Author Tony Schmitz (left) does a dramatic reading from "Fatman Descends" with Bart Cannon as Roscoe the Cop at a launch party for the serial novel, available to read free online. Photo by Kimerly Miller.
Light-rail construction along St. Paul's central corridor has made at least one guy's imagination run wild.
Writer Tony Schmitz, a 33-year resident of Frogtown, has written a 66-installment serial novel you can read online, "Fatman Descends," in which a circumspect, corpulent denizen of the 'hood becomes embroiled in a sinister underworld revealed by the excavations. Of course, there will be zombies.
The project was funded in part by Irrigate, a nonprofit creative-placemaking series of projects intended to liven up the corridor and unite surrounding communities.
While "Fatman" is a work of fiction, "an appalling number of people and situations are based on actual events that happened around here," said Schmitz, who so far has proven uncannily adept at building suspense in 500-word bites.
A sample conclusion: " 'Smells like somebody opened the door to hell.' Despite all the official explanations and denials that were to come, this was less wrong than you might think.' Read the story so far at fatmandescends.com (you can also sign up there for daily email delivery).
