THE EIGHT MILE SUSPENDED CARNIVAL
“At the opening of Kuder’s first novel, an injured and amnesiac young woman is found after a tornado sweeps through the area. Mim is immediately adopted and named by the carnival’s curious inhabitants. She discovers a paranormal element to the carnival, between odd creatures and a fortune-teller who can actually see people’s futures, and finds that she experiences people’s memories as they’re remembering them. Mim’s adventure in mental, emotional, and sexual self-discovery, along with her special ability, sets her squarely between the carnival boss and a man working at the “death pill factory,” the carnies’ term for the weapons factory across the river. There is a hidden depth to each character, experienced as Mim delves into their memories, providing more than is usually available from a single character’s perspective. The surprising plot twists are accented by vividly descriptive, whimsical writing, where everything from the people to the carnival’s strange animals and even the inanimate objects have memories and feelings, all seen through Mim’s exploratory and introspective gaze. This is a fabulously creative story with just a touch of the paranormal that keeps readers guessing.”
—Frances Moritz, Booklist, September 15, 2021
Performances/Readings
Rebecca reads from The Eight Mile Suspended Carnival at Emporium Wines/Underdog Cafe, accompanied by Michael Casselli, December 11, 2021.
What Books Press launch party, hosted by Skylight Books, November 12, 2021.
Reviews, Interviews, Q&A, & Predictions
The Scapegoat Guild Podcast, with Mireya Serrano Vela and Andrea Auten, November 6, 2022.
The Book Nook, discussion of The Eight Mile Suspended Carnival with Vick Mickunas, April 14, 2022.
Strange Horizons review by Prashanth Gopalan, March 14, 2022.
Craft Literary Hybrid Interview—author Q&A & a critical essay about The Eight Mile Suspended Carnival with/by Jahzerah Brooks, March 8, 2022.
Interview at WomanPause with Diane Gottlieb, March 6, 2022.
On Writing (Q&A in Pan Review Of The Arts No. XIII), with Mark Andresen, October 9, 2021.
Learning to disarm the inner critic, Yellow Springs News interview with Megan Bachman, October 25, 2018.
Antioch University Los Angeles alumna interview, September 2018.
Shadows And Tall Trees 7 interview with Angela Slatter, May 17, 2017.
I am Moon Power interview with Sierra Leone, March 25, 2016.
My prediction for 2016 appears in LOCAL VOICES, December 23, 2015.
Dayton Daily News interview with Ron Rollins, March 28, 2013.
Recognition
Received Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award for creative nonfiction, fiscal year 2018.
Short story “Curb Day” chosen for Year’s Best Weird Fiction vol. 5. Ed. Robert Shearman and Michael Kelly. Toronto: Undertow Publications, 2018. (Original publication: Shadows And Tall Trees 7 . Undertow Publications. Ed. Michael Kelly. Toronto, Canada, 2017.)
Short story “Rabbit, Cat, Girl” chosen for Years’ Best Weird Fiction, Vol. 3, Undertow Publications. Ed. Simon Strantzas and Michael Kelly. Toronto: Undertow Publications, 2016. (Original publication: Resurrection House XIII. Ed. Mark Teppo. Puyallup, WA, 2015.)
Unpublished novel, The Watery Girl, finalist in 2012 and 2013 for Many Voices Project at New Rivers Press.
Rebecca Kuder 