Oh Princess, My Princess

(I originally wrote this post on the 27th, but accidentally unplugged my computer and lost it all.  I like to think it was better the first time.)

When I was just a child, my aunt Barbara came to my grandma's house, crying (this was August 1977).  Grandma comforted her, and all I got was that my aunt was upset.

When she left, I asked what was going on.  "Oh, Elvis died," my grandmother told me.  "He was Barbara's first love."

I interpreted that as an old boyfriend of my aunt's dying, until my mother explained it to me that Elvis was a singer, someone my aunt had never even met.  Now I was really confused, but I never forgot that day (for some reason), though I didn't understand it.

Today, I understand.  Carrie Fisher, Princess Leia Organa is gone.  And it struck me hard--harder than it should have maybe, to hear of her death at only age sixty.

Except for some girl I saw on a Burger King commercial, and then got all weird in my stomach, Princess Leia was my first crush.  When Luke Skywalker saw her hologram and said, "Who is she?  She's beautiful!" I took note and said, "Okay, now I know what beautiful is.  If I'm going to pass for human, I'd better pay attention."

One of the many times I was watching STAR WARS, my dad was on the couch with his newspaper.  THAT's the girl you like so much?" he asked (he had seen the movie when it first came out, and hadn't bothered to take me, which I always regretted, even if he didn't).  "She's pretty homely."

That was the first time I remember hearing that word, and I always think of him saying it in the scant occasions I hear it said.  But to me, Princess Leia wasn't at all homely.  To you either, I'll wager.

I was a little boy, and STAR WARS was my world (or worlds, technically).  And she was queen of that world.  Well, technically Princess, but with her parents gone, wouldn't that mean . . .

No, I'd guess that with her world gone, so would any title associated with it.  Sigh.

I didn't mention the slave bikini in JEDI.  I think I was just too young for that to make as much of an impression on me.*  Oh, I would later, sure, think that was the bee's knees, but even then, it was relegated to gawking at young women cosplaying the outfit.  Princess Leia was sacred.

Of course, Carrie Fisher wasn't just Princess Leia.  She appeared in THE BLUES BROTHERS, SHAMPOO, THE 'BURBS, AUSTIN POWERS, WHEN HARRY MET SALLY..., one of the SCREAM sequels (I think 3), HANNAH & HER SISTERS, UNDER THE RAINBOW, and JAY & SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK.  And those are just the ones that immediately come to mind.

I never read any of her books, but she was hilarious in interviews, and I fully expect the books to be sharp and entertaining.  The last one was called "The Princess Diarist," and yeah, I think I'll pick it up.

This is a pic I took of myself when it was announced that Disney would no longer allow "Slave Leia" merchandise to be sold.  I self-took a bunch while wiggling my finger, thinking I could make a gif of it.  But I never did (big surprise).

Speaking of which, I always intended to write a Princess Leia fanfiction story about how she was a young Senator from Alderaan and came to understand just how corrupt the Empire was, ultimately joining the Rebel Alliance, only to discover that her father was already a part of it.  But I never did.

Maybe I will now.


Unlike my Aunt Barbara, I actually met Carrie Fisher once.  It was at the Star Wars Celebration 2 in Indianapolis.  They had a big signing room for all the SW celebrities, and the lines ranged from zero to about fifteen minutes.  I stood in Fisher's line for about two and a half hours.  When I got up to the front, I expected her to be grouchy and frustrated from all the mouth-breathers* wanting her to autograph metal bikini pictures.

But I was surprised when she thanked ME for waiting so long just to meet her, and was funny and cordial.  She looked at the photo I had her sign (Leia with the bun hairdo) and said, "I don't know who this was, but I'll sign it anyway."  Sure, she had probably said that a hundred other times that day, but I appreciated the hell out of it.

Here's a picture I like of Carrie and Anthony Daniels during the EMPIRE shoot.  But I never noticed before today, that's George Lucas on the left of the frame . . . which film was always his least favorite in the series again?

Sadly, on Christmas Eve, right before leaving for my childhood home, I read that Fisher had had a heart attack on a flight to Los Angeles.  It was reported, many tributes came in, and I fully expected to return to Internetland to hear that she had passed.  But no, her mother, Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds, issued a statement that Fisher had stabilized, and I, at least, breathed a sigh of relief.  We were out of the woods.

