Heart of the Ronin Podcast

Kazuko finally begins to settle herself into her new life, wondering about Ken’ishi and future. Yasutoki’s schemes of espionage and betrayal finally come together and he prepares to hand his homeland over to Mongol conquerors.

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As Kiose struggles in throes of childbirth, Ken’ishi meets an unexpected nemesis in a battle to the death.

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Another mysterious disappearance in the village drives Ken’ishi to put his own life at risk to find the cause, and he uses himself as bait in his own trap. And uncovers something no one expected.

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Ken’ishi and Norikage confront a mysterious stranger in Aoka village.  Taro, having learned the ways of the sword and slaughtered two sword academies’ worth of students in his bloodlust, continues his search for Ken’ishi.

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Hatsumi’s cruelty and ill-temper have grown to such proportions that all the house servants now hate her, and Kazuko admonishes her for after a particularly cruel and irrational incident. Meanwhile, Yasutoki schemes and schemes, and his espionage bears powerful fruit.

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See, you knew you had good taste.  Five Star Publishing has informed me that the first print run of HotR has already sold out. And it only a month from the release date.  Thanks to all you loyal listeners who purchased your very own copy!  If you haven’t yet, don’t fret.  The second print run has already been completed and is in da house.

Banzai!  Banzai!  Banzai!

Book signing

Barnes and Noble, Oak View Mall, Omaha, Nebraska - April 9th, 2009, at 7 p.m.

Ken’ishi, Kiose, and Akao venture into the forest, in search of the missing innkeeper.  During their trek, Kiose drops some powerful news on Ken’ishi.

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Tetta, the innkeeper, mysterious disappears from Aoka village. Ken’ishi sets out to investigate, but, fearing reprisal against Kiose by the vengeful sons of Yoba, the slain fisherman, he takes Kiose with him into the forest.

Meanwhile, Taro has joined the Koga Sword Academy, but it is apparent that something dark and deadly is happening to him.

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As Heart of the Ronin, the Print Version, has now gone live, I will appearing at the following locations in coming weeks.  If you’re in the Omaha metro area, stop by for some candy and conversation!

Reading

UNO Writers Series - University of Nebraska at Omaha Writing Center - Arts and Sciences Hall Room 150, March 26, 6:30-8:00 P.M.

Book Signings

Borders - Shadow Lake, Papillion, Nebraska -March 28, 1:00-2:00 P.M.

Confluence Bookstore and Bistro - Bellevue, Nebraska - March 28, 2:30-4:00 P.M.

Barnes & Noble - Oak View Mall, Omaha, Nebraska - April 9, 7:00 P.M.

Special Thanks

Special thanks go out to everyone who participated in the Amazon Ronin Rush on February 18. Thanks to your efforts, HotR made it as high as #20 on the Historical Fantasy Bestseller chart.

Yasutoki receives his first round of intelligence from the spy known only as Kage. Ken’ishi’s feelings for Kiose lead him to discuss her future as a prostitute in Tetta’s inn, but something is wrong in the village, a nameless presence that raises Ken’ishi’s sense of danger.

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Ken’ishi assumes the post of constable of Aoka village.  In doing so, however, he faces the deep distrust of the villagers.  Kiose, the prostitute he saved, on the other hand, seems to have taken a liking to him.

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Ken’ishi and Akao wander into a secluded fishing village. Months have passed since his liaison with Kazuko, but she is ever on his mind.  During some New Year celebration, a local fisherman flies into a drunken rage and kills the village constable in a dispute with a prostitute. Ken’ishi steps in to defend her from the cruel drunken fisherman.

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Kazuko has accepted her fate and married Lord Tsunetomo but a yearning remains in her heart that she cannot dispel.  And she does not yet realize that she is neck-deep in the machinations of a master schemer, Yasutoki.

Special thanks to everyone who ordered the book from Amazon on Ronin Rush Day!  Heart of the Ronin reached as high as #20 on the Amazon Historical Fantasy Bestseller chart. WoOoT! You all rock.

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Ken’ishi flees the domain of the Nishimuta clan, under threat of torture and execution if he ever returns.  However, just as he begins his journey, he encounters the young deputy from Uchida village, Taro.

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A quick reminder for podcast listeners.

Today, February 18th, is Ronin Rush Day on Amazon.com.  I humbly ask each of you loyal listeners to go to Amazon.com today and buy your copy of Heart of the Ronin.

Thank you for listening, and thank you for reading!

P.S. Episode 19 will be along later this week.

Ken’ishi and Kazuko have been torn apart the surprise announcement of her betrothal to Lord Tsunetomo, and Ken’ishi has been ordered to leave the province under pain of death. But Kazuko has other designs.

