Moving on. Come see the new place!

Hi! I have moved. Please come see me and learn more about my newest works at:

http://tlbarrett.com

Thanks!

Hairy Bromance Cover!

Coming December 1, 2012 just in time for the apocalypse! Hairy Bromance. This satire, road trip, buddy story with monsters, conspiracy, and a lot of laughs is coming your way soon. Damnation Books have said it is all right to reveal the wonderful cover done by Jessica Lucero.

Progress...

Okay, I have not written as much as I'd like in the year 2012. Why? Because I have written a lot in the last three years and it was time to reap some of that sowing. I have been editing/revising six different novels that I've cranked out and hope to have in people's hands by the mid point of 2013. Here's the break down:

The Wardmaster (A Crimm Chronicle): A Vanaheim fantasy epic will be published by Post-Mortem Press in October 2012.

Hairy Bromance: A horror comedy will be published by Damnation Books in December 2012.

The three volumes of The Vale of Shade will be out in October 2012, January 2013, and March 2013.

The Door to Halloween (A Children's Fantasy): should be out by June 2013.

In the mean time, check out The Night Library, a collection of short horror stories I cranked out between July of 2009 and March of 2012. I only picked the best of these spooky fruit to go in the basket!

And between all of these projects, I still plan to have the Horror/Action book, Ride, Valkyries, Ride! done and ready to submit by March 2013.

Whew! I guess I can't be so hard on myself!

The Vale of Shade is coming!

Hey all,

My first foray into novel writing will finally see the light of day! The Vale of Shade, naively conceived as a giant 1 volume monster of an epic, will be published soon in three volumes by me! Originally the first 2/5ths of the work was published by The Twisted Library, and I am still so thankful for the chance they gave me to see my work in print, but it has been a long haul and now I have the rights back. Over two years since accepted for publication, people will get to read the full journey of Arden, the cursed Prince, and his motley band of friends.

Curtis Hale, painter extraordinaire will be doing the covers. I've already seen the first one and man, you are in for a Gothic artistic treat!

The proposed publication will be:

Vol. 1: Test of a Prince- Some time in early October

Vol. 2: The Bastard Prophecy- Some time in January 2013

Vol. 3: Lord of an Endless Realm- Some time in March 2013

Man, I am very excited. These should be available both in print and for the kindle at those times.

Free Labor Day reading!

Passed out randomly in the middle of the night and gave myself a concussion and a black eye. Scared the Dickens out of myself. Recovering and feeling like my poor addled wits can write again in the next couple of days. In the meantime, I have some short stories for you to read. The links are on your right: The Dragon Wager and Thorbadin's Dilemma. Spread the word and enjoy! They will be free for the Kindle September 2nd and 3rd!

Yours Truly,
Trav

Hairy Bromance is official!

Hairy Bromance will be published by Damnation Books on December 1st, 2012. Just in time to laugh your way through the apocalypse.

Lots of News!

Well, a lot of news:

Hairy Bromance will see publication with the wonderful Damnation Books! More to come!

Wardmaster has gone through edits and should be out this October!

I did my first book signing in Lyndonville, VT.

My cat Mr. Cuddles returned to us after two months of absence.

My wife has developed severe arthritis.

My work on the Vietnam Memoir hit a stand still and although it will continue in the future, I needed to walk away from this one for a while.

Ride, Valkyries, Ride! the first volume about monster-slaying motorcycle mamas is well on the way, and I hope to have it done by the end of the year. It is only the first of many more to come.

The summer is pretty much over for me, but the rest has been good because of a rough year last year. Now, I look forward to Autumn smells and sights, Halloween, and loads of days when there is nothing to do but write.

I hope you all have had a restful summer and I promise I'll keep you updated more frequently.

Trav

Book Review: A Gathering of Crows by Brian Keene

Here is another terrifying jaunt into the twisted mind of Brian Keene and his mysterious 13 (the otherworldly beings which are older than our universe and hate it with a cruel and undying passion). This time a small dying Pennsylvanian town falls prey to five crows which are so much more five crows. The real terror begins rather quickly as everyone in this small town are killed in horrific and awful ways, shut off from escape and all technology.

