Ask the Author: Travis Hiltz
Answered Questions (12)
Travis Hiltz
My father was the victim of a hit and run and they never tracked down the other driver.
Travis Hiltz
I don't know about destiny, but I was probably in middle school when I realized I like making stories and college when I realized I was going to do it even when no one wanted to pay me for it.
Travis Hiltz
I've been filling in the gaps in my Doctor Who collection with the Douglas Adams stories, the Micheal Moorcock Second Either trilogy, the original Silver Age Swamp Thing stories, and a couple Doc Savage paperbacks.
I'm probably missing a couple, but those are the highlights
I'm probably missing a couple, but those are the highlights
Travis Hiltz
Satan's Death Blast
Satan's Murder Machines
Reign of the Vampire King
Make sure you are getting a good reprint from Adventure House or one of the Pulp Doubles. There was a Spider reprintseries done in the 70's that was horrible.
If you like comic books, Tim Truman did two Spider mini-series way back in the 90's that are worth tracking down.
The Spider Chronicles is an anthology of new Spider stories
Satan's Murder Machines
Reign of the Vampire King
Make sure you are getting a good reprint from Adventure House or one of the Pulp Doubles. There was a Spider reprintseries done in the 70's that was horrible.
If you like comic books, Tim Truman did two Spider mini-series way back in the 90's that are worth tracking down.
The Spider Chronicles is an anthology of new Spider stories
Travis Hiltz
Have to pick the Land of Oz.
One of my favorite places in all literature, these are also the books that got me hooked on fantasy.
Oz is full of wonder, magic and adventure but it's also a nice place, where the people are generally nice and all about helping each other.
I would be equally happy going on an adventure with some of the various characters, but could be just as happy just hanging out in the Emerald City.
Honorable mentions:
Philip Jose Farmer's River world
Lindsey Davis' Rome
One of my favorite places in all literature, these are also the books that got me hooked on fantasy.
Oz is full of wonder, magic and adventure but it's also a nice place, where the people are generally nice and all about helping each other.
I would be equally happy going on an adventure with some of the various characters, but could be just as happy just hanging out in the Emerald City.
Honorable mentions:
Philip Jose Farmer's River world
Lindsey Davis' Rome
Travis Hiltz
This answer is a cheat, as all my recent writing projects have all been based around a specific character or for a theme anthology, so someone else did most of the creative heavy lifting.
For Blackcoat Press, I had created a trio of detectives based on various creatures from Blackcoats' catalog.
It was a take on Madam Vastra and company from Doctor Who. I had a minor detective character from a French novel now acting as chaperone to two odd beings and having them helping him with his cases.
Much to my surprise, my editor let me get away with it and then liked my story enough to let me do a sequel.
So, I poured through my piles of books, looking for mystery tropes.
My detectives are odd and so I thought it would be fun to set them up against a detective novel cliche'.
Obvious choice was a locked room mystery.
I then had to find a way to make my locked room weird, as the running gag of these stories is the detective longs for a nice normal kidnapping or murder case, but every one will take a sci-fi or horror twist.
So, I guess the short answer to 'where did you get your ideas?' is I stole them from other writers.
For Blackcoat Press, I had created a trio of detectives based on various creatures from Blackcoats' catalog.
It was a take on Madam Vastra and company from Doctor Who. I had a minor detective character from a French novel now acting as chaperone to two odd beings and having them helping him with his cases.
Much to my surprise, my editor let me get away with it and then liked my story enough to let me do a sequel.
So, I poured through my piles of books, looking for mystery tropes.
My detectives are odd and so I thought it would be fun to set them up against a detective novel cliche'.
Obvious choice was a locked room mystery.
I then had to find a way to make my locked room weird, as the running gag of these stories is the detective longs for a nice normal kidnapping or murder case, but every one will take a sci-fi or horror twist.
So, I guess the short answer to 'where did you get your ideas?' is I stole them from other writers.
Travis Hiltz
I hate 'favorite' questions.
I never seem to have just one answer, so I always feel like I'm cheating.
Not that it's going to stop me from doing it again...
Tarzan and Jane: yeah, she gets kidnapped a lot and that has to put a strain on any relationship, but all through the books, they are a happily married couple. It's only when they think the other person is dead that they consider being with someone else.
Everywhere he goes, women are throwing themselves at the lord of the jungle, but he always says (in a very Tarzan way) "no thanks, I'm married."
I also like how gradually as the series goes on, Jane adapts to life in Africa and is treated a bit less like a damsel. She never reaches Tarzan levels, she still gets kidnapped, but she learns to fight and a few times takes charge of her own rescue.
So, no matter how formulaic the books can be, that solid emotional core is there.
Honorable mentions:
Lois and Clark: Despite decades of stories where writers didn't know what to do with Lois, when they get it right and hit a perfect balance between the man of steel and the intrepid girl reporter there is magic here.
