Episode 41 - Kimberly King Parsons
Photo Credit: Ronnie Parsons
I love short stories and often go searching for them in online magazines.
That’s how I discovered the work of Kimberly King Parsons. I heard Brooklyn Rail published some good short fiction, and I found a story there by Kimberly that was so wonderful I reached out to her on Twitter.
So when I heard she was coming to the Miami Book Fair to promote her short story collection, Black Light, I knew I had to get her on the show.
The stories in Black Light are dark, y’all. Don’t look for anything here to uplift you. As Kimberly says, you wouldn’t ask any of her characters to housesit for you. And, despite their issues with drugs, maintaining healthy relationships or low self esteem, you’ll find yourself rooting for them to do better. Spoiler alert, they never do. But you will still enjoy these stories because they’re so well written and so tight. Not one word is wasted.
Black Light is so good it was long listed for the 2019 National Book Award.
Interview Highlights:
Kimberly reveals…
What she loves about writing short stories
Why she’s drawn to writing about the dark side of human nature
What makes her shy away from reading novels that span generations
Click here to listen to the podcast.
We’ll send a free, signed copy of Black Light to the first listener to tell us the name of the movie Kimberly said she recently watched and enjoyed for its portrayal of children dealing with adversity.
If you have won a ReadMore giveaway in the last 90s days, you’re ineligible for this contest. ReadMore doesn't have a friends and family plan. Also, if we have ever hung out together in the NRV, you’re probably ineligible. But we will always have memories of the beauty of SW Virginia.
You can also purchase the book here. Proceeds will benefit the show and the author.