Thankfully, Brian Keene's supernatural warrior-hero, the ex-Amish Levi Stoltzfus arrives, but can this spell slinging bearded man be enough to save the handful of survivors. Will he even be able to figure out what is doing it in time to make a difference?

This story has some real moments of terror, exemplified by Keene's natural ability to create believeable characters that might carry an entire novel themselves if their life expectancy was not so short.

Do I love Levi's character (who made his first appearance in the mediocre Ghost Walk, an inferior sequel to the wonderful Dark Hallow)? Not really. But he proves himself very heroic by the end of the novel. It is here that I adore Keene's writing and find that it sits above most of the supernatural horror out there today. The morality is always gray and the characters and situation are realistically displayed from multiple points of view. I had a good time reading this book, and would recommend it highly for anyone who loves horror. It isn't Ghoul, Dark Hollow, or The Darkness at the Edge of Town (all of which I loved), but it was a very entertaining read.

Hairy Bromance is a go!

My paranormal dark comedy has been accepted for publication by Damnation Books! I am very excited to have people read about Barry, the werewolf, and Glen, the sasquatch, the great hairy drinking buddy duo as they thwart reptilian conspiracies, cross the country and strive for the mecca that is Comic-con.

Hairy Bromance had been contracted with another company, but the company did not do anything with the book, nor could I reach anyone for comment. The contract stipulates that in this case it returns to me after one year. Thus, good things do come to those who wait... and wait... and wait...

Just a little while longer and things will get very hairy... stock up on your Frontline.

Time to revisit some very old wounds...

Hello, faithful reader. I've decided to really challenge myself this time and write about something that didn't come flying out of my head. I've taken on the daunting task of immortalizing my father-in-law's experiences in and around Vietnam. That's right, it is going to be a no-holds-barred memoir that will take the American Marine's perspective on the conflict that divided a nation and cost thousands of lives. I hope to do it justice.

I've been having some pretty eye opening conversations with Richard for the past few weeks and have managed to crank out thirty pages of narrative getting him to his deployment. After a few edits on a previous work, I should be ready to jump down into the darkness. Wish me luck!

Thorbadin's Dilemma is for free!

This solstice short story is free for kindle June 21-23. Download now!
http://www.amazon.com/Thorbadins-Dilemma-Tale-Jotunheim-ebook/dp/B0087VXOGG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340280207&sr=8-1&keywords=thorbadin%27s+dilemma

Summer Reading?

Need some summer reading? From June 15 through the 17th, The Night Library is available free on kindle! Download, read, tell yourself it is okay to turn out the lights, and leave a nice review!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Night-Library-ebook/dp/B007PFX7DA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1339773108&sr=1-1&keywords=the+night+library

Thank you, Ray!

Just the other day, I checked the Internet and my heart literally skipped a beat. Ray Bradbury had finally left the planet. I felt like my father or grandfather had passed suddenly, and for good reason. This guy wrote words that carved their way into my heart and my consciousness.

Reading Bradbury was such a moving and transformative thing to me, it was as if someone had reached out and grabbed me and dragged me along for amazing rides into the future, the past and into the red skies over Mars. I can remember the time and places where I sat and first read the works he gave us. It is like when one thinks back on the first meeting of a great friends or lovers. One day, I climbed into my parent's horse pasture and sat under an apple tree and cracked open the book Fahrenheit 451. I was playing hooky on a late spring day. When I finished the novel that evening, I sat there with my thoughts and only came down as the moon began to rise over the sky. I was a different person.

I hope that you will give Ray Bradbury a chance to reach out and grab you. I believe he will live on as a master of the 20th century, a true American Romantic, a mythologist and a fantasist of the highest degree. These are some of my personal favorites:

"The Toynbee Convector"- a short story that shines with Bradbury's brilliant optimism. Read on the steps of St. Johnsbury's Atheneaum.

