Rob Kaay is a contemporary sci-fi / fantasy writer who is coming into his own. As a professional touring musician on the road signed to a major American record label, Rob would read books by incredible writers such as Chuck Palahniuk, Hunter S. Thompson, Bret Easton Ellis and Anne Rice. Once his decade-long touring rock-star lifestyle ran its course, Rob began to write his own story that had been rattling around inside his head.
Rob has just released his first science fiction novel called Silverbirch; A Tear in the Fabric of the Night Sky. It's a story about a young man named Nudge who, as a child, finds a mushroom with a red lightning bolt image naturally built in to its black-gilled underbelly. Little does Nudge know that finding the mushroom has been predetermined. It is Nudge's destiny, as controlled by a higher power watching over him. You see, Nudge has been chosen as the savior of this world and the next and the mushroom with the red lightning bolt is the only way to open a gateway to connect both worlds. When Nudge reaches the ripe age of thirty - he's asked to fulfill his destined role. The only problem is, once he realizes what is really going on, he's not sure if he can give up the love of his life (his childhood stripper soulmate) and take on the weight of two worlds' problems all on his own.
Silverbirch was released at the end of 2009 and cracked the Amazon Top 1000 in its first week of release. It is also available as a free podcast (and future audiobook) from the iTunes music store. Rob narrates and composes the music for the "Nudge" episodes. Mem Kennedy narrates the "Silver Woman" episodes. Various Guest Bands provide their music for the "Silver Woman" episodes.
History:
During his twenties, Robkaay toured Australia and America in various bands. He began his career in Perth, where he was born, and played local pubs in two different surf/rock bands.
Wanting
to play heavier music with a political message, he eventually
formed an intense-rock band that relocated to Melbourne, an important music industry hub for Australian music. After intense gigging in Melbourne and Sydney, and releasing two EP's from the band on his own record label (funded by a close lawyer friend), the band was noticed by a number of record labels overseas, choosing to sign with the biggest Major Record Label in America.
Robkaay and the other members were made to relocate to Los Angeles for a number of years where they toured and released a Major Label album which was recorded in Hollywood.
After the break up of the band, all members flew home to Australia, except Robkaay. He moved to Santa Monica and began writing music for a solo project. He also began brainstorming ideas in the hope to fulfil a yearning from within to write a novel . . . or two.
A year later, he'd written, recorded and mixed over a dozen instrumental songs, with the intention of adding vocals, but nothing seemed to work, so he shelved the project. Needing an escape from musical creation, he explored Mexico a handful of times, piecing together the beginnings of a story that would later become Silverbirch.
Then he moved back to Australia. At first, Sydney, followed by the Gold Coast - where he joined another popular metal band and toured Australia for a couple more years. He continued to brainstorm novel ideas during this time, before eventually deciding to retire from the live-music-touring circuit for good, to concentrate on the art of writing stories.
During this decade of musical discovery, Robkaay had kept daily notes about his adventures and thoughts about what it was really like to be in a touring band. He decided to use those notes to help write a series of music-related fiction books entitled the Robkaay Journals.
Recently turning thirty, Robkaay returned to where his adventures began, basing himself in Perth, where he completed writing Volume I of the Robkaay Journals; My Glorious Nightmare. He officially released the book in Melbourne at the HiFi Bar and Ballroom at the end of 2008. It is available now from this website and from selected Australian Bookstores.
In mid-2009, Robkaay finished writing his first Spectulative Fiction Novel entitled Silverbirch; A Tear in the Fabric of the Night Sky, and also adapted it into a Screenplay.
Wanting to release the novel in an un-boring way, he decided to use the songs from his shelved instrumental solo music session in Santa Monica, as well as writing new music, to create podcast versions of Silverbirch. He released one chapter at a time on his website and on the iTunes music store.
The Paperback version of the novel features the black-gilled underbelly of a Silverbirch Mushroom (illustrated by Ken Taylor) on the front cover and was released independently on Halloween, 2009.
The Hardback version featured a nine-year-old version of Nudge finding the Silverbirch Mushrooms and Pages (illustrated by Ken Taylor) for the first time in the abandoned house. It was released on January 28, 2010.
It took seven days to convert Silverbirch, the novel, into Silverbirch, the screenplay. Not sure if he'd done it right, Robkaay entered the screenplay into TheMovieDeal.com screenwriting competition. It made the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, back in rock-star land, the next installment of the Robkaay Journals (Volume II) will be; This is what it's really like to be in a band. It will be released some time 2010, so check back soon or join the newsletter.