No go.  My buddy Big texted me at 11:05am on December 27th, saying "Carrie Fisher didn't make it after all."  He works for the news, and let me know first.

I took it surprisingly badly.  I started writing this post then, then when I lost it, I wasn't willing to do it all again.

Most disturbingly, Carrie's death was announced with reports of the hospitalization of her mother almost immediately after.  Debbie Reynolds too passed away a day later, which is a sad confluence of events.

Death is inevitable, I understand that.  But 2016 really dished it out.  And Princess Leia really meant a lot to me, and to a lot of folks from my generation.  It was really cool to hear other folks talk about what Leia/Fisher meant to them, and I look forward to talking to someone who was a young girl, and saw her as a role model, becoming an actress, a freedom fighter, a soldier, or royalty later on because of that influence.

We've still got one more Star Wars movie with her in it to look forward to, and I wonder what that will be like.  It can't help but paint your response to the film, in the same way that THE DARK KNIGHT did with Heath Ledger or THE CROW with Brandon Lee or (apparently) the last FAST & FURIOUS flick after Paul Walker died.  To see General Leia in, hopefully, a larger role than we did in the last one would be a treat.

I was probably going to see "Episode VIII" anyway, but . . .

So, here's to Princess Leia.  She truly belongs with us among the clouds.

Rish Outfield, Scruffy-Looking Nerf Herder

*That reminds me: I spoke to Warwick Davis once about whether he was intimidated working with Fisher in his scenes, her being hot and all, and he seemed to think that was funny.  "I was eleven years old," he said, laughing.  That was older than I was, but okay.

**Which, technically, I am, no confusion about that.


P.S.  Here's Carrie Fisher one more time, summing up my feelings about 2016:

Buy My First Audio Collection

Originally, I had typed "My First Audio Collection" as the subject line here.  But hey, why bury the lead?

Currently available exclusively on Audible.com is "The Calling: The Audio Fiction of Rish Outfield Volume One."  It's a collection of a dozen or so short stories, narrated by me, and all together in one place.  It also includes a couple of irritating pieces unavailable anywhere else (I believe this was Big's idea, who used to tell me I was wasting my time when I'd write microfiction, unless, as he put it, "you put it into a story collection as a sort of bonus track").

The collection includes an Introduction and:

Stormy Weather
 A Difficult Age
The Cemetery Tale
Lost and Found
Brighted
MagiClaw
Unconventional
Sleeptalkin' Gal
Passing Notes
Last Night of Freedom
Trick
Memory Lane
The Calling

The tiny stories are in italics.

My pal Gino Moretto created the cover for me . . . and look at that little "volume 1."  What do you think of that?

Before life got hectic once again, I was starting to compile material for a second volume, and I discovered that, without recording anything new, I have enough material for four or five more of these collections.*  Of course, I do keep recording stuff, new and old, and if I ever feel ambitious again, you'll be able to listen to it.

In the meantime, check it out if you get the notion.  I know you'll get to like it if you give a chance now.

Yeah, that was from The Locomotion, what about it?

Rish Outfield, Audio Dork

*This reminds me of something I heard about Johnny Cash.  His wife June Carter Cash died in 2003, and Johnny died four months later.  But during those four months, he went into studios and absolutely buried himself in work, recording track after track.  Then he passed away, and a couple of posthumous albums were released . . . but the producer of those albums said that there was still around SIXTY songs recorded by Cash that have yet to be released.  Wow.

Of course, I'm not comparing myself to Johnny Cash.  But still . . .

George Michael R.I.P.

I wasn't going to blog about George Michael's death at only 53.  I didn't figure I had anything to say.

Since when has that stopped me, right?

But I'm an enormous fan of Eighties music, and will have words with any man who says otherwise.

And he died on Christmas Day . . . and it occurred to me that I got his album "Faith" on Christmas of 1986, and listened to One More Try on my knock-off Walkman while shoveling the driveway.  And I shoveled the driveway today (of a different house, but still), right before my uncle told me Michael had died.

I read what little was posted, and noted that one of the singles from that album, I Want Your Sex, was not released in some areas of the U.S., due to obvious reasons.  So I automatically remembered that Christmas '86 would've been the first time I heard that song as well.