The Martian Chronicles- a true sci-fi fantasy that makes me nostalgic for he red planet. Read this one on summer evenings on the front porch.

Something Wicked This Way Comes- A gothic marvel (more poetry than prose) about love, loss, youth and wonder. I read this one on my grandmother's couch.

and of course: Farhrenheit 451- the dystopian allegory of the cave that turned out to be pretty prophetic.

Thanks, Ray, for everything, and may your further journeys only give you back the wonder that you gave all of us!

A vampire anthology with a real bite!

Re-Vamping a Classic Tale is now available from Norgus Press. This vampire anthology packs a real bite with some very talented international authors. It also includes my tale of school children dabbling in necromancy: "The Scholomance on Spring Street". Check it out at:
http://www.amazon.com/Re-Vamping-classic-Tale-Jeffrey-Angus/dp/1475288972/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339158253&sr=8-1

Bring your stakes and crosses! Garlic, too. Heck bring a garlic pizza while your at it. Now that's something I could really put my teeth into!

The Dragon Wager is free!

The Dragon Wager is free for Kindle downloads (June 1-3)! Download, share, read, laugh, then (if you would), leave some kind words on Amazon.com. If you become inspired to, say, read more about Jotunheim and purchase the Test of a Prince, I won't complain.

http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Wager-Tale-Jotunheim-ebook/dp/B0086VZTGA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1338518490&sr=8-2

The Dragon Wager

My short story, "The Dragon Wager" is available for download for the Kindle at Amazon.com. This funny fantasy yarn is set in the same realm as Test of a Prince and the upcoming The Vale of Shade. This one was published a couple of years ago by a now defunct publisher, and published in that publisher's best of anthology.

http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Wager-Tale-Jotunheim-ebook/dp/B0086VZTGA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1338293304&sr=8-4

The Wardmaster is contracted!

The Wardmaster, a dark fantasy epic, has been contracted for publication with Post-Mortem Press! This dark and thrilling adventure about psychics trying to save a young and very powerful girl from the forces of darkness will be available some time in late summer/early fall of 2012. In the meantime check out a short story that features a major player in that drama: "The Witch-Father", available now for kindle format.

An interesting review...

This is what my friend, Sam Rowlett said about my writing:

"My good friend Travis is a writer living in Northern Vermont. His work is like Stephen King and J. K. Rowling making out in the bathroom of a roadhouse bar somewhere in the Green Mountains, only accessible by snowmachine. Read his books!"

The Witch-Father is now free!

May 20th to May 22nd, "The Witch-Father" is free on kindle!

The Witch-Father is now available!

So, you don't have time for a novel? You are craving some fantasy action and suspense? Love stories of fearsome desperate psychics as they wage an endless war against the corrupt and undead? Look no further. "The Witch-Father" is available for the kindle (or for free kindle apps). This is just the first published story about Crimm, the Pyrelord. Right now, a publisher is considering the epic fantasy novel: The Wardmaster, which details how Crimm awoke from a sleep of a thousand years. Here is the link and the description:

Tammas Graysheldson was a husband, father and grandfather to witches, a carpenter, and as good a soul as any in Vanaheim. When a cult kidnaps his twin grandsons, Tammas takes up sword against an ancient and awful evil. The Logos sees fit to grant him a companion in Crimm, the Pyrelord and the last of the Vraghmin. But will a psychic warrior and a grandfather's love be enough?

This short story is a Chronicle of Crimm, the warrior who awakens from the sleep of a thousand years to find his beloved Vanaheim in the clutches of the monstrous Twisted Ones. Look for The Wardmaster, a epic dark fantasy novel that tells the tale of the Pyrelord's awakening.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0084FM6SW

Some words about the whole Tony G. issue.

Hey, I want people to know that although I had a story published with Tony G. and his Undead Press, that was the extent of the business I had with him (that and a long telephone conversation). Almost immediately afterward, I decided not to send any more stories to places where I would not receive any copies, checks, or royalties. I felt that my work had proven itself in the small press, and frankly I couldn't afford to buy copies for the rate at which (at the time) I was cranking out little weird tales. Not that I am denigrating all the small presses out there that do not always offer payment, but it is nice to know that the publisher is aiming at getting your name out there rather than relying on you being so excited you will get all your well-meaning relatives to purchase copies.

