Things Kept Burning is the debut collection of stories by Rob Simons. Told primarily by the same first person narrator – a writer searching for transcendence through a series of bizarre relationships, generally involving people from different worlds – these stories offer a compelling examination of American loneliness and hope, while exploring the thin line between reality and fiction. The book is also about the search for salvation through art. From the adventures of a college professor and his former student with Down Syndrome, to the evening spent in a porn star’s hotel room, to the death of a best friend in a drug overdose, these eclectic narratives challenge readers to question where they’re going with their lives, while illuminating the absurdity of existence itself.