Tanya Huff may have left Nova Scotia at three, and has lived most of her life since in Ontario, but she still considers herself a Maritimer. On the way to the idyllic rural existence she shares with her partner Fiona Patton, six cats, and a chihuahua, she acquired a degree in Radio and Television Arts from Ryerson Polytechnic—an education she was happy to finally use while writing her recent Smoke novels. Of her previous twenty-three books, the five—Blood Price, Blood Trail, Blood Lines (tanya huff blood), Blood Pact, Blood Debt—featuring Henry Fitzroy, bastard son of Henry VIII, romance writer, and vampire are among the most popular. Her latest novel is Direct Descendant and she recently talked about it with Daryl Maxwell for the LAPL Blog.
What was your inspiration for Direct Descendant?
During Covid, I, like many of us, did a lot of comfort reading. I wanted assurance that the good guys would win and there'd be, if not a happily ever after, at least a happy ending. One of the series I read multiple times—I read very quickly, and, obviously, reread books I enjoy—was Jordan L. Hawk's Widdershins series. (Point of fact: Book two was not comforting. Really, really not comforting. Pure horror. I read it once.) Jordan was influenced by Lovecraft. I was influenced by Jordan. I'm familiar with Lovecraft's work, but I've never read more than one or two short stories... fifty years ago.
Anyway, I wondered if I could take the idea of a town on a weak spot between the worlds, like Widdershins—like, for that matter, like Buffy's Sunnydale—and make it contemporary, Canadian, and funny.
With tentacles. Tentacles are important…
What was your inspiration for T'geyer (the first "cuddly" Eldritch horror I've ever read about!)?
The people of Lake Argen feel that everyone should have the chance to be who they are. Just because you're an Eldritch horror, you don't have to be an arrogant Elder God who feels Humanity is less than the slime beneath what passes for its feet. Maybe you like cuddles, cupcakes, and bubble baths. Who's to say? Small tentacled lizard/sloth killing machines need to be given a chance to show their gentler side.
Lovecraft was famously racist and sexist (which is reflected in his fiction). With Direct Descendant, you join a growing number of writers (Victor LaValle, Ruthanna Emrys, Matt Ruff, to name a few) who are reclaiming some of Lovecraft's ideas and making them into something new and wonderful. Do you have a theory regarding why Lovecraft's stories continue to influence and inspire contemporary author?
I think it's because there's just so much there. His mythos has a richness and a depth and, possibly most importantly, a flexibility that allows it to be reclaimed. Almost all of his writing was short stories, and short stories by their very nature concentrate on a single idea that leaves a lot of space for expansion. Why not reclaim something that has so obviously lingered in the psyche, strip it of the racism and sexism, and allow it to haunt a whole new generation of readers?
And also, weird is infinitely adaptable.
Direct Descendant ends with a big revelation! Will you be taking readers back to Lake Argen sometime soon?
Probably not. Direct Descendant was always intended to be a standalone book. (I'm one of those readers who love the ambiguous ending of The Lady and the Tiger.) But…precedent suggests there might be short stories. Apparently, I never close the door entirely.
What's currently on your nightstand?
I’m currently in the middle of V. E. Schwab's The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and will then move on to rereading all of Martha Wells Murderbot series before I watch Apple TV's adaptation—which will probably be delayed until the end of the month when I shuffle subscription services. Next on the list is A. G. Slatter's All the Murmuring Bones which is currently on the top of my tottering TBR pile.
Can you name your top five favorite or most influential authors?
Well, "favourite" changes based on what I'm currently reading, but among the five authors who had an influence on my writing would be Robert Heinlein, Andre Norton, Terry Pratchett, Charles de Lint, and Tanith Lee.
Current favourites, if we define favourite as "authors I currently turn to when I want to reread" would be Jordan L. Hawk, Terry Pratchett, Jodi Taylor, and T. Kingfisher.
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
C. S. Lewis’ Voyage of the Dawn Treader which is the third book in the Narnia series. I totally missed the religious symbolism, accepted everything at face value, and, once upon a time, when I was young and precocious, I could recite the first page.
Was there a book you felt you needed to hide from your parents?
A book? No. All books. Some more than others, but I'm made up of every single book I've ever read. (The part that read the DaVinci Code is kind of cranky.)
Can you name a book for which you are an evangelist (and you think everyone should read)?
Here and now, where "everyone" can be defined as fantasy readers, How to Become the Dark Lord or Die Trying by Django Wexler. He's a great writer, just generally, but this book I wish I'd written. It's been described as Groundhog Day meets Deadpool and book two will be out the end of May 2025…which will shuffle my TBR pile again. Bother.
Is there a book you would most want to read again for the first time?
That's a tricky question because, in a manner of speaking, you're reading every book for the first time, no matter how many times you've read it. You're not the same person you were even, say, two years ago, so your reaction to the book will be unique every time. There's books I loved when I first read them, but I have no interest in reading them again because I've changed. If I want that, OMG THIS IS BRILLIANT feeling, I read the next book on the pile.
What are you working on now?
I'm currently working on a book called Those Who Can that riffs on the multitude of magical boarding school books out there from the point of view of the teachers. "Oh no. I was around when the last hero showed up and had to keep the little snot alive until they could actually fight. I am not going through THAT again."