Tony G, on the other hand (and if you don't know what I'm talking about- get on any writer's blog (Gaiman, Keene, etc.) appears to be a real piece of work. I am thankful that my experience was not so negative as some of the other writers who had their work skewered and twisted and received only rudeness and threats in response to their complaints. If you are a writer starting out, be sure to check out what people have said about that press, and the editor. I myself will work on the future to be sure the publisher is genuinely working for the best interest of his or her writers.

To be honest, the best experience I've had so far with small presses and anthologies for short fiction is Eric Beebe and Post-Mortem Press. My work went into the same volume as some pretty famous and noteworthy authors (both old and new), it was promoted and I received copies and checks. I think it is important for young writers to have positive experiences with a legitimate publisher. Please, if you have something in mind, check out PMP. You won't regret it!

http://www.postmortem-press.com/

The journey begins again...

In early March, I finished my novel The Wardmaster, and then I did something pretty silly. I edited it. That was good: I sent it out, and hope to hear from the publisher within the next week or so. Then, I started editing and formatting The Night Library. That was successful, and many people have been enjoying this collection of spooky tales. Well, I got very excited and began editing/re-writing a middle grade fantasy book: The Door to Halloween. Big mistake. Halfway in I lost steam. I think it is a great book, but I just couldn't maintain my enthusiasm after two months of spending whatever free time I could spare while I taught, raised children, and was as good and present as a husband as I could be, editing.

I promised to write a memoir about the Vietnam experience, but wanted to wait for those two blissful months of summer to sit down with my dad-in-law and really get the whole story. In the meantime I felt listless, though. What would I write? I abandoned my editing (for now) and decided to set out on a whole new adventure, with the plans to have this one wrapped up by the time I return to teaching in August. This one is: Ride, Valkyries, Ride! (tentative title). It is a dark fantasy/horror tale about the motorcycle mamas of midgard which were first introduced in the second half of The Wardmaster. This decision was sort of mandated by my lovely wife (who fell in love with the characters).

Yesterday, I did the hardest part of all. I put words on a blank page. A couple of hours later, I had lost time, and groaned when I was pulled away from the world of monster-hunting ladies to go and pick up my teenager from ultimate fighting practice. I'd say that was a real victory, and already I can't wait to see what lies at the end of this particular journey. Actually, I hope it is just the first of many rides I will take with Inge and her girls.

I have been in contact with the editor of The Vale of Shade, and she is nearing completion of the daunting task of combing through that huge conclusion to the Jotunheim saga. I haven't heard from the publisher in a while concerning that one or Hairy Bromance and I'm getting a little antsy about it. I spent a long time on these books and would love to have people read them. Hopefully, I'll know more soon.

Well, wish me luck and may your own journeys end happily!
Trav

My upcoming projects

-I have two novels contracted and waiting on word of their progress with The Twisted Library: The Vale of Shade and Hairy Bromance. The Vale should be done editing this month, so if everything works well, it should be out by June. This will wrap up the Jotenheim saga (hopefully to my readers' satisfaction). I can't wait for people to read Hairy Bromance!

-I've sent out The Wardmaster to a wonderful publisher and if anyone has some free fingers to cross for me, I'd appreciate it.

-I'm editing/re-writing The Door to Halloween, which I hope to have done in the next week. This kid's fantasy is an Oz-like celebration of the best holiday and the love that transcends the mortal veil. My lovely wife has agreed to illustrate it, and with any luck it will be available by the end of the summer (well before you have to start thinking about costumes!)

-Next week I begin a non-fiction project about my father-in-law, Richard Brown, and his experiences in Vietnam. I am a little daunted by the scope of this book, but excited about the prospect of recording this for posterity. More on this as I progress...

