The late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, son Monte pens his new novel,
filled with robust characters, an unraveling mystery, mayhem, innocence and moral disintegration, Metropolis (Fantagraphics, August 23,2022) by Monte Schulz is a coming-of-age novel with a moral puzzle at its core. This dystopian tome is narrated by college senior Julian Brehm, who lives in a war-ravaged world perverted by eugenics where those who were deemed mentally, morally, or physically unfit were banished to desolate Provinces far from where he lives his uneventful life. Thrust into facing a broader reality by the woman he falls in love with, a bohemian revolutionary, Julian, and ultimately Monte, pushes readers to question ideals while giving them the hope of love.
Monte, who is the eldest son of the late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, the creator of Charlie Brown and the rest of the “Peanuts” gang and the owner of and teacher at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, can share with your audience:
- Why he walked away from writing Metropolis for 15 years.
- How he chose to write a novel about eugenics.
- His best piece of advice which is to read and read widely. Commercial fiction, according to Monte, teaches how to pace a story, while literary fiction can teach how to write better.
- Best words of wisdom from his famous father -- Only amateurs get writer’s block. Professionals can’t afford it.
- How he wrote a 600+ page novel without a plot outline.
- What books he’d recommend to someone who doesn’t read.
Monte Schulz received his M.A. in American Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He published his first novel, Down by the River, in 1990 and spent the next twelve years writing a novel about the Jazz Age. Monte is also a composer, songwriter, and producer whose most recent album is titled “Seraphonium.” In 2010, he became the owner of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. Monte is endlessly curious and well-versed in world history and theology. He is fascinated by the style and use of innovative language and can be caught engaging in provocative, philosophical conversations about big, far-reaching, imaginative ideas and worldly perspectives. His father is the late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz. He lives in Santa Barbara, CA.
