Two Spokane authors chosen as finalists for Washington State Book Awards

Two Spokane authors, both of whom began writing later in life, have been selected as finalists for the 2024 Washington State Book Awards.

Author Travis Baldree’s second book, “Bookshops & Bonedust,” has been selected in the fiction category. Lora Senf’s second book in her Blight Harbor series, “The Nighthouse Keeper,” was selected in the Books for Young Readers category.

Each year the contest, formerly called the Governor’s Writers Awards, recognizes books in seven award categories. This year there are 39 finalists, with the winners set to be announced on Sept. 24. It is hosted by the Washington Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book.

Writing is Baldree’s third career. He grew up in Colfax, then lived in Seattle and worked as a software engineer. He was a video game developer for years, then began to dabble in narrating audio books as a hobby. Reading the words that others had written sparked something in him, and he began doing narration full-time.

“It’s an infinitely more relaxing way to spend your day,” he said. “It’s an awfully great boot camp to read thousands of hours of other people’s work.”

One year he decided to participate in National Novel Writing Month, known as NaNoWriMo. It brings together a community of people committed to writing a 50,000-word novel in a month. “I wrote what sounded like a ridiculous premise and that turned out to be the one I could write.”

His first cozy fantasy book, “Legends and Lattes,” features Viv, an orc barbarian who spent decades having adventures, who opens the first coffee shop over seen in the city of Thune. Naturally, things do not go smoothly.

Baldree self-published the book on Amazon, where it sold well and caught the eye of publishers.

“When it came out, a lot of people responded to it,” he said.

“Bookshops & Bonedust” is a prequel that follows Viv as she began her mercenary career 20 years prior. It’s a standalone book that can be read by someone who did not read the first novel, Baldree said. “It’s about the seeds of our life that get planted early on and don’t bloom right away,” he said.

That statement can easily apply to Baldree himself, who dreamed of being a writer as a child. He said he loves it when readers tell him they can see a bit of themselves in the books he writes.

“When you write a book, you find yourself unexpectedly including a lot of yourself,” he said. “It’s unexpectedly profoundly connecting.”

Baldree is currently writing a third book and is under contract for three more.

“It’s been a very unexpected and surprising sequence of events,” he said. “I certainly didn’t expect to see myself writing cozy fantasy novels.”

Lora Senf, who grew up in Spokane, has always loved books.

“I was the kid who always wanted to be a writer,” she said. “I was also a kid with a lot of anxiety and self-doubt, so I never pursued it.”

As an adult she married and started raising a family but always felt like something was missing. That something was writing, which she started doing again in 2018. Her first novel, “The Clackity,” was published in 2022.

The middle-grade horror novel features Evie Von Rathe, who lives with her aunt in Blight Harbor, the seventh most haunted town in America. But then her aunt disappears and Evie’s search for her leads to another realm. “The Nighthouse Keeper” is the sequel, which follows Evie as she notices that the ghosts in town have started to disappear.

Though “The Clackity” was Senf’s first published book, it was not the first book she wrote. That book, “Lasting Fountain,” will be published Dec. 31. She has plans for several other books, including a third Evie Von Rathe novel titled “The Loneliest Place,” which comes out this month, and other books set in Blight Harbor.

Though Senf’s writing career took time to blossom, Senf said there’s no wrong way to become a writer. “There’s no time limit on being a writer,” she said. “You start when you start.”

Senf said her love of horror, particularly novels written by Stephen King, inspired her entry into writing middle-grade horror books. “I was a kid who discovered horror very young,” she said. “I started reading Stephen King too young, frankly. I never looked back.”

Reading horror novels can help young adult readers, Senf said.

“Horror is a very safe space to explore your fears,” she said. “It’s a safe place to be brave.”

Senf said she was surprised and happy to learn of her award nomination.

“There’s something so special about your home, your community, your state recognizing your work,” she said.

Senf has several signings and/or readings coming up, including at 2 p.m. Sept. 22 at Wishing Tree Books, 1410 E. 11th Ave.; 6 p.m. Sept. 27 at Auntie’s Bookstore, 402 W. Main Ave.; and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 29 at Barnes and Noble, 15310 E. Indiana Ave, Spokane Valley.