Small Press National Literary Bestseller
Peaked at #26 on Amazon.com Bestselling Horror list
Independent Publishing Awards Finalist for Best Horror 2002
From the Author:
After I wrote Salad Days I set out to write a follow-up that would be similar in style, yet vastly different in tone. The final result was a noir horror/thriller about a gang of Crusties living on the streets of Austin in the 90s. The book was called Rash, and it shot up the Amazon.com bestselling horror list and sold all 1,000 copies of its initial printing in just a few months (self-published, with no real advertising budget, all based on enthusiastic reviews and the buzz generated by Salad Days). Rash went on to become an Independent Publisher’s Awards Finalist for Best Horror that same year.
Having always been a fan of serials in the vein of Flash Gordon, Star Wars, comic books, and Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler novels, I began working on a new story involving the characters and circumstances from Rash. The result was Talon. A year after Talon‘s release, I put Rash and Talon with a third and final installment (The Stickler) into a three-part serial called Pariah (which reads like a novel with three distinct chapters). Next to Salad Days, Pariah is my most successful book. Separate movie offers for Rash and Talon were made soon after their releases and were subsequently declined, although I feel in the right hands they could become really innovative films.
Incidentally, Rash was pulled out of print after its initial printing to create demand (and room) for Pariah, which caused individual mint-condition copies of Rash to be listed for hundreds of dollars each on Amazon.com. To this day, copies of Rash are very rare. In the same thought, once Talon is sold out (coming soon), it will also be permanently pulled from print.
376 pages
Pariah is an excellent underground horror story. Perfect for reading while huddled under the covers on a dark and stormy night. If you have a penchant for dark and macabre fiction, look no further. - Maximum RockNRoll
Nothing in Pariah is what it seems to be at first. I read this novel with clenched fists, gasping and shaking my head through every twist and turn. I got so caught up in reading this I felt lost when it ended. - Fat City Magazine
This book kicks ass, dangerously so. It was such an intoxicating breath of air, albeit a dark and putrid air at times. Something Romalotti illustrates well with Pariah is that fiction doesn’t have to be fake, overdone, or preposterous in order to be captivating and meaningful. - IndustrialNation (issue #20)
The ending is completely shocking. After the first chapter, you think you have an idea of what was going to happen, but then at the end it takes a total turn, and you are left thinking, “How did all that happen?” It has a great ending! - ThroughTheseEyes.net
Amazing. I was seriously blown away. This book is a masterpiece of underground culture. - Flax Glor, producer of Radiation Nation Variety TV Show
Romalotti has done it again. The darkness of Talon is what hooks the reader. As the lives of the characters unravel, the tale becomes darker and more complex. The book would not leave me alone, and the way in which Romalotti writes is magical–the reader is under a trance, which can only be broken by the last page. Talon is a great book. - Dan Pugatch, UMass Torch
Romalotti definitely has a real talent for writing. - Adam, H2O
Combining elements of thriller, suspense, and horror, Romalotti weaves a tale that reads like punk rock nightmares. The complex interplay will have you suspecting what may come next, but never truly knowing. - The House of Pain
Such well-written characters, you just gasp as you follow them through every suspenseful and sickening turn in the story. I loved it. - Morbid Outlook Magazine
A realistic dark journey that is amusing and disturbing at the same time. - Clint, Victory Records
The ending of Pariah totally caught me by surprise, even though I had a taste of what was to come from the opening scene. The story unfolded and twisted back upon itself in preparation to strike, and strike it did! - Jeff Leyda, Tess Records
A wild horror-show of a ride. Romalotti’s pointed social satire never overshadows his sympathy for the main players in this nightmare tale. An excellent read. - Don DeGrazia, author of American Skin
A creepy, tense thriller that combines punk DIY sensibility with a charming, hacky-pulp style. - Roctober
For most of the book, I felt I had a firm grasp on exactly what was coming. However when the expected scene arrives, the mechanics of the situation and the complex interplay of multiple plots absolutely blows you away. This struck me as a sign of true literary talent. Simply put, this book is awesome. - Lethal Injection eZine
Typically with Romalotti, things aren’t quite as clear as they initially appear. After a series of gripping incidents and interweaving plots (none of which follow the expected path), things are left perfectly balanced for an explosive climax. - Scanner Magazine, UK
Striking characters and memorable plots mean we’re not going to give too much away about this story. Suffice to say, it’s a gripping ride of horror, humor, and humanity. - Alternative Tentacles Records
The writing is swift and poetically descriptive, creating a world that balances on the edge of surreal and real. Rash [first act of Pariah] is brilliant. Plain and simple, this book is a must. - B-Independent
A horror story for the Industrial generation. A totally convincing and compelling read. - Martin Bowes, Attrition
Romalotti has a gift for storytelling. - Dru, This Ascension
Unnerving, twisted, and quite sick-lock [Romalotti] up! - cevin Key, Skinny Puppy
A very brutal portrayal of the lost and the sad and the damned. - Jarboe, The Swans
