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Author Revealed

Travis Sentell

Travis Sentell

Travis Sentell was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and currently resides in Los Angeles, California, where he works as a screenwriter, essayist, novelist, actor and playwright.

Author Revealed:
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. Comfort is the Enemy.
Learn more about Travis Sentell
Travis Sentell Revealed
About Travis Sentell
  • What is your birthdate?:
    3/9
  • Previous occupations:
    Waiter, Circus Clown, Mindreader/Magician, Sound Engineer, Actor, Drummer, Grant Writer, Tutor/Teacher, Screenwriter
  • Favorite job:
    It's hard to beat playing music. And writing. Those are pretty hard to beat.
  • High school and/or college:
    Episcopal High School, Emory University, St. Andrews University
  • Name of your favorite composer or music artist?:
    Jimi Hendrix
  • Favorite movie:
    Footloose (I'm only 30% joking)
  • Favorite television show:
    Arrested Development or the British Office
Revealing Questions
Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
A. Constant attempts to balance art, commerce, social change.
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. Comfort is the Enemy.
Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
A. Perfect happiness to me would be using all of one's skills to their fullest extent and making a difference in the world while pursuing one's passion. You know, something simple like that.
Q. What’s your greatest fear?
A. Not living up to my full potential, no matter how big or small it may be.
Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A. Right now? Capetown, South Africa. Ask me tomorrow...
Q. With whom in history do you most identify?
A. Scary question! (don't say Stalin, don't say Stalin...) Man, there's no right way to answer this one, is there? Let's go with Tootie from "Facts of Life."
Q. Which living person do you most admire?
A. Naomi Klein. If you don't know why, go find out. She's rad.
Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
A. Rad.
Q. What do you regret most?
A. Not having a clearer focus earlier in life.
Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A. Vocal ability! Singing, accents, voices - I can't do ANY of that stuff. None of it. It's embarrassing.
Q. What is your greatest achievement?
A. My relationship with my family.
Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
A. Bullheadedness. I'll argue politics and religion with the wall.
Q. What’s your best quality?
A. Bullheadedness. I usually learn something from the wall.
Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A. Permanently? Dave Grohl or Steve Carell. Temporarily? Barack Obama.
Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
A. This just crossed over into dating site territory. Ummm... my startling musculature, overbearing wit and incredible height.
Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A. Tyler Durden
Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A. Ignatius J. Reilly
Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A. I think James Madison would be a great person to have a sit-down with about forms of representative government. I'd be curious about his impressions of modern democracy.

And I'd like to tell a young John Kennedy Toole to hold on.
Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
A. Lazy thinking.
Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A. I love playing music with other people. Love it.
Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
A. Those neuroscientist/psychologist/magician hybrid guys (Randi, Wiseman, Derren Brown, etc.) seem to have amazing lives.
Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A. Integrity, humor, drive
Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A. Veggie burgers. They're delicious, no matter WHAT you've heard.
Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?
A. "Crazy" by Seal, "Soul Power" by Maceo Parker, "All Along the Watchtower" (the Hendrix version), "Imagine" (or "Jealous Guy") by John Lennon and "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson
On Books and Writing
Q. Who are your favorite authors?
A. (in no particular order)

Chuck Palahniuk
Naomi Klein
Charles Pierce
Chuck Klosterman
Don DeLillo
Philip Pullman
James Gleick
JRR Tolkein
Haruki Murakami
Richard Dawkins
David Sedaris
David Foster Wallace
Kurt Vonnegut
Douglas Adams
Jon Krakauer
Anton Chekov
Noam Chomsky
Q. What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A. Whoa. (Caveat: This list will be most likely be different tomorrow.) Here are the books I give away the most:

1) A Confederacy of Dunces by Toole
2) The Shock Doctrine by Klein
3) Choke by Palahniuk
4) A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again by Wallace (<-- cheat. It's an anthology.)
5) The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Wolfe

I also want to throw in the "His Dark Materials" series by Pullman and "Flim-Flam" by James Randi. And "The Brothers Karamazov" by Dostoyevsky. Okay. And "Geek Love" by Dunn
Q. Is there a book you love to reread?
A. I've read A Confederacy of Dunces out loud to numerous friends over the years. It's a book that deserves to be heard as well as read.
Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?
A. Don't Stop. Don't. (<--- I mean that so much, I broke the rules.)
Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?
A. Focus, man. Focus.