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From SCIFIPEDIA
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Kathe Koja (1960 - ) is an American writer, mainly identified with the horror field.
During the 1990's Koja established herself a brilliant stylist whose primary themes might be said to be transcendence and transformation. Her intensely emotional work was often overtly sexual. Her first novel, The Cipher (1991) in which a mysterious black hole in a storage room, the Funhole, can be seen both as a transcendental device and as a monstrous presence, won a Bram Stoker Award for Outstanding Achievement in a First Novel, was a Locus Readers' Poll winner, and was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award. In Bad Brains (1992), an artist whose creativity is stymied by his divorce has surreal visions after sustaining a head injury. Skin (1993) explores a relationship between two artists and the aftermath as one of them descends into extreme body modification and oblivion. In Strange Angels (1994) a photographer tries to discover the source of a schizophrenic's artistic genius. Marketed as mainstream, Kink (1996) explored the obsessions and transformations of a three-way relationship shared by two women and one man. Some of Koja's short stories published from 1991-1997 were collected in Extremities (1997).
In the 21st century Koja turned to young adult fiction. Her emotional intensity and stylistic artistry translated well into compelling, often dark, short novels. In Straydog (2002), an angry young misfit finds herself by attempting to tame a feral collie. Buddha Boy (2003) introduces the basics of Buddhism while exploring the meaning of friendship. In The Blue Mirror (2004) a young artist loses herself in a self-created world. Talk (2005) revolves around a closeted gay teen boy and a popular straight girl who are both cast in a school play. Going Under will be published in 2006. Straydog won both the Humane Society's Kind Book Award and the ASPCA's Henry Bergh Award.
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