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The author, famous for his popular feel-good fantasy books, has recently released his newest novel in the series. Named Brigands & Breadknives, the tale follows Fern the ratkin while she embarks on a typical fantasy adventure subsequent to leaving her thriving business.

A Change from Cozy Themes

Differing from the earlier novels in the series, that focused on building a life, Brigands & Breadknives examines the concept of letting down people you care about. Baldree stated that this book is focused on grasping to make tough choices who you value.

"This book is concerning learning to say no that you love, and learning to decline," he said. "I am creating something different. Are people be disappointed? Should I care? Do I have to follow my true passion for myself, even if it might alienate someone?"

Life Challenges Influencing the Narrative

The writer mentioned that his personal challenges have repeatedly informed his writing. Before, he was involved in video game design, co-creating projects like Torchlight game and the space combat game Rebel Galaxy. His decision to leave game design to create audio stories resulted in the character Viv's new path in Legends and Lattes.

"I realized while writing the first book that during writing a narrative, you can't help but infuse a personal elements into it," he stated. "And when readers react to that, there's a wonderful moment of connection."

The Rise of Cozy Fantasy

In the words of Baldree, the appeal of cozy fantasy has increased in recent years, to some extent due to a desire for relief and human connection in the wake of the global pandemic.

"Our world feels a somewhat in turmoil, and I feel with the media we consume, a lot of us prefer a story that is comforting," he said. "I remember COVID, Game of Thrones premiered, and I was like, 'I enjoy Game of Thrones, but I do not want in viewing my preferred characters killed off.'"

Examining Different Paths

While Viv obtained her happy ending in the first book, the author thought he would not rip that away from her by sending her off from the coffee shop. Centering on Fern provided him the possibility to explore a character taking the reverse journey—leaving a secure situation to embark on an journey.

"I believe that every answer for life's problems are to stay put and open a small business," the author said. "Each person is unique, and furthermore, we're all different at distinct times in our journey. The solution that worked for me a decade ago fails for me currently."

Building the Universe

Unlike the earlier books, which were set in quiet villages, Brigands and Breadknives involves a travel narrative that allowed the author to expand his fictional universe avoiding info-dumps. Fern's journey accompanied by Astryx One-Ear and her sentient blade Nigel contains deadly poultry, terrible monsters, honorable mercenaries, and a remarkably peaceful temple devoted to honoring a eldritch entity.

Next Endeavors

For his future work, Travis Baldree is moving into new territory with a LitRPG novel tentatively titled Four Bastards and a Baby.

"I've gone through numerous LitRPGs, and currently I have formed opinions about what I want in a story," Baldree said. "I desire more characterization. I prefer a conclusion. A lot of such stories aim to avoid change, and I don't want that."

Returning to the World

For fans of the world of Legends and Lattes, the author has created a collection of tales involving tales about the Thimble Thimble the baker and Viv's love interest Tandri, which will be released in an forthcoming anthology. Moreover, he expects he'll revisit to the setting to explore his journey authoring his new book, which is considerably lengthier and more narrative-focused than his earlier books.

"I plan to write a novel about squeezing something into being that was incredibly tough for me to accomplish," Baldree notes.