And then I remembered my Uncle Len playing that cassette when we visited Las Vegas shortly after (might even have been my own cassette, though that's unlikely), and when we came to that song, he changed the lyrics to "I Want My Pez Candy."  Which is a bizarre, stupid memory that I think of way more often than I hear the song in question.

I liked Wham!, though never heard any of their records (did they have more than two?), and I think my uncle got that "Listen Without Prejudice" followup to "Faith," but I never did.  I like the cover Michael did of Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me, especially the part where he says, "Ladies and gentlemen, Mister Elton John!" and the crowd goes wild.

The only other thing I remembered was Dana Carvey playing George Michael on "Saturday Night Live," when he'd appear on Weekend Update, and invariably would start shaking his caboose.  "Look at my butt, Dennis!  I've buffed it, shaved it, waxed it, shined it!  It's a perfect circle!  I know, I've measured it!  Scientists calibrate their instruments with my butt!"

It was one of the first impressions I ever learned to do*, and because my best friend was named Dennis, I would often say, "Look at my butt, Dennis!" in that voice, which must've amused kid me, because it made adult me laugh enough remembering it that I sat down and wrote a blog post.

"Kneel down and worship my butt, Dennis!"

I'm sad George Michael is gone, but I have to admit that his passing also made me smile.  Sorry.

Rish "I Need Some Time Off From That Emotion" Outfield

*Practically all of my impressions are Dana Carvey imitating somebody, sadly.

**What's worse, I tried my comedic skills on Facebook by posting:
The world was shocked to hear of George Michael's death today.

However, it was more shocked to discover that Andrew Ridgeley is still alive.

Rish Outcast 59: Stormy Weather (Part 1)

So, sometime around the beginning of spring, Rish went for a walk and presented a story set in the dead of winter.  It's called "Stormy Weather," and it's been sitting around, waiting for the snows to come again.

Please forgive the incessant clicking and planes going on overhead.  Of course, 'twouldn't be the Outcast if the sound was excellent.



*If you don't wanna wait to hear the rest of the story, go HERE to buy it, or HERE for the text version.

*Rish 'n Big's "The Spirit of Christmas" episode over at the Dunesteef.

*Music in this episode was "Ossuary (Air)" by Kevin McLeod of Incompetech.com.

If you feel up to it, go ahead and Right-Click HERE to download the episode.  And bundle up!

I Perform "Charlie the Undying" By Eric Dean

Once again, Eric Dean has posted one of his short stories, narrated by me.  This one is called "Charlie the Undying " about a rather unfortunate drug dealer/manufacturer and the worst day of his life (and yours too).  And it's pretty rough.

Really rough, actually.

But . . . you like it rough, somebody was telling me.

Rish Outcast 58: And Then What Happened?

Remember in the movie STAND BY ME, when Gordie LaChance has just told his "Revenge of Lard-Ass Hogan" story, the music swells, and everyone thrills to the put-upon fat kid's long-awaited vengeance?  It's a great moment . . . and then Corey Feldman's character asks, "And then what happens?"

Right?  Nothing happens, that's the end.

I wish I had thought of that when I recorded this show.  I'm almost tempted to record it myself and stick it in here, so you'd think it was all planned from the beginning.

In this episode, I talk about the idea of writing continuing series, a book every year or so, the further adventures of characters.  It's a tempting thought, though I don't know whether I'm capable of such things.

If I recall correctly, this episode was originally titled "Rish Outfield Will Return."  But that's just too positive for the likes of me, or at least it could be read that way.

If y'all fancy downloading this here episode, just Right-Click on Big Mister Link.

Schweet Novembah

Well, we're into December now, and the next time I look at the calendar, it'll be nearly over (that is the way of things.  The way of the Force.)  But let me look back for a moment, at November, the month writers tend to set aside for novel-writing.

I know one guy who wrote more in the month of November than I have this whole year.  But I can't focus on that, can I?  As Ben Folds said, "There's always someone cooler than you."

So, I set three goals for myself this past November: 1. Publish my novella "Newfound Fame," 2.  Write a story for a the Paradise Lost "Broken Mirror" contest, 3.  Finish my current project, which is a sequel to a story from a few years back, "The Calling."  I hate to do it, but let's look at how I fared.

1.  Well, I finished the audio for NF back in, I dunno, September or October.  I decided to do a section in full-cast, and got lines back from everybody but one.  Even so, I didn't publish the text version, which doesn't have to wait on audio.  I don't have a cover that's ready to go, so I've used that as an excuse not to publish it.