-And who knows, I just might find some time to whip out a short story or five in the meantime!

I hope you are all doing well. Remember if you get bored, buy one of my books. It is the panacea for all tedium and ennui. Oh, and write a review, pretty please?

Trav

The Night Library is on sale!

Head on over to Amazon.com, and pick up a beautiful print edition of The Night Library for only $10.08. Then you can imagine you are reading it, spooking yourself out in the 90's and getting ready for the season finale of X-Files. Or you could just read it and enjoy yourself! (and write a review!)

Free promotion of The Night Library!

April 1st and 2nd (no fooling)! The Night Library is available for the kindle (and free kindle apps) for free. Spread the word! The library has always been free, right?

The Night Library

I am very pleased to announce that The Night Library, an anthology of 21 of my spookiest and best stories will see print by the end of next week and should be available as an kindle e-book in the next few days. I will update the blog with links as soon as they go live. Here's the back cover blurb:

Searching these sinister stacks you will find:

A church picnic at a haunted reservoir where only a twelve year-old boy is aware that something waits in the water...

A burnt-out teacher finds a friend... in his cancer...

The secret to surviving the zombie apocalypse...

An inoculation for Lycanthropy which may be more horrible than the disease...

Young lovers, that on the eve of World War II, partake of a most forbidden fruit...

A haunted carnival ride that delivers its passengers into the unexpected...

21 tales of night terror, night madness, nightmares, night woe and night wonder...

Welcome to The Night Library

Be warned: the late fees are killer!

Big things to come...

1. I wrote a weird horror story the other night and sent it into what is shaping up to be a killer anthology. I don't know if I'll make it in, but I'll still be happy. I like the story a lot, and it will fit in nicely with my new anthology, which I will self-publish very soon, which contains all of my best published and unpublished horror and weird tales. I will update as soon as I am done editing.

2. I am currently editing my latest novel: The Wardmaster. This one has werewolves, vampires, zombies, ghouls, mutant monsters, witches, jedi-like warriors, inter-dimensional cross-overs and motorcycle mamas. Yeah, it is a big sprawling epic, and I'm sure it will find a home soon.

3. The Vale of Shade should be done the editing process by the end of the month. Then hopefully it will be a hop, skip and a jump to publication. This is the sequel and the final volume of the Jotunheim saga which began with Test of a Prince.

4. Still waiting to find out where we stand with Hairy Bromance. I am very excited for folks to read this horror comedy road trip buddy extravaganza about a sasquatch and a werewolf. The novel is contracted, were just waiting for the editing...

5. I wrote a middle-grade book about twins separated by death, but brought back together again when they find The Door to Halloween. This is a heartbreaking fantasy, that for whatever reason I've shelved for some time. I plan to dust this baby off, give it a polish and see what the world thinks of this one, soon...

Work progresses...

My car broke down yesterday. I enjoyed the day quite thoroughly. That's how weird I am. The house was silent and still, I couldn't get to work so I wrote my heart out. Wrote more than 8k words and Wardmaster reached 83k. I am really looking forward to writing during vacation next week. I hope to have the novel finished by the end. Honestly, what I am looking forward to the most is seeing how it will all (or not) work out for my beset heroes. This one has everything, and I believe people are going to love it. My biggest issue right now is paying for editing and a cover.

Update

Hi, everyone. If you haven't checked out my new novel, Test of a Prince, please head on over to Amazon.com (link to the right) and read a few chapters. I guarantee you'll be hooked.

I have been working on a new dark fantasy epic, The Wardmaster. This is approaching 80K, and I should have the book done by the end of the month. This one has psychic knights, zombies, ghouls, vampires, mutants, evil carnival freaks, werewolves, and more. I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to publish this monstrous adventure, but I'm leaning toward self-publication, which means it will be available soon (by June, if all works out).

I have been collecting my short published (and some unpublished) dark fiction for a killer anthology which will definitely be available for the kindle by April or May. I already have a cover. My very talented artist friend, Curtis Hale, has given me permission to use one of his paintings for it. I am very excited to have people read these twisted stories that saw print in some very obscure but wonderful publications.

