Carina Bissett

On Rejections and Awards

There is one thing all writers have in common, regardless of genre and skill. It doesn’t even hinge on author presence and publication history. At some point in every writer’s career, rejection hits. It’s just part of the game.

Yet, rejection stings. Every single time.

Prior to my current work in fiction and poetry, I had non-fiction career under a different name. I published hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles. I was a columnist and a grant writer. I compiled white papers for private companies and confidential reports for the Department of Defense. And, I contributed to dozens of travel guides; four of which I was the sole author. Yet even then, even when referrals came in faster than I could write, I still faced rejection.

When I turned my focus to fiction in 2014, I thought I had enough grit and experience to face the inevitable. However, no one told me that the rate of rejection is exponentially higher in fiction than it is in non-fiction. Being a writer of fiction is like being tossed in a pit with starving lions. It’s a blood bath.

One of the first stories I wrote as Carina Bissett was “Rotten,” a modern take on “Snow White.” In it’s polished form, it was good enough to earn an acceptance to the M.F.A. program in Creative Writing (Popular Fiction) at Stonecoast (University of Southern Maine). Yet, it took three years from this story’s first rejection to an acceptance, and it took another sixteen months after that before it ended up in print. Over the course of the three years I submitted “Rotten,” it was rejected fourteen times. I wondered if it would ever find a home.

Needless to say, I was thrilled when it was finally accepted by Mercedes M. Yardley (an award-winning author in her own right) for inclusion in an anthology published by Crystal Lake Publishing. It was even more exciting to discover that “Rotten” was slated as the final story in the book! (This was one of my “firsts” last year. In fact, my work took the coveted spot of the last story in TWO anthologies: Arterial Bloom and Bitter Distillations.)

When Arterial Bloom came out in March 2020, I didn’t think I could be happier. (Just look at the gorgeous cover!) And then, I opened my email yesterday to discover that Arterial Bloom made the Bram Stoker Awards preliminary ballot for Superior Achievement in an Anthology!

Will Arterial Bloom make it to the final ballot? I suppose only time will tell. In any case, I will always appreciate this moment. There were times when I nearly trunked this story. I became convinced no one would want to read it, which makes it all that much sweeter that self-doubt didn’t win. I’m considering this journey a lesson in patience and resilience. Sometimes, stories just need to find the right editor to believe in them. Mercedes M. Yardley just so happened to be the perfect reader for this particular story. Thank you, Mercedes! And a special thanks to all of the readers who nominated this beautiful little book. It’s been a fabulous way to start the new year!

Superior Achievement in an Anthology

Bailey, Michael and Murano, Doug – Miscreations: Gods, Monstrosities & Other Horrors (Written Backwards)

Cagle, Ryan and Jenkins, James D. – The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories, Volume 1 (Valancourt Books)

Flynn, Geneve and Murray, Lee – Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women (Omnium Gatherum Media)

Givens Kurtz, Nicole – Slay: Stories of the Vampire (Mocha Memoirs Press)

Kelly, Michael – Shadows & Tall Trees 8 (Undertow Publications)

Kolesnik, Samantha – Worst Laid Plans: An Anthology of Vacation Horror (Grindhouse Press)

Neal, David T. and Scott, Christine M. – The Fiends in the Furrows II: More Tales of Folk Horror (Nosetouch Press)

Rector, Jeani and Wild, Dean H. – The Horror Zine’s Book of Ghost Stories (HellBound Books Publishing, LLC)

Tantlinger, Sara – Not All Monsters: A Strangehouse Anthology by Women of Horror (Rooster Republic Press)

Yardley, Mercedes M. – Arterial Bloom (Crystal Lake Publishing)

Publication Announcements & End of the Year Round-Up

I just received a parcel delivered through Royal Mail! Inside were my contributor copies of Bitter Distillations: An Anthology of Poisonous Tales, which was edited by Mark Beech and published by Egaeus Press. It is a beautiful book, and I’m beyond thrilled that my story “An Embrace of Poisonous Intent” closes out this gorgeous array of tales. I’ve been adding titles put out by Egaeus Press to by bookshelves for a couple of years now. The fact that copies of their newest anthology showed up on the last day of the year makes this story success that much sweeter.