Which sucks.

The thing is, I could publish it right now with either the unfinished cover Austin sent me, or with my own mock-up I created to show him what I want.  It would be out there, readable (ie, purchasable), and when I get the finished art, I could just swap it out, and nobody'd be the poorer.

But I haven't.

I need to man up and do these things, instead of making excuses and pretending that other people are standing in my way.  I DO NOT want to have to replace the 2016 copyright with a 2017 one.

However, I did publish another novella with a similar title, one from 2004, and it is available for purchase.*  My first goal for December is to publish the audio version of that one.

2.  I came up with an idea for this one, and nearly went with it, since it wasn't bad, and would have been easier to write.

And then I stopped, did a podcast about it, and decided to scrap that idea and start over.

I thought up another idea, drove myself over to the library, and would not let myself come home until I'd written it through to the end.

So that one I actually accomplished.  Though I really ought to check their deadline again to make sure I haven't missed it.  If I have, well, you'll be able to listen to the episode sometime in the new year, I'd wager.

3.  So, the sequel to "The Calling" is something I haven't talked much about, because I wasn't sure if it would be a short story, a novella, or a series of short stories.  I've even been told to stick it all together a few years from now and publish it as a novel.

I came up with the beginning back in the spring, thought up and ending in the summer (I think it was during my drive to Comic-Con in July), and have spent the rest of this time trying to come up with (and write) the parts in between.  I really ought to do an episode (or three) about it, since there have been interesting challenges with this project I've not had with anything else.

But I haven't finished it.  I thought I was in the home stretch last week, with only one more scene to write before I got to that ending that came to me in July.  I've been inching toward it, but in a conversation with Big the other night, I realized that there's one important scene that I left out, and I need to go back and find a place for it (information needs to be conveyed, and I forgot to have anybody reveal it).  So, I could either push through to "The End," and then go back (and maybe have to adjust everything in a rewrite), or create the revelation scene, then skip back to the final two scenes.

So, that's a failure there, but I'm close.

Anyhow, that's me looking back on sweet November, or as Fake Sean Connery would say, Schweet Novembah.  I accomplished one of my goals, substituted another, and outright missed the third.  I'm working on it, though.

And December sees a couple of new goals.  One is to finish a story for my own Broken Mirror Contest over at the Dunesteef (a Christmas one).  I have it more than halfway done, and it'll be shorter than I expect (which is quite a change).  I also plan to finish my novella, and get a bunch of recording done for two projects that arrived at my door in the same week.

I also need to finish reading a book I said I'd have done by Thursday, and worry about Christmas.  Maybe we'll have to call the next post "Sour December."

Rish Outfield

*I also put up a short story I discovered, but that one's for free.

Rish Outcast 57: Rest Stop

(written months back, then shelved until winter came 'round again)

Although it's easier (and takes less courage) to just produce episodes of me driving and talking about whatever comes into my head, I thought I'd present another story on the Rish Outcast.  This one is called "Rest Stop," and I highly doubt anybody will like it.  But hey, it's got a dog in it.  Dogs are cool, right?

Yes.  Dogs are cool.



If you're up to downloading the episode, Right-Click on this here link.

In the Hands of an Angry God

We had a really hard windstorm the other afternoon.  The wind blew hard enough to knock over (full) garbage cans and the basketball backboard in the yard.

But the real destruction occurred at my nephews' elementary school, where no fewer than seven full-sized trees blew over, completely unearthing the bases.

Three trees lay in a tidy row right by the road, causing a lot of passersby to slow and gawk, or to get out and take photos.

The fallen trees stayed there for days, and sit there still.  I took the nine year old with me to take some pictures and video, but alas, whenever he shot anything, it was with the dreaded Vertical Video Syndrome, so only my footage is usable.

Not quite the way I would have expected to go.

Most amusingly, though (to me, not to everyone else, of course) was that one tree fell directly on the children's playground area, almost as if it had aimed for it.

Playtime's over, boys.

I Narrate "The Boatman" by Eric Dean

A couple of weeks back, I got tasked to perform a pair of short stories by Eric Dean, "The Black Meat" and "The Factotum's Magnum Opus and the Devil in the Details."

