Travis Baldree

Travis Baldree (born 1977 He lived in Eden, Texas, before moving to Colfax, Washington. Baldree later recalled that he wanted to grow up to be a writer.

Baldree co-founded Runic Games and Double Damage Games.

Narration Baldree later began narrating audiobooks as a hobby. Paul Constant of The Seattle Times described him as "an in-demand narrator of audiobooks."

Writing In 2021, Baldree participated in NaNoWriMo with a fellow narrator and writer, Aven Shore-Kind. Baldree recounts that over 26 days, he wrote most of what would become his debut novel. Because it was during the COVID-19 pandemic, the themes of the book reflected his desire for escapism in media in the vein of The Great British Bake Off or the fantasy romances he enjoyed narrating. The book's protagonist, Viv, is an orc swordswoman retiring from adventuring in order to open a coffee shop. Romance and business conflicts follow as the shop grows. He also narrated its audiobook (for which he was nominated for an Audie Award for Fantasy ). Booklist gave the novel a starred review, and reviewer Sarah Rice compared the book's positive messages to Discworld stories. Publishers Weekly described it as a "charming" and "gentle" tale.

Baldree released a prequel titled Bookshops & Bonedust in November 2023. In the book, Viv is healing from battle with a necromancer in the town of Murk when she meets Fern, a cross between a human and a rat whose bookstore is falling into disrepair. As Viv helps Fern fix her shop, their relationship grows, but the necromancer threatens to upset their peace. Adrienne Martini, for Locus, described the book as "the story equivalent of a warm blanket on a bleak day" with "direct and engaging" prose and simple stakes. Bookshops & Bonedust became a finalist for the 2024 Washington State Book Awards in Fiction.

Baldree is voicing Lindon and Eithan in the upcoming Cradle animatic.

Awards

Personal life Baldree lived in Seattle, Washington while working in game development but later moved to Spokane, Washington.