Tanya Huff
Encyclopedia
Tanya Sue Huff is a Canadian
fantasy
author
. Her stories have been published since the late 1980s, including five fantasy series and one science-fiction series. One of these, her Blood Books series, featuring detective Vicki Nelson, was adapted for television under the title Blood Ties
.
, Nova Scotia
, Huff was raised in Kingston
, Ontario
. Her first sale as a writer was to The Picton Gazette when she was ten. They paid $10 for two of her poems. Huff joined the Canadian Naval Reserve in 1975 as a cook, ending her service in 1979. In 1982 she received a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree in Radio and Television Arts from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto
, Ontario
; she was in the same class as noted science-fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer
; they collaborated on their final TV Studio Lab assignment, a short science-fiction show.
In the early 1980s she worked at Mr. Gameway's Ark, a game store in Downtown Toronto
. From 1984 to 1992 she worked at Bakka
, North America's oldest surviving science fiction
book store, in Toronto. During this time she wrote seven novels and nine short stories, many of which were subsequently published. She was a member of the Bunch of Seven
writing group. In 1992, after living for 13 years in downtown Toronto, she moved with her four large cats to rural Ontario, where she currently resides with her wife, fellow fantasy writer Fiona Patton
. Her current pet population consists of six cats and what she describes as an "unintentional chihuahua
".
Huff is one of the most prominent Canadian authors in the category of contemporary fantasy
, a subgenre pioneered by Charles de Lint
. Many of the scenes in her stories are near places where she has lived or frequented in Toronto, Kingston, and elsewhere. This author frequently uses as character names the names of people in her circle of acquaintances. A prolific author, "she has written everything from horror to romantic fantasy to contemporary fantasy to humour to space opera."
She appeared in a 2009 documentary Pretty Bloody: The Women of Horror
.
and witch's familiar
. Claire's love interest, Dean, is a mortal. Claire's sister, Diana, plays a large part in the books as well. In the second book, Diana acquires a familiar of her own—a talking cat, which was an angel until helped (by Diana) to reconfigure as a cat and which, like Austin, provides comic relief.
and Henry Fitzroy, a vampire and writer of historical romances—which is natural for him as he was an illegitimate son of Henry VIII
before he was seduced by a vampire. She is known to her police colleagues as "Victory Nelson" for her successful record of investigations; her mother calls her by her legal given name, "Victoria". Henry's protégé, Tony, is also introduced, as well as Vicki's hard-boiled former partner on the police force, Mike Celluci. Vicki's failing eyesight disqualified her from street work and she resigned rather than take a desk job, and, at the start of the first book, is working as a private detective. Together Vicki and Henry stand against a number of supernatural threats. The series is set in Toronto
, Canada
and uses familiar landmarks. This series was adapted for CBC television
under the title Blood Ties
and also aired on the Lifetime
channel in the US.
Omnibus editions
series Blood Ties
was based on Huff's Vicki Nelson novels, and also aired in the United States on Lifetime
. It was produced by CHUM Television
and Kaleidoscope Entertainment
. It was not picked up for a second season (which would have been the third season in the US).
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. Her stories have been published since the late 1980s, including five fantasy series and one science-fiction series. One of these, her Blood Books series, featuring detective Vicki Nelson, was adapted for television under the title Blood Ties
Blood Ties (TV series)
Blood Ties is a Canadian television series based on the Blood Books by Tanya Huff; the show was created by Peter Mohan. It is set in Toronto, Canada and has a similar premise to an earlier series also set in Toronto, Forever Knight, in which a Vampire assists Police in dealing with crime...
.
Biography
Born in HalifaxCity of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, Huff was raised in Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. Her first sale as a writer was to The Picton Gazette when she was ten. They paid $10 for two of her poems. Huff joined the Canadian Naval Reserve in 1975 as a cook, ending her service in 1979. In 1982 she received a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree in Radio and Television Arts from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
; she was in the same class as noted science-fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer
Robert J. Sawyer
Robert James Sawyer is a Canadian science fiction writer. He has had 20 novels published, and his short fiction has appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Amazing Stories, On Spec, Nature, and many anthologies. Sawyer has won over forty awards for his fiction, including the Nebula Award ,...
; they collaborated on their final TV Studio Lab assignment, a short science-fiction show.
In the early 1980s she worked at Mr. Gameway's Ark, a game store in Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto is the central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately bounded by Bloor Street to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, the Don River to the east, and Bathurst Street to the west...
. From 1984 to 1992 she worked at Bakka
Bakka-Phoenix
Bakka-Phoenix Science Fiction Bookstore is a small independent bookstore in Toronto, Ontario, which specializes in science fiction and fantasy literature....