Now, he's posted another tale, "The Boatman," wherein a man dies and meets the Ferryman who normally ushers the dead across the river Styx . . . but in this case, converses at length with the dead man.

Eric pretty much let me do whatever I wanted with the production, though I was rather clueless when it came to pronouncing anything Greek.

Even so, go on over to YouTube, and give it a listen.

Rish Outcast 56: The Big Release

Sometimes, you need to let off steam.  Some people do it by going to batting cages or shooting ranges, some people do it by video games or alcohol or loud music or hate crimes.  Me . . . I break things.  That's sort of what this episode is about.  Sort of.

Okay, here's a warning.  This is one of those episodes where I go maybe a bit deeper into myself than I usually do, in what's colloquially known as an overshare.

It's the first show I'm going to mark with a TMI alert.  And sadly, it won't be the last.



If you absolutely have to download this episode, well, you probably oughtta right-click HERE.

Rish Outcast 55: Into the Furnace - Post-Mortem

So, earlier this year I published my first novel, and did two episodes about it (one about the print version and one about the audiobook).  This is the third (and final) episode dealing with "Into the Furnace," which you can buy RIGHT HERE.  If you've any intention of reading the book, please do so before listening to this "Outcast."

This is the show where I talk about the story's origin, the process, its central conceit, and my struggles with whether to reveal that central conceit and perhaps sell a few copies, or keep it a secret and honor the author's artistic intent . . . for the four people who read it anyway.

Again, there will be spoilers, though not about the ending to the book, just the ending of THE SIXTH SENSE and THE VILLAGE.

Again, I'd like you to buy the book (at this LINK), or better, the audiobook (right about HERE).  If you've read it, this episode works better.



Oh, I just remembered, I was gonna call this "It Has A F**king _____ In It!"  Well, too late now.

Feel free to download the episode by Right-Clicking this LINK.

I Perform "Into the Woods, With Zombunny" On Far-Fetched Fables

A long while ago, I recorded a performance of a rather farcical lil fairytale called "Into the Woods, With Zombunny" by Camille Griep, for the Far-Fetched Fables podcast. And it looks like it got released last week, without me noting it.

Do you remember the "Fractured Fairy Tales" they had on the old Bullwinkle show? Well, I believe Ms. Griep's story would fit in there quite nicely. I don't imagine I could ever write one myself, but they are quite fun to perform.

You can find it at this link, and I'm fairly sure you'll enjoy it.

The Podcast That Dares Not Speak Its Name 16: Trick

Two Halloweens back, I wrote a little story in honor of the day.  Well, here I am "honoring" the day again.

"Trick" is a tiny tale about what I consider to be the greatest day of the year . . . but for an area dad, not so much.

Oh, and yes, I STARTED on an October Scary Story for 2016, but I have not yet completed it.  If I do, I've got something to not podcast next Halloween!

You've been to County before, you know the drill: to download the file, Right-Click HERE.

I Perform Abigail Hilton's "Taking Tricks" On Audible

"Taking Tricks" is a lengthy short story set in the Panimindorah world of Abigail Hilton, serving as a prequel to her novel "The Scarlet Albatross," which I co-narrated.

She told me that she writes a short story set in her universe every month, and lets her Patreon supporters vote on which character it will be about.*  In this case, it was Silas Ackleby, my favorite character in "Albatross," and the first time he met Percy, his rival, if not enemy, in the novel.  I got to voice those two characters much younger than in the audiobook, as well as a number of new characters.

Even though I would've done it for free, Abbie generously paid me for the audio version (which at least motivated me to get it done in record time), so it's only fair that I encourage you to go to Audible and buy a copy (at this link), so she can recoup that loss.  Or support her on Patreon; she'll probably let you listen to it that way.

Check it out when you can.

*The idea of doing this for my own fans delights me, though I have no idea how I would pull this off myself.

Breaking news?

I was walking around with my niece yesterday, when I saw a teenage girl wearing a t-shirt that said, "BREAKING NEWS: I DON'T CARE."

It was so staggeringly nasty that I stared in awe.  I then got out my phone to make a note of it, and my niece asked, "What are you doing?"

"Writing that down. I've gotta have a character wearing that shirt in the next story I write." I thought it would be perfect for an aloof, bitter, hate-filled character, and the story started writing itself in my head.

Until, that is, my niece said, "Don't do that. Every single girl at my school wears that same t-shirt."