Although 2020 has been a challenging year in many ways, it has also been one of my most productive. I finished my first novel, which I’m currently editing under the guidance of the amazing Angela Slatter. (If you have the opportunity to work with her, take it. Trust me on this.) I also wrote five original stories including “An Embrace of Poisonous Intent” and “The Stages of Monster Grief: A Guide for Middle-aged Vampires,” which came out in the October publication of Coffin Blossoms.

This year was a year filled with firsts for me. My story “Rotten” was the final story in the Crystal Lake anthology Arterial Bloom, edited by Mercedes M. Yardley. I also had a story listed as the opening story with the publication of “An Authentic Experience” in Wild: Uncivilized Tales from Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. The linked vignettes I wrote for The Lost Citadel Roleplaying Game were published by Green Ronin Publishing in December. And I also celebrated my first translated story with the Japanese publication of “A Seed Planted” in Night Land Quarterly, Vol. 21.

In the end, my work came out in nine publications (including two reprints) in 2020. Although I only published two stories in 2019, they both received mentions this year as well. My story “Burning Bright” from Gorgon: Stories of Emergence received a nod from the renowned editor Ellen Datlow in The Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 12, and Terror at ‘5280, which includes my story “Gaze with Undimmed Eyes and the World Drops Dead,” won Best Anthology at the 2020 Best Book Awards (BBA) by American Book Fest.

In addition to my own publications, I co-edited the charity anthology Weird Dream Society: An Anthology of the Possible & Unsubstantiated in Support of RAICES, and I was a judge for the HWA Poetry Showcase, Vol. VII. I also had the wonderful opportunity to share my favorite books of 2020 at Vernacular Books.

My planner is full of hopes and dreams for 2021, and I look forward to the creative challenges ahead. Happy New Year!

Anthology Award

My story “Gaze with Undimmed Eyes and the World Drops Dead” was featured in the anthology Terror at ‘5280, which won Best Anthology at the 2020 Best Book Awards (BBA) by American Book Fest!

It had been a year of firsts for me, and this was no exception. This is the first anthology my work has appeared in that has received an award. Woot!

Terror at 5280′ edited by Josh Schlossberg (WINNER)

Fiction: Anthologies

The 2020 Best Book Awards

A neighborhood won’t let its residents forget the past. One taste draws two lovers into a nightmarish addiction. A harsh winter forces strange creatures down from the mountains.

At sea level, where it’s safe, things like this can’t happen. But when you’re sky high in Denver, Colorado, anything goes…including your sanity.

Beware of Terror at 5280′, a horror fiction anthology featuring dark tales set in and around Denver and the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, penned exclusively by local authors.

Poetry Reading

I will be reading a few of my poems at SFF Con this weekend on Sunday (11/8)at 11 a.m. (Mountain Time). I will be reading along with Wendy Van Camp, Akua Lezli Hope, Kimberly Nugent, and Deborah P. Kolodji. You can watch it on YouTube HERE.

Publication & Appearance News

I have a couple of stories that are now out in the world, so I figured it was time to write a post. “An Authentic Experience” was published in the anthology WILD: Uncivilized Tales from Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. I wrote this piece in August 2018, after a massive hail storm wrecked havoc on Colorado Springs and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Softball-sized hail destroyed several structures, hundreds of parked cars, and killed a few of the exhibits’ animals.

Luckily, the giraffes were spared serious damage. However, this had me thinking of the purpose of zoos and the fact that giraffes had just quietly slipped on Critically Endangered list. The end result was the story “An Authentic Experience”—a story about a zookeeper and the animals he cares for after Earth had been destroyed by an alien civilization. In all honesty, I just wanted the giraffes to have a chance to fight back.

