Travis Baldree Talks Shop, Books, and Bookshops with Bazoo Books

August 1, 2025

interview by Cassie E. Brown

July 24, 2025

Travis is a #1 New York Times Bestselling author, a Locus, Nebula, and Hugo finalist, and a full-time audiobook narrator who has lent his voice to hundreds of stories. Before that, he spent decades designing and building video games like Torchlight, Rebel Galaxy, and Fate. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.


I am delighted that Travis Baldree was willing to take time with me for Bazoo Books and its readers to answer some questions. Both LEGENDS & LATTES and its prequel, BOOKSHOPS & BONEDUST are by turns, charming, fun, funny, wholesome, adventurous, and satisfying. (I might have also cried in BOOKSHOPS & BONEDUST. Might.)


Cassie Brown: Thank you for sharing time with me! The bookstore—as a safe place or a village’s heart—is so central to BOOKSHOPS & BONEDUST. How have bookstores featured in your own development as an author? Are there particular bookstores that are special to you? What makes a great bookstore?


Travis Baldree: I’ve had several bookstores that have been important to me as my ‘personal’ bookstores, and then, of course, lovely bookstores that I’ve visited. One is like coming home, and the other is like enjoying time in a foreign country – both wonderful for different reasons. Queen Anne Avenue Books in Seattle was my go-to for many years, right next to my favorite coffee shop. Auntie’s Books in Spokane is my current ‘home’ bookstore. They don’t share much in common except for wonderful booksellers, which is the most essential ingredient. The best bookstores are the ones that lead me to wonderful and unexpected discoveries, through their arrangement, their well curated titles, and their staff recommendations.


Cassie Brown: I love the way your work so beautifully melds fantasy, adventure, friendships, and romance into cozy page-turners. They draw from and balance so many genres and ideas. What are the inspirations for your own work?


Travis Baldree: It would be hard to pin them all down – I think we tend to have a mulch-pile in our heads of all the influences that have stacked up over our life, and then they ferment into what we ultimately put on the page - from Terry Pratchett to Brian Jaques to Stephen King to Mervyn Peake to Robin Hobb. In the end, I like books that care about people and humanity, and that add a little something extra to remind us that our shared concerns really are special.


Cassie Brown: Your characters are so clearly developed. How do you find the voice of your characters like Viv and Fern? Do some characters take more time to develop than others? What advice would you give new authors struggling to find the voices of their characters?


Travis Baldree: It does help that I’m an audiobook narrator – I know what they sound like immediately. I do have a few rules, though – Every character should be able to be the main character of their own story. If they don’t have the raw material to sustain that, I take two not-quite-fully-formed characters and see if I can merge them into something more interesting. Another trick I like is to steal characters from an abandoned project to see if they can be adapted – then they come onto the scene with a whole life and personality ready to go.


Cassie Brown: Do you want to continue working in cozy adventure beyond your the release of your next book this fall, or are there new worlds for you to explore? Are you working on other projects right now?


Travis Baldree: I’m definitely interested in other worlds than these! I’m currently writing something pretty different – a LitRPG, which is a fairly new genre that’s mostly been popular independently, but which I have narrated hundreds of. We’ll see how that turns out!


Cassie Brown: Thank you again. What a pleasure! Bazoo Books looks forward to the upcoming release on November 11, 2025, of BRIGANDS & BREADKNIVES, the sequel to LEGENDS & LATTES! I know I can’t wait to find out what’s next for Viv the Orc in this sequel...


Travis Baldree: Fair warning! Viv does appear in BRIGANDS & BREADKNIVES, but it’s really Fern’s show, although Viv is very important to the narrative. I’m already wandering far afield of fantasy small-business ownership, but I hope you’ll follow me on the road trip.


Find Travis Baldree’s work at Bazoo Books or on Bazoo’s own Bookshop.org site https://bookshop.org/shop/bazoobooks. Be like the coolest orc in fiction… Support your local independent bookstore!


Connect with Travis Baldree at https://www.travisbaldree.com/, or on social media at Discord (https://discord.gg/duzCS2D) or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TravisBaldreeNarrator/)

Matt Highly Recommends

July 25, 2025
Lev Grossman shows that everyone’s story matters no matter how small the part. When we (at the store) talk about the exercise in empathy that reading can provide, this book is an easy one to point to. Each character is given a deep history and complex internal struggle with each and every one asking the same question, who am I? Can’t we all relate to that? From what I know of writing (not much), that is an achievement. This book deserves awards (in my opinion).  The way Grossman turns such rich, legendary history into forward momentum for this story is just so satisfying. Also Impressive is the way he ties in flashbacks of Arthurian legends and dream sequences to build the larger narrative. Arthur being a conduit between Britain's native pagan population and the roman colonization, and the collapse of the roman empire and what that ultimately meant for the people of Britain are such rich ideas that are just set dressing to the greater story. There is so much meat to chew on! From fairy magic to brute, blunt force this book was so fun to read. The moment the Green Knight shows up I could not put the book down. This scene was a punch to the gut and the realization there are real stakes. The Sword fights felt real in that they were sweaty and bloody and hard on the characters. I could feel the weight of every blow. There are gods and giants and did I mention fairies? Merlin is in this book and is terrifying! These characters are given such life. There were moments I stood up out of my chair and whooped. My belly would turn with the suspense or my heart would ache when their hearts ached. Sitting on the edge of my seat turning page after page. This book is an incredible, affecting piece of art. The way I want to be a knight and to fight and ride with Palomides or be tricked by the fae and cured by Nimue. It’s been a long time since a book has captured me this way and all I want to do is share it. The final line is also one of the best and most poignant lines to end a story that I think I have ever read. I continue to think about this work often and I can’t wait to reread it over and over. ← That sentence is a direct quote from my reading journal where I gave it a 5 out of 5. I don’t know my unit of measure but, whatever it is, this book is all of them. Do not pass this book up.

