1–What is the title of your latest release?
CAMBION’S BLOOD, book 2 in the Cambion series.
2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Down on her luck and haunted by guilt, a half-succubus attorney takes a government contract to investigate the supernatural murders of prominent men—and finds herself tracking an ancient bloodthirsty goddess bent on revenge.
3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
My series is set in San Francisco, California, a few dozen miles from where I grew up. It’s grounded in the environment, history, and culture of the SF Bay Area. I chose it because of my familiarity with the area, but also because SF as a city commands a mythic quality. It’s set apart on its peninsula, even isolated in a way. When you look across the Bay at it, it seems to rise out of the water like Atlantis or Avalon, or like a rock covered in barnacles, a natural or supernatural formation. It’s beautiful and magical and dirty and harsh, and that makes it a perfect setting for urban fantasy, which thrives in those contrasts.
4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Once we broke the ice, I think book 2 Lily and I would hang out, though I don’t always agree with her or the decisions she makes. But what’s a few bad decisions between friends? Lily would certainly keep life interesting with hers.
5–What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Smart, impulsive, self-deprecating.
6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I did a lot of research into unusual historical sites and landmarks in San Francisco. The peninsula is bristling with old military batteries, decommissioned nuclear sites, and the like. There’s an early scene in the book, set on Angel Island, where Lily walks through some of those historical remnants and thinks about what it means that her own people have no written history that is one of my favorite passages.
7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I often do line edits when I start my writing sessions, reading over the previous section and tweaking it. It helps me get back into the story and into the creative zone. However, I try not to do any major revisions until a draft is finished, even if I know something must be changed. Usually, I know by the end of the draft that I need to rewrite the beginning, but I can’t go back at that point, or I’d never get to the end.
8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
I have celiac, so I have to take care with my indulgences, but Brazilian churrascaria includes this spectacular cheese bread made with tapioca flour called pao de queijo that is the food of dreams. I also love a good craft cocktail or fancified coffee drink.
9–Describe your writing space/office!
I write in a home office that is my little oasis of chaos. I share it with my two cats and a general air of disarray. On the wall behind my computer monitors, I tack up writing-related mementos, including a poster of my first book cover. Having my own space to write in is crucial especially in these work from home days.
10–Who is an author you admire?
Just one?! My aspirational models are genre writers like Seanan McGuire, who besides being ridiculously proficient continues to push genre boundaries and level up her work while consistently delivering unputdownable storytelling, or Martha Wells who has been quietly publishing both fantasy and science fiction before breaking out with Murderbot. Writing is a long game and I really look up to the authors who show me what’s possible with dedication and heart.
11–Is there a book that changed your life?
Just one?! Truly, it was all the fantasy and sci fi I read when I was a weird kid who didn’t quite feel like she belonged anywhere. J.R.R. Tolkien got me started on fantasy, and then Tamora Pierce’s Alanna series and Robin McKinley’s The Hero and the Crown gave me women heroes who kicked butt and took names.
12–Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I got the email from my editor offering me the book deal on my first novel at the same time I got accepted to a writing mentorship program—in fact, the email came when I was on my first video call with my mentor. It was an overwhelming time! I walked around in a daze for weeks afterwards.
13–What’s your favorite genre to read?
I bounce around between science fiction, urban/contemporary fantasy, and romantic comedy. It depends on what I’m in the mood for.
14–What’s your favorite movie?
When Harry Met Sally. At heart I’m a romantic and a big fan of friends-to-lovers!
15–What is your favorite season?
Autumn, for the colors, sweater weather, and relief from summer heat.
16–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I’m not big on parties and bad at celebrating! It’s usually just a nice dinner, maybe with a few friends or maybe just my husband, and an indulgent dessert like flourless chocolate cake.
17–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
Our Flag Means Death means everything and gave me life. Also, recent shows like The Witcher, Arcana, and The Legend of Vox Machina if you’re nerdy—absolutely love seeing geek culture get well-written adaptations. The latter got me obsessed with Critical Role and I’m catching up from the beginning now with extreme hyperfocus.
18–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Thai, Indian, Mexican…then there’s Italian. You wouldn’t think a cuisine built around bread and noodles would be good for someone with a wheat allergy, but I married into a part-Italian family, and I have learned that they take it as a matter of honor that NO one in the house is permitted to go hungry. Italian restaurants almost always have good gluten free options!
19–What do you do when you have free time?
What free time?! I play board games with my husband and friends, or PC video games when I’m trying to give myself a break from writing (Civ VI is like a drug). I nap a lot. I have a small half-wild backyard space where I feed birds, among other critters. I tweet too much. I love to travel but I haven’t gotten to do that much in the last few years for obvious global reasons.
20–What can readers expect from you next?
I just finished drafting the third book in the Cambion series, so expect that sometime in early 2023! My next project is something completely different: a cyberpunk-ish generation ship sci fi that lives somewhere in the liminal space between Anne Leckie’s Ancillary Justice, HBO’s Westworld, and the final sequence of Don’t Look Up, with a dash of Agatha Christie thrown in. It’s ambitious and I’m not certain I can pull it off but I’m excited to try.
CAMBION’S BLOOD by Erin Fulmer
“I may have been a whole damn mess, but I was a whole damn mess on a mission.”
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 refuse—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 culprit.
When her investigation brings her face to face with an ancient, implacable entity fixated on bloody justice, Lily must reckon with her worst fear: the truth about what went down with Eve’s father in the desert—and its consequences.
If you love Richelle Mead, Lisa Edmonds, or Seanan McGuire, discover a paranormal mystery series complete with a fierce heroine that will have you begging for the next book!
Fantasy Urban [City Owl Press, On Sale: July 7, 2022, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781648981005 / ]
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About Erin Fulmer
Erin Fulmer is a public benefits attorney by day, author of urban fantasy and science fiction by night. She lives in sunny Northern California with her husband and two spoiled cat daughters. Through her life’s many unexpected twists and turns, words have always been her element and her escape. When she’s not writing or working, she enjoys hatha yoga, taking pictures of the sky, playing board games with friends, and napping like it’s an Olympic sport.
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