Everything from:spells of blood and kin

2017 Sunburst Awards

I started writing Spells of Blood and Kin ages ago: 2008, the year I attended the Viable Paradise writing workshop.  Nine years. Nine years ago, I had just lost my father.  I was trying to write something light, something to distract myself from loss and difficulty.  I should have known I didn’t work that way, but it took me a while to understand.  When I did, the book I ended up writing was pretty different. Today, I won the Sunburst Award for that book.  In the jury’s statement, one bit really stood out to me:“Humphrey’s use of a real, contemporary Canadian setting and her refusal to allow her characters any easy victories set this novel apart from a field of strong competitors.”  Italics mine.  I was going to say easy victories aren’t a thing I understand, but I do understand that this is a matter of perspective and privilege.  I also understand that the victories that we treasure are the ones for which we worked, and it’s true that the characters in this book work hard for the comparatively small victories they manage.  This felt true to me when I was writing it, and still today.This particular victory, then, feels incredibly satisfying […]

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Two years since I saw my book’s face!

A lot has happened since I last posted!  Most recently, Spells of Blood and Kin, whose cover reveal was two years ago, has now been in the world for a full year and was recently shortlisted for a Sunburst Award! As a debut novelist who works in the book business, I had two hopes for this book: earn out my advance in the first year (kind of arbitrary, but a generally accepted hallmark of good-enough sales), and get nominated for something.  Neither of these things were very much within my control, of course–you write the best book you can, and you promote it as well as you know how, but there’s a huge amount of randomness in the market.  I’m lucky to have had a successful tour, some friends in my corner, and some good reviews!  It’s pretty great to have checked both boxes! Other cool things happening right now: The Sum of Us is officially out!  This anthology focuses on caregivers in a speculative fiction context, with a portion of profits going to the Canadian Mental Health Association.  It includes my story “Number One Draft Pick” (why YES, it IS about hockey, funny you should ask). […]

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Another Post from the Road

In my last post we’d made it as far as Los Angeles, mainly by plane.  The next phase of the tour began with a road trip to San Francisco! Thanks to the generosity of new friends, we had a fun home base in a camper-van near Golden Gate Park and this author & entourage used our time off to explore the city.  Here’s the view from Moraga Steps: We visited the Castro on our day off as it was Pride Weekend.  It was an emotional visit due to the recent tragic crime in Orlando.  We made friends with some lovely folks at a bar near Dolores Park, and I felt like the heart of the community was sore but still so proud, so kind, and so alive. Curtis and I got to sign books at landmark bookstore Borderlands, and then we had a great event at Laurel Bookstore (photo courtesy of my aunt Mia Stageberg):   Next stop: Portland!  On the road there, we began listening to the audiobook of Spells of Blood and Kin.  What a cool experience to hear my characters voiced so well by Vikas Adam (especially Nick and Jonathan–he really nails the stoner-speak!) Powell’s at Cedar […]

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The Road So Far

One week!  One week since Spells of Blood and Kin officially launched.  What’s happened in that week? First: the launch itself!  A power failure at the Yonge & Eglinton Centre meant the Indigo store had to close for the afternoon, but the amazing events team quickly found a solution–the courtyard of the mall.  Check out the amazing setup (and the long signing line!): Curtis Chen and I are tag-teaming a lot of our events as his debut novel, Waypoint Kangaroo, is with the same publisher at the same time–what a great coincidence!  Curtis came to Toronto for this event and the next one–a day later, at the Chiaroscuro Reading Series. Here’s a great picture Kelly Robson took of me at the reading series…right before I classily smacked myself in the face with the microphone: Next up, a double-header of Indigo signings: Chapters Chinook in Calgary, and Indigo Granville in Vancouver.  Both stores were lovely!  Indigo Granville had an especially great location for a signing table: I got to chat with not one but two different readers who were celebrating birthdays and decided to treat themselves to a signed copy of my book.  I hope they both had great days!  (There […]

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Setting Myself Up for the Win

2016 is going to be a huge year for me, with the release of Spells of Blood and Kin in June.  And 2014 was a huge year, too: the year I signed with my wonderful agent Connor, the year he made the sale.  A year of leveling up. 2015, then, was a bridge year in some ways: a year to consolidate my gains, to do all the work I could to make sure this next phase in my writing life will be a successful one.  Timelines in writing are very long compared to some kinds of work: even more than a year, in my case, between deal and launch.  I came to learn that it’s very useful time!  Edits, proofing, and a lot of other associated tasks took a lot of it.  And of course, other projects need to be in the pipeline–my next book, plus some short stories, although the time I’ve spent on those has dropped a lot since the novel has to take priority. Like most working writers, I also have a day job–which is understating it a bit; I have a career which I love, and which is sometimes demanding.  Between this, family events, and cons, […]

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Cover reveal!

Spells of Blood and Kin is getting closer and closer, you guys.  You can now preorder it from a whole bunch of different US retailers here, or of course, from Indigo. And take a look at this cover!  It looks even better in person–I am the proud possessor of a mockup (my cover wrapped around a similarly-sized hardcover, since mine won’t be printed for a while yet) and I can’t even describe the rush of seeing it brought to life. Next step for this writer: copyedits!  I have a word list from the copy editors detailing things they’ve corrected, and I need to review the changes.  (Side note: it’s hilarious to me how many swears appear on the list.  Apparently I don’t spell profanity as well as the rest of my vocabulary.  For instance, did you know “douche bag” is two words, not one?!  It never occurred to me to look that up.) One thing I love about this process is the incredible number of talented people who are involved in making this book the best it can be.  I’m grateful to every one and I look forward to thanking them all properly, including those I haven’t yet met… and […]

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On the horizon… look what dawns…

This day, my friends, needs a pin in it: SPELLS OF BLOOD AND KIN has gone up on Amazon (and Goodreads!) It has a preorder link and an ISBN number (which, for anyone reading this who isn’t a book nerd, is like your book’s very own fingerprint or DNA). Go and look!  Look at the beautiful, generous things people have said about this book already!  I am so grateful–and so excited to watch this thing grow. […]

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Just in time for Readercon…

Long Hidden continues to garner attention, this time nominated for a World Fantasy Award!  This anthology punches way above its weight in so many ways.  Every story made me proud to be in that company, and the community of contributors has been such a pleasure to meet.  I’m looking forward to seeing some of the #LongHiddenFam at Readercon! What else am I doing at Readercon?  Reading: Friday, 7pm, Inspire Room: Outer Alliance ReadingFeaturing: Nicola Griffith, Kelley Eskridge, Sarah Pinsker, Malinda Lo, Claire Humphrey, Brad Parks, Susan Jane Bigelow, CD Covington, and Jill ShultzHosted by Julia Rios I’m planning to read the opening scene of SPELLS OF BLOOD AND KIN.  I’m so excited to introduce my book to you all!  This will be its first outing! I’ll also go to panels and readings, of course, and hang out in the bar, and in the lobby, and on the party floor.  (And in the back yard of the hotel, where there’s an open green space that is perfect for sparring.  I don’t really box any more, but I make an exception for Marko Kloos.) […]

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