I've been a big fan of Kathe Koja since I first cracked open Under the Poppies in 2012. It was my first time ever reading her work and I fell madly in love! and now I'm thrilled to be hosting a leg of the blog tour for her latest... a story collection called Velocities. Kathe joins us today to discuss words... how we receive them, how she presents them, and how it's the commonality between whichever format you choose read....
The
Book Is the Words: VELOCITIES: STORIES
by
Kathe Koja
My
newest story collection, VELOCITIES, is just out from indie Meerkat Press, in
print and ebook, with an audio version from indie Crossroad Press. So what do
all those editions have in common, besides their bona fide indie cred?
The
words.
Sounds
simple, or even silly. But it’s a truth we might forget, since our technology can
offer us so many ways to experience a book, or even define one. Some readers
are adamant that a book needs to have paper pages to turn, and a cover to open
and close (which VELOCITIES has, complete with glorious cover art via the
talented Keith Rosson). Others’ parameters are more elastic, or they prefer the
ease of an ebook, or the narration of audio (which VELOCITIES has, thanks to
the amazing Joshua Saxon at Saxon Audio).
But
what the book really is is the words.
That’s where and how the conversation between reader and writer happens—because
a story truly is that conversation, it’s not a broadcast, or a lecture, not me
telling you something, but you and I making something together, as my words
work within your mind’s eye, with your memories and fears and desires, your sense
of humor and sense of joy, to create the one and only experience of that story.
Every
reader will find the same table of contents in VELOCITIES, but no one will read
the same stories. From the noisy nightlife arena of “Clubs” to the quiet Paris morgue
of “The Marble Lily,” the yelping dogs in “Coyote Pass,” the bittersweet
amaretti in “Toujours,” the babydoll that’s a not a doll at all in “Baby”—each
of these details will come alive to every reader in a different way. Maybe you
love the almond savor of those cookies; maybe barking is a lonesome sound to
you, or a glad one; maybe you’ve been to Paris or live in Paris or have never
seen Paris in your life. All of that will meet those words, however you might
experience them—on a page, on a screen, in your ears—and that’s where each
story will come fully, immersively, indelibly alive.
However
you might choose to experience the words, VELOCITIES is here, and it’s ready.
Let’s create some stories together.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About Velocities:
From the award-winning author
of The Cipher and Buddha Boy, comes Velocities, Kathe Koja's second
electrifying collection of short fiction. Thirteen stories, two never before
published, all flying at the speed of strange. Dark, disturbing, heartfelt and
utterly addictive.
You can grab your copy from: Meerkat Press | Amazon | Indiebound | Barnes & Noble
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kathe
Koja is the author of VELOCITIES: STORIES.
She lives in the Detroit area, and has always loved words.
Find
her on:
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