Robert P. Kaye
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In Uncategorized

Rearranging the Bones at Pithead Chapel

Rearranging the Bones is a flash story about a walk in the woods and being eaten by a giant owl. Kim Magowan, the editor of Pithead Chapel, described it as my bizarre narrator-as-owl pellet story. Also as ‘such an oddball.’ I love that kind of reaction. She also saved me from screwing up the ending with an extra sentence.

 

This is another story that came from walking in the woods. I interrupted a western screech owl on the ground about to eat a mouse. It looked at me like he wanted to eat me for interrupting his meal. Good think he was only about a foot tall.

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July 1, 2021
Dark Lane 9
In Books, Short Stories

Craters of Perpetual Darkness in Dark Lane 9

My sci-fi story Craters of Perpetual Darkness appears in volume 9 of the Dark Lane anthology published in the UK. The hard copies are somewhat delayed by the pandemic, but the Kindle version is up on Amazon for $.99 for the whole book, a great deal. The story is a romance set against the backdrop of homesteader Helium-3 mining at the south pole of the moon. It touches on lunar property rights, the place of the individual in the rugged frontier of space, artistic expression in an age of computer generated art and good customer service. There are rockets. A sound track. Stuff blows up. So much fun to research and write. Spectacular cover art by David Whitlam.

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September 11, 2020
In Flash Fiction

Small Gods in Rumble Fish Quarterly

Rumble Fish published my flash story, Small Gods, in their Spring 2020 edition (pdf). proving that even during the pandemic, art goes on. This is my most revised flash ever, re-written twelve million times. It started out as an Artist’s Statement for something I didn’t end up applying for. It is still my Artist’s Statement. Also the story I did not read at the Hot Pillow reading cancelled at AWP 2020 in San Antonio, the last trip we all took together.

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May 29, 2020
In Short Stories

Roadkill Rodeo in the Doctor T. J. Eckleburg Review

The Doctor T. J. Eckleburg Review has graciously published my bizarre short story “Roadkill Rodeo” in Issue 21, which can be purchased electronically or in print. The Dr. T. J. Eckleburg Review is a fine magazine that published another odd story of mine, The Last Time We Saw Charlie, in 2015. I’m willing to bet a drink that Roadkill Rodeo is in the top five stories with a dead psychic lemur narrator. Top ten for sure. It is one of my personal favorites and I’m glad it found a good home. 

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February 23, 2020
In Short Stories

People Who Live in Invisible Houses in Jersey Devil Press

Jersey Devil Press published my short story “People Who Live in Invisible Houses” and I am grateful. This bleeds over the edge of technology and standard house paint into the fantastical. There aren’t a lot of homes for this sort of thing and Jersey Devil is one of the best. They are Heroes of Literature. 

This took a longish time (5+ years) to get right. So many drafts. Survivors of my writing group will be glad to see an end. An early version of this got me into the Tin House writing workshop, I still don’t know how. I didn’t workshop the story at Tin House, but did with Kelly Link when she taught a two day at Hugo House. She patiently explained the flaws, which were legion, so I re-framed the whole thing. It still took three more years of revisions. 

 

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February 2, 2020
13,000 yr old cave art
In Flash Fiction

Hunter, Gatherer

Gingerbread House published my flash piece called Hunter, Gatherer. I wrote this after reading Yuval Noah Harari’s book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind which chronicles the history of Homo Sapiens from their spread out of Africa 1.9 million years ago, wiping out five other hominid species, taking a possibly wrong turn towards agrarianism and eventual dominance over the planet. A great book about our sad/funny history. Seemed ripe for comic flash retrospective.

The stunning graphic published at Gingerbread House is by Brooke Shaden, whose photographic magic I’ve appreciated for years and follow on Instagram. I’m not going to infringe on her rights by reproducing the art here, but encourage you to visit the story for a peek. You can see Brooke’s art on Instagram at @brookeshaden or on the web at http://www.brookeshaden.com/prints/

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August 23, 2019