Runs in the Blood

A dark and funny short story collection that reveals poignant truths about queer chosen family

A lesbian mother feels out of place taking her daughter to a princess party; a gay couple turns to unconventional means to create their baby; a grieving man winds up on a date with a centaur; an agoraphobic must make an impossible choice before time runs out. This is the unnerving world of Runs in the Blood, Matthew J. Trafford's story collection, and it pulses with humour, anxiety, and profound disquiet.

Darkly satirical and unflinchingly human, the stories of Runs in the Blood unsettle our notions of family, whether biological or chosen. Careening through the space beyond nature versus nurture, its characters betrayed, wounded, unequipped wrangle with their own worst instincts and the grotesqueries of the modern world, attempting to create families worth holding on to and to protect the children they love.

Delightful and disarming, odd and audacious, Runs in the Blood reveals the work of a bold and fearless writer.

'What I love about Runs in the Blood aside from Trafford's masterful writing is the way the stories unravel to reveal such tenderness, horror, and heartbreak. I've never read a collection of stories with this unique focus on families. This book and these characters feel like a revelation.' Brian Francis, author of Fruit

'Runs in the Blood is a collection of stories that traces the lines of our darkest thoughts with intimate care. I found myself drawn to each complex and complicated character, whether beast or human, yearning to know more, ferociously consuming every single story.' Daniel Zomparelli, co-editor of Queer Little Nightmares

'Trafford's stories are intimate and imaginative, written with a blend of delicate observation and a ruthless curiosity about the origins and outcomes of desire. Runs in the Blood is full of passion, secrets, the tenderness and agonies of love, and an often disturbing vitality.' Naben Ruthnum, author of Helpmeet