How many times have you heard that phrase related to an author’s new work? “This is the best one yet!” Over the years, I’ve heard it quite a bit. It’s been used in several reviews and I’ve probably said it myself tons of times. And with the upcoming release of my eleventh novel just a month away, I’m hearing it again.
So I’ll have a conversation with myself.
Is this really your best work, Travis?
Hard to say, really. I still hear from people that say The Promise Remains is their favorite (and therefore saying it’s my best). I always find that fascinating. I want to say “really??” But it proves what I say time and time again–reading is subjective.
But don’t you feel that you’re growing as an author?
I’d like to say I’m growing, but that doesn’t mean that you continue to get it right with each project. I try different things out. It’s not like I’ve taken my first book and tried to make it better and better with each new release. They all have different personalities, different reasons for being written, different challenges. I can’t say which one is truly “the best.”
Does having more time to devote to your writing allow you to write a better book?
Well, first off, let me say . . . you’re quite a handsome interviewer, sir. I don’t necessarily think that’s the case, either. I struggled to get Ghostwriter right. My editor made me work hard. Perhaps the credit should go to her. Someone told me that the story is a lot bigger and more ambitious than a story like Isolation. Does it mean it’s truly better? I don’t know.
You want to grow as an artist. I hate-and I mean I hate–doing the same thing. If I wrote a bestselling novel that sold 5 million copies, and suddenly had all the power in the publishing world to write whatever I wanted to, I know that the next work would be very different from that bestseller. Sure, the publisher would fight me on it, and I’m sure it would be in the same universe. But you want to try things out. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.
Your agent, your mother, and several early reviews feel Ghostwriter is your strongest work to date. What does that tell you?
It tells me that I have all these voices in my head (including you, Mr. Interviewer) that allow me to tell these stories. I don’t know what to think of it. What will they think of Broken, the novel I just handed in? Or the story ideas I have for down the road? Hopefully I’ll continue to grow, and hopefully readers will keep coming along for the ride. If I do write a book that they really, really love, then I’ve done my job.
All I know is you had better have a copy ready for me to purchase on Saturday!
And the only people who can say it’s your best yet are those who have read every single one of your 10 other novels. I am sure this includes your mother!
Hey Cory. Still no copies of Ghostwriter yet. Perhaps they’ve been taken by an evil spirit. Hoping they come today or tomorrow. Should be coming any day!