The Flame-Sky Night

Robert, a young man perpetually on the verge of a migraine, is reluctant to admit the grim realities of his working-class life in a factory-dominated city. His comfortably gritty existence-vodka out of wine glasses and drunk walks to the sea with art-school girls-is shattered by the arrival of automation, which brings with it layoffs and protests by the factory workers. Aided by inimitable, chain-smoking, beautiful Marie, Robert tries desperately to avoid the destructive twin currents of industry and social unrest. In an exploration of the human condition, and forced into a world against his will, Robert is chased down the streets by his emotions, faces off with factories that come to life and try to snuff him out, and erupts in a fury of self-destruction that provokes him to physically fight the raging sea that once represented all the possibilities of life. Although he wants only to be free, Robert realizes he is caught up in forces beyond his control. THE FLAME-SKY NIGHT - approximately 50,000 words of literary fiction confronting themes of: Mental Health / Alcoholism / Raw Emotions: Love & Fury / Anti-Establishment / Adult Coming-of-Age / Social Class Injustices