Hello and Welcome All!

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Erin Fulmer author of Cambion’s Blood.

Hi Erin, thank you for agreeing to this interview.

For those readers not familiar with you, would you please tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m a public benefits attorney by day, author of urban fantasy and science fiction by night. I live in Northern California with my husband and two spoiled cats named after famous dragons, Drogon and Rhaegal. CAMBION’S BLOOD is my second urban fantasy novel and the second in the series I started with CAMBION’S LAW.

How did you choose the genre you write in?

I’ve loved fantasy forever (showing my age, but I was a Tolkien fanatic before it was cool, haha) and urban fantasy has been my comfort food genre for decades. I think the first UF I ever read was War for the Oaks by Emma Bull, which blew me away with the idea that fantasy elements could exist side by side with the modern world. When I decided to try my hand at writing a novel, urban fantasy felt like a natural subgenre to play with.

What do you do when you are not writing?

I have a lot of writing-adjacent projects going on right now! I’m a volunteer mentor with the Rogue Mentor writing program, helping up and coming new authors take their work to the next level. I also maintain a weekly blog about writing, publishing, and creativity. Finally, with fellow indie writer Shoshana Rain, I’m working to plan a brand-new Twitter pitch event, SelfPitch, for self-published and small press authors to directly reach their readers. I guess you might say I have a lot on my plate! On top of that I have a full-time job, and in my copious free time for hobbies after that, I like to nap, read, and practice yoga.

What are some books you have enjoyed recently?

So many! One of the fantastic things about becoming a published author is that now more than ever I’m aware of all the amazing books coming out every day. My fellow City Owl authors have produced some great UF recently, like S.L. Choi’s Bad Girls Drink Blood and Gabrielle Ash’s For the Murder. I also really loved T. Kingfisher’s most recent fantasy, Nettle and Bone, and of course my writing mentor Ren Hutching’s incredible time travel sci fi, Under Fortunate Stars.

Tell us a few Fun Facts about your upcoming book?

I originally wrote the first draft of this book in 2018 and coming back to it last year to rework it for publication was a real trip. The eternal curse of novel writing is that you’re a different writer by the time you finish the book. But that first draft has all the elements that I love about it today—influences from Celtic myth, themes of survivors fighting back against abusers, and the question of how far we’ll go for justice when traditional avenues fail us. At the time I wrote that first book, the #MeToo movement was beginning to gain steam, and I was volunteering for a local women’s crisis center helping survivors of domestic violence navigate their divorces and restraining orders. Both of those things left their mark on this book. Hm, but that’s not really a fun fact, is it? I was carrying some heavy feelings when I wrote this, but I hope I’ve dealt with them in a sensitive way. It’s not all dark—there’s a lot of humor, sensuality, and ultimately hope and solidarity between women.

Give us an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special?

Lily Knight is a cambion—that’s a half-demon, specifically a half-succubus. Her real father was an incubus, and that caused a lot of pain and strife in her family of origin, leaving her to be estranged from the people that raised her. In this world, succubi/incubi, or “cubines” as they call themselves, are like emotional vampires that feed off human life force via their joy and pleasure—though Lily would be offended by that characterization. Oftentimes, there’s a sexual element to that feeding, but not always. This makes Lily’s relationships with humans extremely fraught at times—she has a strong sense of right and wrong, and for a while in book 1 she refused to partake in human energy at all. In this book, she’s less self-isolated, but she still struggles with issues of consent and free will. 

Beyond gaining power from draining human energy, her abilities include a kind of super-powered empathy that lets her read human emotions, a charismatic presence that influences human’s emotions and perceptions of her, supernatural strength and speed, and of course the wings she manifests when she has a really good time. She uses her powers of reading and influencing emotions in her work as a lawyer, though she doesn’t always feel good about that. She carries around a lot of guilt, but she’s doing her best!

What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

Some of my favorite parts of this book involve Lily’s interactions with a young succubus she takes under her wing, the teenage Eve. Eve is a fun character to write because she’s quick to challenge my MC in her thinking and she doesn’t have the same hang-ups. She also gives Lily an opportunity to take on a caretaking role that is new to her. Being responsible for someone else forces you to grow whether you like it or not, and so a lot of Lily’s arc in this book revolves around her relationship with this young person. In some ways, Lily recognizes herself in Eve, which prompts some interesting revelations.

Readers should read this book…

If you like urban fantasy that focuses on feminist themes, romance that emphasizes consent, and heroes that are supportive and sex positive, you should definitely check this out. Also, Lily is almost as much of a badass as she looks on the covers, but she’s also kind of a mess—so if you’re into imperfect heroines and female “monster” protagonists, you might enjoy this one.

Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview.

 

Cambion’s Blood

by Erin Fulmer
(Cambion, #2)
Publication date: June 7th 2022
Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy

Synopsis:
Half-succubus attorney Lily Knight has blood on her hands.

Haunted by guilt, behind on her rent, and facing professional disgrace, Lily must figure out how to survive in the wreckage of her former life. To make ends meet, she accepts a contract job she never wanted but can’t seem to avoid—hunting another demon murderer. This time, the victims are human, and a shadowy government agency will reward Lily with a way out of her dire financial straits.

If Lily doesn’t solve the case before the news gets out, fear and hatred will put all demonkind at risk from the proverbial torch-carrying mob. But when a young succubus on the run from the authorities begs for her help, Lily faces a new conflict of interest—especially after the suspect, Eve, reveals her father is Lily’s old frenemy.

Now Lily must juggle the pressures of a high-stakes murder case, her complicated relationship with her “not-boyfriend” Sebastian, and responsibility for a wayward teenager as she races to find the real killer. Worse, the culprit isn’t just a demon, but a self-proclaimed goddess who will stop at nothing to carry out her bloody quest for justice. To stop the killings, Lily must confront that which she most fears: the truth about what went down with Eve’s father in the desert—and its consequences.

That is, if the goddess doesn’t get to her first…

Purchase:
Amazon – B&N – iBooks – Kobo

 

 

 

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