Welp…I guess I’ve had a good day.

A Christmas Tale: #38 in Horror – Short Stories (Free)

It’s Better This Way: #10 SciFi – Alien Invasion / #38 SciFi – Post-Apoc (32 reviews, Free)

Ability – Part I: #37 SciFi – Post Apoc (Free)

All this really means is people will download anything and everything for free. Good ego boost, but only if people get really drunk, break out the credit cards and buy some words. Come on booze! Work your magic!

In other news, I’ve finally finished Part III of Ability. The first two parts were around 14,000 words each. Part III is sitting at almost 29,000 words. Part III is the conclusion of the first two parts, plus it sets the scene for “Progeny,” which will be Book II in the series.

I have to warn you…Part III is where the story begins spiraling down into a dark tale of just how awful humanity might be with strange new abilities. Racism, religious intolerance, bigotry of all kinds begins to rear its ugly head. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

And finally…Diabolus. When I wake up, I’m going to cruise down the final home stretch and get it finished. I’m very excited for this story, to the point I’m thinking of hiring a ‘real’ artist to create something custom just for me with his paint and canvas. This kind of thing runs into the $500 range, which is pretty damn spendy, but that’s how much I love this story.

I’m sure there will be plenty of the faithful that will hate it, mostly because I’m an atheist, even though it is written from the perspective of devout Catholics, and if anything, is a positive spiritual journey for anyone that believes in God.

The haters will of course focus on the hard questions that get raised. Hopefully everyone else, even fellow atheists and agnostics, will accept it as a story that makes the brain work hard, warms the heart even through tragedy, and makes the spirit rejoice that we are all God’s creatures, no matter which God we believe in.

I’ve just published Part II of Ability. You can snag it here:

Ability – II

This is a big step for me, as it marks my real entry into the world of writing…since I’m actually charging for most of my books from here on. I feel like I’ve done pretty well with “It’s Better This Way,” and am hoping these other books I have either published, or will be publishing very soon, will capture readers in the same positive way.

“Alive, Or Just Breathing” is a full-length novel that is in final editing. It’s a very dark, adult-oriented story about two teenagers trying to make it through their last two years of high school. One has an emotionally absent father, the other has a drunken, physically abusive father. It’s a pretty bitter tale, to be honest.

“Enforcer” is the other full-length novel. It’s about a kid who was supposed to be a superstar in the National Hockey League, but before he was even drafted, a terrible on-ice accident nearly killed him. Eight years later, he’s still toiling away in the minor leagues as a fan-favorite enforcer. When the owner of the team, a Romanian mobster, offers him some work on the side, things soon spiral out of control.

There you have it. Those two novels, plus “Ability” are what I’ve been hard at work on for the last couple of months. Well, those stories and this other one that I’m really kind of excited to release. I’m about 85% done writing it. It’s about two Catholic priests who are tasked by the Vatican to do an ‘exorcism’ on a rogue nuclear-capable AI that believes it is Satan incarnate, and is looking to bring about the apocalypse.

I’ll keep you up to date without spamming you too much 😉

So in an attempt to be a better blogger, I guess I will try to find random things to talk about when I’m supposed to be working. I wrote 2,600 words already, so now I want to write some words that I don’t have to think about too much (other than keeping my foot from being irresistibly tasty to the point I put it in my mouth).

#1 – There was a gay wedding at West Point. I’m kind of ashamed that I even have to post something like this. I’m already tired of talking about gay marriage. Not because I oppose it (if you think that, you’ve never read a single word I’ve read), but because it should die and go away, and the ‘moral’ part of society needs to get over themselves and realize the world has moved on, once again, without them.

These are the same kinds of wunder-minds that believe women should be subservient to men, that one race (usually the ‘white’ race) is superior to another/others, and that their version of God is the one and only true correct path. Gay humans have existed since we crawled out of the primordial soup. Go read some Greek classics. Actually, go read some bible. Jesus never once says anywhere in the New Testament that homosexuality is something that needs to be addressed (with lightning bolts, fire & brimstone, and eternal hell).

Continue reading →

It is Saturday. Enjoy some kitten action:

Right. So. I love Starbucks. No, I don’t think they have the best coffee ever. Yes, I’m sure there are other companies and coffee shops who have not only better coffee, but more environmentally sustainable and small-farmer friendly practices as well. But I love Starbucks. I love my Venti Iced Mocha with only two pumps of chocolate and an extra shot of espresso. No whipped cream, stir it good please.

I happened to read THIS today, and while I try decently hard to not be drawn into certain debates, I sometimes forget that I’m a pretty opinionated a-hole a lot of the time (yes I support a woman’s right to choose, yes I support gay marriage, yes I support the legalization of marijuana, yes I support anti-bullying campaigns).

See…here’s my problem with this, and I’m definitely a ‘gun control’ advocate, but I think these ‘Moms’ would be better served taking up their cause elsewhere. Banning firearms in the coffee shop, any place of business really, will never stop a gunman intent on shooting the place up from bringing his weapon in. I don’t believe that if everyone else had a gun they’d stop him either. Continue reading →

So I finally got around to making a mailing list:

Travis Hill – News & Information about upcoming and new releases

If you’d like to get an email from me once in a while when I have some news to give about a new release or an upcoming release, just sign up through the link above. It’s easy and there’s no spam. Plus there’s the fact that I won’t be sending you an email every nine hours. Only when there’s something important to tell you, I promise!

I apologize for being silent so much. Not that anyone cares. The three of you that read my blog get annoying emails from me almost daily so…this is mostly to hear myself speak (type?).

I’m currently about 91,000 words into the book “Enforcer” and still cranking out about 3,000-10,000 words per night, closer to the 3k number really. Depends I guess, some nights I can go for two or three full chapters, sometimes I just have one in me. The title is still a working title, though it will most likely be the published title. It’s about a minor league hockey enforcer that gets tangled up with the Romanian mafia, moonlighting as an enforcer for them. Continue reading →