Marcus Falco and Helene: There is a lot of good stuff in Lindsey Davies Roman mysteries and one of the best is the main couple. They work together, support each other and it's refreshing to find not just a happy married couple, but when where the husband still finds his wife hot and wants to have sex with her...I know, shocking, right?
I'm sure, as soon as I hit 'submit' I'll think of six others I could have added to the list.
I never seem to have just one answer, so I always feel like I'm cheating.
Not that it's going to stop me from doing it again...
Tarzan and Jane: yeah, she gets kidnapped a lot and that has to put a strain on any relationship, but all through the books, they are a happily married couple. It's only when they think the other person is dead that they consider being with someone else.
Everywhere he goes, women are throwing themselves at the lord of the jungle, but he always says (in a very Tarzan way) "no thanks, I'm married."
I also like how gradually as the series goes on, Jane adapts to life in Africa and is treated a bit less like a damsel. She never reaches Tarzan levels, she still gets kidnapped, but she learns to fight and a few times takes charge of her own rescue.
So, no matter how formulaic the books can be, that solid emotional core is there.
Honorable mentions:
Lois and Clark: Despite decades of stories where writers didn't know what to do with Lois, when they get it right and hit a perfect balance between the man of steel and the intrepid girl reporter there is magic here.
Marcus Falco and Helene: There is a lot of good stuff in Lindsey Davies Roman mysteries and one of the best is the main couple. They work together, support each other and it's refreshing to find not just a happy married couple, but when where the husband still finds his wife hot and wants to have sex with her...I know, shocking, right?
I'm sure, as soon as I hit 'submit' I'll think of six others I could have added to the list.
Travis Hiltz
The best part is you have access to the greatest set of toys in the world.
You take all these ideas and characters and you can do whatever you want.
As a kid, I loved playing with action figures.
As a writer, it means I never have to stop. Just the action figures are in my head.
Most people watch a movie or read a book and can think 'that was cool. what if...?" and then go on with their lives.
If you are a writer, you don't stop at 'what if' or 'it'd be cool if...".
You can take that little bit of imagination and just go nuts with it.
Writing is work and getting published and (hopefully) paid is stressful, but that initial 'what if...?" and those first couple steps after it are fun for me every time.
You take all these ideas and characters and you can do whatever you want.
As a kid, I loved playing with action figures.
As a writer, it means I never have to stop. Just the action figures are in my head.
Most people watch a movie or read a book and can think 'that was cool. what if...?" and then go on with their lives.
If you are a writer, you don't stop at 'what if' or 'it'd be cool if...".
You can take that little bit of imagination and just go nuts with it.
Writing is work and getting published and (hopefully) paid is stressful, but that initial 'what if...?" and those first couple steps after it are fun for me every time.
Travis Hiltz
I recently took the leap and got myself a Kindle Worlds account and trying some stories for the various franchises available.
I recently wrote a story based on Kurt Vonnegut's novel 'Sirens of Titans' and am starting work on a G.I. Joe novella.
I recently wrote a story based on Kurt Vonnegut's novel 'Sirens of Titans' and am starting work on a G.I. Joe novella.
Travis Hiltz
I write a lot of stories involving established characters and franchises, so it's a big help being able to look at what is there and seeing what catches my eye and starts my brain going.
Even with my own stuff, there has to something, a character, a scene and idea that is the first domino that gets the process going.
Deadlines help. Knowing you have to have a story done by a set date is a great motivator.
Even with my own stuff, there has to something, a character, a scene and idea that is the first domino that gets the process going.
Deadlines help. Knowing you have to have a story done by a set date is a great motivator.
Travis Hiltz
Being a creative genius is great, but learn a little about how the business of being an author works.
I am not good at self-promotion, but have had to stumble along and learn as I go, as my stuff has all been published by small press publishers, so it was up to me to get my name out there.
I am not good at self-promotion, but have had to stumble along and learn as I go, as my stuff has all been published by small press publishers, so it was up to me to get my name out there.
Travis Hiltz
There's generally a lot of crying and banging my head against my laptop involved.
I find if I have a couple writing projects that I'm working on it helps.
I can then switch between them, in the hopes that one will give me that spark of inspiration/enthusiasm that gets me through it or at worst, if I'm bouncing between two or three stories, even if all I can manage is to crank out a sentence or two, I'm making progress and not just stewing in self-pity.
Basically, make yourself write. Something, anything.
Add a sentence to a story you are working on, update your blog or even just scribble down some notes about an idea that you might do in the future.
I find if I have a couple writing projects that I'm working on it helps.
I can then switch between them, in the hopes that one will give me that spark of inspiration/enthusiasm that gets me through it or at worst, if I'm bouncing between two or three stories, even if all I can manage is to crank out a sentence or two, I'm making progress and not just stewing in self-pity.
Basically, make yourself write. Something, anything.
Add a sentence to a story you are working on, update your blog or even just scribble down some notes about an idea that you might do in the future.
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