{"id":7012,"date":"2024-03-31T22:14:16","date_gmt":"2024-03-31T22:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/qa-with-travis-d-ramsey-author-of-what-was-meant-to-fall\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T19:49:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T19:49:07","slug":"qa-with-travis-d-ramsey-author-of-what-was-meant-to-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/qa-with-travis-d-ramsey-author-of-what-was-meant-to-fall\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A With Travis D. Ramsey, Author Of What Was Meant To Fall"},"content":{"rendered":"

In What Was Meant to Fall: A Novel<\/em><\/a>, three strangers stranded after a plane crash on a remote volcanic island must confront their pasts, their fears, and the unexpected connections that could change the course of their lives forever. Author Travis D. Ramsey talks to Book Glow about the novel.<\/p>\n

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What Was Meant to Fall<\/em> begins with a high-stakes survival scenario\u2014what drew you to the idea of bringing three very different characters together through a shared disaster?<\/h3>\n

I didn\u2019t set out intending for the three characters to be drastically different \u2014 that happened naturally as I wrote them. I started this novel with nothing more than the story in my head. No outline, no timeline, barely any notes. The first notes I took were simply a list of names so I wouldn\u2019t mix anyone up as the story grew.<\/p>\n

What really drew me in was the psychology of people who go through shared trauma. I\u2019ve always been fascinated by how humans respond when everything familiar is stripped away. I think books and especially Hollywood often get it wrong by assuming people immediately turn cruel or chaotic. In my experience, most people are genuinely good and instinctively try to work together. Sure, personalities clash \u2014 you\u2019ll always have the dominant one, the quiet one, the jokester \u2014 but in real disasters, people usually rely on each other rather than tear each other apart.<\/p>\n

The idea of this story had been living in my head for years: a survival story that doesn\u2019t default to the Lord of the Flies model (great book, but not the only way humans behave). Conflict still exists, of course \u2014 it can\u2019t be sunshine, rainbows, lollipops, and unicorns \u2014 but survival doesn\u2019t have to mean savagery.<\/p>\n

My first draft actually opened with the plane crash. After finishing it and stepping back, I realized the story needed more emotional grounding before that moment. Starting with Jackson\u2019s story, then Sarah\u2019s and Daisy\u2019s, gives the reader a deeper connection to each of them. That way, when the crash happens, the impact lands harder. Structurally, it also made the narrative cleaner and more immersive.<\/p>\n

Jackson, Daisy, and Sarah are all at very different points in their lives\u2014how did you approach developing their individual backstories and emotional arcs?<\/h3>\n

Jackson\u2019s backstory is a blend of the men I served with throughout my Navy career. His childhood, the teachers who stepped in for him, the long years in uniform, and even his role as an explosive ordnance disposal technician all come from real people I\u2019ve known. EOD techs rarely get the recognition they deserve, and I wanted to honor that quiet strength. Some of the men who inspired him may read this book without ever realizing how much of their character helped shape Jackson. And if I\u2019m being honest, there\u2019s a little bit of me in him too.<\/p>\n

Daisy and Sarah came together in a completely different way. I wanted Daisy to be quieter and more reserved, but still capable of intense emotion \u2014 someone whose strength shows through softness. Sarah, on the other hand, was always meant to be the spark: fun, witty, the kind of person readers grow attached to as the story unfolds. But above all, I wanted both women to be strong, loyal, and deeply connected \u2014 the kind of best friends who hold each other up no matter what.<\/p>\n

Their emotional arcs were inspired by the women in my life: my wife, my mom, my sister, and the many friends who\u2019ve left their mark on me. There\u2019s a piece of each of them in Daisy and Sarah. Their backstories weren\u2019t planned in advance \u2014 they came to me during a long walk one evening in Sicily, and I built them piece by piece as I wrote. There\u2019s no grand design behind it; it\u2019s just how my mind works. Sometimes the hamster jumps on the wheel, and the story takes off.<\/p>\n

The novel explores both physical survival and emotional reckoning. Which of the two felt more central to you as a writer?<\/h3>\n

For me, the emotional reckoning was the heart of the story. Writing the physical survival elements came naturally \u2014 it\u2019s straightforward to describe how to build a shelter, start a fire, or find ways to stay alive. Those details help set the scene, but they\u2019re shared experiences. Everyone on that island is going through the same physical challenges.<\/p>\n

Emotion is different. It\u2019s personal, unpredictable, and often unspoken. People can be in the same situation and still process it in completely different ways. That\u2019s what made the emotional arcs more central \u2014 and more challenging \u2014 to write. I wanted the survival elements to be grounded and realistic, but not so over\u2011explained that they took away from the reader\u2019s imagination. The emotional journeys, though, needed a different level of attention.<\/p>\n

