My Interview with Epic Fantasy author Travis Simmons

Today we’re interviewing one of my favorite Indie authors, Travis Simmons.  He is the author of The Revenant Wyrd Series, a fabulous epic fantasy.

        
        
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Q:  So, Travis where do you get your characters’ personalities from? Are they from people you’ve met or are they completely fictional?

A: Initially they were based loosely on people I knew, and then they morphed. As I grew older the characters changed to take on their own personalities. I think a lot of my growing up went into the characters, so we kind of grew together.

Q: Your descriptions of places like Mirror of the Moon or the Well of Wyrding, how did you come up with those?

A: This is a great question! The Mirror of the Moon was a completely made up place. I liked the idea of a temple to a moon goddess reflecting the stages of the moon so that on full moons the temple would glow a radiant silver, while on the new moon, it wouldn’t shine at all.

The Well of Wyrding is different. This is based largely on Yggdrasil that is fed at its roots by the Well of Urd (or Well of Destiny). The norns live at the base of the tree and it is their job to inscribe the fates of mankind on the roots. Urd and wyrd are pretty interchangeable. I chose wyrd because it already had a slight establishment in some fantasy and sci-fi (Dune for example). The other influence for the world tree came from the Tree of Knowledge of Life and Death from Christianity.

Q: What inspires you and where do your ideas come from?

A: I really have no idea where my ideas come from. Sometimes they grow out of a passing thought or some strange thing I’ve read online, other times they just pop up lout of nowhere.

Q: Do you have an author that you consider a mentor or someone you strive to be like?

A: I really used to try writing like Mercedes Lackey, but that wasn’t working out for me, so I delved into finding my own voice. I’m not sure I have any one person in the fantasy genre that I consider a mentor, but I have worked closely with a couple bestsellers, picking their brains on how best to market and succeed. I relied largely on Melissa Foster when it came to developing covers, and how to tweak them to be the best they could be while staying true to the story.

Q: What did you want to be when you grew up?

A: An author. I’ve always wanted to be an author. Now that I’m there I want to be a hugely successful author. Not too much to ask, right? :-D

Q: What are you currently working on?

A: A lot! I’ve previously started a zombie series that has been picked up by PDMI Publishing. I’m working on the last two novels of that series as well as another fantasy series that will be a set of 9 novellas that deal with The Well of Wyrding and the nine worlds tied to it. Also I’m delving into some romance under a pen name so people don’t get confused between my wyrd fiction and my romance.

Q: If you could live in a world like the one you’ve created, would you? Which realm?

A: I would love to live in a world I’ve created! I think if I had to pick just one realm it would be the Holy Realm. They seem to have a pretty fantastic climate.

Q:  Have you always been interested in the fantasy genre?

A: Yes, always. I can read other things, but they have to have some fantastical element to them to keep my attention.

Q:  Do you feel a connection to any of the characters? ( I see myself in Joya personally)

A: I have a good connection with all of them. I think I’m mostly drawn toward Grace and Jovian. I see a lot of myself in Jovian’s dry wit and his seriousness. I also see a lot of myself in Grace with how rough she is on people she cares for to help strengthen them.

Q: Did you think your writing would be as popular as it is?

A: Gosh no. I still feel like people are fibbing when they say how much they like my stories! It’s wonderful to be honest.

Q: Where do you see yourself in five years?

A: With another 50 books under my belt, cooped up in a hut somewhere in true hermit fashion.

Q: Are you planning anymore books for The Revenant Wyrd series?

A: Not with Jovian and Angelica’s storyline, no. I am planning another series that ties into theirs, but that’s not for a while yet, I still need to gather my thoughts on it.

Thank you, Travis, for giving us your time and letting us know a little more about you! 
Thank you so much for having me! I’ve really loved chatting with you about my work. :-D



About the Author: 

Travis has been writing since he was 14.  He began writing a book called "The Calling of the Two" and while writing that on and off he started uncovering another idea.

"Yes, this is all well and good, but what about before? What happened in the world before these characters came into it?" He always knew there was a "before" and as he started wondering about it he got ideas. At first they were little ideas but as he discovered the names for his characters a whole story about them emerged.
Travis started working on The Revenant Wyrd Saga several years back and he is very happy he did because hearing and documenting Jovian and Angelica's story has been one wild ride for him.  He has also written the Infernal Design series.

He lives in a small town at the base of the Adirondack Mountains and hoofing around my neck of the woods gives him a ton of inspiration for his novels.   He loves research, and speculating on different ideas and theories. 

Connect with Travis:

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