, North America's oldest surviving science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
book store, in Toronto. During this time she wrote seven novels and nine short stories, many of which were subsequently published. She was a member of the Bunch of Seven
Bunch of Seven
The Bunch of Seven is a group of science fiction and fantasy writers who met regularly in Toronto from March 28, 1985 until the early 90s to mutually critique manuscripts with the intention of helping each other turn professional—a goal in which several members succeeded.The group's founders were...
writing group. In 1992, after living for 13 years in downtown Toronto, she moved with her four large cats to rural Ontario, where she currently resides with her wife, fellow fantasy writer Fiona Patton
Fiona Patton
Fiona Patton is a Canadian fantasy author.Born in Calgary, Alberta, Patton moved to the United States in 1966. In 1975, she returned to Canada with her family, settling in Toronto. In 1992, she moved with wife Tanya Huff to rural Ontario...
. Her current pet population consists of six cats and what she describes as an "unintentional chihuahua
Chihuahua (dog)
The ' is the smallest breed of dog and is so named for the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. Chihuahuas come in a wide variety of sizes, head shapes, colors and coat lengths.-History:...
".
Huff is one of the most prominent Canadian authors in the category of contemporary fantasy
Contemporary fantasy
Contemporary fantasy, also known as modern fantasy or indigenous fantasy, is a sub-genre of fantasy, set in the present day. It is perhaps most popular for its sub-genre, urban fantasy.-Definition and overview:...
, a subgenre pioneered by Charles de Lint
Charles de Lint
Charles de Lint is a Canadian fantasy author and folk musician. He is also the chief book critic for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction....
. Many of the scenes in her stories are near places where she has lived or frequented in Toronto, Kingston, and elsewhere. This author frequently uses as character names the names of people in her circle of acquaintances. A prolific author, "she has written everything from horror to romantic fantasy to contemporary fantasy to humour to space opera."
She appeared in a 2009 documentary Pretty Bloody: The Women of Horror
Pretty Bloody: The Women of Horror
Pretty Bloody: The Women of Horror is a television documentary that premiered on the Canadian cable network Space on February 25, 2009.The hour-long documentary examines the experiences, motivations and impact of the increasing number of women engaged in horror fiction, with producers Donna Davies...
.
Keeper's Chronicles
Claire is a Keeper, charged with keeping the fabric of the metaphysical universe together, who inadvertently finds herself in charge of a Bed & Breakfast with a hole to Hell in the basement. There is often comic relief from her sidekick Austin, a large elderly talking catCat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
and witch's familiar
Familiar spirit
In European folklore and folk-belief of the Medieval and Early Modern periods, familiar spirits were supernatural entities believed to assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic...
. Claire's love interest, Dean, is a mortal. Claire's sister, Diana, plays a large part in the books as well. In the second book, Diana acquires a familiar of her own—a talking cat, which was an angel until helped (by Diana) to reconfigure as a cat and which, like Austin, provides comic relief.
- Summon the Keeper (1998)
- The Second Summoning (2001)
- Long Hot Summoning (2003)
Quarters series
Describes a world where musicians (or bards) create magic and an invasion from a neighboring country threatens the land. Many of the bards travel to carry their magical skills, as well as news, throughout the kingdom. The first book focuses on a bard who happens to be the king's sister and who has been forbidden to have a child. When she finds herself pregnant after a wild night of passion with the duke of a border duchy, she fears reprisal. The second and third books focus on a brother-sister pair of assassins. The fourth book primarily takes place in a new land and continues the story of Bannon, the brother portion of the assassin pair from previous books.- Sing the Four Quarters (1994)
- Fifth Quarter (1995)
- No Quarter (1996)
- The Quartered Sea (1999)
Wizard Crystal series
- Child of the Grove (1988)
- The Last Wizard (1989)
Wizard of the Grove (1999) (Omnibus edition of Child of the Grove and The Last Wizard)
Blood Books
This series pairs a detective with a vampire. The first book introduces Vicki Nelson, a former police officer with failing eyesight due to Retinitis PigmentosaRetinitis pigmentosa
Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of genetic eye conditions that leads to incurable blindness. In the progression of symptoms for RP, night blindness generally precedes tunnel vision by years or even decades. Many people with RP do not become legally blind until their 40s or 50s and retain some...
and Henry Fitzroy, a vampire and writer of historical romances—which is natural for him as he was an illegitimate son of Henry VIII
Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset
Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset was the son of King Henry VIII of England and his teenage mistress, Elizabeth Blount, the only illegitimate offspring whom Henry acknowledged.-Childhood:...
before he was seduced by a vampire. She is known to her police colleagues as "Victory Nelson" for her successful record of investigations; her mother calls her by her legal given name, "Victoria". Henry's protégé, Tony, is also introduced, as well as Vicki's hard-boiled former partner on the police force, Mike Celluci. Vicki's failing eyesight disqualified her from street work and she resigned rather than take a desk job, and, at the start of the first book, is working as a private detective. Together Vicki and Henry stand against a number of supernatural threats. The series is set in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and uses familiar landmarks. This series was adapted for CBC television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
under the title Blood Ties
Blood Ties (TV series)
Blood Ties is a Canadian television series based on the Blood Books by Tanya Huff; the show was created by Peter Mohan. It is set in Toronto, Canada and has a similar premise to an earlier series also set in Toronto, Forever Knight, in which a Vampire assists Police in dealing with crime...
and also aired on the Lifetime
Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television, often referred to as Lifetime TV, or most commonly, Lifetime, is an American cable television specialty channel devoted to movies, sitcoms and dramas, all of which are either geared toward women or feature women in lead roles. The cable network is owned by A&E Television Networks...
channel in the US.