For Daisy and Sarah, it was important to show them as strong, independent women who also know when to lean on each other \u2014 even when they\u2019re at odds. Their friendship is a lifeline. Jackson\u2019s emotional arc follows a similar pattern, but his journey carries the weight of what many veterans experience. His internal struggle is really the heartbeat of the entire book. The physical survival keeps the story moving, but the emotional survival is what gives it meaning.<\/p>\n

Your background includes 26 years of global service in the Navy\u2014how did your real-life experiences shape the tension, leadership dynamics, or resilience portrayed in the story?<\/h3>\n

That\u2019s a great question \u2014 and honestly, one I never really stopped to analyze until now. When I wrote this story, I wasn\u2019t following a blueprint or trying to weave in specific themes. I was simply telling the story as it came to me. But looking back, I can see that nearly every layer of tension, leadership, and resilience in the book is rooted in my real experiences.<\/p>\n

The survival elements came naturally because they\u2019ve been part of my life since childhood. My sister and I grew up camping deep in the Sierra Nevadas and later the mountains of New Mexico. Our parents spent countless hours teaching us how to build fires, make shelters, find food \u2014 you name it, it was a lesson in the Ramsey household. They had us convinced that one day we might just end up stranded in the middle of nowhere and need to survive off the land. In a way, this story has been in progress since I was five years old.<\/p>\n

Then came the Navy. I spent 26 years surrounded by exceptional leaders and incredible sailors who shaped me in ways I\u2019m still discovering. The calm-under-fire presence you see in Jackson \u2014 that steady, level-headed focus when everything around him is chaos \u2014 comes directly from the leaders I admired most. I watched men and women make clear decisions in impossible moments, communicate them with confidence, and steady everyone around them. That kind of leadership leaves a mark.<\/p>\n

Resilience found its way into the story the same way it found its way into my life: through repetition, challenge, and necessity. I\u2019ve been part of situations that didn\u2019t just ask for resilience \u2014 they demanded it. And like most veterans, I carry both the strength and the scars that come with that.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s another side to service that doesn\u2019t get talked about enough. The military changes you. Sometimes in ways you don\u2019t fully understand until years later. Many of us \u2014 myself included \u2014 walk away with parts of ourselves muted or reshaped. Emotion doesn\u2019t always come easily. Vulnerability takes work. Relaxation feels foreign. The mind stays active, alert, scanning. Twenty-plus years of that doesn\u2019t just switch off.<\/p>\n

I tried to capture some of that in the story \u2014 not to make it heavy, but to make it honest.<\/p>\n

And while the Navy shaped the man I became, the foundation was laid long before I ever put on a uniform. I was raised by a village of strong, loving, no-nonsense people who taught me lessons the world later reinforced. Without them, none of this \u2014 the career, the resilience, the writing \u2014 would\u2019ve been possible.<\/p>\n

So yes, the tension, the leadership dynamics, the resilience in the book\u2026 they\u2019re all pieces of my life, filtered through fiction. I didn\u2019t set out to write it that way, but that\u2019s exactly how it came out.<\/p>\n

The setting\u2014a remote volcanic island in the South Pacific\u2014feels almost like a character itself. What inspired this location, and how did you bring it to life on the page?<\/h3>\n

The island actually took root in my mind back in 2017 during a deployment. We were crossing the Pacific, and as we passed Wake Island, I remember being struck by how small and beautiful it was \u2014 this tiny speck of land in the middle of an endless ocean. I also saw aerial footage from an aircraft flying overhead, and that combination of real\u2011world views planted the seed.<\/p>\n

At the time, I wasn\u2019t sleeping well, and instead of counting sheep, I started imagining what would happen if I ended up alone on an island like that. How would I survive? What would I build? What would the days look like? Night after night, I fell asleep wandering deeper into that scenario. I didn\u2019t know it then, but that was the beginning of this novel.<\/p>\n

If you mix that with the books and films I\u2019ve always loved, you can see how the island took shape. Swiss Family Robinson<\/em> is still one of my all\u2011time favorites \u2014 the movie was fine, but the book is on another level \u2014 and that sense of adventure and ingenuity definitely influenced me.<\/p>\n

Bringing the island to life on the page turned out to be much harder than I expected. In my head, the place was vivid, but translating that onto paper while keeping the details consistent was a challenge. I kept tripping over my own descriptions. Eventually, I stopped and drew a full map \u2014 the coastline, the cliffs, the camps, the shelters, everything. That map became my anchor, and honestly, I wish I\u2019d done it from day one. Lesson learned for future books.<\/p>\n

As for making it volcanic\u2026 well, why not? Volcanoes are cool, and I\u2019m a bit of a geology nerd at heart. Don\u2019t worry \u2014 the book isn\u2019t a geology lesson. But I do have a story brewing about a Cascade volcano someday. Maybe that one will erupt into a novel too.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a strong theme of \u201cwhat remains when everything falls apart.\u201d What does that question mean to you personally?<\/h3>\n