This month, my flash story “The Stages of Monster Grief: A Guide for Middle-Aged Vampires” came out in the humorous horror anthology Coffin Blossoms, published by Jolly Horror Press. I read this piece at the inaugural Bloody Valentine event hosted by the Colorado Springs Chapter of the Horror Writers Association (HWA).

I’m thrilled that the HWA Colorado Springs Chapter is now its own entity. We have a powerhouse committee of founding members and plan on creating an inclusive community for all Colorado writers working in the realms of horror and dark fiction. It’s an exciting venture, and I can’t wait to see it evolve and grow!

In my final bit of October news, I will be speaking on two panels at MileHiCon this weekend: Building SF & Fantasy Mythologies (Saturday, Oct. 23 at 1 p.m.) and Modern Age of Poetry (Sunday, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m.). Both are in the Neverland room. I have a lot to say about both topics, and I’m looking forward to the panel discussions. I hope to see you there!

Fairy Tale Salon-Open Registration

Things are changing at The Storied Imaginarium! In addition to new self-paced course s and upcoming workshop opportunities, we are launching the new Fairy Tale Salon series in October Friday (10/9) in the U.S. & Canda/Saturday (10/10 in Australia). The first salon features author and artist Kathleen Jennings, who will be joining us online for two glorious hours in a discussion about fairy tales and magic.

Kathleen has been shortlisted four times for the World Fantasy Awards, once for the Hugos, and once for the Locus Awards, as well as winning a number of Ditmars. As a writer, she has won two Ditmars and been shortlisted for the Eugie Foster Memorial Award and for several Aurealis Awards. She will be discussing her gorgeous debut novel Flyaway and the upcoming release of her travel memoir Travelogues: Vignettes from Trains in Motion.

In addition to the discussion facilitated by myself and Nike Sulway, there will be a chance for attendees to talk with Kathleen in the Q&A session as well as an opportunity to stretch the creative muscles with a writing game. The salon is strictly limited to 20 guests. Come join us!

Short Story Release

I don’t often write stories for specific submission calls, but every now and then I take a stab at it. I originally wrote “Aviatrix Unbound” as a contribution for a robot dinosaur publication a couple of years ago. The entirety of my knowledge when it comes to dinosaurs was gleaned from the 1988 animated movie The Land Before Time, so it took a little research to figure out what the hell to write about. I submitted in the final minutes, and it was accepted the same day. (Yay!) But a year later, the publication faltered and then sputtered out. (It happens.) And, there I was with a funky little story and nowhere to send it. After all, dinosaur robots are a pretty specialized subject.

Some time later, I saw a call from ParsecInk for the yearly Triangulation anthology. The theme was Extinction. It just so happens that I was on a kick about endangered species and extinct birds when I originally wrote “Aviatrix Unbound.” In the story, my robot dinosaur evolves into a simurgh and is on a mission to travel through time to save extinct birds. In all honesty, I just wanted to save the Carolina parakeet, a fabulous little bird known to be poisonous. Just like that, it all lined up.

I loved writing this piece, so I’m especially pleased that it found a home. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

You can purchase Triangulation: Extinction here.

Japanese Translation Released

Night Land Magazine Today, my first translated story has been released into the wild! My weird fairy tale mash-up of “Jack and the Beanstalk” and “Rappaccini’s Daughter” is titled “A Seed Planted,” and it was originally published in the anthology Hath No Fury in August 2018. On request, I sent this to the fabulous acquisitions editor Edward Lipsett, who then forwarded it to Akira Okawada, an editor of Night Land Quarterly (NLQ)
magazine. It just so happened that this piece fit the theme for Volume 21: “The Fantasy of Sky Realms.” My story was translated by the well-known speculative fiction translator Ottojiro Machikane, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to see it reach a new audience. (Isn’t the cover beautiful?) Needless to say, I’m over the moon!

