Charles Romalotti is an American author of punk fiction. Born on February 10, 1970, in Topeka, Kansas, he is the author of two novels, ''Salad Days'' and ''Pariah'', both released by Layman Books. He currently resides in Austin, Texas.

Novels

Salad Days

Romalotti's debut novel, ''Salad Days'', was released on June 1, 2000. It is the story of Frank Smith, a determined idealist who is the vocalist for a

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

rock band in the mid-1980s. The novel is known for its accurate portrayal of the

punk subculture The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of Punk rock, music, Punk ideologies, ideologies, Punk fashion, fashion, and other forms of expression, Punk visual art, visual art, dance, Punk literature, literature, and film. La ...

, and it incorporates actual bands ( Black Flag,

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American punk rock band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1976. They are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this term to describe their music. They are also an ade ...

Descendents The Descendents are an American punk rock band formed in Manhattan Beach, California, in 1977, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson (musician), Bill Stevenson as a power pop/surf music, surf punk band. I ...

) and venues (

Outhouse An outhouse — known variously across the English-speaking world otherwise as bog, dunny, long-drop, or privy — is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket ...

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

's, and

City Gardens The City Gardens was a nightclub located at 1701 Calhoun Street in Trenton, New Jersey. It opened in 1979 and closed in 2001. History Early years The Nalbone family of Trenton and Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, Lawrence, New Jersey ...

) from the mid-1980s punk era into its fictional plot. ''Salad Days'' has maintained a strong international cult following since its release.

Pariah

On June 1, 2001, Romalotti's second novel, ''Rash'', was released. Much darker in tone than its predecessor, ''Rash'' was a suspenseful tale about a group of kids ("

Crusties Crust punk (also known as stenchcore or simply crust) is a fusion genre of anarcho-punk and extreme metal that originated in the early to mid-1980s in England. Originally, the genre was primarily mid-tempo, making use of metal riffs in a strip ...

") living on the streets of

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, in the late-1990s. In 2002, ''Rash'' was a finalist for Best Horror in the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY Awards). The initial print run of 1,000 copies sold out within the first 18 months of its release. There was not a second print run (aside from its release in ''Pariah''), and copies are rare. ''Talon'', the sequel to ''Rash'', was released on June 1, 2002. A third story, ''The Stickler'' finalized the trilogy, and the entire series was released in a single book called ''Pariah'' on June 1, 2003.Amazon.com listing for "Pariah"
/ref> ''The Sticker'' never had its own independent release.

Bride of the Reaper

Romalotti is working on a new novel with an expected release of Fall 2010. It is titled ''Bride of the Reaper'', similar in tone to ''Pariah'' (dark thriller), and is set in the same location (

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70 in Kansas, Interstate 70, between the Kansas River ...

) and time period (mid-1980s) as ''Salad Days''. Characters from ''Salad Days'' are to be featured in cameo roles in ''Bride of the Reaper''. The story revolved around a quirky girl named Kitty Waugh who lands a role as a

horror host A horror host is a person who acts as the host or presenter of a program where horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal w ...

in a mid-sized Midwest town.

Bibliography

Salad Days

* Paperback, 2000;

Pariah

* Paperback, 2003;

Footnotes

External links

* Official Layman Books Websit

* Charles Romalotti MySpace Pag

* Amazon.com listing of titles by Charles Romalott

* Interpunk.com listing of titles by Charles Romalott

* IPPY Awards Websit

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romalotti, Charles 21st-century American novelists American male novelists Writers from Kansas Novelists from Texas 1970 births Living people 21st-century American male writers