In this fascinating conversation with Monte Schulz (son of the late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz), Alex talks about Schulz’s new novel filled with robust characters, an unraveling mystery, mayhem, innocence, and moral disintegration. Metropolis (Fantagraphics, August 23, 2022) 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.
Schulz, the eldest son of the late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, creator of Charlie Brown and the rest of the “Peanuts” gang, is the owner of and a teacher at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, shares:
- Why he walked away from writing Metropolis for 15 years.
- How he chose to write a novel about eugenics.
- His best piece of advice is to read and read widely.
- 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.
Don’t miss it!
Buy Metropolis: https://amzn.to/3kAdLch
Buy Crossing Eden: https://amzn.to/3YhOIrU
Connect with Monte Schulz: https://monteschulzauthor.com/ * https://metropolisthebook.com/
Or support your local indie bookstore, but from your designated indie at: Bookshop.org -- Every Purchase Supports Local Bookstores. A Better Way to Buy Books Online.
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Listen to Alex and his pal Sonia on CHICA & THE MAN!
This Mysterious Goings On Podcast episode was recorded and mixed at Green Shebeen Studios in beautiful Kansas City, Missouri. Copyright 2023, all rights reserved. No reproduction, excerpting, or other use without written permission.
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Eugenics and Dystopian Love Stories with Monte Schulz