philip\u2019s War)\u201d and co-authored, with Eric Schultz, \u201cKing Philip\u2019s War: The History and Legacy of America\u2019s Forgotten Conflict.\u201d\u00a0 A book-signing will follow his lecture.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Michael Tougias, who was \u201cKing Philip\u201d and where did this little-referenced war take place?<\/strong><\/p>\n

King Philip was a Wampanoag leader whose Native American name was Metacom.\u00a0 He was the son of Massasoit.\u00a0\u00a0 During a peaceful period before the war, the English bestowed upon Metacom the English name of Philip and called him a king instead of sachem (native for leader). The War was fought in New England.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>How did you become interested in the subject and why did you write not one, but two, books on it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I first researched the war, I was surprised to learn that not only was this the first major war in America, but it also had the highest casualty rate of any war involving America \u2013 a higher casualty rate per capita than even the Civil War.\u00a0 I realized that many people were not aware of this event and I first decided to tell the story through my historical novel Until I Have No Country<\/em>.\u00a0 Then, I joined forces with author Eric Schultz for our history of the war, a book titled King Philip\u2019s War.<\/em>\u00a0 Eric is a superb researcher and writer, and this book covers every significant event during the war and also the reasons why this war happened.<\/p>\n

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One of the books is a fictionalized account of the war and the other is non-fiction.\u00a0 Which is more difficult to write, fiction or non-fiction?\u00a0 Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think that depends on the author.\u00a0 On the one hand, if an author really tries to stay true to the facts as I did during the writing of the historical novel, it can be difficult because the research is almost as daunting as the non-fiction version, and then you need to develop compelling characters.\u00a0 I\u2019ve written and co-written 26 books and Until I Have No Country<\/em> is my only work of fiction, but my plan is to write more historical fiction in the future.\u00a0 I think historical fiction can sometimes bring in a wider audience to a subject that the author is passionate about.<\/p>\n

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In 2014, you also collaborated on a memoir, this time with your daughter Kristin, titled The Cringe Chronicles: Mortifying Misadventures with my Dad.<\/em>\u00a0 What special challenges did that project present?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Which one of you had the final say in any \u201cartistic\u201d differences?\u00a0<\/strong>How did you handle her remembrances of events that you had previously considered anodyne?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Cringe Chronicles<\/em> was a joy to co-author with my daughter.\u00a0 She was the lead writer, focusing on her teenage years growing up with an eccentric Dad (me!) and all the strange trouble we got ourselves into.\u00a0 Kristin came up with the concept that at the end of each chapter, she would give me a page or two for my rebuttal and different point of view on the same incident.\u00a0 I was comfortable writing humor because I had written a book about my cabin in Vermont titled There\u2019s A Porcupine In My Outhouse: The Misadventures of a Mountain-man Wannabe<\/em>.\u00a0 That won the best nature book of the year in 2003 from the Independent Publishers Association.\u00a0 So when Kristin wanted to write The Cringe Chronicles, <\/em>\u00a0I jumped at the opportunity.<\/p>\n

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The reviews on your books are uniformly excellent but there must be an unhappy reader comment or book review from time to time.\u00a0\u00a0 I personally find truly bad reviews to be a high art form and a wonderful source of entertainment, not to be taken seriously.\u00a0 (Dorothy Parker\u2019s witty quotes on some writers\u2019 works have always amused me).\u00a0 What one terrible, but ultimately funny, review of your work stands out?\u00a0 How do reviews in general, good or bad, affect you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I remember when I wrote my very first book, which included natural history, The Boston Globe<\/em> reviewer said I wasn\u2019t as good as Thoreau.\u00a0 I thought to myself \u201cWho is, when it comes to nature?\u201d\u00a0 Since then, I\u2019ve never let a bad review bother me.\u00a0 When I\u2019m writing, my mantra is \u201cKeep it fast paced.\u201d\u00a0 I love books that pull me in and don\u2019t let me go, and that\u2019s what I try to write.<\/p>\n

