Category Archives: Published

Aphanasia Stuff, Goals, Published, Shadows

Hell Tempted Me

August 14, 2009 R. Parrish 2 Comments

My short story, Hell Tempted Me, is online now at Yellow Mama. This is an erotic piece and thus is not suitable for anyone under 18 or who isn’t into that sort of thing. I wrote it as an entry for a contest at FanStory a very long time ago (it didn’t win) and just recently found the right market for it.

I’m getting ready to go on my writing retreat today. I’ve finally figured out what I’m going to be working on there. First I need to do a final revision of THERE and then I’m going to start the rewrite of SHADOWS. I’m also hoping to fit some flash work in around the edges as part of one of my sekkrit projects. Wish me luck and productivity 🙂

Flash, Published

Why Are The Clocks Melting?

July 18, 2009 R. Parrish 2 Comments

My flash fiction piece, “Why are the Clocks Melting?” is up at Everyday Fiction today. So far the readers haven’t been very fond of it, but I still like it LOL I think some people might be looking too hard for meaning or satire. It was just meant to be an amusing little piece that was inspired when I asked ‘What if?’

*shrugs* Can’t win them all I guess. 🙂

Poetry, Published, Reviews, Sister Margaret

News :)

July 3, 2009 R. Parrish 4 Comments

I am very addicted to Tim Horton’s coffee. Almost as addicted as I am to World of Warcraft. I always said I should take a camera with me on the walk to Tims (which I make at least once a day). There are three Tim’s within walking distance from my house, but my favorite is on 118th Avenue. It’s not that long a walk, about 20 minutes each way, but it takes me through the playground of the school I volunteer in, near the abandoned hospital that intrigues me (and is where Deadmonton starts) and through a small wooded park. I always see something interesting on my travels, but never have the camera to record any of it. Until this time.

I took the camera with me the other day, and managed to get a picture of this blue jay. I got a few other great pictures, including one of a squirrel who really didn’t want me near his tree and a magpie that was sitting at the very top of a giant pine tree, looking quite majestic.

This story, by the way, has nothing to do with the news I wanted to share today, but I wanted an excuse to post the picture, so there you go 🙂

So right, news. I’ve got some 🙂

Firstly, my poem, Fae, is in this month’s issue of Lorelei Signal. I love the illustration that Holly Eddy did for it. It’s very nice 🙂

Also, there has been a new review of Sister Margaret that I’m very excited about 🙂 Anna, of Genre Reviews said:

Is it possible for a story to be simultaneously grim and fun? Because this one pretty much is. In the spirit of urban fantasy, there’s equal parts intrigue and action, the battle against an evil vampire, and a plethora of folks living in a gritty reality. I loved Bayne, who isn’t really a sidekick but fills the quirky content nicely, and the plot twist at the end is a great one, unexpected but logical.

She said more too, of course 🙂 You can see the whole review here –> Sister Margaret by Rhonda Parrish

My last bit of news for today is that I’m going on vacation to San Francisco. Yay! We are leaving on Sunday and will be gone for a week. While I’m away I will be completely offline, I’m not even taking my laptop in order to force myself to not work, at least for a little while. I will see you when I get back though 🙂

I’ll leave you with a picture of Danica finishing up her ice cap from the aforementioned trip to Tims. Why? Because I think she’s awesome.

Published, Sister Margaret

The Legendary and Auction for Cat

June 23, 2009 R. Parrish 1 Comment

Help Catherynne M. Valente

My auction for ad space on Niteblade, a copy of Sister Margaret and a copy of Lost Innocence ends at midnight tomorrow. Right now it has one bid on it (thank you Greg) for $5. Surely we can do better than that? The auction is here please check it out.

In other news, my short story “How It’s Supposed To Be” is up at The Legendary. Sadly, this story was inspired by a very similar situation that happened here in Edmonton not so very long ago.

Poetry, Published

Scattered Verses, Moonlit Curses

May 21, 2009 R. Parrish 3 Comments

A couple months ago I was asked by Monsters Next Door editor, LB Goddard if I would care to contribute something to an upcoming poetry anthology. Would I? I was so flattered to be invited to submit that I practically turned myself inside out in my haste to say ‘Yes, yes I would!’. Then, of course, I had to think of something to write. Easier said than done.

I put a ridiculous amount of pressure on myself to come up with something -good-. Something scary but with depth, haunting and evocative. You know what I found out? You can’t force that and it wasn’t going to happen LOL So I went with cheesy. I love cheesy horror, and apparently LB doesn’t mind it either because everything I submitted got in 🙂

The first piece of mine is called “Zonnet” and is, as the name sort of implies, a zombie-themed sonnet. I don’t actually like sonnets because I dislike iambic pentameter (the extra foot makes it awkward, I prefer iambic tetrameter, but we’ll get to that later). Still, I do enjoy taking a traditional/pretentious format like the sonnet and writing it about something as irreverent as zombies. This specific poem was directly influenced by S.G. Browne’s zom-rom-com Breathers.

