I just finished The Cipher shortly after re-reading Nathan Ballingrud's Wounds and noticed a lot of similarities between your novel and his short story "The Visible Filth." Each protagonist is a near-broken man, working a shitty job and not many feet from the end of his rope. Is it better to tell a story about a near-broken man losing his last bit of hope, or to start from a place where he has everything to lose?

Kathe Koja I think the character decides where the story should start, and a writer should pay close attention to that decision.

Do you think it is possible to write seriously, or at least seriously try, if you have a blue-collar factory job?

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