ROBERT

RODI

“Rodi is the

       gay Molière.”

Kirkus Reviews

 

“Robert Rodi has offendedpeople on all  sides,
but  for a satirist, that amounts to praise.”

The Chicago Tribune

Robert Rodi was born in Chicago in the conformist 1950s, grew up in the insurrectionist 1960s, came of age in the hedonist 1970s, and went to work in the careerist 1980s. This roller-coaster ride left him with a distinct aversion to isms of any kind; it also gave him an ear for hypocrisy, cant, and platitudes that allowed him, in the 1990s, to become a much-lauded social satirist.

 

After seven acclaimed novels set in the gay milieu, Robert grew restless for new challenges—which he found in activities as wide-ranging as publishing nonfiction, writing comic books, and taking to the stage (as a spoken-word performer, jazz singer, and rock-and-roll front man).

 

In 2011, excited by the rise of digital e-books, he returned to his first love, publishing new fiction—this time inspired by the work of Alfred Hitchcock. He also organized the republishing of his seminal gay novels under the banner Robert Rodi Essentials.

 

Robert still resides in Chicago, in a century-old Queen Anne house with his husband Jeffrey Smith and a constantly shifting number of dogs.

 

CONTACT

Robert@robertrodi.com

 

REPRESENTATION

Selectric Artists
Planetarium Station
P.O. Box 56
New York, NY 10024
646-397-1778

 

In the 1990s, Robert gained cult status for his series of scathingly irreverent comedies of manners set largely in Chicago’s gay demimonde. Long out of print, Robert has made them available again in pristine new editions, available as both e-books (for the jaw-dropping price of 99 cents) and traditional paperbacks.

 

FAG HAG

Robert’s first and most enduringly popular novel. How far will Natalie Stathis go to win the romantic love of her best gay pal? Warning: kids, do not try this at home.

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CLOSET CASE

Gay advertising executive Lionel Frank hides his sexuality from his macho co-workers. But his web of lies ultimately, hilariously, makes coming out a matter of life and death. His.

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WHAT THEY DID TO PRINCESS PARAGON

Cartoonist Brian Parrish takes over a creaky old superheroine from the 1940s. How to make her relevant again? Why not make her a lesbian? No reason—except, unfortunately, for one lethally enraged fan.

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Photo: Suzanne Plunkett

About

Essentials

DRAG QUEEN

Respectable gay attorney Mitchell Sayer discovers he has a long-lost twin brother…who goes by the name Kitten Kaboodle, and has the wardrobe (and the snap) to match.

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KEPT BOY

Dennis Racine has a great gig as the live-in companion of a legendary theatre entrepreneur…till a much younger pool boy takes his place. He’s over the hill at 31…unless he takes evasive action.

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BITCH GODDESS

Grade-Z movie actress Viola Chute becomes a bona fide TV superstar in middle age. But a relentless gay biographer could torpedo that by uncovering her unspeakable secret shame.

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ESSENTIALLY POSTMILLENNIAL

New! Where are the characters of Fag Hag, Closet Case, et al, today? This novella collection brings them all up to date, showing who’s still together, who’s split up—who's on Grindr, who's on Propecia.

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WHEN YOU WERE ME

New! Retired entrepreneur Jack Ackerly is 53; weary party-boy Dennis Racine is 26. They magically trade places...only to learn that while switching bodies may be easy, switching lives?—not so much.

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Robert’s new line of novels is inspired by the films of Alfred Hitchcock, incorporating mystery, menace, and mordant wit. All are available both as e-books and traditional paperbacks.

 

THE SUGARMAN BOOTLEGS

Two friends pull an elaborate Internet prank centered on grainy video footage of an unknown 1970s saloon singer. But the stunt takes on a life of its own…and as its fame increases, so does its body count.

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BABY

Fussy art dealer Marcus Hyde loses his home and business, and moves in with his slovenly sister. But his discomfort turns to terror when he becomes convinced his newborn nephew is not…quite…human.

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VAMOOSE

Coming soon. Successful novelist Craig Hechtman hires a personal assistant whose strange behavior throws Craig’s family into turmoil. But the effect of his presence is nothing compared to that of his sudden absence.

 

Hommages à Alfred

 

VOLUME 1

Includes Robert’s anarchic appreciations of Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Mansfield Park.ᅠᅠ

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VOLUME 2

Features Robert’s irreverent takes on Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion.ᅠᅠ

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EDGAR AND EMMA

New!ᅠRobert’s first Austen-inspired fiction, which takes the three-page “novel” Austen wrote in her teens and expands it into a full-length, riotously funny comedy of manners.

 

Bitch in a Bonnet

 

For five years, Robert live-blogged the Jane Austen canon with the goal of reclaiming her from “the stiffs, the snobs, the simps, and the saps.” These volumes collect his rip-roaring rides through Austen’s surprisingly snarky novels. Available both as ebooks and traditional paperbacks.

 

 

AMELIA WEBSTER

Coming soon! Robert's second foray into Austen's juvenilia fleshes out the story of three marriageable misses—with only two eligible gentlemen available to them. Plots simmer, fur flies, witticisms crackle, and true love conquers (if not decimates) all.

 

 

 

 

Etc.

 

Sample Robert’s works in other genres, mediums, and sensibilities.

 

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GLAD, GLADDER, GLADYS

Robert’s hilarious original novel, written for USAToday.com, narrates the travails of a therapist whose new patient is the most passive human being ever to walk the face of the Earth.

Merry Men

Coming soon! Robert's thrilling subversive graphic novel retells the Robin Hood legend with the heroes recast as sexual outlaws, seeking to overthrow a repressive authoritarian regime. Featuring gorgeous art and colors by Jackie Lewis and Marissa Louise.

DOGGED PURSUIT: HOW A RESCUE DOG RESCUED ME

The true story of Robert’s year on the canine agility circuit, where he competed his Shetland sheepdog, Dusty—a.k.a. the world’s least likely agility dog. Three-and-a-half stars from People.

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SEVEN SEASONS IN SIENA:
MY QUIXOTIC QUEST FOR ACCEPTANCE AMONG TUSCANY’S PROUDEST PEOPLE

Robert’s memoir of his favorite city in Italy, set against the backdrop of its ancient, yet still vital, annual ritual: the harrowing bareback horserace called the Palio.

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Copyright © 2017 Robert Rodi. All rights reserved.

Contact • Robert@RobertRodi.com