Local Author Spotlight

July 25, 2025
My new recent favorite is STARTER VILLAIN by John Scalzi. I recently discovered Scalzi, and what a treasure! And when I say “I recently discovered John Scalzi” I mean “like a European explorer discovered terra incognito.” Which is to say, he was there the entire time, other people knew about him en masse, and yet I felt like I really accomplished something when I did it. I positively devoured Scalzi’s books, REDSHIRTS, STARTER VILLAIN, and KAIJU PRESERVATION SOCIETY, ate them so fast, dear reader, I should have gotten an ice cream headache. They were the absolute delight I needed to move me out of a reading funk. Scalzi’s prose is fast, witty, and smart. It manages to be genuinely funny without being smarmy or aiming to hurt the wrong people. But STARTER VILLAIN is a cat book. Such a cat book. Hera is a great cat. Saying more would ruin your journey. But please, get you some STARTER VILLAIN in your life. (And Scalzi generally!) The next cat book I recommend is THE AERONAUT’S WINDLASS by Jim Butcher. Yes, I know Butcher is better known for The Dresden Files. And I love Harry as much as the next person. But this one-off adventure of steampower and airships is a delight. It’s wild and grand! It’s far less smartassed than the Dresden files, but still not sedate or self-serious. It feels like a steampunk high-adventure. And yes, cats. A whole positively fascinating society of cats. If you’re looking for something that’s hefty (it’s a thick book), but which is clever and fast-paced enough to draw you through, grab your goggles and jump in. And lastly, I have to admit, I am not a romance reader. And cozies aren’t really my thing. But I guess a cozy, sapphic, high-fantasy romance that features a sword-slinging orc who really just wants to settle down and open up a coffee shop is simply too awesome for genre. So LEGENDS & LATTES (yes, a title reference to Dungeons & Dragons, certainly), by Travis Baldree is a sheer delight. It features Amity the dire-cat as a shop mascot and plot point. The story follows an orc who has tasted the miracle that is coffee whilst adventuring over the years, and now wants more than anything to (literally) hang up her sword and open a coffee shop… in a land that has no idea what coffee is. It’s charming. It hits every Dungeons & Dragons and high-fantasy game note pitch perfectly, while also turning it on its head. The characters are lovely. The prose is quick. The read is, by turns, warm, brisk, and deeply satisfying. Just like a perfect cup of coffee. Maybe I love it so much because, in the end, the story tells a story of friendship and comradery, rather than just a straight up romance. Plus, giant cat. Did I mention there’s a huge cat? If you have a favorite cat-adjacent genre book, send it my way! If these sound interesting, grab them at Bazoo Books or order them on Bazoo’s corner of Bookshop. https://bookshop.org/shop/bazoobooks . Don’t forget to support your local, independent bookseller!

A Letter From Bazoo

By Bazoo Books • July 22, 2025
This blog is our little dispatch to the outside world, a place where we hope to share the latest buzz from the book world, updates from the shop, staff picks, themed recommendations, upcoming events, and the occasional philosophical rambling like this one. We believe there is a growing hunger for authenticity and it isn’t a trend, it’s a sign. People are tired. They’re craving stories that matter, art that heals, and communities that care. As a bookstore, it’s our privilege to be part of that. We want to provide a shelter for these ideas and allow people to search and learn and discover. We want to provide an escape from the hustle and bustle or a thrill when you are seeking. Maybe you want to do a deep dive into a subject you heard about on that one podcast. Books can provide insight or entertainment. They can also provide a window into our neighbors lives and a way for us to remind ourselves that everyone’s lives are complicated and hard but, it’s always better to go through it together rather than apart. That’s why we do what we do. Yes, we sell books. But more than that, we champion the power of literacy and the belief that reading and writing can help humanity grow beyond its natural bounds. Supporting small, local bookstores like ours isn't just about buying books, it's about building resilient communities, encouraging creative engagement, and keeping space for wonder, reflection, and resistance in a world that’s moving fast and loud. Literacy has real power. There’s a reason it’s so often silenced or controlled but, we believe books are tools as sharp as any blade. They are maps, or hammers and crystal balls, or whatever you need at any moment you find yourself in need. We are so proud to share them with all of you. So whether you’re here for book news, creative inspiration, or just something to make your heart feel a little less weird, welcome. We’re glad you’re here. -Bazoo Books