My second poem is “Lycanthroku” which is a series of three shapeshifter-themed haiku, followed by “Lycanthrick” which is a werewolf limrick Jo and I composed while I was using him to bounce poem ideas off. I’m a fan of “Lycanthrick” all by itself, but it’s got an extra special spot in my heart because it’s the first time Jo and I have shared a byline. Awww /gush

I rounded out my submission with “The Sepultress” which is a reprinted poem I wrote in iambic tetrameter, because I like it far more than pentameter. Just sayin’ 😉

The book, Scattered Verses, Moonlit Curses, also features the work of Alexis Child, Charlotte Gledson, Natalie Sin, Julie “Cannibal Rose” Thielen, LB Goddard, Shells Walter, Richard Fay, Benjamin Bussey and Brian Beemer. I’ve not read it all yet, but I have looked through enough to suspect that cheesy horror wasn’t the style of choice for most people, happily, I don’t mind being different. I hope to read it sooner rather than later and share my impressions, but I haven’t had a chance yet. In my defense, the book just came out yesterday LOL

Published

There’s Always a Catch

May 1, 2009 R. Parrish 3 Comments

I used to play Dungeons and Dragons…and one time when I was the DM two of the characters (my brother Jay’s and his best friend Nick’s) became far too powerful for effective gaming. It was a rookie DM mistake, letting them get that overpowered, but once it was made I had to find a way to take them out of the game.

My story, There’s Always a Catch, which is now available at Sorcerous Signals was inspired by that expirience. It is not a retelling by any means, because the fictionalised version is a better story 😉 I hope you enjoy it.

appearances, Published, Sister Margaret

Sister Margaret Release Day

April 7, 2009 R. Parrish 2 Comments

Today is the day. Sister Margaret is now available as a Coffee Break Selection from Eternal Press. Yay!

>> Click Here to read an excerpt and see how to order <<

Sister Margaret is a short story about a vampire hunter and a half-incubus swordsman who are hired by a priestess to take care of an undead pimp. It’s been called ‘…a gritty tale of cross and double cross’ by one reviewer and received several glowing recommendations from others.

I am so very proud of this story, I hope everyone who buys it loves it and I’ll be watching my Fictionwise ratings (when it becomes available on Fictionwise in a few days) with avid attention. Despite all the good reviews its received I’m very nervous on behalf of ‘Sister Margaret’. Keep your fingers crossed for me that it’s well-received LOL

To celebrate the launch of Sister Margaret I am giving away a free copy to one lucky subscriber to my Newsletter. I’ll be announcing the winner later on today or early tomorrow. I will also be guestblogging over at Fang-tastic Books today and giving away a copy to someone who leaves a comment there. It’s going to be quite a day. 🙂

Niteblade, Published

Niteblade Issue 7 and More

March 2, 2009 R. Parrish 1 Comment

So first of all, the new issue of Niteblade is out 🙂 This one is full to bursting with awesome-ness. Seriously. The cover piece is a poem called “Sentry” by Greg Schwartz, a deliciously evil poem that I just adore. There are also poems by Sarah Wagner, Brian Rosenberger, Sheryl Nantus, R. J. Walker Miller, Suzanne Sykora, T. J. Trancell, Lucien E. G. Spelman, Cathy Buburuz, Joshua Gage and Howie Good.

In addition to the poetry, there are great stories by Christian Roberts, Ty Fanck and Emily Mah, Tai Dong Huai, Brandon Satrom, Gregg Winkler, Beth Cato, Kristine Ong Muslim and Lynette Mejia.

I’m not going to review the issue here now because, obviously, I’m biased, but I really think it’s worth checking out. If you read it I’d love to hear what you think. What were your favorites? Which your preffered illustration? (Mine is the picture for Chasing Rabbits I think 😉 ).

In other, completely unrelated news, my erotic short story is in this month’s erotica issue of Sonar 4 E-zine. The Legend of the First Reptar is a story I wrote as an expiremental attempt to successfully combine erotica and fantasy. I really like the story, but agonized over whether to publish it under my real name or not. In the end I did, mostly because the story deals with Reptars which are a race of lizardmen who figure very prominantly in my Aphanasia stories. Because of the nature of this story it’s not suitable to be read by anyone under 18 or who is easily offended. If you enjoy it great, if you’d rather not read it I won’t hold it against you 😉

Poetry, Published

“Daddy” @ Every Day Poets

February 4, 2009 R. Parrish Leave a comment

My poem, Daddy, is up at Every Day Poets. The comments have been very positive, which is, as you can imagine, wonderful. It’s especially nice in this case because the poem is (as you may have guessed from the title) quite personal and pulled out of my ‘real life’.

I was estranged from my father at the time of his death, in fact, I didn’t even know he had died until several years later when the public trustee contacted me about his estate. This poem, in part, came out of that.

If you’re looking for something a bit different, there is also a great haiku there by Steve Goble and several other great poems as well 🙂

I write, I edit and I take a lot of naps.