For me, that question cuts straight to the core of who we are when life strips away every comfort, title, and illusion of control. Real adversity has a way of revealing you. When the storm comes \u2014 and it will for almost everyone, sooner or later \u2014 you find out quickly whether you collapse into the corner or stand up and fight.<\/p>\n

When everything is taken from you, what\u2019s left? How do you act when the darkness descends? I believe those moments define the person you are at your core. Are you held together by possessions, routines, and reputation, or is there something deeper anchoring you? Do you take the hits, stand tall, and start fixing what\u2019s broken in your life, or do you fall into the easy trap of blaming everyone else?<\/p>\n

For me, the answer is simple: I refuse to let yesterday\u2019s mistakes or hardships decide who I\u2019m going to be tomorrow. You work every day to be a little better than the day before. That\u2019s what remains when everything falls apart \u2014 the choice to rise, to grow, and to keep moving forward.<\/p>\n

Writing this story gave me the chance to explore that through each of the protagonists. They lose almost everything except what they carried onto the plane, and I wanted to portray how real people might behave in that situation \u2014 not alone, but together. How they come to life on the island, how they respect one another, how tension and conflict naturally rise but don\u2019t erase their humanity. I wanted to show not just how people can behave, but how they should.<\/p>\n

And without giving away spoilers, that\u2019s only half the journey. The real catalyst \u2014 the true answer to \u201cwhat remains when everything falls apart\u201d \u2014 is love in its simplest form. Love for your fellow human. Love for the family you choose. I believe family and relatives aren\u2019t always the same thing; family is something we build, protect, and sometimes rediscover when everything else is gone.<\/p>\n

Readers who\u2019ve finished the book will understand exactly what I mean. My hope is that the story pulls them in until the last page, but stays with them because of what it reveals about resilience, connection, and the kind of love that survives the fall.<\/p>\n

Daisy is a country music star navigating fame and vulnerability\u2014what was it like writing a character from that world, and what did you want readers to see beyond the spotlight?<\/h3>\n

Writing Daisy was a challenge \u2014 and not just Daisy, but Sarah as well. I had plenty of \u201cwomen don\u2019t talk like that\u201d moments from the people I trust, and finding each woman\u2019s voice became its own adventure. Daisy is also a songwriter, which meant I had to become one too. Every lyric in the book is mine, and considering I\u2019d never written a song in my life before this, I can only hope they aren\u2019t too terrible.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t have any personal connection to the country music world or to fame in general, so everything about Daisy\u2019s public life came from imagination \u2014 just a small glimpse of what I pictured her world might be like. But the story was never really about capturing Nashville or Hollywood. It was about what happens when all of that is stripped away. When Daisy is stuck on an island with nothing but the clothes on her back and the people beside her, the spotlight disappears, and what\u2019s left is the real woman underneath.<\/p>\n

Her relationships \u2014 with Sarah, and of course with Jackson \u2014 were the heart of that exploration. Daisy steps into the diva role early on for obvious reasons, but I wanted readers to see far beyond that. Her softer side. Her intelligence. Her independence. Her brilliance. She\u2019s funny, she\u2019s sharp, she\u2019s vulnerable, and she\u2019s capable of deep loyalty. Readers get to watch her crack jokes, fall in love, get disappointed, and rise again.<\/p>\n

My goal was to show that behind the fame and the image is a woman who is complex, resilient, and deeply human \u2014 someone worth rooting for long after the spotlight fades.<\/p>\n

The story blends adventure, romance, and introspection. How did you balance those elements while maintaining emotional depth?<\/h3>\n

I\u2019d love to say I went into this book with a master plan for balancing adventure, romance, and introspection \u2014 but the truth is, the balance came naturally and then sharpened during editing. In the early drafts, I could feel when something was off. There wasn\u2019t enough tension at first, so I rewrote sections to raise the stakes. But once I did that, I realized I wasn\u2019t giving readers enough emotional relief, so I rewrote again. That became the rhythm of the process: push, pull, refine.<\/p>\n

At a certain point, it stopped being about what I wanted and became about what would give readers the best experience. I wanted them to feel the adrenaline, the tenderness, the quiet moments of reflection \u2014 but not all at once, and not in a way that overwhelmed the story. With the help of an incredible editor, I learned how to let each element breathe without letting any one of them dominate.<\/p>\n

For me, it wasn\u2019t about giving every genre equal weight. It was about pacing \u2014 making sure each scene carried the emotional truth it needed, whether that was fear, connection, humor, or heartbreak. If readers can feel the moment as they move through the story, then the balance is working.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve described your writing as a way to connect, heal, and honor untold stories\u2014what do you hope readers take away from this book after they turn the final page?<\/h3>\n

