Yesterday I put a new contract in the mail all signed up with my name in the blank, so I consider it official enough to make the announcement here.

My eighth book with P.D. Publishing will be Silence Out Loud. I’m so proud of this book, and so relieved it’s finally on its slow journey to bookshelves. The main character of the novel is Cheryl Paxton. She is a lesbian (naturally) and the story focuses on her journey growing up, falling in love, falling out of love, and eventually figuring out who she is. It’s probably one of my most epic stories, following the character from a very young age to adulthood, and it’s also unique in that the main character is a Deaf woman.

The inspiration for this character was Marlee Matlin, and her never say die attitude. There was a time - I think it was around 2007 – when Marlee seemed to be in everything I watched. My Name is Earl, CSI: NY… I couldn’t get away from her (not that I would have tried very hard). But it made me wonder why there weren’t more stories with Deaf protagonists. It’s not that hard to indicate when someone is signing and when they’re speaking. So I gave it a shot. And now, the product of that will soon be available for purchase from fine bookstores everywhere, and also Amazon.com (rimshot).

In other long-awaited news: Riley Parra Season 2 is “in production” as we speak. I have a hesitant start-date in mind, but I don’t want to put anything in stone yet. We’ll see how fast I can write. ~g~ I’ll keep everyone apprised!

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A little bit about descriptions in a novel or a short story.

When I write, I have to have an extremely clear picture in my head of what the characters look like. I picture the events unfolding in my mind as I write, so without clear faces, I’m just moving puppets around. But I try to be careful and restrain myself from getting  too descriptive. There’s a line where you have to cut off what you as the writer see and let the reader’s imagination take over. Otherwise you’re just casting the hopeful future movie someone makes of the book (cough, Dan Brown).

Of course, that’s just my stance. I thought I’d post this and see what others thought. How much do you want to know what the writer sees, and how much do you want to do the casting yourself? The basics are probably generally accepted; if a character is tall and athletic, or if they’re brunette or blonde.

This concludes Saturday ramblings. ~g~ I still have a runny nose, but I’m feeling imminently better. I would cheer the benefits of the pharmaceutical industry, but I get enough spam about miracle drugs anyway. I’ll probably get more just for using the “d” word. Oh, well.

Hope everyone is having a good day, whether they’re buried in snow or bracing for a tsunami. What a weekend…

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The Academy of Bards has posted their Valentine’s Day Invitational stories, including mine: “A Sunday in February.” Check it out, let me know what you think. It feels like it’s been so long since I posted a new story. Ages and ages. Sorry for the delay, and I hope you enjoy it (and the other offerings by the awesome bards!)

http://www.academyofbards.org/valentine14/2010/index10.html

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Wow, I really need to stop neglecting this blog. First of all, my apologies for that. Secondly, I want to let everyone waiting for the new Riley stories that there will be new stories sometime in 2010. That sounds like a long deadline, but there’s a lot to be done before they’re ready. I’ll strive for a pre-summer posting date.

In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for new stories by me! 2010 will have a renewed dedication to original stories, and that means a lot more visits to Squire’s Isle for everyone to enjoy.

I also have some novel-related news, but I want to wait until everything’s official before I make an announcement. Suffice to say there was positive movement on a manuscript I’ve been dying to get past the starting gate. <g>

Be well, everyone!

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Well, tomorrow starts the… tens? Whatever.

I have not been updating this blog anywhere near enough. I’ll try to be better in the new year! I completed the fourth Claire Lance novel for NaNo, and now I have the fifth and final novel to complete. I’ll be sad to say goodbye to her, but it’s time for her to see the end of her road. However that might happen. Stay tuned. ;-)

My hopes for 2010: More novels purchased – I have two or three either with the bosses or almost ready to send to them. Hopefully that will bulk up my number of contracted titles. ~fingers crossed~ And more original stories! I have been neglecting my ladies. But I have big plans for them, one and all. Riley Parra, in particular, has big things ahead of her in 2010!

Sorry for being so quiet! Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me through the silences. I am still here, and I still very appreciate your loyalty to my writing and my characters.

Happy new year! Good riddance to the oh-ohs and 2009. Maybe now our celebrities will stop dying.

