Don't Mess With Travis

"The Yellow Prose of Texas? Secession Movement Blooms in Fiction"

Don't Mess with Travis gets a mention on the FRONT PAGE of the Wall Street Journal. Check it out here.

Secession Y'all: Why Texas Can Pull It Off

Spurred by the Texas petition for "peaceful withdrawal" that awaits an official White House response, I took to The Daily Caller to explain just why Texas is uniquely qualified to break away... and succeed. The piece has been getting a ton of attention. Click here to read!

"The Political Novel for this Election Season"

The Cato Institute is out with a nice new book review. From Senior Fellow in Constitutional Studies Ilya Shapiro:

"I'm a few months late on this, but while the Supreme Court was figuring out what to do with Obamacare, a work of political fiction came out that captures the tone of Washington better than any of Bob Woodward tick-tock tomes."

Click here to read the whole thing...

"You may have trouble putting it down..."

A great new review from EssentialHM.net...

As Jim Valvano said in his now famous speech, "Every day you should laugh, think, and have your emotions moved to tears." Regardless of your political affiliation, this book certainly can help you do all of those."

Click here to read the whole thing.

"Smiley's a Prophet..."

Thanks to blogger Z for yesterday's gushing review of Don't Mess with Travis.

If you don't get this book... I swear... you will be missing the FUNNIEST, most terrific book I've read in a long time for pure conservative entertainment.

Click here for more...

Ben Travis lands at Princeton

Though Ben Travis is as un-Ivy League as they come, that didn't stop his book from gracing the pages of the Princeton Alumni Weekly. Click to enlarge:

Book Tour 2012: Austin

Photos courtesy of Marti Smith.

Travis in Texas Monthly Magazine

Getting caught up on press stuff -- Don't Mess with Travis landed a shout out in the May issue of Texas Monthly Magazine. Click picture to enlarge!

Travis in the LA Weekly...

The LA Weekly recently caught up with me and the story of how a Princeton kid from Southern California ended up writing a political satire about Texas secession...

Click here for the full story.

BREITBART.COM: "Don't Mess with Travis is one of the year's best..."

An incredible review today from Ben Shapiro, editor-at-large over at Breitbart.com. Here's how it opens:

Conservatives aren't supposed to be funny. According to the elites, we can't be, what with our brains so full of racism, misogyny, and greed. Thankfully, no one told this to author Bob Smiley, whose debut novel Don't Mess with Travis is one of the year's best, and arguably the most stinging work of political satire since Christopher Buckley's Boomsday.

Read on for more...

New Book Review...

With me heading to Texas on Tuesday, this review from one of America's biggest papers couldn't come at a more perfect time:

Who says conservatives don't have a sense of humor? For years, conservative patron saint William F. Buckley Jr. regaled audiences with both his humor and his books, including several works of fiction. Now, a former Buckley research assistant, Bob Smiley, has delivered his debut novel just time for election season.

It only gets better. Full review available here.

Praise For DON'T MESS WITH TRAVIS...

"If there were a Nobel Prize for political wit, Bob Smiley’s novel Don’t Mess With Travis would win it in a landslide. Much needed in this angry political season!"

-- Steve Forbes

"A freewheeling satire that does for politics what Texan Dan Jenkins' antic fictions did for golf and football. Smiley's first novel disproves the notion that conservatives can't be really funny." -- Kirkus Reviews

"One of the year's best, and arguably the most stinging work of political satire since Christopher Buckley's Boomsday. Sacred cows on the left... beware." -- Breitbart.com

"Smiley's incisive and derisive view of the political process makes this razor-sharp debut novel a timely and entertaining read."

-- Booklist

"With this lively and charming debut, readers on both sides of the aisle will hope that Smiley's novel won't be his last." -- The Dallas Morning News

"The world of politics is anything but funny these days. That's why Bob Smiley's new book Don't Mess With Travis is so refreshing. If you need an escape and your politics lean to the right, put away the Wall Street Journal, crack open an ice cold beer, and prepare to laugh and cheer for a not so unlikely political hero."

-- Mark Meckler, co-founder Tea Party Patriots

"Smiley's a prophet."

-- Z Blogger

"Some people might say that Don't Mess with Travis is a mix of Carl Hiaasen and George Will. But it's more than just a witty blend of larger-than-life characters and a prescient political narrative: It's intelligent satire - true on both the human and policy dimensions... Smiley is this generation's Christopher Buckley."

-- Ilya Shapiro, Senior Fellow in Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute

"Bob Smiley gives us two things we really need: 1) a funny book about politics and 2) a Texas governor we can all get behind."

-- Steve Hely, author of How I Became a Famous Novelist and The Ridiculous Race

"A terrific read for the 2012 campaign season... funny for folks on either side of the aisle."

-- Jeremy Blachman, author of Anonymous Lawyer

About the Book...

Written with the comedic mastery of Christopher Buckley, Don't Mess with Travis tells the story of Ben Travis, a no-name Texas senator who becomes governor after a late-night accident takes the lives of the men ahead of him in the chain of command.

Before the paint has even dried on his parking spot, the recently divorced Travis uncovers the latest Washington power grab and decides there's only one solution: secession.

The stunt pits Travis (and Texas) against the president, a golf-obsessed, progressive egomaniac with spotty leadership skills, and the liberal elites behind him, who will try every dirty trick to derail the new governor and hold on to the most prosperous state in the Union.

Despite the doomsday threats from D.C., Travis forges ahead in a thrilling and hysterical quest to fight big government tyranny and restore sanity to the nation.

In the tradition of Advise and Consent and Primary Colors, Don't Mess with Travis brilliantly lampoons all that's wrong with present-day politics while waving the flag behind everything that's right.