Tanya Huff

answers the Usual Questions

Tanya Huff is a Canadian writer of fantasy and science fiction.

Her 'Blood' series with private investigator Vicki Nelson and vampire Henry Fitzroy was made into the television series Blood Ties.

Her 'Valor' series, military science fiction, gives a realistic view of life in the military, bureaucracy and all.

Huff's work often features strong and interesting characters, including kick-ass females and gays.

Has your interaction with fans, for example, at conventions, affected your work?

Tanya Huff

At conventions, I often auction off characters for charity and as these are based as much on the person who wins them as they're comfortable with - interestingly enough, most of them are comfortable with dying horribly - I sometimes end up with characters I wouldn't necessarily have come up on my own, taking me down lines of research I might not have otherwise done, leading to, I think, some of my best writing.

Is there any particular incident (a letter, a meeting, a comment that stands out?

I had a young woman come up to me once to tell me that my Quarters books were all that got her through horrible experiences in high school because they were the first books she'd ever read where being gay/lesbian/bisexual was just what people were rather than an oh so emotive plot point. We were both crying by the end of our conversation. I think of her whenever I feel like my writing has little value.

Do you have a favourite author or book (or writer or film or series) that has influenced you or that you return to?

Terry Pratchett. If I'm down, if I'm bored, if I'm so stressed out I can't see straight, if things are going wonderfully and I have a little quiet time to celebrate that, I reach for a Terry Pratchett book.

Who is the person you would most like to be trapped in a lift with? or a spaceship?

I'd rather not be trapped on either a lift or a spaceship but, if there's not getting from that, could I be trapped with either Tony Stark or Montgomery Scott because I suspect we'd be out of either lift or spaceship pdq.

Unless you mean an actual person, then I'm going with an actual engineer to be named later. :)

Who is the person you would most DISlike to be trapped in a lift with? Or a spaceship?

Any character from any Twilight book.

Real person? Someone who's claustrophobic wouldn't be fun... for either of us.

What would you pack for space? (Is there a food, beverage, book, teddy bear, etc that you couldn't do without?)

Tablet, with keyboard, loaded with music and books and seasons 1-5 of Leverage. Coffee - because I drink it black. I have milk in tea but you can't count on milk in space. A large bag of Werther's Original Hard.

What is the most important thing you would like to get/achieve from your work?

Well, I'd like to continue getting a living wage but I suspect you were thinking something a little less practical. I'd like my work to live on after I'm gone.

What is the special satisfaction of your work?

The readers. We're so lucky in SF&F because we actually interact with our readers. Writers in other genres, not so much. Every "Thanks, that meant a lot to me." or "I really enjoyed that!" or "I stayed up way to late finishing this." or "I laughed so hard I scared the cat." is what keeps me going.

submitted by Tanya Huff

15 July 2014

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Just the facts:
Born: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 1957
Resides: Rural Ontario, Canada
Bibliography/Awards:
As of right now... 28 novels, 76 short stories, one television show, 4 pop culture essays, the occasional review in the Globe and Mail, the 2008 Constellation Award for Blood Ties, the 2012 Aurora Award for The Silvered.

Web site:
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twitter: @TanyaHuff