Tanya Huff
The Enchantment Emporium is about family, and finding your place in that family. It's about making your own way while remaining a part of the whole. It's about the power of older women. It's about saving the world... or at least a part of it. And it's about dragons.
Also, there's pie.
The book was named one of the top ten science fiction/ fantasy of 2009 by Booklist, so how did that make you feel?
This is the first I've heard about that, and it makes me feel great. It's always wonderful to hear that a book has reached an audience.
Science fiction is thought to be generally male dominated, so why do you think this is?
Is it? I grew up in the 1970's reading Andre Norton and Anne McCaffery and Marion Zimmer Bradley and Zena Henderson and Joanna Russ and Ursula K. LeGuin. Then I read C J Cherryh and Vonda McIntyre and Diane Duane and Barbara Hambly and Pat Murphy and Janet Kagan. Then I read Elizabeth Moon and Julie Czernada and Melissa Scott and Lois McMaster Bujold. And those are just the science fiction writers I read, the fantasy list is a lot longer. So if there's a perception that science fiction is male dominated, it's not one I share. My short story editors have been both male and female but my novels have only ever had female editors. My publisher is female.
Are SF awards male dominated? They certainly seem to be. Maybe it's because the core group who nominate and vote are men but I have no idea why that is when clearly so many women are both working in and enjoying the genre.
Please tell us a bit about your collection of Blood Books.
The five blood books – Blood Price, Blood Trail, Blood Lines, Blood Debt, Blood Pact – and the short story collection – Blood Bank – are the story of police detective Vicki Nelson, who left the Toronto force to become a private investigator when Retinitis Pigmentosa sidelined her into a desk job. When as series of grisly murders bring her into contact with Henry Fitzroy – bastard son of Henry VIII and a vampire – her world expands to include werewolves, reanimated mummies, Frankenstein's monster (sans Frankenstein), and vengeful ghosts. Although not all at the same time...
These were adapted for TV, so how much involvement did you have in their creation?
I was kept fully informed of what was going on by the wonderful people at Kaleidoscope Entertainment but I had no actual power. Nor should I have had. I wrote the script for episode nine, Stone Cold, like I was any other freelancer. Now, getting to be on set while they shot the episode was entirely because the show was based on my books but I was only watching. And appreciating. Christina Cox was an amazing Vicki Nelson.
Please tell us about the character of Alysha.
Alysha – Allie – is a young woman drifting within the expectations of her family. As many twenty-somethings do, she has a tendency to wallow a bit in the perceived angst of her personal life and she has more power than she's ever acknowledged until circumstances force her hand.
What drew you towards science fiction in the first place?
I think I started reading sf because it held the potential for so much more. New worlds. New ways of looking at life.
Who are your favourite reads in the genre?
I read wildly and love a great many books and/or authors but if I had to pick one author's work to be with me on a desert island, I'd have to say Terry Pratchett.
You have won two awards for your work, so how much does his boost your confidence as a writer?
I've won: The Constellation Award in 2008 (I think) – but that was mostly for providing the inspiration for Blood Ties – and the 2012 Aurora Award for best novel for The Silvered. Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled to win them both, particularly as they were both fan voted, and I definitely got a "oh thank gods, you like me, you really like me" buzz of relief from winning, but I've been writing professionally since 1986 and full-time since 1992. I've had to find my confidence in the fact I'm one of the few writers able to make a living doing the job.
What is next for you?
I'm currently working on a new Torin Kerr book. We can't really call it a Valour book because things – and Torin -- changed significantly at the end of Valour's Trial and Truth of Valour so we're currently calling it the first of the Peacekeeper books. Essentially, Torin uses the skills she's gained as a Marine to make Confederation space a better, safer place. And some things explode.