The short stories in Karen Kotrba's collection Pottery Town Blues take readers into the lives of characters who exist at the intersection of Appalachia and the Rust Belt, people who survive on their own wits and wisdoms. Each selection offers the intimacy of living rooms and kitchens to which we are made privy to by the narrators. Kotrba knows, respects, and values these people and relates their collective episodes with empathy and humor so that their stories resonate and remain with us. Robert Miltner, author of And Your Bird Can Sing and Ohio Apertures