THE NOVELS AND SHORT FICTION OF ROBERT CHAREST

LORENZO'S FAT HEAD is a dark farce about cocaine and modern art. Howard Fillimeer, a museum guard, becomes addicted to cocaine, and his life is turned upside down. He becomes entrenched in a smuggling operation, bringing cocaine through the museum inside hollow statues. But when the statues must stand for thirty days in an art exhibit, and in that time become sensations in the art world, and coveted not only by the cocaine dealers and addicts but also by world renowned art collectors, all chaos breaks loose.  Read the first two chapters now.
TARBY MANOR is a romantic comedy set in a haunted London mansion. When Ned and Nell Tarby are held accountable by God for accidentally murdering each other in 1747, they are consigned to indefinite purgatory in the confines of their mansion. When the Darbinger family moves in in 1993, Ned falls in love with one of the beautiful daughters and Nell falls in love with the handsome young gardener. Innovatively incorporating virtually every ghost story cliché, Tarby Manor weaves comical situations into a meaningful novel about love and redemption. Read the first three chapters.
THE DEAK, the first novel of a trilogy, is the wacky autobiography of the greatest rock musician who ever lived. In his own inimitable voice, Deak tells his life story by dissecting his song lyrics and describing the people and events that inspired each one. Aptly described as the literary equivalent of the film, This is Spinal Tap.  Preview coming soon.
BOB IS THE MACHINE is a series of six short stories based on a simple premise:  the author creates a character then enters the story and introduces himself to the character as the character's creator and master, and thereafter anything goes, often with wacky results.  Read version number one here.

The author has lived in several different U.S. cities, and is currently wandering around Mexico in search of the great American novel.