Rish Outcast 54: "Old Man River"

Okay, here's that story I've been meaning to get to.  At this rate, there will be a lot of story episodes down the road, but even more non-story ones.

"Old Man River" is the tale of a lonely gas station attendant, and a visit from an elderly man with a story to tell.*



As always, if you wanna download the episode, just Right-Click HERE.

*Boy, that description could be for any one of my stories, couldn't it?

Rish Outcast 53: Travels With Father

I meant to have a story this week, but I switched it with the next week's show. You understand.

Well, this episode is a tiny bit out of date now, but here you go.  I was driving along, and I thought I'd say a thing or two about my dad, who lost all his chickens, and who gave me a bit of fatherly advice concerning a new car.

"My father only gave me one piece of advice.  He said, 'Son, don't ever get married.  Go to sea.'"

Sting

If you'd like to download the episode, for some reason, Right-Click HERE.

I Narrate Two Eric Dean Stories on YouTube

Not too long ago, I got a request to narrate a couple of short stories by Eric Dean, a writer and podcaster who saw my name and number on the wall of a truck stop men's room and decided to take me up on it.*

So, you can hear his story about the delicious new craze known as "The Black Meat," and the "The Factotum's Magnum Opus and the Devil in the Details," about a school groundskeeper tasked with burying more than a dozen dead students.  Both are unusual, short, and decidedly twisted stories that aren't EXACTLY Horror, but aren't quite specifically anything else.  Both are available on YouTube, or on Eric's own website, Eric Writes.

And did you know that "factotum" was a word?  I didn't.

"Black Meat" can be found here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSFw08NznoQ

"Factotum" can be heard here: http://youtu.be/cdfTC4MCaVI

Enjoy?


*Somebody want to create an image of a dirty wall with "For a good narration, write chalupaforyou@gmail.com" on it?  That would amuse me.

P.S.  Somebody (Rob Broughton) did.

Rish Outcast 52: I Can Try That!

A while back, I attended another writers conference, and was partly-inspired and/partly-intimidated by being around people who write for a living.  The next day, I recorded this episode.  Not sure what I did in the months since then.

Hey, just between you and me . . . you can try that too.



Take a listen, or Right-Click HERE to download the episode to your de-vice.

I Perform "Night Games" on Pseudopod

So, not at all long ago, Shawn Garrett asked if I could get a story recorded and edited in time for this week's episode of Pseudopod: The Horror Podcast.  I always say yes to those guys, and the story I ended up doing was called "Night Games" by Aeryn Rudel, who has the distinction of having an impossible name to both spell and say.

It's the story of a baseball pitcher who ends up playing against a batter who's more than a match for him . . . a vampire batter.

Yeah, sorry.

The story is all kinds of good, and I had to pretend to know more than nothing about baseball, which is a bit of a stretch for me.  Rudel, however, said I was a perfect fit for his story, what with my name being Rish and all.

At least that's what I think he meant.

Check it out HERE.

Preview of Coming Distraction

Exciting news, for me anyway.  I got a work-in-progress from my friend regarding the cover art to my next book.

Er, novella.

Oh, according to Google, I'm still 3,946 words short of a novella.

So, cover art to my next story, I guess.

Doesn't sound as catchy as "book," does it?

Oh, according to Writer's Digest, a novella is between 20,000 and 50,000 words.  So, I think I'm safe.

Alright, this is the cover so far to my next no . . . ugh, I don't like "novella."

Book.  My next book.

A short book.

Rish Outcast 51: Bob A. Duke

On a roadtrip, I got lost and decided to podcast while trying to get back to where I was going.  So I decided to talk about the horror film THE BABADOOK.  Enjoy?

If you feel up to downloading the episode directly, just Right-Click HERE.

Rish Outcast 50: Sequel of a Sidekick

Say kids, you remember "Birth of a Sidekick," the Western adventure I once shared with y'all?  Well, I wrote a sequel to it!  And what's more impressive . . . I actually published it.  What's more, Dave Krummenacher provided this (once again) excellent cover art:

"A Sidekick's Journey" is the second tale in what somebody somewhere is calling The Sidekick Chronicles, and is considerably longer than the first story, which I wrote in 2005.  This one takes place a few weeks after the first story, and continues to chronicle young Benny Parks in Trueno, Arizona, where he was left after the death of his mentor.  Though there are challenges in his life, it looks as though Ben may get a second chance.

