Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My sixth novel publication was Spirit of the Ronin, the final volume of my Ronin Trilogy, in July, 2015. The Ronin Trilogy is a historical fantasy story set in 13th century Japan. Rogues of the Black Fury is a military fantasy novel, released in 2011. The Wild Boys is a Young Adult supernatural thriller, published in 2012. My next novel, Death Wind, will be released in Summer, 2016, from WordFire Press. Death Wind is a Lovecraftian horror-western co-authored with Jim Pinto.
I also have a growing number of short stories in various magazines and anthologies, such as the Fiction River anthology series, Apex Magazine, Alembical, and many others.
I am a graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop (a life-changing experience) and I have a Master’s Degree in English (another life-changing experience). When I’m not writing, I teach science fiction literature at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent published novel is Spirit of the Ronin. This book is the culmination of a fifteen year journey, from a story I started writing in 1999 that ultimately led me to live in Japan for three years and study a variety of martial arts from Japanese fencing to ju jutsu.
I discovered samurai films when I was in high school, and the work of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune set my imagination on fire. Film like the Samurai Trilogy, Throne of Blood, Ran, and Seven Samurai were huge inspirations.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My biggest early influences were Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, and H. P. Lovecraft. I loved the pulps, and I still love that pulpy feel.
More recent influences are William Shakespeare, Ray Bradbury and Joe R. Lansdale.
Fahrenheit 451 was a book that changed the course of my life.
I love Lansdale’s work for his unique ability to make the reader laugh and cringe at the same time. He is a master of East Texas wit, with a razor-sharp eye for detail and character that I aspire to emulate.
Anyone who wants to write should read at least half of Shakespeare’s work. We still read his works today because they are still relevant. His plays tell stories we know with characters we still recognize, and they exhibit a flair for language and wit that is simply unmatched. You try to write an entire novel in iambic pentameter. I dare you.
What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on short stories, but I have a novel proposal with a publisher right now. If that is approved, then I’ll launch full-thrust into that project. I also have a SF-noir novel that’s looking for a publisher; fingers crossed that it will get picked up soon.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The best method I have found for promoting my books is going to major conventions and simply talking to people. I have reached the point that fans recognize me at big conventions like Dragon Con and Denver Comic Con (two major cons that I frequent), which is not only encouraging but also gratifying. Readers are actively looking for my stuff now, and that’s an amazing feeling.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
1. Write something.
2. Finish it, give it a bit of polish (but not too much or you’ll polish the life out of it).
3. Send it to someone who will pay you money. (DO NOT WRITE FOR FREE or god forbid, pay someone! You’re a professional.)
4. Start writing the next thing.
5. When something is rejected, send it out again immediately.
6. Rinse and repeat.
There are no shortcuts.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The above.
What are you reading now?
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez
The Door into Summer by Robert Heinlein
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
What’s next for you as a writer?
The novel project that I mentioned above, which I can’t discuss any further. I also have several pages of notes for an original SF novel, which I will attempt to tackle in the second half of 2016. All that along with moving back to the U.S. from New Zealand and promoting Death Wind at various conventions.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Fahrenheit 451
Stranger in a Strange Land
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
A Brief History of Time
Author Websites and Profiles
Travis Heermann Website
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