The table of contents features a pretty fabulous line-up:

Edgar Allan Poe: The Balloon Hoax
Ernest Hemingway: A Paris-to-Strasbourg Flight Shows Living Cubist Picture
Hugo Hall: The Other Side of the Castle of the Pyrenees
Adam-Troy Castro: Red Rain
Carina Bissett: A Seed Planted
Alan Baxter: Crow Shine
M. John Harrison: Lords of Misrule
Margery Lawrence: The Man Who Walked on the Air

None of this would have happened, however, without the guidance of my mentor and friend Angela Slatter. If you ever have the opportunity to work with her, I can assume you that Angela’s wisdom is worth it’s weight in gold. I’ve had several of my stories critiqued through her Flensing Factory over the years. Each experience has been a master class on everything from plot development to character connections. If you’re not quite ready for an editor, you can still pick up a ton of information on her blog. She has several tidbits of practical advice in her recent column “What to Do When You Don’t Have a Book Coming Out.” It is great list of the ways you can diversify as a writer, and one of those items just happens to be about reprints (including translations). I highly suggest you read it.

That’s it for now. It’s pretty wonderful, isn’t it?

Openings Available in Summer Workshop

Brother and sister Rackham Hello everyone! I hope your summer is off to a good start. This is the last call for summer workshops at The Storied Imaginarium. There are only two seats open for the next course of Intersections: Science Fiction, Fairy Tales and Myth. Both spots are in the workshop that starts on next Thursday (6/4). If you are looking for face-to-face interaction through scheduled online meetings, deadlines to help you generate new work, and additional craft gleaned through critique, this workshop might be for you. The dates and times for this course are as follows:

Thursday in the United States and Canada: 4-6:30 EDT/ 5-7:30 pm MDT/6-8:30 CDT/7-9:30 EDT (6/4, 6/11, 6/18, 6/25, 7/2, 7/9, 7/16, 7/23, 7/30, 8/6)

Friday in Australia: 9-11:30 am AEST (6/5, 6/12, 6/19, 6/26, 7/3, 7/10, 7/17, 7/24, 7/31, 8/7)

The Summer workshop will be ten weeks long and include six modules. The maximum word count will be 3,000 words for each module. The portfolio will include 2-3 revisions (10K max) and these sessions will take place over the course of two weeks. Workshops will begin the first week of June and will run through the first of August. The price is $500 with a 10% discount for returning participants.

The modules for Summer 2020 will be:

“Brother and Sister” & Gene Editing
“Jack and the Beanstalk” & Greenhouse Gas
“Bremen Town Musicians” & Ageism
“Godfather Death” & Transhumanism
“Donkeyskin” & Fatal Fashion
“The Ballad of Mulan” & Cross-dressing and Gender Expression

REGISTRATION: To save a seat for Intersections: Science Fiction, Fairy Tales and Myth, send an email request for an invoice to Carina Bissett at cmariebissett@gmail.com. The fee to attend the workshop is $500, payable to cmariebissett@gmail.com via PayPal. There is a $100 non-refundable deposit required to hold your spot with payment in FULL prior to the first class. Returning students receive a 10% discount. Space is limited.

brother-and-sister goble

Weird Dream Society Anthology Launch

WDS Hello everyone! Today is the birthday of Weird Dream Society!

I was one of the co-editors of this fabulous anthology of the possible and unsubstantiated in support of RAICES. I also have a story included along with a whole host of fabulous authors including Nathan Ballingrud, Gregory Norman Bossert, Karen Bovenmyer, Christopher Brown, Emily Cataneo, Julie C. Day, Michael J Deluca, Gemma Files, A.T. Greenblatt, Nin Harris, Chip Houser, James Patrick Kelly, Marianne Kirby,Kathrin Köhler, Matthew Kressel, Jordan Kurella, Premee Mohamed, Sarah Read, Sofia Samatar, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, Steve Toase, and A.C. Wise.

Want more weird dreams? If you purchase the Weird Dream Society anthology, let us know via Twitter (tagging @Weirddreamsociety1 #weirddreamsociety) or post to our FB page (https://www.facebook.com/weirddreamsociety) and one of the authors in the anthology–selected at random–will send you a postcard with some of their actual words written on the back.