Guest Blog by Rhonda Parrish
I’ve edited a lot of anthologies (over twenty at last count) and I adore each one of them for wildly different reasons. For example, Metastasis helped me through the death of my mother, Fae put me on people’s radars in a brand new way and Nevertheless checked off a Bucket List item.
As it turns out, I love Grimm, Grit and Gasoline because of what it taught me about being scared but doing it anyway.
Dieselpunk and decopunk have been around for a long time, but when I first proposed this anthology they were relatively new to me. That meant I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I am grateful that I was cognizant of that fact but along with that awareness came fear. Or, at least a high degree of intimidation.
Being the newest kid on the block I didn’t want to come crashing into the genre, stomping on toes or pretending to have an expertise that I didn’t. But I was hungry to contribute to the field and this anthology idea was not going away, so I dove in. I read. I researched. I had a lot of conversations with myself about stepping out of comfort zones and personal growth. And I did it.
It was the hardest Table of Contents I’d ever put together (I literally lost sleep over some of my decisions) but in the end it was worth it because I was exceptionally proud of the final manuscript that I turned in. Even so I was not expecting what happened next.
Publishers Weekly gave us a starred review!
Whaaaaat?!
This book was the most intimidating one I’ve ever worked on, so that star felt sort of like the anthology editor equivalent of a medal for bravery. A reward above and beyond the personal satisfaction of a job well done.
And now the book is out in the world, and I need to be brave in a whole new way. Because it’s not just in the hands of reviewers now, it’s in your hands. And, in the end, you are who I edit these anthologies for.
But, while I’m a bit anxious, mostly I’m excited and proud to have Grimm, Grit and Gasoline out in the world, And I am oh, so thankful that I didn’t let my fear and intimidation keep me from working on this anthology. Because this book… oh, this book. I think you’re going to love this book.
I certainly do.
I’ve edited a lot of anthologies (over twenty at last count) and I adore each one of them for wildly different reasons. For example, Metastasis helped me through the death of my mother, Fae put me on people’s radars in a brand new way and Nevertheless checked off a Bucket List item.
As it turns out, I love Grimm, Grit and Gasoline because of what it taught me about being scared but doing it anyway.
Dieselpunk and decopunk have been around for a long time, but when I first proposed this anthology they were relatively new to me. That meant I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I am grateful that I was cognizant of that fact but along with that awareness came fear. Or, at least a high degree of intimidation.
Being the newest kid on the block I didn’t want to come crashing into the genre, stomping on toes or pretending to have an expertise that I didn’t. But I was hungry to contribute to the field and this anthology idea was not going away, so I dove in. I read. I researched. I had a lot of conversations with myself about stepping out of comfort zones and personal growth. And I did it.
It was the hardest Table of Contents I’d ever put together (I literally lost sleep over some of my decisions) but in the end it was worth it because I was exceptionally proud of the final manuscript that I turned in. Even so I was not expecting what happened next.
Publishers Weekly gave us a starred review!
Whaaaaat?!
This book was the most intimidating one I’ve ever worked on, so that star felt sort of like the anthology editor equivalent of a medal for bravery. A reward above and beyond the personal satisfaction of a job well done.
And now the book is out in the world, and I need to be brave in a whole new way. Because it’s not just in the hands of reviewers now, it’s in your hands. And, in the end, you are who I edit these anthologies for.
But, while I’m a bit anxious, mostly I’m excited and proud to have Grimm, Grit and Gasoline out in the world, And I am oh, so thankful that I didn’t let my fear and intimidation keep me from working on this anthology. Because this book… oh, this book. I think you’re going to love this book.
I certainly do.
About the Anthologist
Rhonda Parrish is the editor of more than a dozen anthologies including, most recently, Fire: Demons, Dragons and Djinns and Tesseracts: Nevertheless. In addition, Rhonda’s written work has been in publications such as Tesseracts 17: Speculating Canada from Coast to Coast and Imaginarium: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing (2012 & 2015). Her YA Thriller, Hollow, is forthcoming (March 2020) and her website, updated regularly, is at http://www.rhondaparrish.com
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