Travis Simmons was kicked out of magic school for his refusal to study and his penchant for mundane activities like cooking. While selling his sword he stumbled upon dogs that he wrongly thought were magical and imagined he could commune with them. After a vicious zombie attack in which witches helped him push back the undead horde, Travis found himself apprenticed to a necromancer. Afraid that winter was coming, Travis tucked into his magical studies, but always chased his dreams of writing tales science fiction tales and fantasy stories where he could explore his wild imagination about life on other planets. Adamant that Travis learn the esoteric ways of the occult his master made his life a horror of practice and studies. But no matter how he tried, he could never conquer Travis' questing mind. |
- Book title: The Bonds of Blood, The Mirror of the Moon, The Well of Wyrding, A Guardian of Shadows, On Wings of Chaos, The Turquoise Tower, DESOLATION. (Forthcoming) A Plague of Shadows (2015)
- Genre: Fantasy/Horror
- Synopsis: “In the world of Saracin, the Goddess damns the earth that killed her two beloved angels and tears it into six realms. As a reminder of their transgression, each person is branded with a stigmata on their palms as testament of their home realm and their separation from the Goddess.”
- Publish date: 2012
- Publisher: Wyrding Ways Press (self-pubbed)
- Publish date: 2014
- Publisher: Wyrding Ways Press (self-pubbed)
Hi all, I'm pleased to report that the creative author, Travis Simmons has escaped his necromancer master for a short while to chat with us about his writings. I'm a little scared of his dark master, so we will have to keep things short and sweet today, but never fear, Travis has teleported a snippet of his writing here to share with us all today. Strap yourselves in and come with us for a ride on the Wyrd side.
Hi Travis, welcome to the FSFN throne.
I'm just wondering how you pronounce your series name Wyrd - is it 'weird' 'word' 'wired' - so many possibilities?
Wyrd can be pronounced tons of different ways. I pronounce it weird. :-D
What other writing have you done?
I have dabbled a little into erotic romance under the pen name of Talus Ripley. I chose a pen name because I really didn’t want my target audience to stumble upon one of my romance books, buy it thinking it was a new fantasy/horror of mine and be really, really surprised! That wouldn’t be fun for them at all. Also, my target audience under my real name, Travis Simmons, range from late teens to early twenties.
K: Well that was a surprise right off the bat! You do have diverse writing skills. I think that the pen name is a great idea in this case.
Now, what made you choose the fantasy / horror genre?
I’ve always loved fantasy! You know, I read to escape my life, to escape Earth, and what better way to do that than to read fantasy where you are literally thrown into the pages of another world? Also, magic rocks, and there’s the problem of not having lightning throwing baddies on Earth! Bummer.
How do you develop your characters? Fortunately I haven’t really had to develop any characters, they tend to grow on their own. Normally I’m given a name and then their stories start to come to me. Honestly, it’s like they are saying: “Hey, I’m (insert name) and this is my story! Do you mind if I set up my crazy shop in your head for a while and hold you (and your keyboard) hostage?” K: Wow! Your characters are quite the forceful bunch. What is your favourite quote? “Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking.” The Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz said that, and I don’t think there’s ever been a truer statement. |
I do, I’ve just recently started working with authors helping them with editing of their books as well as interior formatting for ebooks and print. Other than that, no. I am a fulltime care taker for my mother, so that doesn’t allow for an out of the home job.
K: You're a good son. :-)
Do you have a blog?
I do have a blog, it’s actually the same address as my website included below.
What do you write about in your blog?
All kinds of things. I like to share some interesting life tid-bits as well as videos I think are awesome and a new column I’m working on, a top five list of the best/worst fantasy things. Recently I’ve written Five Reasons Magic Sucks!
Who would you choose to read your audiobook?
Morgan Freeman because his voice is just epic.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing? Eating? HA! Watching Netflix, handing out with friends, chatting, that kind of thing. I really have a boring life, but I do love catching up on The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Drop Dead Diva, Scrubs, and tons of other older shows that I’ve just recently found thanks to Netflix! Do you prefer ebook or hardcopy? Honestly a hardcopy, but I use my ereader more often than not because it’s just easier and I am so scattered that I hop between several books. |
I am totally a dog person!
You can be any fictional character for one day. Who would you be?
I would totally be Gandalf because he’s really awesome. Oh, maybe Storm from the x-men. I could gender-bend the crap out of Storm!
K: Oh yeah! That would be great.
Thanks so much for flying over to chat here today. Best wishes with your writing and necromancy studies.
Travis's Links:
Please check them out and keep an eye out for his new release:
'The Turquoise Tower' on October 28th.
Website: http://travissimmons.net/
Blog: http://travissimmons.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authortravissimmons
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4342608.Travis_Simmons
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TravisSimmons5
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Travis-Simmons/e/B002QKB6WI/
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/travis-simmons
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/travissimmons
I had to twist Travis's arm, but here is the sneak peak of his new release: The Turquoise Tower Experience the harrowing conclusion to The Revenant Wyrd Saga. In the mystical lands of the Great Realms, Angelica, Jovian, and Joya search for their kidnapped sister, Amber. Their quest has led them through many dangers and revelations, but nothing has prepared them for what’s about to come. |
Meanwhile Grace, Rosalee, and Dalah make their way to the holy city Lytoria where they are to make their final stand of the Goddess against the legions of Chaos. Can they overcome the army of dead, verax-acis, and fallen angels? Or will the city be raised, and the Goddess lose all power in the Realms?
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