Surrey International Writers' Conference

C.C. Humphreys

Author
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Chris (C.C.) Humphreys was born in Toronto, lived till he was seven in Los Angeles, then grew up in the UK. All four grandparents were actors, his Norwegian grandfather , Karl Holter, also being a successful writer. Since his father was an actor as well, it was inevitable he would follow the bloodline. He has acted all over the world and appeared on stages ranging from London’s West End to Hollywood’s Twentieth Century Fox. Favorite roles have included Hamlet, Caleb the Gladiator in NBC’s Biblical-Roman epic mini-series, ‘AD - Anno Domini’ and Jack Absolute in Sheridan’s ‘The Rivals’.

He started writing for the theatre. His first play, ‘A Cage Without Bars’, won the first 24 Hour Playwriting Competition at the New Play Centre, Vancouver, Canada, in 1992 and was produced in London and Vancouver. His second ‘Glimpses of the Moon’ was commissioned and produced at Lunchbox Theatre, Calgary, in 1996. He has also worked as a fight choreographer in the theatre.

As C.C. Humphreys, Chris has written six historical fiction novels. The first, ‘The French Executioner’ told the tale of the man who killed Anne Boleyn and was runner up for the CWA Steel Dagger for Thrillers 2002. Its sequel, ‘Blood Ties’, was a bestseller in Canada. Having played Jack Absolute, he stole the character and has written three books on this ‘007 of the 1770’s’ - ‘Jack Absolute’, ‘The Blooding of Jack Absolute’ and, most recently, ‘Absolute Honour’- short listed for the 2007 Evergreen Prize by the Ontario Library Association. All have been published in the UK, Canada, the US and translated into Russian, Italian, German, Greek and Czech. He has just completed his sixth adult novel: ‘Vlad: The Last Confession’ about the historical Dracula.

In 2005, Chris was commissioned by Knopf to write a trilogy for Young Adults ‘The Runestone Saga’. A heady brew of Norse myth, runic magic, time travel and horror, the first book in the series ‘The Fetch’ was published in North America in July 2006, with the sequel, ‘Vendetta’ published in August 2007 and the conclusion, ‘Possession’, to be in 2008. They will also be published in Russia, Greece and Indonesia.

Chris lives in Vancouver, Canada, with his wife and young son.

Workshops & Panels:

Write the Good Fight

Time: Friday 10:30am

How to write great combat scenesĀ - from duels to battles.

Character in Action

Time: Friday 3:30pm

Join this swashbuckling author (and actor) for his thoughts on how to cut to the chase in action books for adults and teens.

Never Can Get Enough - How Much Sex is Too Much?

Time: Saturday 3:30pm

Everything you wanted to know, but were afraid to ask about sex in historical fiction. Expect a rollicking good time in this PG-rated discussion of how to find the right balance between the social and the sexual in historical fiction.

The Mystery of History - Combining Genres to Build Story

Moderator: kc dyer
Time: Saturday 1:30pm

Historical fiction is a catch-all title for a vast range of storytelling styles and genres. This bestselling panel of authors talk about their tools and techniques for grabbing their audience and keeping them riveted.