Everything Blood Ties

Born in Halifax, 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 partner 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.

The television series Blood Ties was based on Huff's Vicki Nelson novels, and aired in the United States on Lifetime. It was produced by CHUM Television and Kaleidoscope Entertainment. Toronto actress Christina Cox had the lead role. It was not picked up for a second season (which would have been the third season in the US).

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Former police officer, turned private investigator. After being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, Vicki faced the hard choice of leaving Homicide Division in the police department and working a desk job or leaving the police force all together. Despite strong protests from her partner and lover, Detective Mike Celluci, she decided to leave the force and open a private investigation firm.
Though her vision does prove to be a problem at times, Vicki refuses to let anyone treat her like she is disabled and continues to take risks with her life throughout the course of her investigations. As a result of leaving the force, her relationship with Celluci has become on-again/ off-again. Meanwhile, her growing attraction to Henry only fuels to the complications in her love life, putting her in the center of an interesting love triangle.

Born the bastard son of, and eventually recognized as the legitimate heir to the throne of, Henry VIII of England, Henry Fitzroy chose love over familial duty and sacrificed his mortal life to remain forever with the woman he loved; Christina. Vampiric circumstances, however, prevented him from remaining with her and now, after 450 years of existence, he is living in Toronto as a graphic novelist - "Art and literature have always been my passions. I finally found a medium where I could fully realize the both of them." His quiet, hidden life takes on a new twist when he collides with Vicki Nelson in an attempt to stop a man from bringing the demon Asteroth into the mortal world. As they work to solve this case, and subsequently other supernatural problems, Henry grows deeply attracted to Vicki's willful nature and exuberance for life, eventually falling for her. Though she seems to resist his advances, he continues to pursue her and, mostly due to his centuries of experience and knowledge of both sides of the supernatural, he becomes Vicki's partner and bodyguard.

Vicki's former partner, as well as on/off lover, he was very much against her decision to leave the force. He and Vicki share many personality traits, which often results in arguments between the two. Yet despite (or perhaps because of) this they are firm friends, both going so far as to discuss their current cases. As straight as they come, and a "see it to believe it" kind of guy to boot, Mike often exhibits concern over the kind of cases Vicki seems willing to take on in her new career. He has trouble accepting Vicki's friendship and trust in Henry, even more so once he finds out what Henry is, often coming across as jealous. However, they have been know to work together on occasion - especially when it is Vicki who needs help.

Coreen becomes known to Vicki during her first "unusual" case, hiring her to find out who killed her boyfriend. Once the case was over, she managed to insinuate herself into the position of Vicki's office assistant. Coreen appears to have extensive knowledge about the occult, and is certainly far more curious and accepting of it than any of the other characters. Because of this she seems to have struck up a friendship with Dr Sagara, a professor of the occult known to Henry, and the two can occasionally be seen working together on a case for Vicki. Coreen can at times serve as an emissary between Vicki and Mike, usually trying to get Vicki talking with him again.

Keith Dallas as Dave Graham
Françoise Yip as Kate Lam
Eileen Pedde as Allison Crowley
Nimet Kanji as Dr. Rajani Mohadevan
Linda Sorensen as Dr. Betty Sagara

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