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Appearing now, a new review at Fantasy Book Critic. Here’s a brief excerpt.

“Full of sword battles, intrigue, romance and fantastic elements blending well with historical ones, “Heart of the Ronin” is a very impressive opening in the Ronin Trilogy. It’s also a page turner that you can’t put down and will leave readers begging for more…”

You can read the rest here.

Ken’ishi has finally brought Kazuko and Hatsumi safely home, but what he had dreamed would an auspicious, joyous event turns into a dangerous debacle.

Don’t forget that February 18 is Ronin Rush at Amazon.com. If you’re considering buying the book, I humbly ask that you go to Amazon and order it on that day.  Why?  If all of you order the book on the same day, its Amazon ranking will spike, and generate a little more attention. You already know this is a good story.  Help others find out as well.

Be well, and thanks for your support.

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Ken’ishi recounts another tale of childhood travails as they reach the final stretch of road to Kazuko’s family estate, the domain of Lord Nishimuta no Jiro.

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As Hatsumi slowly recovers from her grievous injuries, the darkness in her thoughts and in her heart grows, until, for the first time, a rift appears in her relationship with Kazuko.  Hatsumi’s dislike and distrust of Ken’ishi seem unreasonable and excessive, but is this change in her temper a result of the oni’s attack or does it originate within herself?

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Taro continues his pursuit of the ronin, even though something strange is happening with the wound he suffered by getting too close to the oni’s remains.

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Ken’ishi recounts a tale for Kazuko of his first contact with human society since he was a baby.  It is not a pleasant first encounter.

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I’d like to wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous 2009, and I also want to thank you all for listening.  You’ve made it this far, so I hope you’re enjoying the story as much I enjoy bringing it to you.  Podcasting has become a great new creative outlet for me and Danielle enjoys performing each episode. Here are a few excerpts of just how much she loves it.

If you enjoy her listening to her as much as I do, let me know, and I’ll be sure to forward your comments. Anyway, we’re coming up on the print publication date for the book and I gotta tell you, I’m so excited.  Like so many of the pioneering audio fiction podcasters who have gone before me, I have a special request for those of you who are thinking about buying the print version.  Go to Amazon.com on February 18, 2009, and order the book on that day.  Why, February 18^th? Because a sales spike on a single day will give a huge boost to the book’s Amazon ranking. If you’re thinking about buying the print version, I humbly ask for your support on February 18^th.  Make it Heart of the Ronin Day on Amazon.com.

If you have anything you’d like to get off your chest about the story, be it praise or condemnation or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to send me an email at travis@travisheermann.com.  I’d love to hear anything you have to say.

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Ken’ishi has a horrible nightmare that could prove to be prophetic.

He finally reveals to Kazuko the circumstances of his strange upbringing, with a tale about his first sword lessons and his mystical teacher.

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Yasutoki puts his scheme for espionage into action, meeting with a mysterious figure known only as Kage, “Shadow.”

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Ken’ishi, Kazuko, and Hatsumi arrive at a village where they find a priest, who agrees to heal Hatsumi and purify them all from the taint of evil on their spirits from the encounter with the oni.

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Check out the interview with me this week on the Sci Fi Surplus podcast.

http://scifisurplus.com/2008/12/22/scifi-surplus-082-travis-heermann-plus-bailout/

Ken’ishi and Kazuko seek a healer for the injured Hatsumi and look for a priest that they might all be purified from the taint of death and the oni’s blood.  As they travel, sparks begin to crackle between them.

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Ken’ishi and Kazuko continue their trek to deliver Hatsumi to safety, but the attraction between them starts to grow.

Meanwhile, Yasutoki, a.k.a. Green Tiger, encounters a parade celebrating the death of the oni known as Hakamadare.

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Appearing in this week’s issue of Publisher’s Weekly.  Wooot!

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Heart of the Ronin Travis Heermann Five Star, $25.95 (442p) ISBN 978-1-59414-779-1

A fusion of historical fiction and adventure fantasy, the first volume of Heermann’s Ronin Trilogy is a page-turning folkloric narrative of epic proportions. In a strange, supernatural feudal Japan, 17-year-old warrior Ken’ishi, a masterless samurai with a mysterious past and a legendary sword, saves the life of Kazuko, a powerful lord’s daughter. Soon he becomes entangled in a deadly web of treachery, obsession and vengeance along with a bevy of conspirators, spies, assassins and otherworldly monstrosities. Though Heermann does little to push the boundaries of the subgenre, his writing style is confident and fluid, his characters well developed and his serpentine story line anything but predictable. Numerous tantalizingly unresolved plot threads will have readers anxiously awaiting the second installment in this gripping tale of ill-fated love, betrayal and destiny. (Feb.)

