(Photo via amazon.com)

Americans have a unique relationship with their cars. Our automobiles and the open road have long been a great subject — and tool — for fiction.

In the new anthology "The Highway Kind," Valley-based editor Patrick Millikin has collected new tales by authors like Michael Connelly, George Pelecanos, Diana Gabaldon and James Sallis. Every one of the stories has something to do with cars.

We spoke with Millikin and Sallis about the compilation.