I'm still waiting to hear about the progress in editing with my sequel to Test of a Prince, The Vale of Shade. I'm also biting my nails to the quick (actually I have never bit my nails) waiting to hear when Hairy Bromance, a horror-comedy road trip odyssey. When I know more, you'll know more.

After these projects, what, you may ask, will I turn my imagination toward?

Well, I have always loved superheroes, and find that as I'd like to read good superhero fiction (it's pretty rare) then I think I'd love to write it. I have a world I've been developing for a few years now. I believe this summer will be a good time to crank out a tale of heroes, villains and people in funny costumes. We'll see.

In any case, thanks for reading, and buy my book, read it, and write a review on Amazon. I will be most appreciative.

Take Care,
Trav

Review of Rain by Craig Saunders

Rain is a book that could only be written by an Englishman. John Marsh is a bookseller tormented by the tragic accident that enfeebled his wife and left her in a semi-vegetative state in a home. When an old patron leaves a message for him, little does he know his life is about to change; because the rain is coming. Rain is a dark, disturbing, and violent supernatural horror novel with superb moments of suspense and terror. The characters are memorable and dynamic, faced with a power that is truly terrible and unremitting. Any fan of Stephen King will love this dark jaunt. Normally, I'd give four stars to a novel that so thoroughly frightened me and gave me a glimpse at the dark side of reality, but there is a real reason why I would give any novel five stars: the book marked me. At its core, Mr. Saunders has intuitively placed a metaphor that resonates throughout the darkness and despair of the work: Rain. Bad times, like rain happen to each of us. Why? Sometimes, it is just because we were there. Tragedy strikes us, we were born to the wrong parents, or old age creeps up upon us. It is what seems elemental about our existence and the evil in the novel. The characters navigate this inner and outer-darkness to persevere, survive, and turn their eyes to the hope that the rain will pass, and that a new day will dawn. Such is all our hope, and it is a rare thing to read a book that reminds us of this in such a way that we truly taste the depth of human suffering and also the human hope that, also, seems elemental to our existence. Rain is a great first novel, from a writer who, one senses, has tasted that darkness, and reaches out to guide us through it in a novel with real literary merit.

The Scholomance on Spring Street

My short vampire tale about necromancy, evil, and kids up to no good, will be printed in Norgus Press's Re-Vamping A Classic Tale. A couple of years ago I had this image of kids in a club house doing some pretty weird things. The idea lingered and grew, and now, as I am sick with a fever, I get the good news that somebody liked it, and hopefully more folks will get to read it. That's the dream anyway.

Thanks for reading,
Trav

Review of Silas by Robert J. Duperre

First off, I'm not a dog lover. A couple of really naughty poodles have spoiled that experience for me, but I used to be. Reading, Mr. Duperre's fantastic novel of suspense and psychological drama has brought back a glimmer of what I used to love about our four-legged companions. But, don't get me wrong, this is not just a love letter to the canine order, this book is so much more. If anything, I might give this book a 4.5, because the casual reader might not know what they are getting into when they start the novel. There is so much genre overlap in this book, that it is hard to describe. In the middle of the novel the reader might be very confused and lost in the mix of sci-fi, suspense, fantasy, horror, and yes, poignant psychological drama of a man caught in a very nasty mid-life crisis. Then, you would be dragged right into the very experience of the narrator, thus revealing the book to be a genius piece of writing. The way that Robert Duperre explores the narrator's pain and anguish, is fully detailed and truly sympathetic. His mystical journey essentially creates the perfect metaphor for what happens to any of us psychologically who enter this dark realm of the soul. I would say that the truly frightening "monsters" of this novel are not half as scary as the ennui and depression that the main character suffers in the first quarter of the novel. There is also the promise of more, as it becomes evident that Duperre is creating a rich cosmology from which, hopefully, he will be pulling more threads into the skein of his stories. Disturbing, hopeful, and rewarding, Silas is a wonderful achievement.