- Blood PriceBlood Price (Tanya Huff)Blood Price is the first novel in Tanya Huff's series about private investigator Victoria Nelson, her new, immortal helper, bastard son of Henry VIII, Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, or simply, Henry Fitzroy, and her former lover and colleague Detective - Sergeant Mike Cellucci...
(1991) - Blood Trail (1992)
- Blood Lines (1992)
- Blood Pact (1993)
- Blood Debt (1997)
- Blood Bank - a short story collection
Omnibus editions
Smoke Books
A follow-up to the Blood Books, featuring Tony Foster as the main character with his work in syndicated television on a show about a vampire detective.Valor Confederation
Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr's aim is to keep both her superiors and her company of space marines alive as they deal with lethal missions throughout the galaxy.-
- A Confederation of Valor (2006-12-05) (Omnibus edition of Valor's Choice and The Better Part of Valor)
- Valor's Choice (2000)
- SSG Kerr is sent with a motley platoon of space marines to help induct a new member species into the Confederation.
- The Better Part of Valor (2002)
- SSgt Kerr is sent with a scratch squad of select recon force marines to investigate an unknown alien spaceship
- The Heart of Valor (2007)
- GySgt Kerr escorts a newly rehabilitated Major to the Marines combat training grounds for field exercises.
- Valor's Trial (2008)
- GySgt Kerr fights her way out of an underground POW camp.
- The Truth of Valor (hardcover August 24, 2010)
- Valor's Choice (2000)
- A Confederation of Valor (2006-12-05) (Omnibus edition of Valor's Choice and The Better Part of Valor)
Enchantment Emporium
- The Enchantment Emporium (2009)
- The Wild Ways (2011) -- an Emporium sequel from Charlie's point of view
Other novels
- Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light (1989)
- The Fire's Stone (1990)
- Scholar of Decay (1995) a RavenloftRavenloftRavenloft is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a pocket dimension called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces called domains brought together by a mysterious force known only as "The Dark...
novel
Short story collections
- What Ho, Magic! (Meisha Merlin, 1999)
- Relative Magic (Meisha Merlin, 2003)
- Stealing Magic (Edge, 2005)
- Finding Magic (ISFiC PressISFiC PressISFiC Press is the small press publishing arm of ISFiC. It often produces books by the Author Guest of Honor at Windycon, an annual Chicago science fiction convention, launching the appropriate title at the convention....
, 2007)
Adaptations
The CBC televisionCBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
series Blood Ties
Blood Ties (TV series)
Blood Ties is a Canadian television series based on the Blood Books by Tanya Huff; the show was created by Peter Mohan. It is set in Toronto, Canada and has a similar premise to an earlier series also set in Toronto, Forever Knight, in which a Vampire assists Police in dealing with crime...
was based on Huff's Vicki Nelson novels, and also aired in the United States on Lifetime
Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television, often referred to as Lifetime TV, or most commonly, Lifetime, is an American cable television specialty channel devoted to movies, sitcoms and dramas, all of which are either geared toward women or feature women in lead roles. The cable network is owned by A&E Television Networks...
. It was produced by CHUM Television
CHUM Limited
CHUM Limited was a media company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from 1945 to 2007. Immediately prior to its acquisition, it held full or joint control of two Canadian television systems — Citytv and A-Channel — comprising 11 local stations, and one CBC Television affiliate, one...
and Kaleidoscope Entertainment
Kaleidoscope Entertainment
Kaleidoscope Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian film and television production company. Films produced by them include Bandit Queen, Fire, Electric Moon, Saathiya, Maqbool, American Daylight, and The Rising...
. It was not picked up for a second season (which would have been the third season in the US).
External links
- Tanya Huff on LiveJournal
- Bibliography on SciFanSciFanSciFan is an online database for fans of science fiction and fantasy books.The site provides detailed bibliographies, linking books together into series' where appropriate and, in turn, grouping series by universe...
- Interview with Tanya Huff
- Interview with Michael A. VentrellaMichael A. VentrellaMichael A. Ventrella founded Animato! in the mid 80s. He sold it in the early 90s. Under the pseudonym "Thelma Scumm" he wrote the gossip column and later continued that for fps magazine...
, April 2010