{"product_id":"blue-land-stories-paperback","title":"Blue Land: Stories - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eCD Collins\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eWill Lupens\u003c\/b\u003e (Foreword by), \u003cb\u003eNoor Borbieva O'Neill\u003c\/b\u003e (Introduction by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eWith a voice that is at once sad, beautiful, angry, and deceptively lyric, Collins guides us through the heat-shimmered lowlands of her characters' everyday lives to the bittersweet inner sanctums that enable them to survive. These are trips from which we come away enlightened, emboldened, and sometimes enraged, but always strangely hopeful.\u003c\/i\u003e\"--\u003ci\u003eWill Lupens, from the foreword\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCD Collins's debut short story collection invites readers into a world shaped by the smell of tobacco leaves, the sweat of factory work, and the rush of rumors moving through a small town. A world where a besieged farmer attempts to protect herself from her father and comes to recognize that the white-hot fury they share is part of their inheritance. A public defender labors tirelessly for the community and against the forces that have destabilized her own happiness and autonomy. A solitary maintenance man communicates profoundly with animals and nature but is fearful of human connection.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ci\u003eBlue Land \u003c\/i\u003eoffers twenty stories interwoven with complicated characters who struggle with loved ones, the dangers of longing, and the lure of addiction. This collection is a haunting work of Kentucky literature that probes southern and Appalachian life, sexual abuse, the nature of belonging, queer identity, and the environment. Collins's stories offer embodied histories of the state, shattering preconceived notions and effectively rendering characters whose voices are sometimes lost in a dismissive, uncomprehending world. But \u003ci\u003eBlue Land \u003c\/i\u003eis not just for those with generational roots in the region--it is for those who have just arrived, those who left long ago, and those willing to listen.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eCD Collins\u003c\/b\u003e is author of the novel \u003ci\u003eAfterheat\u003c\/i\u003e and the poetry collection \u003ci\u003eSelf-Portrait with Severed Head\u003c\/i\u003e. She has published short fiction in numerous literary magazines, including \u003ci\u003eStoryQuarterly\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Pennsylvania Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSalamander\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003ePhoebe\u003c\/i\u003e. One of the originators of the early 1990s resurgence of spoken word with live music, Collins has produced five award-winning albums and appeared in venues such as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Berklee College of Music Performance Hall, and New York Public Library.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 152\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.43 x 8.51 x 5.61 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 27, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47033289244847,"sku":"9781985903593","price":26.46,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0723\/7314\/1679\/files\/tONZEn92oi9781985903593.webp?v=1781389604","url":"https:\/\/valuevaultclub.myshopify.com\/products\/blue-land-stories-paperback","provider":"Value Vault Club","version":"1.0","type":"link"}