At its heart, I hope this story reminds readers that humanity should always take the front seat. And if someone reading this knows a veteran \u2014 or is one \u2014 maybe it helps them understand a little more about the weight people carry, even when they don\u2019t talk about it.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ll be honest: I didn\u2019t set out to write a book with a message. The original goal was simple \u2014 to create a fun, engaging beach read that people could escape into. Somewhere along the way, the deeper themes and emotional threads wove themselves in naturally. Some of the moments in the book are inspired by pieces of my own life, but the story itself is entirely fiction, written to entertain and hopefully resonate.<\/p>\n

If readers turn the final page feeling connected to these characters, feeling something shift in themselves, or simply wanting more of my storytelling, then I\u2019ve done my job. And if they do enjoy this book, I\u2019d love for them to follow me into the next one, Chances on the River<\/em>, which I hope to release next year.<\/p>\n

I also invite them to explore my two blog series \u2014 The Journey and Conversations with Mom. Those pieces offer a different side of my voice, but they come from the same place: a desire to connect, to share, and to honor the stories that shape us.<\/p>\n

This novel marks the beginning of your second act as a writer\u2014what can readers expect next from you?<\/h3>\n

Well, the very next thing I\u2019m doing is buying a new desk chair \u2014 I sat down, it snapped, and I narrowly avoided an embarrassing tumble. So that\u2019s how my second act is going so far.<\/p>\n

On a more serious note, I\u2019ve just started my first civilian job since I was eighteen, so I expect my writing rhythm to shift a bit while I figure out how to balance everything. But the good news is that I\u2019m not starting from scratch. I already have my second novel, Chances on the River, fully written, and I\u2019m about halfway through the first draft of my third, The Rose of Pirrera: A Sicilian Romance.<\/p>\n

Launching my debut novel, What Was Meant to Fall<\/em><\/a>, on May 26, 2026 \u2014 with the audiobook following shortly after \u2014 has been a whirlwind. There\u2019s so much that goes into publishing a book, and most people never see the behind\u2011the\u2011scenes work it takes to bring a story into the world. It\u2019s been exhausting, exciting, and incredibly rewarding.<\/p>\n

My next novel, Chances on the River<\/em>, will soon enter the editorial phase with Greenleaf Book Group. Set in the Arkansas River Valley and the rugged peaks of Buena Vista, Colorado, it follows the Cahill siblings \u2014 Cody, Ryder, and Katie \u2014 who run a river\u2011guiding business built around the wild beauty of the mountains. When a familiar face returns to town, old sparks reignite, long\u2011buried secrets surface, and the family is pulled into a mystery that threatens everything they\u2019ve built. It\u2019s a story about second chances, enduring love, and the courage to confront the past.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m also deep into The Rose of Pirrera: A Sicilian Romance<\/em>, which is especially close to my heart because Sicily was my home during my final Navy tour. The story follows Hudson O\u2019Brien, a former deep\u2011sea diver searching for meaning after the loss of his mother. A dart thrown at a map lands him in Aci Trezza, where he meets Angelica Pirrera \u2014 the fierce heir to one of Sicily\u2019s most powerful families. As Hudson becomes entangled in the legacies of the Pirreras and the three other founding families, he\u2019s drawn into a world shaped by history, loyalty, and old vendettas. From Catania to Marsala to the ancestral estate of Donnafugata, it\u2019s a sweeping tale of love, legacy, and choosing your own future.<\/p>\n

Outside of my novels, I\u2019m writing two ongoing blog series: The Journey and Conversations with Mom. The Journey traces my life from childhood through my transition from Navy Chief Warrant Officer to published author \u2014 honest, reflective, and often pretty funny. Conversations with Mom is exactly what it sounds like: me capturing the unfiltered, comedic exchanges with my mom \u2014 or as I call her, \u201cthe diva.\u201d Those pieces are some of my favorites because they\u2019re full of heart and humor, and readers really connect with them.<\/p>\n

So what can readers expect next? More stories, more heart, more adventure \u2014 and hopefully a sturdier desk chair.<\/p>\n

Visit our\u00a0Reading Essentials<\/a>\u00a0section to discover the best\u00a0bookshelves<\/a>,\u00a0reading chairs<\/a>,\u00a0book lights for reading at night<\/a>, and more!<\/p>\n

Receive top\u00a0book recommendations<\/a>\u00a0directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In What Was Meant to Fall: A Novel, three strangers stranded after a plane crash on a remote volcanic island must confront their pasts, their fears, and the unexpected connections that could change the course of their lives forever. Author Travis D. Ramsey talks to Book Glow about the novel. What Was Meant to Fall<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[351],"tags":[349],"class_list":["post-7012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lists","tag-gad"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}