Shout Out to Indies The Wild Boys by Travis Heerman

Young Adult title. One sixteen-year-old girl versus a plague of beasts. Can a sixteen-year-old girl stem the tide of a lycanthropocalypse? When three younger boys show up on Mia's doorstep, naked and on the run, she is drawn into a shadow world where a series of strange disappearances heralds a slowly spreading plague of lycanthropy. Mia must save the three orphaned boys from their brutal Alpha, a man-beast who believes humans are food. A war is brewing for the top of the food chain. Mia doesn't know it yet, but she holds the key to the future of the human race.






The Paperback Princesses asked Travis why he chose to write The Wild Boys for the YA market:

I was developing the story for The Wild Boys over a year or two, there was never any question that this story would be for young adults.  The idea came from a dream that my wife had. She told me about the dream, of meeting three boys along a wooden bike path, boys that were on the run, and somehow she knew that they were werewolves. We discussed other details as well, and she told me, "You need to write that story!"

So from that initial kernel of idea, I developed the story, and the main character, Mia. The story felt to me from the very beginning that this would be a story for young adults. I have a number of novel projects I'm developing at any given time, most of which are for adult readers, but since this one was clearly YA, it was only a matter of choosing to enter the YA market.

The YA market is what will breathe new life into the publishing industry. Readers started out with Twilight, The Hunger Games, and Harry Potter, of course, are the adult readers now, or in the near future. Some of the best writing out there is showing up in the YA field. I'm a particular fan of Margo Lanagan's Tender Morsels and J.K. Rowling.  I recently took on the role of step-parent. Introducing a child to Harry Potter for the first time, and watching her imagination--and her reading ability--blossom because of it has been inspirational for me.

If readers love The Wild Boys, there is no question that I have more stories to tell in that universe.

Author Bio

Freelance writer, novelist, award-winning screenwriter, poker player, poet, biker, roustabout, Travis Heermann is a graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop and the author of the Heart of the Ronin and Rogues of the Black Fury, plus short fiction pieces in anthologies and magazines such as Weird Tales, Historical Lovecraft, and Shivers VII. As a freelance writer, he has produced a metric ton of role-playing game work both in print and online, including Legend of Five Rings, d20 System, and the MMORPG, EVE Online. His most recent novel, The Wild Boys, was released in December, 2012, from Damnation Books.

He enjoys cycling, martial arts, torturing young minds with otherworldly ideas, and zombies. He has three long-cherished dreams: a produced screenplay, a NYT best-seller, and a seat in the World Series of Poker.

Good luck with the book Travis

Have you entered our Spring Cleaning Giveaway yet?