Taro, the young deputy from Uchida Village, pursues the ronin who murdered his master.
Ken’ishi and Kazuko must take the badly injured Hatsumi to safety, to somewhere she can be healed and purified.

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Same content, but a new way to subscribe!  Check it out here.

http://www.podiobooks.com/title/heart-of-the-ronin/

Ken’ishi and Kazuko battle for their lives against horrible demon called Hakamadare.

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Ken’ishi stumbles upon the scene of a brutal melee.  A gang of cruel bandits, led by an oni, has ambushed the entourage of a noble maiden.

Discriminating listeners may notice improved audio quality.  Oh, boy, does a good mic make a difference. Enjoy!

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Heart of the Ronin was recently reviewed on Adventures in Sci Fi Publishing. Check it out here!

Yes, every new endeavor does have a learning curve.  I certainly hope that listeners will bear with me while I get my t3ch together.  Danielle and I have been recording with a relatively cheap Microsoft headset.  The vocal audio quality of that mic is fairly flat and poor, so I recently bought an Apex 181 USB condenser microphone in an effort get some better vocal quality, and I promptly discovered that high quality microphones introduce a new set of problems, like background ambient noise.  (This thing can pick up my breathing from six feet away.  Seriously.  Plus the car going by in the street outside, the dog barking on the next block… you get the idea.)

The ambient noise doesn’t bother me, however, nearly so much as the annoying electronic whine that this microphone exhibits in a variety of venues–home, office, desktop, laptop.  As a former electronics engineer, I know how finicky audio signals can be, and it remains to be seen how much of this noise is a product of this specific model.  I got a replacement for the first one I bought, and this noise is less pronounced on the new mic but still present.  For you audio electronophiles out there who know what I’m talking about, I suspect the noise is coming in from the computer via USB ground.  Some sort of ground isolation might be in order, so I’m going to look into how to achieve that.

So the point of this for loyal listeners is that the audio quality WILL be improving.  It’s not “bad” right now, but I’m hoping to make it better.

Ken’ishi recalls an encounter with a cruel drunken samurai in the capital, wherein he learned a few tantalizing clues about the possible history of his sword, Silver Crane.

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In previous episodes, the young ronin Ken’ishi and his dog Akao hide in the countryside from the angry villagers and contemplate their next move.  But there are forces at work beyond his knowledge.

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Ken’ishi and the angry constable, Takenaga, a member of the Nishimuta clan, face off in a deadly duel.

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My Podcast Alley feed! {pca-a437f5e18292b9a79129fffcbd85e7b3}

This post is just to help spread the word.

Welcome to the debut episode of the Heart of the Ronin podcast.

In this episode, Ken’ishi, a young masterless samurai with his father’s ancient sword on hip, and Akao, Ken’ishi’s faithful dog, wander into a village, and quickly run afoul of an ill-tempered constable with a past.

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The Heart of the Ronin Podcast!

An original audio book presentation!

Thirteenth-century Japan is a dangerous place, even in a time of peace.  Capricious gods, shape-changing animals, and bloodthirsty demons are as real and unpleasant as a gang of vicious bandits.  From the wilderness emerges a young, idealistic warrior with his father’s mysterious sword on his hip, a wise, sarcastic dog at his side, and a yearning in his heart to find a worthy master.  He dreams only of being samurai. Little does he suspect the agony and glory that await him when his dreams come true.

Finding a master should be easy for a warrior as skilled as Ken’ishi, but the generations-long wars for the Imperial throne have ended.  The land has settled into an uneasy peace and cast multitudes of proud, powerful warriors to the four winds.  The new peace means that these masterless warriors, ronin, often must stoop to crime and banditry to feed themselves.  Ken’ishi finds himself plagued by the hatred and mistrust of peasants and samurai alike.

When he saves a noble maiden from a pack of bandits, he and his faithful dog become enmeshed in the intrigues of samurai lords, vengeful constables, Mongol spies, and a shadowy underworld crime boss known as Green Tiger.  But Ken’ishi has a few secret weapons of his own, granted to him by his mysterious past and his magical upbringing.  If only he knew more about his mysterious past, his parents’ murder, and the sword that seems to want to talk to him. . . .

Heart of the Ronin is an action-packed historical fantasy, set against the backdrop of ancient intrigue and impending war, the first of a sweeping three-part epic filled with deadly duels and climactic battles.  Creatures of folklore and myth are as real as the katana in one’s hand.  And just as deadly.

Available in February, 2009, from Five Star Publishing.