It was a pleasure to get a chance to visit Ben again, and flesh out his world a bit.  If it's a pleasure to read as well, we may check in on him again before ten more years go by.  I'll try to come up with something.

This episode of the Outcast talks about the book, and is relatively spoiler-free.  You can, of course, go o'er to Amazon and purchase "A Sidekick's Journey, right HERE.

Or, if you really wanna be my friend, treat your ears to the audiobook performance, over on Audible.com at THIS LINK.



Don't forget, to download this episode directly, simply Right-Click HERE.

Rish Performs "Jondelle" by E.C. Tubb on Audible

Well, what a ride this has been.  "Jondelle" is the tenth and last book I signed up to narrate in E.C. Tubb's "Dumarest of Terra" book series.  And it is, surprisingly, the best of them.

Oh, there's the same elements in this book as in all the others: Earl Dumarest is forced to do battle gladiator-style for the pleasure of the rich and indolent, there is betrayal by a supposed-ally at the end of the book, he describes his homeworld with the same word-for-word explanation as the other stories, he manages to survive events that handily kill most of the people around him, and two women fall desperately in love with him, using his name with an exclamation point at the start of most of their sentences.

But the plot of this one was at least different: Earl meets a woman and her little boy, who is promptly and brutally kidnapped.  And Earl vows to find the lad, Jondelle, and bring him safely home.  He gathers clues, and later a team, to accomplish this goal, and searches a dangerous, savagely-backward world for the lost boy.

It is with mixed feelings that I close this chapter of my audiobook adventures.  I mean, something had to have been wrong with either me or the books for me to be (quite literally) two years late in completing this audiobook, after I believe I managed to get either four or five books done in 2013.  But this one went so well (all things considered), that I imagine I'll miss Earl Dumarest, and his never-ending search for the long-forgotten Planet Earth.  Wildside Press has already assigned other narrators later books in the series, which I can rightly assume was due to the lateness on my charges, and even if my readings are substantially better than my replacements' (which is doubtful), is it worth the lost income of, altogether, many fives of dollars?

This is the link to the book over on Audible: www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Jondelle-Audiobook/B01LBFPB24  Scoop it up, if you're of a mind to.

My abilities as an audio storyteller have certainly improved since narrating the first book in 2013 (I was saddened to discover that chirping crickets could be heard throughout the production of one entire book . . . but not saddened enough to re-record the whole project).  But I have also learned a thing or two about story structure and writing a series with each of these books I have tackled.

Oh, and I simply have to include the cover art to the paperback version of "Jondelle" I did my reading from.  Of the ten books I've narrated, this one easily has the worst cover.  In fact, I'd not be surprised to discover it was the worst cover to a book EVER.

Makes me feel a bit better about some of mine.

Gene Wilder (1933-2016)

Rish Outcast 49: Grey Skies Ahead

This episode is from so long ago, I thought for sure I'd already published it.  Hard to remember what it was even about.  I seem to recall that Rainy days and Mondays always got Karen Carpenter down.

Podcasting can be many things: a stage, a soapbox, a springboard for ideas, a confessional, an experiment, an artistic outlet, a pastime, a journal.  And, as I've said a time or two, free therapy.

There have been a couple of episodes I've recorded while in a bad mood--either angry or despondent--and used this little forum as a way to feel better.  I think this may be the first of those to actually get released.

Got something sunnier for you next time, though.



Don't forget, to download the episode, simply RIGHT CLICK HERE.

Sneak Preview

Look what I got today . . .

Rish Outcast 48: "Climb" Every Mountain

We interrupt our regularly scheduled podcast for a bit of exercise.  Too much?  You be the judge.

Shudder at the tale of Rish's recent brush with exercise.

Of course, you're free to download the episode by right-clicking HERE.

P.S.  As usual, I'm still after someone who can catalog all of Fake Sean Connery's songs, so I know which ones have not yet seen the light of day.

Rish Outcast 47: Ask Me No Questions (The Voyage Home)

Okay, last time.  This is your brain on drugs.

Rish finally gets to the end of Tom Tancredi's list of probing questions.  With these out of the way, maybe we'll be able to start doing story presentation episodes agai--

Nahh.



Feel free to download the episode by Right-Clicking HERE.