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One of your books, The Finest Hours, <\/em>about a heroic rescue of 30 stranded sailors by the U.S. Coast Guard off the coast of Cape Cod, was turned into a major motion picture in 2016 by Walt Disney Pictures.\u00a0 It starred Chris Pine, Eric Bana and Casey Affleck.\u00a0<\/strong>Were you actively involved in the screen adaptation and film-making process?\u00a0 How closely did the film version stick to the events as related in your book? What would you negotiate differently for any future film projects?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Having a book made into a movie is a real blessing.\u00a0 I had a small role in writing a bit of the screenplay, but after that, it was in the hands of Disney.\u00a0 I would estimate about 70% of the movie matched what really happened and the other 30% was fictionalized for a better visual experience.\u00a0 For any future film projects, I would ask to be more involved in the actual shooting of the movie and not just the screenplay.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>As you mentioned earlier, you also wrote a book humorously titled There\u2019s a Porcupine in My Outhouse: Misadventures of a Mountain Man<\/em>.\u00a0 Could you share with us how that book came about?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I was 22 years old, I bought a cabin on a remote hilltop overlooking a lake in Vermont.\u00a0My plan was to maybe hone my skills so that I could live off the land and quit my day job.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t work out that way – in fact, I had so much to learn about living in the woods, it was one misadventure after another.\u00a0 The book is similar to Bill Bryson\u2019s A Walk In The Woods<\/em>.\u00a0Mr. Bryson read an early draft of the book and wrote to me that he loved it, so that was a big boost.\u00a0 I wrote the book when I was about 40 years old, so I had perspective looking back at the younger me!<\/p>\n

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What is your writing process? Do you isolate yourself from your usual lifestyle?\u00a0 What percentage of your time in bringing a book to fruition is spent in research and what percentage in actual writing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unlike most writers, I do not set aside certain hours in the day to write.\u00a0 I might go a month without writing a thing, then go on a burst and write for hours every day.\u00a0 Because most of my books are non-fiction, I would estimate 40% is research and 60% is writing and editing.<\/p>\n

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You write on a wide variety of subjects. Do you have the same editors and publishers for all of your different types of books? If so, this must present them with a real challenge in marketing you and your work. How do they deal with that? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Of my seven survival and rescue books, six were published by Simon and Schuster.\u00a0 But for my other books, it has been a variety of publishers.\u00a0 My long-time agent, who recently passed away, would have preferred that I stick with the survival and rescue themes, but he also understood that I like to mix things up.\u00a0 There are many writers more gifted than me, but I believe I\u2019m one of the more versatile writers out there.<\/p>\n

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Have you always been a writer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was in business management for many years and was moonlighting as a writer.\u00a0 It was extremely difficult but I have a theory that if you have a goal, and try to take one little step toward it each day, you will eventually arrive.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>What is your next writing project?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have co-written a book with Casey Sherman about the U-2 Spy Plane pilots who discovered the missiles in Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis.\u00a0 The title is Above & Beyond: John F. Kennedy and America\u2019s Most Dangerous Cold War Spy Mission. <\/em>The book is in its final phase of copy-editing.\u00a0 It is already available on-line and will be released April 17 of this year. \u00a0The research was brutal, and it might be the toughest project I\u2019ve done, but I\u2019m so glad I stayed with it because I love the finished product.\u00a0 I\u2019m especially proud because the book draws attention to the sacrifice made by Major Rudolf \u201cRudy\u201d Anderson, Jr., USAF, who was shot down on October 27, 1962 by the Soviets during his mission over Cuba.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

One day in the faraway future, what would you like your epitaph to be on your tombstone?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a tough one because I\u2019ll probably have my ashes spread on my Vermont mountaintop.\u00a0 But if I did have a tombstone and it mentioned writing, I\u2019d say something like \u201cHere lies a writer.\u00a0 He wrote on war, rescue, humor, and nature.\u00a0 His only guiding principals were to write with passion, keep it fast paced, and don\u2019t take yourself too seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Michael Tougias<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

America\u2019s First Major War \u2013 King Philip\u2019s Indian War and the Shaping of America
\n<\/em>Osher Lifelong Learning Complex, FAU Jupiter Campus
\nTuesday, February 20, 2018, 11:15 a.m. \u2013 12:45 p.m.; Book-signing: 12:45 \u2013 1:15 p.m.<\/p>\n

To register,\u00a0click here.<\/a><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sandi Page, Member, FAU LLI Jupiter Marketing Committee member   Michael Tougias is an award-winning New York Times bestselling author and has written or\u00a0co-authored 26 books on a variety of subjects:\u00a0 true survival stories, history, humor and the outdoors,…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more ›<\/a><\/div>\n

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