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Well, not tomorrow. The next day. But NaNoWriMo is about to start up again, so I thought I’d fill people on what it is.

NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month, every November. You sign up and you make the effort to write 50,000 words of a novel in one month. I’ve done it, and won it, five times and three of those novels have gotten contracts for publication (On the Air was my 2006 novel, World on Fire was my 2005 novel under the title “Incendiary,” and my 2008 novel, Confused by Shadows, will be out in 2011 or so!).

It’s a great way to get motivated to finally write that novel. There’s something about knowing there are thousands of other people just as crazy as you, venturing out into the untamed world of their own creation. Characters, plots, situations, funny lines, tragic deaths, random clowns, all finally coming out and being put down on paper. It’s just the sort of thing to keep you inspired to keep on writing.

So check out the website – www.nanowrimo.org – and see what all the fuss is about. It might not be easy – heck, it’s definitely not easy – but it’s a whole load of fun. Hope to see you there (my name is Geonn over there, feel free to drop me a line!)

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Hey, all. I’ve really been neglecting this blog. Tsk. I’ve been focused on trying to get the muse back under control. It’s always slow this time of year. I blame NaNoWriMo. Which is about to get started again, BTW, a week from today! Everyone got your plots ready? I wouldn’t have written my first novel without NaNo, so I’m very thrilled to be back with them again this year. I have a plot all lined up and everything. It’s almost like I’m prepared.

Went for a walk today. 2.8 miles, all told, and I got a nice box of Chinese food out of the deal. It was an adventure involving train tracks, wandering the woods (about four square feet of woods, but still), hounds chasing me down the street (although most of them were behind fences, the chihuahua was loose and nipped at my heels until he decided he’d scared me off).

I like this walking stuff. I like the thrill I get when I realize I’ve walked myself someplace impressive. I’m keeping track of distances, and with today’s total I’m at 110 miles. I “walked” to the local airport, “flew” to Seattle, and I am now walking to Anacortes and the ferry lanes. I have about five miles until I get to Anacortes, another four before I hit the ferry lanes, and then I’m off to the real-live Squire’s Isle. <g>

So again, I apologize for the unforgiveable gap in these posts. I’ll try to make them more frequently. And you can follow me on Twitter! I’m GeonnCannon, and I post there a lot more frequently. Too frequently, one could say. ;-D

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Fellow P.D. author Kim Pritekel is in need of a helping hand, folks. She’s having some severe eye problems and, without surgery, she faces complete and irreversible blindness. One of my top ten fears right there. So I decided to step up and help her out, but I need everyone else’s help to make my gesture more than just an empty show of support. Kim is holding an auction, and I’ve donated signed copies of my books. All proceeds go toward getting Kim the surgery she needs.

So if you want an autographed copy of any of my books, the auction ends on October 3rd.

http://scripts.cgispy.com/auctions/auction.pl?action=all&user=maryd

Please help out if you can! If the books are too rich for your blood, check out some of the other items up for bid. Or you can even contact Kim and offer to help her out with a little cash. It’s not quite Christmas, but that chill in the air makes you want to give. I know it does. Come on. Give a little. <g>

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I know I posted a few months back about Amazon Fail, and I still don’t believe it was an “innocent mistake.” Therefore, there’s a bit of hypocrisy to having a link to Amazon.com on my website. But I’ll own it. Yes. It’s pretty hypocritical. But I figure people are still using them for the price, convenience, etc, and I might as well get a little extra filthy lucre while I’m at it. <g>

So if you must go to Amazon to buy my books, take a look at the store on my site. You can find it under “Links.”

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We’re back! The site looks a little different, but it should be an easier place to wander around. Wander around and enjoy the stories!

Speaking of stories, I have an inexcusable error to correct. Firstly, World on Fire didn’t have an acknowldgements page. I sort of made up by that with an earlier post in this blog, but I completely forgot someone who provided very valuable input. Patty Schramm gave me great insight into firefighting terms and practices, and without her, the book would have far more mistakes. And any mistakes left in are due to me not listening rather than her giving faulty information. She did the best she could with a stubborn writer. <g>

So thank you, Pat. I’m sorry I forgot about you. :(

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