Today's interview with Geonn Cannon is double the fun, since he's got two new stories this month. In UPSTAGED!, he takes us inside a traveling circus with a pair of knife-throwers in "Knife's Edge." And in Kennel Club, Underdogs #7, Ari and Dale are back for their latest adventure.
How and why did you chose your genre?
My first novel had a male lead, but a strong supporting cast of women (four leads, three of them women). I’ve always loved female characters on TV. Samantha Carter (Stargate SG-1), Jadzia Dax (Star Trek Deep Space Nine). When I couldn’t make the first novel work, I decided to try putting women front and center. And if I wanted to add a romance, making her gay meant doubling the amount of women I could write. There are still nowhere near enough stories with women in the lead, so I’m taking archetypes - the down-and-out private eye, the fugitive, the adventurer - and putting women in those roles.
What inspired you to write your latest story?
There’s a song by Imelda May called “Levitate,” and every time I heard it, I thought it would make a great theme song for a James Bond movie. So, like in the above answer, I decided to take the spy novel and put a woman in the lead. (The movie Atomic Blonde helped inspire this as well). The idea I ended up using was also an excellent opening to write a polyamorous relationship, which is something I’ve been trying to represent for a while.
How has your life changed since becoming a published author?
In ways I never could have dreamed! I started out writing fanfic for Stargate SG-1. Now, I not only get paid to write Stargatenovels, I’ve had one of my original novels turned into a webseries which features two people who have actually appeared on the show (Connor Trinneer from Stargate Atlantis and Marina Sirtis from an episode called “Watergate”). Because of my writing, I met Tony Amendola in a non-convention situation (he was at the first season premiere) and got to shake his hand.
If you could take a time machine back 10 years, what would you tell your past self?
He’d never believe it.
Plotter or pantser?
Outline of plot, pants the rest.
Coffee or tea?
Soda
What’s your favorite of your published works?
The Rise and Fall of Radiation Canary, Can You Hear Me in close second
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About Geonn Cannon:
Geonn Cannon lives in Oklahoma. He is the author of several novels, including the Riley Parra series which is currently being produced as a webseries for Tello Films, and also writes official tie-in fiction for Fandemonium's Stargate SG-1 series of novels. Information about his other works and an archive of free stories can be found online at geonncannon.com