Carina Bissett is pleased to share the news that the themed anthology WILD: Uncivilized Tales from Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers is a finalist for the 2021 Colorado Book Awards in the Anthology category. Her story “An Authentic Experience” opens the collected works.
Anthology
Stories That Need to Be Told 2020: A Tulip Tree Anthology edited by Jennifer Top (TulipTree Publishing)
Wild: Uncivilized Tales from Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers edited by Rachel Delaney Craft and Natasha Watts (RMFW Press)
Monsters, Movies & Mayhem edited by Kevin J. Anderson (WordFire Press)
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.
In other news, Carina is making a guest appearance at the BC Writers’ Summit next month. Her workshop “Into the Dark Woods” will focus on fairy tale retellings and the ways writers can incorporate mythic archetypes and symbolism in their own work. “Into the Dark Woods” is scheduled to begin at 7 pm (Pacific Time) on Sunday, May 16.
The Nearby Universe 